THE BANISHED LUNA
another elder said, his tone colder still, “entwined in matters far beyond your place. The Alpha’s public rejection only confirms what the whispers have long suggested—that you overstepped. That you sought what was never yours to take.”
The words burned, but she held her tongue.
Elder Morwen leaned forward, clasping her hands. “There are those who call for your immediate banishment. Others,” her eyes flickered with the faintest smile, “suggest leniency, for the sake of avoiding scandal.”
The word *banishment* dropped into the chamber like a stone into deep water. Serena’s breath caught—not because she was afraid of leaving, but because leaving meant severing the last fragile thread between h