Moira’s POV

It was very cold.

It seeped into my bones, numbing my fingers, my toes, the very core of me. My eyes fluttered open, but the world was blurry.

I had clung to hope through the long, dark night. Hope that it had been some terrible mistake. That Kaleb would come, apologize, tell me he was wrong.

This wasn’t a bad dream. This was my reality.

And it was colder than the forest floor beneath me.

The Moon Goddess’s voice and the promise she had given me felt like a distant memory now, like a dream slipping from my grasp.

Maybe it had been just a dream, and this was the reality.

“You are the true Luna. My chosen one.”

Was she real? Or had my broken mind conjured her in my moment of despair?

A crack of twigs made me freeze.

I heard voices and footsteps.

I turned my head, heart pounding, as two figures stepped into view. Pack warriors.

But they didn’t look relieved to see me. There was no kindness in their eyes. Disdain was the only thing I could discern from them.

I didn't have enough mental capacity to be embarrassed at my situation, I was too tired.

“There she is,” one said, his voice flat.

The other nodded, his expression hard. “You can’t stay out here. The Elders have ordered that you be locked up for now, since you are useless enough to do this.”

I noticed how callous their words were. That they could speak like this to my face meant that I had really sunk low.

I opened my mouth to explain why I was here, but they didn't give me a chance. One of them just hurled me up forcefully.

The walk back to the pack house felt longer than it should have. Every step jarred my aching body.

The other warriors kept their distance, as if my supposed weakness was something they could catch.

They led me past the Luna’s quarters, past the rooms where I had once been welcome, to a small, windowless chamber. The door creaked as they shoved it open. Inside, it was empty except for a thin blanket in one corner.

“This is where you’ll stay,” one said.

The door shut behind me with a final, echoing thud.

Time passed in a blur.

A healer came once, their expression as cold as the warriors’. He barely looked at me before delivering a diagnosis.

“You’ll live,” he said, as if it was an inconvenience, and left without another word.

Food appeared twice a day through a small hole at the bottom of the door. Bread. Water. No one spoke to me. No one visited.

I lost track of time.

Suddenly

A guard stepped inside, his face unreadable.

“Come,” he ordered.

I hesitated, fear knotting in my stomach. But I followed. What choice did I have?

He led me through a back passage I didn’t recognize.

“Stay here,” the guard said.

I pressed myself against the shadows. Through a narrow crack in the stone, I could see the courtyard beyond, filled with pack members.

Kaleb stood before them, tall and proud. His face was carved from stone, his eyes unreadable.

“My pack,” he began, his voice clear, carrying across the crowd. “You all know of the rejection that took place. I acted not for myself, but for you all. For the good of our people. An alpha must make sacrifices for his pack.”

The pack murmured their approval.

“I name Rosa Asher as my future Luna,” Kaleb continued, his voice steady, but hollow. “She has strength, courage, and the blessing of our Elders.”

The cheer that rose from the crowd was deafening. It echoed through the stone, through my bones, through my heart.

Every word was a dagger.

I pressed my hand to my mouth to stifle the sob that rose.

The guard grabbed my arm roughly.

“Luna Rosa wanted you to witness that,” he hissed, dragging me back the way we had come.

He shoved me back into the small room, the door slamming shut behind me.

My knees gave way. I crumpled to the floor, bruised, broken, defeated.

I wept until there were no tears left.

That night, voices outside my door roused me from a restless, painful sleep.

“Imagine being stuck guarding this weakling,” one voice sneered.

“Don’t worry,” another replied. “I guarded the last Elders’ council. They’re going to send her away soon. The council’s meeting to decide. She’ll be banished soon enough.”

I gasped.

“Good. We don’t need her here.”

“Let's leave. No use standing there, not like she can escape.”