Chapter 106
LUNA AQUAMARINE’S POV
I wrapped my arms around myself and kept walking. Head down and just hoping I was in a long stream of nightmare.
And then I walked straight into a wall.
No–someone.
Strong hands caught me by the shoulders before I could collapse.
I looked up to see mixed–match eyes staring down at me.
Has he been standing here the whole time? Did he hear every single word Alex spat from his mouth? He didn’t move right away.
“Clifford-” I started, but my voice cracked.
He released me, slow, his jaw tightening. “That’s how he talks to you?”
I looked away, cheeks burning. “It’s
cheeks burning. “It’s none of your concern.”
“It is.” His answer came without hesitation.
My chest clenched. “Please. Not now.”
Clifford didn’t move aside.
His voice hardened. “You walked in there smiling, thinking he’d treat you well after last night.”
I shifted. Last night?
“He threw you out like a used piece of cloth.” His gaze flicked toward the guards still pretending not to have heard.
I froze, staring at the floor, unable to speak.
Clifford let out a slow breath through his nose, his voice quieter now, but sharper. “You’re the Luna. And if he drags you through the mud in front of his people, what do you think that means for mine? Don’t forget you’re in charge of the Moonstone pack. If you can’t hold your ground, then what chance do my people have?”
Before I could breathe, heavy steps came down the hall. Alexander.
He brushed past Clifford like he wasn’t even there, but then he stopped and turned his head toward me.
“Why are you still galavanting around?” His voice cut like steel. “Shouldn’t you be with Fiona?”
My chest tightened. “You were serious?”
Chapter 106
“Serious?” His jaw flexed. “You think I make jokes about this? You think I told you to apologise for fun?”
My lips parted, my throat burning. “But you know I didn’t do it. You know I didn’t send her there.”
Before he could answer, Clifford stepped forward. “She’s telling the truth. I know Fio-”
“Silence.” Alexander’s growl ripped through the hall, sharp enough that Clifford’s words died on his tongue.
Even Clifford didn’t move.
Alexander’s eyes snapped back to me, eyes flaring up. “If I get to the infirmary before you, Aqua-” He leaned closer, voice low, dangerous. “Pray I don’t.”
My heart dropped.
His eyes. His heat. His beast. It crawled over my skin, warning me, shaking me. I couldn’t stand still.
I rushed past him, my legs moving before I could think, needing to get away from that look.
That devil looks.
I pushed into the infirmary, breath still ragged from the run. My skin prickled under every stare from the healers.
Fiona sat up on the bed, bandages across her arms, her hair messy like she’d just crawled out of a nightmare. And two Elders beside her.
Her eyes widened when she saw me, then softened like she’d been waiting. “Luna…” her voice cracked, thin and trembling. “You’re here?”
I glanced at the Elders who just eyed me as if I had stolen something precious from them.
I forced myself closer, my arms folding tight across my chest so I wouldn’t shake. “Yes, you wanted me here, didn’t you?”
She blinked fast, lips quivering. “I… I didn’t mean for it to end like this.” Her head lowered, shoulders curling like she was too weak to hold herself up. “You asked me-”
“Don’t,” I snapped before she finished. My nails dug into my arms. “Don’t even start. You know I never sent you into that forest.”
Fiona’s eyes watered, a perfect tear sliding down her cheek. “But I–I wouldn’t go there on my own. You know I wouldn’t.” Her voice trembled, carrying across the room so the healers could hear. “Why would I lie?”
“Why would you lie?” I shot back, my voice rising despite myself. “Because you wanted this. You wanted him to drag me in front of everyone, to treat me like filth—” I bit the inside of my cheek, forcing my tone down before it broke into a scream. “You planned it.”
Fiona shook her head, her face twisting in hurt. “I swear to the Goddess, Luna, I didn’t.” She lifted her bandaged arms slightly, wincing like the movement pained her. “Look at me. Do you think I’d do this to myself? I haven’t been here long enough to know these things.”
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Chapter 106
.65 Voucher.
“Don’t listen to her, Fiona.” One of the Elders spoke, her hand rubbing her back. “We know the type of person. she is. She did the same to Queen Gaia-”
Heat rushed through the room before I even turned. Alexander stepped inside, eyes still angry, beast still
intact.
Fiona gasped softly, lowering her head like a wounded pup. “Primus…” she whispered, her voice breaking, “I didn’t want this… I never wanted to cause trouble. Please, I think the Luna is still angry because I couldn’t get her all that she requested.”
I gasped. “Fiona-”
“Silence.” His voice cut through me, heavy and final.
Fiona whimpered, curling into herself. “Please… I don’t want her to suffer because of me. Yes, I fully admit that I was terrible to her since she was born. But it wasn’t my fault.”
My eyes went wide. Where are all these things coming from?
Her eyes shimmered as she looked up at him, voice breaking. “Growing up we were forced to do what the Elders said- what our parents understood was best for us. I understand she’s still hurting and she can’t forgive us but…. I’m really sorry.”
Sorry?
She was sorry now?
The audacity. The disgusting, shaking voice that made her look like a saint with the Elders looking at her like she was an injured pup.
But all I wanted to do was to slap her. To shut her up. At least, that’s what Kath or Juliet would have done.
But all I did was stand there, lips pressed so tight they hurt, because if I broke–if I let it out–then she’d win.
And Alexander… Goddess, Alexander.
His silence cut worse than his words earlier. He didn’t defend me, didn’t even glance my way.
She raised her bandaged hands, wincing dramatically. “That’s why… That’s why when she gave me a note with those items on it, I went. I thought if I did this for her, maybe she’d forgive us.”
I could feel the eyes of the people in the room shifting toward me.
She dropped her gaze again, tears spilling. “But I failed her.”
But then, something she said rang in my head.
A note I supposedly gave her?
How? How could that be possible when I can’t even read or write!?
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Chapter 106
My chest suddenly felt lighter. And the pain in my head instantly dropped.
This was it this was her mistake. She’d finally slipped. If I got my hands on that paper, I could show him that it wasn’t mine.
My eyes snapped to her. “Fiona, hand me the note.” My voice cracked out before I could stop it, low but steady. “If I gave it to you, bring it out. Now.”
Fiona’s lashes fluttered, her lips parting like I’d caught her off guard. For a second, I thought she’d falter. But then her eyes glossed again, her hands trembling as she reached under her blanket.
She pulled it free, folded and worn, her fingers clutching it like it was something sacred.
“I still kept it with me,” she whispered, her voice thin and sweet, carrying across the room. “Because… it was the first time you ever asked me for anything. I thought if I held onto it, maybe one day it would mean something. Maybe one day you’d see I wasn’t your enemy.”
Her words crawled under my skin, trying to soften the edges of the lie. It made my stomach churn soo bad that her voice made my mouth taste bitter.
My hand twitched out to snatch it–proof, finally proof-
But before my fingers touched it, a larger hand closed over it.
Alexander.
He didn’t say a word. Just took it from her and held it too long, staring at it, and every second felt like a nail driven deeper into my chest.
“Do you see now?” My voice cut through the stillness. “How mistaken you were about the whole thing? How easily you believed her lies? You have proof and you know what that means.” I gritted my teeth, glare locked on him. “I swear, there is no way I’ll forgive you, Alexander.”
His eyes flicked to mine, cold fire, but I didn’t look away.
I turned on my heel toward Fiona, who sat there blinking too fast, her face pale, her lips parted in confusion. She didn’t understand how the ground had just shifted beneath her.
I shifted again, my gaze snapping to the Elder standing at the far corner of the room. His wrinkled face was tight, watchful, waiting.
“In this pack, we go by the books,” I said, every word sharp and deliberate. “A befitting punishment will be given to her for insulting the Luna and her crown.”
Gasps rippled through the healers. Murmurs spread like sparks.
“The Primus has evidence of my innocence— handed by the criminal herself.”
Fiona’s eyes widened in horror, her breath coming faster, her hands trembling where they clutched the blanket.
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Chapter 106.
“You should have found out more about me before taking this step, Fiona.” I said slowly.
But I was glad she didn’t know I couldn’t read or write. Atheist, now I would expose her pretences and lies.
Again.
“No–no, I can explain-” her voice broke, high and panicked, her body shifting like she might throw herself off the bed to beg at my feet.
Clifford moved first, his body rigid with purpose as he stepped forward, ready to drag her out and make it real.
“Touch her, and you’ll lose your limbs.” Alexander’s growl cut across the room.
