Chapter 2

Once I was certain Josiah and Estella had left, the tremors began—deep, violent shudders that crawled beneath my skin and twisted in my bones. The poison was still at war within me.

I had sealed off my wolf's energy channels using the techniques my mother had taught me in secret. It was the only reason I was still alive. But even with that protection, the cold lingered. Not just in my flesh, but in my soul.

Outside my quarters, the Silver Fang Pack celebrated a new beginning. Fireworks lit the sky. Laughter echoed. The pack rejoiced in ignorance, unaware they were feasting over the corpse of their true Luna.

That night, Estella visited.

She entered like a queen, draped in the ceremonial Luna gown—my gown. The same one I had worn when an arrow pierced my chest. Her perfume, sweet and cloying, filled the room like poison.

She stood beside my bed, fingers grazing the silk of her dress. "Aitana," she said softly, her voice thick with mock sympathy. "Did you ever imagine it would come to this?"

She leaned in closer, lips curling. "This was meant for you. But now it's mine."

I remained still, forcing my heartbeat to stay steady. I couldn't give her the satisfaction of knowing I was awake.

"All those years you waited for him like a fool," she sneered, brushing imaginary dust from her sleeve. "You believed in fated mates. You actually thought he loved you."

She let out a low laugh. "You were the perfect little Luna-in-training. Pretty, obedient, naive. But wolves like Josiah? They don't love. They conquer."

Her words twisted into my chest like a second arrow.

Then something shifted in her tone—just a flicker, but enough to catch my attention.

"He believes me," she whispered, almost to herself. "He trusts me completely."

A pause. "For now."

The implication was clear. Estella's ambition didn't stop with becoming Luna. She didn't love Josiah. She was using him. And he was too blinded by his pride to see it.

I wanted to scream. To rise and tear her apart. But not yet.

Josiah had knelt before my father, the Beta of Blue Moon Pack, and promised to care for me—even if I never woke. That sham of a gesture had been enough to convince my father to allow Estella into the pack as Josiah's chosen mate. The pack had hailed him as a devoted Alpha. They believed their Luna-to-be was blessed.

Let them believe it. Let them play their game.

I would burn the whole illusion to the ground.

Five days passed.

On the sixth, Josiah and Estella left for a private pack run. The guards outside my room rotated. For the first time since the ceremony, I was alone with Amos.

He entered quietly, shoulders tense, his face pale with guilt. "Aitana," he whispered. "If you can hear me… I'm sorry. I should have stopped him. I should have protected you."

I wanted to open my eyes, to comfort him, to scream the truth. But I couldn't risk it. Not yet.

He pulled out a vial of golden liquid. "This is the antidote. It won't restore your wolf completely, but it will give you strength. Enough to survive."

The prick of the needle was soft, but the warmth that followed was a rush of fire through my veins. For the first time in days, I felt something other than cold.

"This is all I can do now," Amos murmured. "But when you wake… stay away from Josiah and Estella. They are poison. And they will try to finish what they started."

Footsteps echoed from the hallway.

A Delta entered—Josiah's spy. Amos quickly removed the needle, tucking the evidence away. The woman's sharp eyes scanned the room. Satisfied, she left.

That night, Brynn came to shift my position. She was one of the few who hadn't turned her back on me. As she leaned over, I seized her wrist with trembling fingers.

Her gasp was sharp, but I clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Brynn," I whispered, barely audible. The Delta outside stirred.

"I-I tripped," Brynn called, voice shaky.

The Delta grunted and moved on.

Brynn's eyes were wide with tears as I traced words on her palm. I couldn't speak more. Not yet. But she understood.

Five days later, chaos erupted.

Brynn had been caught "passing information." Estella had her dragged before the council. They beat her, whipped her, searching for some confession.

She gave them nothing.

Josiah, ever the noble Alpha, intervened just in time. He found only an old letter in Brynn's belongings. No evidence of betrayal. Still, he exiled her for three days—to "visit her family."

Fools.

The Delta? Estella's spy. The fire? Their final move.

That night, flames devoured my quarters.

By dawn, the structure was a blackened skeleton. They found a body inside—burned beyond recognition. The Silver Fang Pack mourned. A vigil was held. Josiah wept for his "fallen mate."

But I was already gone.

Wrapped in a cloak, riding beneath a moonless sky, I vanished into the wild.

Let Josiah have his lies.

Let Estella wear her stolen crown.

Let them bask in victory.

Because now, the true Luna had no name.

And no chains.