My Luna Accused Me of Treason to Protect Her Lover

I waited until dawn to confront her. Let her think she was safe, that I was still the obedient soldier who'd swallow every lie she fed me.

She was in her chambers, brushing her hair in front of the vanity. The morning light caught the vanilla-rose scent that used to drive me wild. Now it just made my stomach turn.

I dropped the journal on her dresser. Oracle reading #99 lay on top, her handwriting stark against the cream paper.

Her hand froze mid-stroke. "You went through my things."

"Ninety-nine prophecies." My voice came out dead calm. Ash had gone silent in my chest, and that terrified me more than his rage ever could. "Ninety-nine lies about the Moon Goddess. About us."

Livia set down the brush, meeting my eyes in the mirror. No shame. No guilt. Just cold calculation. "So you know."

"I want to hear you say it." I stepped closer, and she didn't flinch. Didn't show an ounce of the fear she should've felt facing an Alpha wolf she'd betrayed. "All of it."

She turned to face me, and the mask finally dropped. Her lip curled, showing teeth. "Fine. Yes, I lied. Yes, I wanted Jax. Yes, I've been waiting five years for you to either die in that war or come back broken enough to control."

"Why keep me at all?" The question burned coming out. "Why not just reject me?"

"Because I'm not stupid, Kendrick." She stood, and her voice dripped venom. "You think I wanted to be tied to some barbaric war dog who reeks of blood and death? But you have something Jax doesn't—that Alpha aura that makes other packs think twice about challenging us. That raw power that keeps our warriors in line."

Ash stirred, a low warning growl.

"I need that," she continued, circling me like I was prey. "Jax is everything you're not—refined, cultured, modern. He understands me. But he's weak, and in this world, weakness gets you killed. So here's what's going to happen."

She stopped in front of me, tilting her chin up. "You'll remain my official mate. You'll lead the warriors, protect the pack, be the big scary Alpha everyone fears. And I'll take Jax as my lover. He'll sire my pups—I'm not breeding with damaged goods—but publicly, they'll be yours. You get to keep your precious honor, and I get the life I actually want."

The words hung in the air like poison. Ash went absolutely still.

"No." The word came out quiet. Final.

Her eyes flashed. "Excuse me?"

"I said no." I held her gaze, and for the first time, I saw uncertainty flicker across her face. "I won't be your weapon while you play house with that Omega. I won't raise another wolf's pups. I won't—"

"You'll do exactly what I tell you." Her voice rose, shrill and desperate. "Or I'll make sure everyone knows how unstable you are. How dangerous. How you attacked me in a feral rage because the war broke your mind."

"They won't believe you."

"Won't they?" She smiled, cold and sharp. "You think anyone will take the word of a traumatized soldier over the future Luna? Over the Alpha's daughter who's been consulting the Moon Goddess for guidance?"

She moved to the door, and I knew what was coming before she said it.

"Grandmother will believe me. And her word is law."

The Pack Elder's chambers smelled like silver and old authority. She sat in her high-backed chair, silver-tipped cane resting against her knee, while Livia stood beside her with tears streaming down her face. Fake tears. I could smell the lie on her.

"He attacked me," Livia sobbed. "Came into my room before dawn, raving about prophecies and betrayal. His eyes—Grandmother, his eyes weren't human. The war made him feral."

The Elder's gaze fixed on me, cold and assessing. "Is this true, Kendrick?"

"I confronted her about—"

"Did you enter her chambers uninvited?" The Command Voice cracked through the air, forcing my wolf to submit. "Did you threaten her?"

My jaw clenched. "I found evidence that—"

"Answer the question."

"Yes, I entered her chambers. No, I didn't threaten—"

The cane struck before I could finish. Silver burned across my shoulder, and Ash howled in my chest. I didn't move. Didn't fight back.

"You dare." Another strike, across my ribs. "You dare threaten the future Luna of this pack."

"I didn't—" The cane caught me across the face, and I tasted blood.

"Summon the council," the Elder commanded. "Let them see what war has made of our Head Enforcer."

They dragged me to the council chamber. Every warrior I'd trained, every wolf I'd bled for, watching as the Elder circled me like a predator.

"Kneel," she commanded.

The Alpha Voice in her words forced my knees to buckle. I hit the stone floor hard, and shame burned hotter than the silver.

"This is what happens," she announced to the assembled pack, "when we let wolves go feral. When we let war trauma go untreated. When we show mercy to those who would threaten our Luna."

The cane struck again. And again. Silver burning through my shirt, searing my skin. Each blow calculated to humiliate, not to kill.

"I will beat the feral out of you," she hissed, loud enough for everyone to hear. "I will make you the docile, obedient mate our Luna deserves. You will learn your place."

I kept my eyes on the floor. Didn't fight. Didn't speak. Just endured while my pack—my pack—watched in silence.

When she finally stopped, I was bleeding silver burns across my back and shoulders. The Elder leaned close, her voice dropping to a whisper only I could hear.

"You belong to this pack, Kendrick Harris. To Livia. You will accept whatever arrangement she offers, or I will have you declared rogue and hunted down like the animal you've become."

She straightened, addressing the council. "He will remain confined to the barracks until the Luna decides his fate. Dismissed."

They left me kneeling there, blood pooling beneath me, while Livia watched from the doorway. She didn't smile. Didn't gloat.

She just looked satisfied.

And in that moment, with silver burning in my veins and my pack's betrayal crushing my chest, something inside me finally broke.

Not my mind. Not my wolf.

My loyalty.