Rejected Luna's Vengeance

The one who dared to lay a hand on me was Josue Williams.

The pack members didn’t dare say it outright, but in the entire pack, only Josue had the audacity to defy me.

He didn’t have the courage to face me himself. Instead, he sent his Beta to deliver a decree, posthumously honoring Aylani Jackson with the title of "Great Luna Princess."

I tore the decree to shreds using the golden necklace Josue had once gifted me.

The hall fell silent, the pack members kneeling in terror, their heads bowed. The tension was thick until Josue finally arrived.

“Miranda,” he began, his voice measured but tinged with impatience, “Aylani is gone. If this isn’t enough, I can grant her an even more prestigious title.”

“What if I kill Lilah Pierce and then grant her the title of Luna? How would that sit with you?”

Josue fell silent.

“I want them to pay with their lives.”

“That’s impossible.”

“Fine.”

My reply came too quickly, and Josue was caught off guard, his head snapping up to meet my gaze.

“What did you say?”

“I said, ‘Fine.’”

I would do this my own way.

I forbade anyone from holding a memorial for Aylani. They had no right to mourn her. Then I sent my warriors to reclaim everything that had ever belonged to her.

Ali Lee stood in their way, his claws extended, his eyes blazing with defiance.

Lilah knelt nearby, her teeth biting into her lower lip, silent and trembling.

With a mere wave of my hand, my warriors flooded the room, forcing Ali to his knees, the impact of his bones against the marble floor echoing through the hall.

Years ago, he had knelt before me just like this, begging for my blessing to mate with Aylani.

When I discovered their secret bond, I had forbidden them from seeing each other, fearing for Aylani’s reputation. Ali had knelt in front of the entire pack, pleading with me to allow their union.

Without my approval, even his close ties to Josue couldn’t secure him a mating decree.

Back then, I had asked Aylani,

“If you mate with him, you can never go back.”

Her cheeks had flushed.

“Miranda,” she had said, her voice steady, “he promised me he would never take another mate. I want to believe him.”

“And if he’s wrong?”

“Then I’ll live with the consequences.”

Aylani had always appeared delicate, but beneath that soft exterior was a mind as sharp as claws and a will as unyielding as steel. I had learned that firsthand.

Her determination to choose Ali had been as fierce as her resolve to leave him when the time came.

When we were younger, she had always taught me, “The best victory is one won without bloodshed.”