The Laughingstock Luna: Alpha's Late Tears Worth Nothing

ASTERIA’S POV

Days passed, I sat in the Luna’s office, staring at the stack of reports I hadn’t touched all morning. The words blurred together on the page, my mind too clouded to focus. Mara had been relentless lately, finding every possible way to undercut my authority in front of the pack. And Claude… he didn’t care. Why would he? He never did.

The familiar creak of the door opening caught my attention. I didn’t need to look up to know it was Mara. Her scent, sickly sweet and overwhelming, filled the room before she even spoke.

“Luna,” she purred, her voice dripping with false sweetness. “I hope I’m not interrupting.”

I gritted my teeth. The title she used was meant to mock me, not respect me. She knew just as well as I did that Claude had stripped me of any real power in this pack.

“What do you want, Mara?” I asked, keeping my voice steady, though my patience was hanging by a thread.

She slithered closer, her fingers grazing the edge of the desk. “I just thought you should know... some of the pack members are questioning your leadership. You’ve been... distant.” Her eyes glinted with malice, though she pretended to be concerned. “And we can’t have a Luna who’s too weak to perform her duties, can we?”

I set the report down, my hands tightening into fists in my lap. She was baiting me, as usual. I should’ve ignored her, but the constant jabs were becoming unbearable. Mara had spent months planting seeds of doubt among the pack, whispering that I wasn’t fit to lead, that I wasn’t worthy of the title of Luna. All while flaunting her closeness with Claude.

“Is there something specific you’re getting at?” I asked coldly.

Mara gave a dramatic sigh, pacing around the room like a predator circling its prey. “It’s just that the pack needs a strong leader—someone they can look up to. Someone who’s always present. You’ve been… absent lately. Perhaps it’s time you stepped aside.”

There it was, the real reason she was here. She wanted me out of the way. And she was getting bolder by the day.

I stood from my chair, my body shaking with suppressed rage. “You’ve made it clear you think you’d be a better Luna, Mara. But that’s not your choice to make.”

She smirked, taking another step closer. “Maybe not mine. But Alpha Claude’s?”

That name—his name—was like a trigger. The man who was supposed to be my mate, the Alpha I had once rejected, now took pleasure in my misery. I had sacrificed everything for my pack, and yet here I was, mocked and belittled in my own home. And Claude—he—allowed it.

Before I could respond, Mara suddenly gasped, stumbling back as if I had struck her. Her hand flew to her cheek, eyes wide in mock horror.

“Oh!” she exclaimed, her voice high-pitched and trembling. “How could you, Luna?”

I blinked, completely taken aback. “What?”

“You… you hit me!” she cried, her hand still clutching her face, as if nursing an invisible wound.

A cold chill ran down my spine. I hadn’t even moved. I hadn’t laid a finger on her.

“Mara, I didn’t—”

The door flew open, and Claude stormed in, his face set in stone. His eyes flicked between me and Mara, narrowing as they settled on me.

“What’s going on here?” he demanded, his voice sharp.

Mara immediately ran to him, throwing herself into his arms. “Luna,” she whimpered, “she hit me. I only came to help, and she—she attacked me!”

I stood frozen in place, my heart pounding in my chest. “That’s not true. I didn’t touch her.”

Claude’s gaze turned icy as he looked at me, disbelief and disgust swirling in his eyes. “Again, Asteria?”

I felt the ground shift beneath me, the weight of his accusation crashing down like a hammer. “Alpha, I swear, she’s lying.”

But his expression didn’t change. He pulled Mara closer, his fingers brushing her hair as if comforting her. “Why would she lie, Asteria? Mara has never caused trouble in this pack. You, on the other hand…”

The knot in my chest tightened, making it hard to breathe. Of course, he’d believe her. He always did. It didn’t matter what I said or did; in Claude’s eyes, I was always the villain. Always wrong.

“I didn’t touch her,” I repeated, my voice quieter this time, though the rage simmered beneath the surface. “You know I wouldn’t.”

His eyes flicked to mine, and for a split second, I thought I saw hesitation, a flicker of doubt. But it vanished as quickly as it came.

“Apologize to Mara,” he said flatly.

I stared at him, the room spinning around me. Apologize? To her? After everything she’d done to me? After all the nights I spent in this pack, alone and abandoned by my own mate while Mara flaunted herself around him? Now he wanted me to apologize?

“No,” I said, the word slipping from my mouth before I could stop it.

Claude’s face hardened. “What did you say?”

“I said no,” I repeated, louder this time. “I won’t apologize for something I didn’t do. And I won’t let you humiliate me any longer.”

The air in the room crackled with tension, the final barrier between us shattered. For the first time, I stood tall, refusing to back down.

I’d rather leave than lower myself to that woman.