the vengeful luna

chapter 3

The pain was caused by a cheating mate

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They didn’t even know I was standing there. My whole body felt like it was floating, like I was a ghost watching from the shadows as my world crumbled into pieces right before my eyes. My breath hitched, stuck somewhere in my throat, and I could feel Ash, my wolf, stirring inside me. Her fury was like a tidal wave, rising fast and unstoppable. She wanted out. She wanted to tear them apart, to unleash the wrath that was building in my chest, but I held her back. Just barely.

I couldn’t keep it together. My legs were trembling, my vision blurred with tears I fought to hold back. But more than anything, I felt a searing pain deep in my chest—a betrayal so sharp it was like I’d been stabbed. I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood, but it didn’t stop the tears from spilling over.

I didn’t know how long I stood there, rooted in place, my mind spinning with a thousand thoughts. *How could they do this?* Dylan, the man I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with, the one I trusted more than anyone—*and my sister*? The disbelief was overwhelming, crashing over me in waves that left me breathless. It was all I could do to hold myself together, to keep from breaking down right there.

But finally, I couldn’t stay silent any longer. My voice cracked, thick with the storm of emotions swirling inside me. “What the hell is going on here?”

The sound of my voice sliced through the air, and Dylan froze, his eyes widening in shock as he finally realized I was there. His whole body went rigid, like a child caught doing something they knew was wrong. He scrambled off the bed, his movements frantic and uncoordinated, stumbling over his words as he tried to explain. “Morwenna, please, it’s not what it looks like! I—”

But before he could finish, Dorothy—my own sister—turned to face me. Her expression was cold, her eyes filled with nothing but disdain. She didn’t even flinch, didn’t show a shred of remorse. In fact, her lips curled into a cruel smirk that made my stomach turn. “You’re such a fool, Morwenna,” she sneered, her voice dripping with venom. “Did you really think you could ever keep a man like Dylan satisfied? You’re weak, pathetic. You deserve less than nothing.”

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut, knocking the wind out of me. My knees buckled, and I had to grip the doorframe to keep myself from collapsing. Ash was roaring inside, clawing at me, demanding to be let out, to take control and make them both pay. But I couldn’t—I wouldn’t give Dorothy the satisfaction of seeing me lose control. Instead, I did the only thing I could think of. I walked up to her, my hand trembling, and slapped her as hard as I could.

The sound echoed in the room, sharp and startling, but it didn’t give me the satisfaction I thought it would. It felt empty, like it barely made a dent in the fury that was burning inside me.

Dorothy’s eyes blazed with fury, and before I could react, she slapped me back, the sting of it burning across my cheek. I stumbled, catching myself against the bedpost. “How dare you!” she hissed, her voice low and menacing, full of a hatred that I couldn’t even begin to understand. “You think you can waltz in here and play the victim? You’re nothing, Morwenna. Always have been, always will be.”

I pressed a hand to my cheek, feeling the heat of her slap radiating beneath my fingertips. The pain was unbearable—not just the physical sting, but the deeper ache in my heart. The tears I had been holding back finally broke free, streaming down my face as I choked out the words, “I want the mating ceremony canceled.” My voice trembled, thick with the tears that wouldn’t stop falling. “It’s off. I can’t do this.”

For a moment, there was nothing but silence, a heavy, suffocating silence that pressed down on me from all sides. Then, something shifted in Dylan’s demeanor. The pleading, desperate man I had seen just moments before was gone, replaced by someone cold, someone dangerous. His eyes darkened, and in an instant, he was in front of me, grabbing me by the arms and slamming me against the wall.

The impact knocked the breath out of me, and I gasped, my vision flashing white for a moment as I struggled to comprehend what was happening. Dylan’s grip tightened painfully on my arms, his fingers digging into my skin like iron claws. His face was inches from mine, his breath hot and harsh against my skin. “You’re not canceling anything,” he growled, his voice low and menacing, a cold fury simmering just beneath the surface. “You don’t get to ruin this for me, Morwenna. Not after everything.”

I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. My heart pounded wildly in my chest, and for a moment, I was paralyzed by fear. This wasn’t the Dylan I thought I knew. This was someone else entirely—a stranger, a monster.

Ash’s voice broke through the haze, filled with anger and desperation. *“Morwenna, fight back! Don’t let him do this to you! You’re stronger than this!”*

But I couldn’t. I couldn’t find the strength to fight, not with everything I had just seen, just heard. My whole world had come crashing down around me, and I was drowning in the aftermath, too shocked, too broken to do anything but stare into Dylan’s cold, unfeeling eyes.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Dylan released me. I stumbled, nearly falling as I caught myself against the wall, my legs trembling so badly I could barely stand. My arms throbbed where his hands had been, bruises already forming under my skin. But the physical pain was nothing compared to the agony in my heart.

For a moment, we just stared at each other, the air between us thick with tension and unspoken words. Then, without a word, I turned and ran, my heart pounding in my ears as I fled the room. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think.

*“Morwenna, slow down!”* Ash’s voice was frantic, but I couldn’t listen. I was too caught up in my own fear, my own pain.

I didn’t stop until I reached my car, my breath coming in ragged gasps. I fumbled with the keys, my hands shaking so badly I could barely unlock the door. But I finally managed to get in, slamming the door shut behind me as if that could somehow keep the world out, keep the pain at bay. I rested my forehead against the steering wheel, sobs wracking my body as I finally let it all out.

*“I’m so sorry, Ash,”* I whispered through my tears. *“I should have listened to you. I should have been stronger.”*

Ash was silent for a moment, her presence a comforting warmth in the back of my mind. *“It’s not your fault, Morwenna. None of this is your fault. We’ll get through this, together. You’re not alone.”*

Her words were a lifeline, something to hold onto in the midst of the storm. But even as I clung to her, the pain was still there, a deep, gnawing ache that refused to go away. I didn’t know how I was going to face the future, didn’t know how I was going to move on from this. All I knew was that everything had changed, and there was no going back.

With a trembling hand, I wiped away my tears and turned the key in the ignition. The engine roared to life, a sound that seemed far too loud in the silence that had settled over me. I couldn’t stay here. Not with the ghosts of what had just happened haunting me. So I drove, the darkness of the night closing in around me as I disappeared.

The drive to the bar was a blur, my mind racing with everything that had just happened. By the time I stumbled inside, my hands were shaking so badly that I could barely hold the door open. The dim lights and the low hum of conversation were a welcome distraction from the chaos in my head.

I collapsed onto a barstool, waving the bartender over with a shaky hand. “Whiskey,” I mumbled. “And keep ‘em coming.”

He raised an eyebrow but didn’t argue, sliding a glass of amber liquid across the counter. I downed it in one gulp, the burn in my throat a welcome distraction from the pain in my chest. For a while, I just sat there, staring into my glass, letting the alcohol numb the edges of my thoughts.

“Rough night?” the bartender asked, leaning on the counter as he refilled my glass.

“You could say that,” I muttered, taking another drink. “Ever had one of those days where you find out your fiancé is screwing your sister the night before your wedding? No? Just me?”

He let out a low whistle, shaking his head. “That’s some serious s**t right there. You sure you want to be drinking your problems away? Doesn’t usually end well, you know.”

I shrugged, the alcohol already making my thoughts fuzzy. “Don’t care. Just need to forget for a little while.”

We talked for a bit—well, I talked, and he listened, occasionally nodding or offering some vague bit of advice that I promptly ignored. By the time Sandra showed up, I was well past tipsy and heading straight for drunk.

“Morwenna!” she called out, rushing over to me. “What the hell are you doing here? You’re supposed to be at home, resting for tomorrow!”

I laughed, the sound bitter even to my own ears. “Yeah, well, tomorrow’s not looking too promising right now. Why don’t you just leave me alone, Sandra? I’m fine.”

But she didn’t listen, of course. She never did. Instead, she grabbed my arm and practically dragged me off the barstool. “You need to get out of here before you do something you’ll regret.”

I tried to resist, but in my drunken state, I was no match for her. She was saying a lot of things—something about hearing what happened, how sorry she was, and that tomorrow was still going to be a good day, but it all sounded like nonsense to me. Like she was speaking a language I didn’t understand.

By the time we reached my place, I could barely keep my eyes open. Sandra was still talking, her words slurred together in my mind, but I couldn’t make sense of them. All I knew was that my heart felt like it had been shattered into a million pieces, and no amount of whiskey was going to put it back together.

“Morwenna, listen to me,” Sandra said, her voice softer now, almost pleading. “I know you’re hurt, but you have to stay strong. Tomorrow’s the wedding, and you need to—”

“Tomorrow can go to hell,” I muttered, cutting her off. I could barely keep my eyes open, and the room was spinning, but I managed to stumble into bed. The last thing I heard before I passed out was Sandra’s voice, still trying to convince me that everything was going to be okay.

But deep down, I knew nothing would ever be okay again.