PAEDYN NOVA
It was happening!
I knew today would be hard, but I didn’t know it would feel like someone was ripping my chest open, slowly, with their bare hands.
The sun was too bright. The air too cheerful. The whole pack buzzed like something worth celebrating was happening.
And I was supposed to pretend like I wasn’t dying inside.
Junie was the first to say it out loud.
“They're really doing it,” she said beside me, fixing her shawl around her shoulders. “He’s making her Luna… officially.”
I laughed softly. Not because it was funny… but because denial was easier when it sounded like a joke.
“You believe that?” I asked, trying to sound bored. “Cardan would never…”
“He would,” Junie cut in gently. “He already has. I heard the council rehearsing the ceremonial vows.”
I froze.
