The Luna they buried

Chapter 1: The Execution Grounds "Traitor!" The accusation cracked through the air like a whip, a roar followed, then another, then another, until "Traitor!" echoed from every direction and the voices became one deafening sound, a storm of hatred determined to tear me apart before the executioner touched me. I stumbled as the guards dragged me forward. The iron chains wrapped around my wrists bit into my skin, scraping flesh with every step, but the pain barely registered, because there were too many other things demanding my attention: the cold, the fear, the disbelief, and the crushing weight of a thousand eyes fixed on me. I lifted my head. The execution grounds stretched before me beneath a gray sky, packed with members of Silver Moon Pack: warriors stood shoulder to shoulder around the raised platform, elders occupied the front rows, women clutched their children close, and not one face showed sympathy. I searched the crowd desperately, frantically, my gaze sweeping across hundreds of faces until it found the only one that mattered: Damon, my mate, my Alpha, the man who had once held my face between his hands and sworn that no force would ever harm me while he still breathed. The sight of him stole what little air remained in my lungs. He stood beside the council platform, tall and imposing in black ceremonial clothing, and he wouldn't look at me. My heart lurched. "Damon." The word escaped before I could stop it. His jaw tightened. Nothing else: no reaction, no concern, no recognition, as though I were a stranger, nothing at all. The guards forced me onto my knees, the impact rattling through my body, and a murmur swept through the crowd, barely heard, my attention snagged on another figure only a few feet from Damon: long blonde hair, blue eyes glistening with tears, a white cloak draped over her shoulders. Vivian, my best friend, who had shared my secrets and comforted me when my parents died, the woman I had trusted with everything. She pressed a trembling hand against her chest when our eyes met, and for a moment hope surged through me. Finally, someone who would speak, someone who would tell them the truth, someone who would stop this nightmare. "Vivian," I called, my voice cracking. "Tell them." She looked away, and the hope died instantly. A cold sensation spread through my chest. No, no, not her, not Vivian. The realization hit harder than any blade could. The friend I trusted most had abandoned me. The crowd fell silent as Elder Magnus stepped forward, the oldest member of the council, looking at me with open disgust. "Selena Ravenwood." His voice echoed across the grounds. "You stand accused of treason against Silver Moon Pack, conspiracy with enemy forces, and the murder of seven warriors." Gasps rippled through the audience. I squeezed my eyes shut. Seven warriors, seven innocent men: every death blamed on me, every piece of evidence pointing toward me, every witness testifying against me, none of it true. "I didn't do it," I said, though the words sounded weak to my own ears. Magnus continued as though I had never spoken. "The council has reviewed all evidence and reached a unanimous decision." The crowd leaned forward. I looked at Damon, silently pleading with him to speak, but his gaze remained fixed on the horizon. The bond connecting us pulsed weakly inside my chest, and after weeks of feeling it fade, it now felt like a dying heartbeat. Magnus raised his hand. "Before sentencing is carried out, Alpha Damon Blackwood has requested the right to speak." Relief flooded through me so suddenly that tears burned behind my eyes. Finally, my mate was going to stop this. He had to. Damon stepped forward, and the crowd fell silent. Even after everything, his presence commanded attention, power rolling from him: the same power that had once made me feel safe, the same power that now terrified me. His dark eyes settled on me for the first time in weeks, and my heart broke at what I found there: nothing, no love, no warmth, no affection, only disappointment. "Selena Ravenwood." His deep voice echoed across the grounds. I swallowed hard. "Damon—" "You will address me as Alpha." The correction landed like a slap, and a stunned silence followed; even the crowd seemed surprised. My mouth slowly closed: Alpha, not mate, not Selena, not the woman he had promised forever, just another member of the pack. Tears blurred my vision, but still I refused to look away, because somewhere beneath all this madness, I still believed he knew me, loved me, and that the truth mattered. "You know I didn't do this," I whispered. His expression never changed. "I know exactly what you've done." The ground seemed to vanish beneath me, a ringing sound filling my ears. No, he couldn't believe it, not Damon, anyone but him. "You can't mean that." His gaze hardened. "The evidence is overwhelming." "The evidence was fabricated." "You had access to classified information." "I was Luna." "You met with enemy representatives." "I negotiated peace agreements." "You lied to this pack." My hands trembled. Every explanation sounded guilty when twisted the way they had twisted mine, every truth turned into a weapon by someone who had orchestrated it. I looked toward Vivian again, and she lowered her eyes. Coward. A sharp pain twisted inside my chest, not from the accusations, the crowd, or even the chains, but from betrayal. The deepest wound always came from the people closest to you. Damon took another step forward, yet the distance between us felt endless. "The council has reached a verdict." Fear clawed up my throat. No, this wasn't happening, it couldn't be. I opened my mouth, then froze. A strange wave of nausea rolled through me, and my hand moved toward my stomach. The tiny life growing inside me, my child, our child, had become my last reason to fight. I hadn't told him yet; the accusations had come too quickly, the trial had moved too fast. But maybe everything could still change, maybe if Damon knew. My heart pounded. "Damon, wait." He stopped, and for the first time all morning, uncertainty flickered across his face. I seized it. "There's something you need to know." The crowd exchanged confused looks, and Magnus frowned. "What game is this now?" "It's not a game." I looked directly at Damon, only Damon, because this mattered only to him, only to us. My voice shook. "I'm pregnant." The words barely left my mouth before chaos erupted. Gasps exploded across the execution grounds, and pure shock flashed across Damon's face. For one glorious second, hope returned. Then someone laughed, a soft laugh, a familiar laugh. Vivian stepped forward. "Oh, Selena." My blood turned cold. She sounded almost sympathetic. Almost. "You should have told them the entire story." Every instinct in my body screamed danger. "What are you talking about?" Tears shimmered in her eyes, perfectly placed, perfectly timed. "You're carrying a child," she said softly. The crowd leaned in. Damon stared at her, confused. "Vivian?" She lowered her gaze. "The child isn't Damon's." Silence. Absolute silence. The world stopped spinning, stopped breathing, stopped existing. I stared at her, unable to comprehend what I had just heard. Then realization slammed into me. She had planned all of it: every accusation, every lie, every betrayal. And now she was stealing the last thing I had left. I looked toward Damon. His face had gone still, too still, like the calm before a storm. The bond between us trembled, and for the first time since arriving at the execution grounds, true fear wrapped its fingers around my heart, because as I stared into my mate's eyes, I realized one horrifying thing. What if he believed her?