The Luna's Hidden Moon King

Chapter15: The Trap

Bianca could feel her grip slipping.

The whispers about Brittany had not faded; they had grown louder, spreading through the pack like wildfire. Every glance, every hushed conversation reminded her that her perfect image was cracking. Wolves who once hung on her every word now looked uncertain, hesitant, even wary. She had spent years building her reputation, the perfect Luna‑in‑waiting, the Alpha’s favorite, the strongest female in the pack. But now? Now they whispered about Brittany. Brittany, the basement rat. Brittany, the nobody. Brittany, the girl Bianca had spent years crushing under her heel. And still… Brittany was rising.

Bianca’s jaw clenched. Her nails dug into her palms until they stung. She needed to destroy Brittany once and for all. She needed to remind the pack who she was. She needed to make Brittany break.

That evening, Bianca stepped into the center of the training grounds, her posture tall, her chin lifted, her voice sharp enough to cut through the chatter. The pack was gathering for evening drills, but Bianca’s presence instantly shifted the air. Conversations died. Heads turned. Even the instructors paused mid‑command. “I’m issuing a challenge,” she announced. The pack froze.

Challenges were rare. Public challenges were almost unheard of. And Bianca, the pack’s golden girl, never issued them unless she wanted blood. Wolves exchanged glances, excitement and fear mixing in their eyes. A few whispered urgently, already sensing something dangerous in the air.

“If she thinks she’s strong,” Bianca continued, her voice ringing out, “then let her prove it. Let her fight.”

Her gaze swept the crowd, daring anyone to object. No one did. Not with Drew standing behind her, arms crossed, expression unreadable. His presence alone made wolves straighten and fall silent.

Bianca’s smile sharpened. She had the pack’s attention. Now she needed Brittany’s humiliation.

Brittany stood near the laundry station, clutching a stack of towels. Her breath caught as every head turned toward her. She felt exposed, cornered, trapped. She hadn’t asked for this. She hadn’t wanted to be seen.

Bellatrix’s voice surged inside her, fierce and unyielding. 'Do not bow. Do not break. You are mine.'

Bianca lifted her chin. “Brittany. Step forward.” A ripple of whispers moved through the crowd.

“She won’t do it.” “She’s terrified.” “Bianca’s going to crush her.” “No… look at her eyes.”

Brittany swallowed hard. Her legs felt heavy, but she forced herself to move. Each step felt like walking into fire. Wolves parted for her, some with curiosity, others with fear. A few lowered their eyes, not out of respect for Bianca, but for Brittany.

Bianca’s smirk faltered for a heartbeat before she recovered. “Perfect. Let’s make this fair.”

She gestured toward one of the strongest trainees, a boy twice Brittany’s size, broad‑shouldered, cruel‑eyed, eager to please Bianca. He stepped forward with a grin that made Brittany’s stomach twist. “Show her what happens when rats pretend to be wolves,” Bianca sneered. The boy cracked his knuckles. “Gladly.”

Brittany’s pulse hammered. She didn’t want to fight. She didn’t want to hurt anyone. She didn’t want to reveal more of Bellatrix. But she couldn’t back down. Not now. Not with the entire pack watching.

The boy circled her, smirking. “You should’ve stayed in the basement.”

Brittany didn’t answer. Her throat felt tight. Her palms were damp. Her legs felt too light, too shaky.

Bellatrix growled inside her. 'He is nothing. You are everything.'

The boy lunged. He moved fast, faster than Brittany expected, but her body reacted before her mind could catch up. She ducked under his strike, pivoted, and caught his arm. Her grip tightened instinctively, and she twisted, sending him sprawling across the ground with a force that shocked even her.

Gasps rippled through the crowd, louder this time, sharper, carrying disbelief. A few wolves stepped closer, craning their necks to see better. Others exchanged startled glances, whispering behind their hands. “She moved like that?” “No omega moves like that.”

“That wasn’t training… that was instinct.”

Bianca’s eyes widened for a split second before she forced her expression back into a smirk. “Lucky shot,” she snapped, her voice too tight to sound convincing. “Do it again.” The boy scrambled to his feet, cheeks flushed with humiliation. He glared at Brittany, anger twisting his features. “You think you’re special now?” he growled. “You think you’re better than us?”

Brittany didn’t answer. She couldn’t. Her heart was pounding too hard, her breath too shallow. She felt Bellatrix pacing inside her, restless, eager, pushing against her ribs like a caged storm. 'He is not worthy,' Bellatrix hissed. 'End this!'

But Brittany didn’t want to end anything. She didn’t want to hurt him. She didn’t want to be here. She didn’t want the pack staring at her like she was a monster or a miracle.

The boy charged again, faster, angrier, his movements fueled by embarrassment. Brittany’s body reacted before her mind could catch up. She dodged left, spun, and caught his arm. Her grip tightened. His momentum shifted. And she threw him again, harder this time.

He hit the ground with a thud that echoed across the training grounds.

A collective gasp rose from the pack. Wolves stepped back instinctively, their eyes widening, their bodies tensing. Even the instructors paused, their expressions shifting from curiosity to something closer to caution.

Bianca’s smirk faltered again. Her fingers curled into fists. “Get up!” she barked at the boy. “She’s nothing! Get up!”

But the boy didn’t move right away. He stared at Brittany like he didn’t recognize her, like she wasn’t the girl he used to shove in hallways or mock during drills. “She’s… strong,” he whispered, voice trembling.

Bianca’s face twisted. “She’s dangerous,” she corrected sharply. “She’s mentally unstable. She’s pretending.”

But the pack wasn’t looking at Bianca anymore. They were looking at Brittany. At her steady stance. Her glowing eyes and the aura beginning to pulse around her like a heartbeat.

Whispers spread like wildfire. “She’s not pretending.” “That wasn’t luck; it was the power they felt.”

Bianca’s throat bobbed as she swallowed hard, panic flickering across her features; she had wanted a spectacle she could command, not one that lifted Brittany into the center of the pack’s rising attention and left her standing on the outside looking in.

The boy lunged again, desperate, but Brittany caught his wrist mid‑strike. Her fingers tightened. His knees buckled.

“Stop,” he choked. But Brittany wasn’t the one holding him down. Bellatrix was.

A pulse of power surged through Brittany’s veins, hot and electric. Her aura erupted, adiant, fierce, almost hypnotic. It shimmered around her, pressing against the crowd like a storm breaking free. Wolves stumbled back, instincts screaming. The boy on the ground stared up at her, wide‑eyed, too stunned to rise.

Bianca’s smirk shattered. Fear flickered across her face, her confidence unraveling. She took a step back, her breath catching.

“She’s dangerous!” Bianca shouted, voice trembling. “She’s not one of us!”

But the pack wasn’t laughing.

They were watching Brittany, their whispers louder than Bianca’s cries, their eyes wide, their instincts shifting.

Drew stepped forward, gaze fixed on Brittany. He didn’t speak, but his silence carried weight. His jaw tightened. His eyes darkened. Something in him recognized what Brittany was becoming.

Edward and Henry exchanged uneasy glances, shaken by the force they had witnessed. Wolves who once mocked her now stared at her with fear… and something dangerously close to respect.

Bianca stormed forward, her face twisted with rage. “This isn’t over! She cheated! She...”

“No,” Drew said quietly. Bianca froze. Drew’s eyes stayed locked on Brittany. “She didn’t cheat.” “But...” Bianca’s mouth opened, then closed. Her face flushed red. Her hands shook. “She won,” Drew spoke firmly, leaving no room for argument.

The pack murmured, shifting, whispering, watching. Bianca felt it, the shift, the loss, the fracture. She fell into the trap she set for Brittany.

That night, back in the basement, Brittany collapsed onto her cot. Her hands shook. Her heart still raced. Her body felt too warm, too alive, too full of something she didn’t understand. “They saw everything,” she whispered. 'Good,' Bellatrix answered, fierce and certain. 'The trap was theirs. The victory was yours. Soon, they will know who you are.' Brittany pressed a hand to her chest, feeling Bellatrix’s certainty settle through her bones.

Moonlight poured through the small basement window, silver and soft, brushing her skin like a whisper from something far beyond the pack. It hummed with a pull she didn’t understand, a pull that felt ancient, deliberate, waiting.

The pack had seen her wolf unleashed.

But somewhere out there, someone far more powerful would see and feel her too.