Rebellion
1245 Words
[Araya's POV]
The words echo through the courtyard, bouncing off the stone walls and slamming into Araya's chest.
"Therefore, I am naming Serenya Vale as the new Luna of the Drevyn Pack."
The pack erupts in whispers and gasps. Some wolves bow their heads to Serenya immediately. Others look uncertain, glancing between Araya and Jasper.
Serenya's smile is radiant, triumphant. She steps closer to Jasper, her hand sliding into his. The gesture is possessive, claiming what was never hers to take.
Araya stands frozen in the center of the circle. Her body trembles. Her hands press against her stomach, protecting the child that no one believes is real.
Everything inside her screams to run. To collapse. To give up.
But something else stirs beneath the pain. Something hot and furious that refuses to be silenced.
The elder priest steps forward, his voice carrying across the courtyard. "The Alpha has spoken. Let the pack witness the naming of our new Luna. Serenya Vale, step forward."
Serenya releases Jasper's hand and moves gracefully toward the center of the circle, her green silk dress flowing around her. She stops beside Araya, close enough that Araya can smell her perfume, sweet and cloying.
"Move aside, sister," Serenya whispers, her voice dripping with false kindness. "This is my moment now."
Araya's breath catches. Her vision blurs with tears, but beneath the tears, something else burns. Rage. Pure, unfiltered rage.
"No," Araya says quietly.
Serenya's smile falters. "What?"
"I said no." Araya's voice is louder now, steady despite the trembling in her hands.
The whispers in the pack grow louder. Wolves turn to look at Araya, their eyes wide with shock.
Serenya's expression hardens. "Don't make this harder than it needs to be, Araya. Just step aside and accept your fate."
"Accept my fate?" Araya's voice rises, sharp and cutting. "You mean accept being cast out while you steal everything I had? While you pretend to be innocent when we both know you planned this from the start?"
Gasps ripple through the crowd.
Serenya's face flushes with anger. "How dare you accuse me. I've done nothing but try to help you."
"Help me?" Araya laughs, the sound bitter and broken. "You've been working against me since the moment I arrived. Whispering poison in Jasper's ear. Spreading lies about me. Turning the pack against me. And now you want to stand here and pretend you're the victim?"
The pack is silent now, every eye fixed on the two women in the center of the circle.
Serenya's jaw tightens. "You're delusional. You've brought this on yourself with your lies and your desperation."
"The only liar here is you," Araya says, her voice shaking with fury. "You wanted this position from the beginning. You wanted Jasper. And you were willing to destroy me to get it."
Serenya takes a step back, her expression shifting to one of wounded innocence. She turns to the pack, her voice soft and pleading. "Do you hear how she speaks to me? Her own sister? This is exactly why she's unfit to be Luna. She's unstable. Unhinged."
Some wolves nod in agreement. Others look uncertain.
Araya's chest heaves. She looks past Serenya to where Jasper stands on the platform, watching the scene unfold with cold, detached eyes.
"And you," Araya says, her voice breaking as she addresses Jasper. "You stand there and let this happen. You know the truth. You know this child is yours. But you're too proud to admit it. Too afraid to stand up to her."
Jasper's expression does not change. He does not speak.
Araya's hands curl into fists. "Say something. Defend yourself. Defend me. Do something other than stand there like a coward."
The pack gasps at the word. No one calls an Alpha a coward. Ever.
Jasper's eyes narrow, his storm-gray gaze fixed on Araya. The temperature in the courtyard seems to drop. The air grows heavy with tension.
"Careful, Araya," Jasper says, his voice low and dangerous. "You're already on thin ice."
"Thin ice?" Araya laughs again, the sound wild and desperate. "I'm standing in the middle of a frozen lake that you cracked beneath my feet. There's no ice left to stand on, Jasper. You've already destroyed me."
Jasper descends from the platform, his movements slow and deliberate. The pack parts for him, wolves bowing their heads as he passes. He stops in front of Araya, towering over her.
"You've said enough," Jasper says coldly.
"No," Araya says, lifting her chin to meet his gaze. "I haven't said nearly enough. You accused me of lying. You denied your own child. You stripped me of my title and gave it to the woman who has tormented me since the day I arrived. And you expect me to just bow my head and accept it?"
"Yes," Jasper says flatly. "That's exactly what I expect."
Araya's breath comes in short, sharp gasps. Her body trembles with the effort of holding herself together. "I won't. I won't bow to you. I won't bow to her. I won't accept this."
The pack erupts in whispers, shock rippling through the crowd.
Serenya steps forward, her voice sharp. "You have no choice, Araya. The Alpha has spoken. You've been dismissed. Now move aside before you embarrass yourself further."
"Embarrass myself?" Araya turns to face Serenya, her silver-blue eyes blazing. "You're the one who should be embarrassed. You're standing here pretending to be something you're not. Pretending to be strong when all you've ever done is hide behind lies and manipulation."
Serenya's face twists with rage. "You're nothing, Araya. You've always been nothing. Wolf-less. Weak. Pathetic. You don't deserve to stand beside an Alpha."
"And you do?" Araya's voice rises, echoing across the courtyard. "You think sleeping with my husband makes you worthy? You think scheming and backstabbing makes you a Luna?"
The crowd gasps louder now, the whispers growing into a roar.
Jasper's hand shoots out, gripping Araya's arm roughly. His fingers dig into her skin, hard enough to bruise. "Enough."
Araya tries to pull away, but his grip is iron. "Let go of me."
"No," Jasper says. "You've crossed the line."
"I crossed the line?" Araya's voice cracks. "You crossed it the moment you rejected me. The moment you chose her over me. The moment you denied your own child."
Jasper's jaw tightens. His storm-gray eyes flash with anger, and suddenly the air around them shifts. Power rolls off him in waves, pressing down on Araya like a physical weight.
It's the Alpha command. The force that makes every wolf in the pack submit.
Araya feels it slam into her chest, trying to force her to her knees. Her legs tremble. Her body screams at her to obey, to bow, to submit.
But something inside her refuses.
She locks her knees. She lifts her chin. She stares Jasper down, even as the power threatens to crush her.
"Bow," Jasper commands, his voice cold and absolute.
Araya's body shakes with the effort of resisting. Sweat beads on her forehead. Her breath comes in ragged gasps.
But she does not bow.
"I said bow," Jasper repeats, his voice growing darker.
"No," Araya rasps, the word barely more than a whisper.
Jasper's grip on her arm tightens. His power intensifies, rolling off him in suffocating waves. The pack around them falls silent, every wolf staring in shock.
No one defies an Alpha command. Ever.
Jasper leans in close, his voice dropping to a deadly growl. "Kneel, or I'll destroy you."
- Writer
