Chapter 11 A Luna in Name Only
1034 Words
The title of Luna weighed heavily on Ella, akin to a thorny crown.
She felt its weight the moment she stepped into the eastern hall of the Silverfang mansion, where the walls were decorated with the portraits of past Lunas, each dignified, each powerful, each distinctly wolf-like. Their stony eyes followed her movements, assessing, judging, dismissing.
Humans.
That was their perception of her.
Ella maintained her composure regardless.
Servants paused as she passed, their bows stiff and uncertain. Some offered polite nods, while others quickly looked away. Respect wasn’t given freely in this place; it had to be earned through blood, strength, or lineage—and she had none of those. Not yet.
She approached the tall windows overlooking the training grounds. Below, wolves practiced in human form, their movements precise and disciplined. Among them was Alpha Rylan Wolfe, bare-armed, dominating the space simply with his presence. His voice carried a low, authoritative, unwavering voice.
Even from this height, Ella felt it.
The allure.
She pressed her fingers against the cold glass, anger boiling within her.
Mate bond or not, one thing was unmistakably clear: she was just a Luna on paper.
No authority. No influence. No position by his side.
“Enjoying the view?”
Ella turned. Lucas stood a short distance away, casually leaning against the wall, a small smile on his face. Unlike his brother, Lucas radiated warmth effortlessly. It surrounded him like sunshine.
“I was pondering,” Ella replied coolly, “how many of them would follow my orders.”
Lucas grimaced. “At this moment? Maybe a few.”
She scoffed. “Honesty can be cruel.”
“They’re afraid,” he said softly. “Of change. Of you.”
“Because I’m human.”
“Because you’re different.”
Ella looked back at the carved symbols on the walls. “Differences have never been welcomed here.”
Lucas studied her for a moment. “That depends on whether you choose to remain silent.”
She met his gaze. “I won’t.”
The council chamber was empty when Ella quietly entered later that night.
Moonlight streamed through the high arched windows, illuminating the long stone table where the Pack Elders gathered. She had seen Rylan dictate, instill fear, and command obedience while seated there. She had never been invited to sit beside him.
That decision was intentional.
Ella moved carefully, her fingers brushing against the carved symbols on the tabletop. Ancient laws. Blood agreements. Marriage contracts older than recollection.
Her marriage.
Her father’s obligation.
The entire situation still mystified her.
She approached the shelves lining the far wall, filled with ancient ledgers and records. Official pack history. Financial dealings. Treaties with adjacent clans.
She randomly selected one from the shelf, followed by another.
Time slipped away unnoticed.
It wasn’t until she stumbled upon her father’s name that her breath caught.
Elias Hart.
The entry was brief. Too brief.
Debt accrued. Contract executed. Payment fulfilled through a marital union.
Ella frowned. Her father had been many things stubborn, proud, recklessbut careless with finances? No. He had never interacted with werewolves before the year he died.
And this debt… seemed to arise from nowhere. No record of prior dealings. No explanation about what he owed or why the Silverfang Council had been involved.
“Convenient,” Ella murmured.
Her heart raced as she hurried through more pages, tracking dates, signatures, patterns.
That’s when she noticed something.
Several names frequently appeared in transactions related to her father’s purported debt.
Elder Corvin. Elder Maelis. Elder Thorn.
The same elders who had advocated for the marriage.
Her stomach twisted.
Footsteps echoed just outside the chamber.
Ella shut the book with a snap and returned it to its place just as the doors groaned open.
Rylan appeared in the doorway.
Tall. Menacing. His eyes glinted like sharpened metal.
“What are you doing here?” he demanded.
Ella straightened her posture. “Studying.”
“This area is off-limits.”
“My life is also off-limits,” she retorted. “Yet here I am.”
His jaw clenched. “You didn’t get permission.”
“I didn’t seek it.”
The silence expanded between them, thick and electric.
“You’re crossing a line,” Rylan finally said.
Ella let out a soft, bitter laugh. “I’m your Luna. Does that title only hold value when it benefits you?”
His expression darkened. “Don’t challenge me.”
“I’m not challenging you,” she countered, stepping forward. “I’m questioning those who shaped my future without my agreement.”
His wolf stirred within him, a low growl reverberating beneath his skin.
“Your father's issues are not for you to worry about,” Rylan stated.
“They became my worries the moment you wedded me to fix them.”
For a fleeting moment, something shifted in his expression. Doubt. Torn conflict. Then it disappeared.
“You will keep out of pack matters.”
Ella maintained his stare. “No.”
That word struck like a provocation.
“You believe that wearing my name gives you authority?” he snarled.
“I believe silence grants me none,” she countered. “And I refuse to live as mere decoration in your home.”
Rylan advanced a step. The atmosphere around them tightened, crackling with something perilous and exhilarating.
“You don’t comprehend how this world operates,” he said.
“Then educate me,” Ella whispered. “Or step aside.”
His breath faltered just for an instant.
She noticed it.
The moment he almost regarded her as an equal.
But then, his defenses shot back up.
“This discussion is finished.”
He turned away and exited.
Ella stood alone in the council chamber, her heart racing, not out of fear but determination.
They had underestimated her.
That would become their gravest error.
As she left the chamber, moonlight caressed her skin, warm and vibrant. For a brief moment, she thought she heard a whisper, soft, ancient, and unmistakably near.
Awaken.
Ella halted, pressing her hand against her chest.
Whatever secret lay dormant within her was beginning to stir.
And soon, the Silverfang Pack would have no option but to heed her call.
- Writer
