The Luna queen is back

Chapter 7: 18th birthday party 2

ENISA POV

“What are you doing, Enisa?”

Father’s voice came low, almost a whisper, yet it cut through the noise around me.

I didn’t bother to look at him. “What does it look like I’m doing?”

The sarcasm in my tone was sharp and unrestrained. I was already overstimulated by the music, the chatter, and the suffocating atmosphere. The last thing I needed was a pointless question.

I turned to leave, but his hand shot out, gripping my wrist. Before I could react, he pulled me into a secluded corner.

The tray in my hands trembled violently, the glasses clinking together, teetering on the verge of shattering. My heart skipped. If even one broke, I couldn’t begin to imagine the punishment that would follow. Father might let it pass, but his wife would never miss an opportunity to make me pay.

I stared at him, stunned. His sudden aggression left me momentarily speechless.

What have I done wrong this time?

The question passed my mind as I locked gaze with him.

“Who told you to work at the party, Enisa?”

His voice was low but firm, leaving no room for evasion.

For a moment, I simply stared at him, as though he were speaking a language I didn’t understand.

“Answer me,” he pressed.

“Vedica,” I said plainly. “She gave the order.”

His brows lifted in disbelief.

“You are not supposed to be working here,” he said, his gaze sweeping over me with visible disapproval. “You are my daughter. Do you want the guests to see you like this?”

I let out a quiet, humorless scoff. “What do you care what they think? No one here even knows I’m your daughter.”

I gestured subtly toward the crowd. “I have been here for fifteen minutes, and not a single person has asked after the Alpha’s second daughter. They’re too busy circling you like vultures, desperate for your attention.”

My voice hardened. “And yet Vedica has me serving drinks like a maid, parading this family’s truth for everyone to see.”

“Go inside and change.”

The command came quickly, almost urgently.

I blinked, caught off guard. For a daring moment, he sounded… sincere. But the thought of it alone sounded like a lie.

A laugh of denial escaped my lips.

“And when Vedica humiliates me in front of all your guests,” I asked, meeting his gaze, “what then?" Will you defend me?”

His expression darkened.

“Do not trade words with me,” he snapped.

"Today is different. This evening is important not just for your sister but for me.”

He straightened, his tone shifting into something colder, more calculated.

“This gathering marks the beginning of a new alliance between myself and the Alpha Prince. I will not have you ruin it with your negligence. At the very least, show some dignity.”

Those words landed like a heavy blow.

Dignity?

As though I had chosen this kind of life. As though I had woken up and willingly put on a servant’s uniform. As though I did not ache every single day, wanting to be seen as more than this.

He spoke of dignity, yet he was the one who had stripped me of it.

I could barely meet anyone’s eyes without feeling the weight of shame. Not because of who I was, but because of who he had made me.

Words went dry in my throat; I simply looked at him, at the man I once called father, and in that moment, something within me shifted irreversibly.

The respect I had held onto, fragile as it was, finally shattered.

“What Vedica says is irrelevant today,” he continued, dismissively. “I want you out of that uniform and properly dressed in ten minutes.”

And just like that, he was gone.

His expression smoothed into practiced composure as he stepped back into the crowd, greeting a renowned guest advancing towards him as though nothing had happened.

I stood there for a moment longer, unmoving. Then, without a word, I returned the tray to the kitchen and made my way to my room to change.

As I treaded down the hallways to my room, my thoughts spiraled uncontrollably.

How am I supposed to fight for my birthright when I don’t even have a voice in my own life?

What becomes of me when Iris is given to the Alpha Prince… when Vedica has nothing left to distract her from watching me like a hawk?

Another bitter thought followed.

Will Father ever arrange a marriage for me… Or am I destined to grow old in this house, serving until my existence fades into nothing?

These thoughts alone made me shudder. I pushed the door open as I stepped into the room, only to freeze.

There, laid neatly on my bed, was a dress.

For me.

My gaze swept across the room, cautiously, searching for any sign of another presence. Nothing but silence greeted me. Retracting my gaze I fixed them on the bed before proceeding to move.

I took a step forward, then stopped.

Another step.

Another pause.

Unease settled deep in my chest.

This had to be a plot, a scheme by Vedica to finally uproot from this family for good. Why else would a dress be laid out for me?

When I finally drew closer, I examined the dress meticulously, my fingers brushing over the fabric.

In a splitting second, I could tell in the end that the dress was actually made ready for me to wear.

How did I come to know this? Good question.

The designs were gone!

A dour breath slipped from my lips. Of course.

As irksome as it was, I knew only Iris was capable of such a cruel thing. It has always been her way of making me look even less beneath her.

It had always been her way; every dress she gave me was first stripped of its beauty. Embellishments removed. Details ruined. Anything that might make it stand out… erased.

What remained in my hands was a plain, cream-colored dress. If anything, it looked more like a nightgown than something meant for a gathering like this.

My gaze shifted to the floor. A pair of flats, not even heels.

My shoulders sank, the last fragments of expectation dissolving.

But what choice did I have? None.

Swallowing what little pride I had left, I dressed in silence. By the time I was done, I barely recognized the figure staring back at me.

I looked… small, diminished. Like something meant to fade into the background.

Even those burdened by poverty carried themselves with more dignity than this.

And yet here I was, the daughter of a renowned Alpha, reduced to something so insignificant.

For a moment, I wished the ground would open and swallow me whole. I earnestly wished that the Moon Goddess would simply end this humiliation by just taking my life.

With stiff resolve, I pulled my hair back into a simple ponytail. There was no confidence in my movements, no pride, only a quiet, suffocating shame.

When I returned to the gathering, no one spared me a glance. Not one, of course they didn't.

To them I was nobody, just another servant girl moving silently through the crowd in a cheap nightgown in the form of a dress.

Father hadn’t introduced me. He never did.

To the world, he had only one daughter.

Iris.

Today might actually be the day when half of the population in this room, if not nearly all, would actually find out I was one of his daughters, that he actually had two.

I found myself wondering, how did the alpha prince come to learn the truth? That there were two of us?

I was very sure Father wasn't the one who made it known to him; the heavens would fall before he would admit to anyone that I am his daughter.

Perhaps tonight would change that; hopefully the illusion would shatter.

By the end of this gathering, most of those present might finally realize that Alpha Garren had not one daughter…

…but two.

And that the second had been hidden in plain sight all along.

I tucked myself into a quiet corner, my gaze lowered, doing everything I could to make myself invisible.

But it was impossible to ignore the sound of Iris’s laughter drifting across the room.

Against my will, I lifted my eyes.

She stood surrounded by a cluster of girls, all of them laughing freely, their movements graceful.

Champagne glasses rested delicately between their fingers as they exchanged remarks and subtle, cutting gestures.

They were dressed in extravagant designer clothes, so striking that they nearly outshone the celebrant herself.

Iris belonged there.

And I didn’t.

Moments later, she excused herself from the group and glided across the room, plucking a glass of champagne from a passing tray. She was about to turn away when her gaze landed on me.

My body stiffened.

I quickly dropped my eyes, cursing myself for looking up in the first place. But it was too late. I could already feel it, her attention; she began making her way toward me.

I tried to move, to slip away before she reached me, but…

“Oh, look,” she said, her voice soft and melodic, yet laced with cruelty. “Not just a wolfless servant… but a frightened little mouse as well.”

I exhaled slowly and lifted my head.

“What do you want from me, Iris?” I asked, keeping my voice steady even as my gaze drifted past her. I refused to give her the satisfaction of a full reaction, though I could already feel the weight of curious stares around us.

Her lips curved faintly.

“The gown fits you,” she said, pausing just long enough to let the words settle. “Too well.”

Her eyes narrowed as though inspecting me, but there was nothing sincere in her scrutiny, only mockery, thinly veiled.

Realizing she had no intention of leaving me in peace, I turned to walk away, the plain fabric of my gown swaying softly with my movement.

I had barely taken a few strides when something snagged.

A sharp pull yanked me backward.

I froze.

An acute sound tore through the air, the unmistakable rip of a dress….my dress.