His Broken Luna

Chapter 5: The Other Luna

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Aria slept peacefully for the first time in days.

I sat beside her bed in the guest quarters Maeve had prepared, watching the gentle rise and fall of her chest. The color was slowly returning to her cheeks, and her breathing had evened out. She looked like an angel, so small and fragile against the white sheets.

But she was alive.

That was all that mattered.

I hadn't left her side since the ritual. Hours had passed, maybe more. The candles in the room had burned low, their flames flickering weakly in the dark. Outside the window, the moon hung high in the sky, casting silver light through the curtains.

I should have been exhausted.

I was.

But I couldn't sleep.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Kade standing over Aria, his blood dripping onto her forehead. I saw the glow in her eyes as her wolf awakened for the first time. I saw the look on Kade's face as he realized the truth.

She was his.

There was no going back now.

The secret was out, and with it came a thousand new dangers. Because as much as I wanted to believe Kade would protect Aria, I knew this pack too well. I knew the politics, the jealousies, the cruel games played behind closed doors.

And I knew that somewhere in this packhouse, Selene was waiting.

She would know by now. News traveled fast in a pack, especially news about the Alpha. And if there was one thing I remembered about Selene, it was that she didn't like sharing.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

I would deal with her in the morning.

For now, I just needed to be here for my daughter.

---

But the morning came sooner than I expected.

I was still sitting by the window when the door burst open.

The sound startled me so badly I nearly toppled out of my chair. I whipped around, my wolf surging to the surface, my fangs extending before I could stop them.

Selene stood in the doorway.

She was just as beautiful as I remembered. Long dark hair, porcelain skin, lips the color of rose petals. But her eyes—those deep, cunning eyes—were blazing with fury.

"Well, well," she said, her voice like poisoned honey. "Look who finally decided to crawl back."

I rose to my feet, positioning myself between her and Aria. "Get out."

She laughed. "This is my packhouse, Layla. Or did you forget? You have no authority here. Not anymore."

I felt my wolf bristle. "I'm not here to play your games, Selene. My daughter needs rest. Leave."

Her gaze drifted to the bed, and something dark flickered across her face. "Your daughter. The Alpha's secret bastard."

The word cut through me like a knife.

"Careful," I warned, my voice low. "You're standing very close to a mother protecting her child."

Selene's lips curled into a cruel smile. "And you're standing very close to the Luna of this pack. The true Luna. Not some rejected w***e who—"

I moved before she could finish.

One moment I was standing by the window, the next I had her pinned against the wall, my hand around her throat. The rage inside me was blinding, hot and wild, demanding release.

"Say that again," I hissed. "I dare you."

Selene's eyes widened with shock. She clearly hadn't expected me to attack. But she recovered quickly, her own wolf flashing behind her gaze.

"You think you can touch me?" she snarled. "I'll have you killed for this."

"Try it."

We stood there, locked in a battle of wills, neither of us willing to back down. The air crackled with tension, heavy and suffocating.

Then a voice cut through the silence.

"What's going on here?"

I released Selene and stepped back just as Kade appeared in the doorway. His eyes swept over the scene—Selene's disheveled state, my still-extended claws—and his expression darkened.

"Layla, what are you doing?"

"She attacked me," Selene said immediately, her voice trembling with fake distress. "I came to see if the child was okay, and she just snapped."

I stared at her in disbelief. "You came to see if she was okay? You called her a bastard."

Kade's jaw tightened. "Layla, we need to talk. Selene, leave."

Selene's eyes widened. "What? You're taking her side?"

"I'm not taking anyone's side," he said firmly. "But I won't have fighting in my packhouse. Leave. Now."

For a moment, I thought Selene would refuse. But then she smoothed down her dress and lifted her chin, her expression turning cold and composed.

"Of course, Alpha," she said sweetly. "Whatever you say."

She shot me one last look—a look that promised this wasn't over—then swept out of the room.

---

Kade closed the door behind her and turned to face me.

"You shouldn't have done that."

I scoffed. "She came into my room and insulted my daughter. What was I supposed to do?"

"Not give her exactly what she wanted," he said, his voice calm but firm. "Selene is dangerous, Layla. She's not someone you want as an enemy."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "It's a little late for that. She's been my enemy since the day she walked into the great hall and stole my life."

He flinched.

I didn't care.

For five years, I had swallowed my anger, buried my pain, and tried to move on with my life. But standing here now, in the place that had once been my home, facing the man who had thrown me away like garbage—it was impossible to stay calm.

"Why did you come back?" he asked quietly.

"Because Aria was dying," I said. "I didn't have a choice."

"And after she recovers? Will you leave again?"

The question caught me off guard.

I opened my mouth to answer, but no words came out. Because the truth was, I didn't know what I wanted. A part of me wanted to run far away and never look back. But another part of me—the part that had seen Kade's face when he looked at Aria—hesitated.

"She's my daughter too," he said softly. "I have a right to know her."

"Rights," I repeated bitterly. "You gave up your rights the night you rejected me."

"That's not fair."

"Fair?" I laughed harshly. "You want to talk about fair? You humiliated me in front of the entire pack. You brought another woman into our home and called her your true mate. You broke me, Kade. And now you want to pretend like none of that happened? Like you're the victim here?"

He ran a hand through his hair, frustration etched into every line of his face. "I'm not pretending anything. I know what I did was wrong. But you kept my child from me, Layla. You have no idea what that feels like."

"Don't I?" I stepped closer, my eyes blazing. "For five years, I watched Aria grow up without a father. I held her when she cried, I worked myself to the bone to provide for her, and I did it all alone. So don't stand there and tell me about pain. You don't know the first thing about it."

He stared at me, his grey eyes full of something I couldn't name.

"You're right," he said finally. "I don't. But I want to."

The words hung in the air between us, heavy and unexpected.

I didn't know how to respond.

So I said nothing.

---

The next few days were tense.

Aria recovered slowly, her strength returning bit by bit. She was still weak, but Maeve assured me she would make a full recovery. Her wolf had awakened, and with time, she would learn to control it.

Kade visited often.

He brought Aria gifts—toys and books and small trinkets that made her eyes light up with wonder. He read her stories before bed, his deep voice soft and gentle. He stayed by her side when she was scared, holding her hand through the nightmares that plagued her sleep.

It was hard to watch.

Because every time I saw them together, I saw the family we could have been. The life we should have had. And it hurt more than I wanted to admit.

But Selene was always there.

Lurking in the shadows, watching us with those cold, calculating eyes. She never spoke to me, but I felt her presence everywhere. In the hallway outside my room. In the dining hall during meals. In the garden where Aria liked to play.

She was waiting for the right moment to strike.

And I had a feeling that moment was coming soon.

---

One evening, I found her in the garden.

She was sitting on a stone bench, her hands folded neatly in her lap, her gaze fixed on the moon. I tried to walk past without acknowledging her, but she spoke before I could escape.

"She's lovely, your daughter."

I stopped.

"Stay away from her," I said quietly.

Selene smiled. "Why would I harm a child? I'm not a monster, Layla."

"Then why are you here?"

She turned to look at me, her eyes glinting in the moonlight. "Because I want you to understand something. Kade is mine. He has been mine since the night I walked into that hall and claimed him. Nothing you do will change that."

"Then you have nothing to worry about."

"Don't I?" She rose to her feet, smoothing down her dress. "You're staying in his packhouse. You're raising his child. You're everywhere I look, and I'm tired of it."

"Then maybe you should ask yourself why your Alpha is spending so much time with me instead of you."

Her eyes narrowed. "Careful, Layla. I've been patient, but I'm not above putting you in your place."

I stepped closer, my voice dropping to a whisper. "Try it. And I'll remind you exactly why I was Luna for three years while you're just a replacement."

Selene's face contorted with rage, and for a moment, I thought she would shift. But then she composed herself, lifting her chin with practiced grace.

"This isn't over," she said. "And when it ends, you'll be the one left in the dirt."

She turned and walked away.

I watched her go, my heart pounding in my chest.

But I wasn't afraid.

I had survived losing everything once.

I could survive her too.

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### End of Chapter 5

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