The Queen who chose Ruin

Luna’s POV Cold. It wasn’t the kind that touched the skin and passed. It stayed. It sank deep into my bones, crept through my veins, and wrapped around my heart until even breathing felt like a burden. My fingers trembled weakly against the chains that bound me, the metal biting into my wrists long enough that I could no longer feel where my skin ended and the iron began. How long have I been here? I couldn’t remember anymore. Days blurred into nights… or perhaps there were no nights at all in this place. Only darkness. Only silence. Only me. A faint, bitter smile formed on my lips. “So this is how it ends…” Not as a queen. Not as a Luna. But as something discarded. Forgotten. Above me, beyond the thick stone walls, faint sounds drifted down—music, laughter, the clinking of glasses. Life. Celebration. His voice rose above all of it. Warm. Proud. Unbothered. “With this union, we welcome our new queen.” My chest tightened. For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. That should have been me. I was the one who stood beside him when he was nothing. I was the one who endured the whispers, the doubt, the countless battles just to secure his throne. I was the one who loved him… even when he gave me nothing in return. And yet— “She will replace you.” Those words still echoed in my mind, as clear as the day he said them. A quiet tear slipped down my frozen cheek. I didn’t bother wiping it away. What was the point? “Mommy…” My breath caught. That voice— Soft. Fragile. Familiar. I forced my heavy eyes open, my heart lurching painfully as I looked toward the bars of my prison. But there was no one. Only emptiness staring back at me. Of course. Why would he come? He already has a mother. Just… not me. Something inside my chest cracked completely this time, the last piece of me that still hoped… still waited… finally shattering into nothing. “Even you…” My voice came out as nothing more than a whisper. Silence answered me once again. In the end, I had no one. Not my mate. Not my child. Not even myself. The cold grew heavier, swallowing me whole, pulling me deeper into a darkness I could no longer fight. My eyelids slowly fell. “If there is another life…” I murmured weakly. My lips barely moved. “I won’t love you again.” And this time… I meant it. Darkness consumed me. Completely. Alpha King’s POV “Your Majesty, the former queen—” “Don’t.” My voice cut through the air effortlessly, cold and final. I didn’t even look at the servant. Tonight was not meant for unpleasant reminders. It was a celebration. A beginning. “She… has passed.” For a brief second, the words lingered. Passed. Gone. Just like that. An image flickered in my mind before I could stop it—soft eyes, quiet presence, a woman who never once raised her voice no matter how cold I became. Luna. My frown deepened. Annoyed. Why was I thinking about her now? “She made her choices,” I said, my tone indifferent. “This is the result.” The weight in my chest tightened for a moment— Then disappeared just as quickly. The music swelled, drowning out everything else. Beside me, the woman who now stood in her place smiled brightly, her fingers lightly brushing against my arm. Everything was as it should be. Perfect. So why… Why did it feel like I had just lost something I could never get back? Luna’s POV Voices. Distant at first. Soft, almost like echoes from a dream. “…the bride is beautiful…” “…perfect for the Alpha King…” “…the future queen…” My brows furrowed slightly. Bride? Warmth replaced the cold. The suffocating darkness faded, replaced by light so bright it almost hurt. The scent of roses filled the air, sweet and overwhelming. Slowly… I opened my eyes. Gold. White. Light. I was standing in the middle of a grand cathedral, sunlight pouring through stained glass windows, painting everything in colors that felt too alive… too real. My breath hitched. I wasn’t in chains. I wasn’t cold. I wasn’t dying. A bouquet rested in my hands. My hands. Unscarred. Steady. Alive. “No…” I whispered, my heart beginning to race. Memories crashed into me all at once—the prison, the betrayal, the laughter above while I froze below. It was real. All of it was real. “Bride, your vow,” the priest said gently. Vow. The word struck something deep inside me. Slowly, I lifted my gaze— —and saw him. Standing at the altar. Dressed in black, regal and untouchable, looking at me as if everything was already decided. The Alpha King. My mate. The man who destroyed me. Alive. My fingers tightened around the bouquet, the petals crumpling under the pressure. So this is fate’s answer. Not mercy. Not peace. But a second chance. A slow, dangerous smile curved on my lips as something inside me shifted—something darker, stronger, unbreakable. This time… I remember everything. This time… I won’t be the one left behind. I lifted my chin, meeting his gaze without hesitation, without warmth, without love. Only cold certainty remained. “I refuse.”