The Rogue Luna

Chapter 16 – The Hollow Crown

Lucian’s POV

I don’t even know how Selene ended up on my bed. One moment, I was drowning in whiskey and rage; the next, I woke to Aria and Selene's arguments beside me, smiling like she had won something. The truth is, I barely remember that night. Sometimes I tell myself it wasn’t my fault, that she planned it, that she took advantage of my weakness. But no matter how I twist it, the result is the same. Selene became my Luna, and Aria was gone.

On the outside, everything looks perfect. I am Alpha now, crowned and respected. The pack bows when I walk past. They cheer my name during runs. They nod with approval when they see Selene on my arm, her beauty always polished like a jewel meant to shine beside me. To anyone watching, I am the image of power, strength, and stability.

But inside, nothing feels steady.

At night, when the pack sleeps, I lie awake. Selene breathes beside me, her perfume still clinging to the sheets, and yet all I can think about is Aria, her laugh, and the way her music filled a room, the way her eyes searched mine the day I banished her. That look has never left me. It stalks me in my sleep, burning into me until I jolt awake, gasping. Sometimes I even reach out, thinking she’s still there. But my hand always meets the cold side of the bed. Emptiness.

Selene notices. She doesn’t say it outright, but her bitterness seeps into small things. The way her smile tightens when she catches me staring too long into the fire. The sharpness in her tone when she asks if I’m listening. The way she presses her body against mine, desperate for me to look at her the way I once looked at Aria. She knows she is second choice. She knows she will never be my first. And I think she hates me for it as much as I hate myself.

The bond with her feels wrong. It’s shallow, built on appearances and manipulation. She plays the role of Luna well, smiling before the pack, speaking with confidence, and acting like she belongs. But when we are alone, the mask slips. Sometimes she throws things. Sometimes she asks why I won’t touch her the way I touched Aria. Other times, she just drinks in silence, her anger simmering like poison between us.

I try to remind myself why I did it. Why I banished Aria? I told myself it was necessary, that I had no choice. That day at the hospital, I was humiliated, cornered, and shamed. My father’s voice echoed louder than my own thoughts. He told me an Alpha couldn’t allow betrayal. He told me a pack would never follow a man who tolerated weakness. And I believed him. I thought if I let Aria stay, I would lose everything—the pack, the crown, the respect. So I made a choice.

I told myself it was a duty. But the truth is, it was fear. Fear of losing control and fear of being seen as weak.

And that fear cost me the only woman I ever loved.

My wolf knows it too. He has never settled since she left. I feel him pacing inside me, restless, snapping at shadows, and always growling when Selene touches me. He doesn’t recognize her as ours. He refuses to. And I can feel the pack sensing it. They respect me, but their eyes linger too long, their whispers scrape at my ears when they think I’m not listening. They say I’m distracted. That my strength is fading. That maybe Selene isn’t the Luna the Moon Goddess chose for me.

They’re right.

The whiskey bottles tell the same story. I never used to drink, but now they gather on my desk and in the corners of my room. Half-empty, some I don’t even remember opening. When I stare at them, I see my reflection in the glass—tired eyes, hollow face, a man who looks like an Alpha but doesn’t feel like one.

Sometimes I wonder if Aria thinks of me. If she hates me, or if she still loves me the way, I can’t stop loving her. I wonder if she remembers my hand in hers, or if she only remembers the moment I raised it to banish her. That thought eats at me more than anything.

Selene doesn’t help. She’s clever, too clever. She senses my weakness, and instead of healing it, she digs into it. She reminds me at every turn that she’s here now, that she is Luna, that the pack respects her. She throws Aria’s name like a dagger, always with a bitter smile. “Still dreaming of your little omega?” she asked me once. I almost struck the wall with my fist, but I held back. Because even though I wanted to deny it, I couldn’t.

I am still dreaming of her.

Every decision I make as Alpha feels heavier because of it. The crown sits on my head, but it weighs me down like stone. I lead hunts, I hold councils, and I train the young wolves, but all of it feels empty. The pack cheers, but the sound doesn’t reach me. Nothing does. Because everything I do reminds me of what I lost to be here.

I thought being Alpha would make me feel whole. Instead, I feel more broken than ever.

I watch Selene sometimes when she thinks I’m not looking. She stares into mirrors too long, fixing her hair, adjusting her dress, practicing smiles. She wants to be loved the way Aria was. She wants to fill a space she can never. I almost pity her. Almost. But pity is not love, and I will never love her the way she wants.

The bed feels colder each night. The room feels emptier. And my chest still feels like something is missing. Because it is.

I banished Aria because I thought I had to. But now I see the truth. I didn’t protect the pack. I didn’t protect my crown. I destroyed myself.

And as I sit here, the Alpha everyone respects, the man who has everything, I finally understand.

This crown is nothing but hollow.

Because it cost me her.