No Longer Your Luna: A Mother's Reckoning

SELENA’S POINT OF VIEW. I released a stressed sigh as I navigated the opulent halls of the Grey family mansion, my heels clicking against the marble floors. Late again. The florist would be waiting, and she wasn't known for her patience. My entire day had dissolved into an endless stream of meetings, caterers, decorators, musicians, each one bleeding into the next until my head throbbed with details about centerpieces and seating arrangements. The exhaustion had settled deep into my bones All of this frantic preparation centered on one event: a banquet scheduled for three weeks from now. The territory rating celebration, they called it, a prestigious affair popular among werewolf packs, where status was displayed as prominently as the fine china. I understood the importance, truly I did, but that knowledge didn't make the pressure any lighter. Every decision felt like it carried the weight of the Grey family's reputation, and that burden rested squarely on my shoulders. The event was conducted annually and all packs got to attend. As per the Urban Werewolf Council, the organization that conducts the Territory Rating, assigned the Grey family to host the celebration as their rating changed from B to A- The ratings ranged from S to D. The rating was important as it determined the economic contribution, social order maintenance and compliance to underground rules and the pack with the highest rating which was S rank, they got to have all the greatest voice and resources. As the daughter-in-law of the Grey family, I carried the weight of ensuring this banquet's success on my shoulders. Every detail mattered. I poured my literal sweat, blood, and tears into preparing for the celebration ceremony, my hands trembling as I adjusted each centerpiece, verified each menu item, and confirmed every guest's arrival time. Failure wasn't an option, not with a mother-in-law like mine watching my every move. She held the title of Luna of the Grey family, and that position had shaped her into someone who demanded nothing less than perfection. The slightest flaw would catch her sharp eye, and mediocrity simply didn't exist in her vocabulary. I had seen her dismiss seasoned event planners with a single withering glance. My stomach churned at the thought of disappointing her, of seeing that same cold disapproval directed at me. This banquet was my chance to prove I belonged in this family, that I deserved the Grey name I now carried. Each perfectly folded napkin, each precisely timed course, they were all small battles in a larger war to earn my place at their family. The truth was, I wasn't well-liked in this family. My mother-in-law harbored a particular dislike for me. Over the years, I had exhausted every strategy imaginable to win her approval, yet each attempt fell flat. This banquet represented more than just an event, it was my singular opportunity to shift her perception of me. Deep down, I craved her acceptance, perhaps more than I cared to admit. While discussing floral arrangements with the florist, debating between cream roses and ivory peonies, I heard those unmistakable clicks. Loud, measured, deliberate, her heels announced her approach like a judge entering a courtroom. My words died mid-sentence. I turned my head sharply toward the sound, my pulse quickening. She swept into view, a stern woman in her late sixties with silver hair pulled back so tightly it seemed to stretch her already severe expression. Everything about her radiated coldness, from her pressed suit to her thin, disapproving lips. Somehow, her mere presence made my hands tremble. I gripped the florist's catalog tighter, hoping she wouldn't notice. Was it fear? Perhaps. But I recognized it as something deeper, a trauma response born from years of her particular brand of cruelty. She had perfected the art of the cutting remark, the dismissive glance, the words that landed like small, precise wounds. Each interaction left me feeling smaller, less worthy. And now here she came, her heels striking the marble floor like a countdown to my next humiliation. She now stood mere inches from the florist and me. Reading the room as if by instinct, the florist excused herself, leaving just the two of us. My palm curled into a fist as tremors ran through it, while my other hand gripped the clipboard so tightly that pain shot up my arm. This always happened, the anxiety seized me in her presence, wrapping around my chest like iron bands. I braced myself for what would come next, my shoulders tensing as familiar dread settled in my stomach. Experience had taught me that nothing good ever emerged from these encounters. Each one left me feeling smaller, more insignificant. "Hey, Mom," I greeted her, forcing sweetness into my smile even as my jaw ached from the effort. The current Luna, my mother-in-law, fixed her glare on me. Her eyes held the kind of cold contempt that could freeze blood. "How many times must I tell you?" she hissed, her voice sharp enough to cut. "I don't like it when you call me that. I'm not your mother, you ugly woman." The words struck like physical blows, each one landing with practiced precision. I swallowed hard, fighting back the sting behind my eyes. No courage rose within me to talk back, it never did. Her rejection was nothing new, yet it wounded me every time. I knew I shouldn't call her Mom, that she'd forbidden it countless times. Still, some foolish part of me kept hoping that one day, just once, she might soften. That she might accept me. "I'm sorry," I whispered, my expression genuinely remorseful. The apology tasted bitter on my tongue, but I offered it anyway, as I always did. The Luna sneered at me annoyed and then her attention shifted to the clipboard in my arm. It was just the topic of discussion with the florist. She stared at the clipboard for an amount of time before she clicked her tongue not impressed by what she saw. She was definitely reading what was written on the clipboard. “What did I do to have a daughter in law as tasteless and lame as you? “She asked and I bit the inside of my cheeks. The harsh critic felt right on the bat. She had not reviewed what I had been doing all these days but she was quick to judge. It was really unfair but I could only take it without complaints. She was the Luna and nobody questioned the Luna. “It’s because of your lameness that you gave birth to a low birth son. You are the reason Leo gets mocked in school.” She continued but this time she really decided to insult me using my son’s current situation in school. That really hurts. Getting blamed for how your children turn out just because you gave birth to them was truly harsh. I held my tears refusing to cry in front of her. I couldn’t show that weakness less she uses it against me. I have two children with my husband Victor. Mia, my eldest, had just turned ten, while Leo, my son, was eight. Victor held the position of eldest son in the Grey family and served as the pack's Alpha, a role that commanded respect and fear in equal measure. I married him when I was twenty, full of hopes I barely understood. Now, at twenty-eight, I had settled into the life of a fulltime housewife. I couldn't say I regretted my choice, not entirely, but late at night, when the house fell silent, I sometimes wondered what might have been if I had chased my dreams first. Those dreams felt distant now, like stars that had burned out long ago. What's done is done, I reminded myself. "Are you mute?" The Luna's sharp question yanked me from my memories, her voice cutting through the air like a blade. My chest tightened as I met her cold gaze. "What excuse do you have for your inadequacy? Aren't you ashamed of yourself?" She leaned closer, her words dripping with contempt. "Someone as pathetic as you should be mortified. Tell me, do you even feel shame anymore?" The questions came in rapid succession, each one a small wound. I opened my mouth, stammering as I searched desperately for the right words, for anything that might appease her. My throat felt tight, my mind blank. Before I could form a response, a loud, sharp yell erupted from behind me. I recognized that voice instantly, my heart both swelled and sank. "Stop bullying my mom, you evil woman!" Mia's small frame trembled with fury as she glared at her grandmother. "I hate you!" Where the hell did, she come from? Was she eavesdropping on us? It was not nice of her to talk back to the Luna like that. Suddenly, I was scared for her. Talking back to the Luna like that had its own consequences. The Luna turned to look at Mia angrily and I knew that look all too well. I had been at the receiving end of it. I panicked. “Please, forgive her.” I suddenly begged for her forgiveness. “Please, I’ll accept all the consequences, just forgive my daughter.” I added my voice shaky. I knew what would happen if I didn’t try to shift the consequences my way. “She needs to be taught a lesson. That’s bad behaviour to talk back in the first place, and second to talk back to the Luna with such rude words.” Luna said and my heart dropped. Why did Mia have to talk now? “You see the results of your low birth? You just couldn’t give birth to perfect children. What a waste of my son’s perfect Grey’s genes. You wasted them with your low life useless genes.” she sighed after her insults then her gaze was directed at Mia. “You are to be confined as punishment till you learn proper manners.” she coldly told Mia pointing at her with her index finger. I knew there was no way to save my daughter from her punishment. The Luna’s words were absolute. I couldn’t argue. My daughter was getting confined and it was final.