Hybrid Luna to the Alpha

Selene Voss

“You can’t read?” she echoed, her tone soft, not judgmental.

I shook my head, embarrassed. “Not properly. I mean… I know a few words here and there. Signs. Simple stuff. But full pages? Books?” I shrugged, forcing a laugh that didn’t reach my eyes. “They all look the same. I used to pretend I could, just so people would leave me alone about it.”

Raya didn’t respond right away. Instead, she reached for a trowel and began digging a small hole beside one of the rosemary plants, her movements thoughtful.

“You know,” she said at last, “my mom used to say knowledge isn’t just in books—it’s in how we live, how we listen, and how we learn to ask for help.”

I blinked at her.

She turned to me with a small smile. “So maybe reading’s not your strength yet—but I can read the books to you. We can go through them together.”

The knot in my chest loosened, just a little. “You’d do that?”

“Of course I would,” she said, nudging me with her elbow. “We’re sisters now, aren’t we? That means you don’t have to carry this alone. And besides” she winked “you think I’m going to let Selene Voss walk away with the title Luna that easily?”

“But the test is in two days, do you think I'd be prepared enough before then?”

“Honestly, I don't know Ivy, but I have hope you will.”

“Tch…typical Raya and trying to make everyone feel better about themselves.” A voice interrupted mockingly and we both turned to find Selene draped against the wall from us.

“What are you doing here, Selene?” Raya asked and I felt a shift in her countenance.

“There are a bunch of injured wolves at the clinic. Someone said to find you.” She responded, staring Raya straight in the eye.

Raya returned her stare saying, “Last time I checked, there were a good number of healers in this pack, I'm sure they can handle it.”

Selene sighed, “The wolves have been cursed.” She added and a stiffened look emerged on Raya’s face.

“I'm sorry, Ivy.” She turned and gave me an apologetic look, “let's pick this up later.” She brushed off the dirt on her and hurried away leaving me alone with Selene.

“You must be delusional to think you could pass the Luna Test, don't listen to anything anyone says and just quit now.” Selene said, stepping closer, “It's not worth damaging that already ugly face of yours.”

“You're the ugly one.”

The words slipped before I could stop them. Selene was beautiful quite well but her hatred for me for no apparent reason was ugly, and ugly is ugly.

Her smugness faltered and her eyes slowly began to gleam. “Say that again? I dare you.”

When I didn’t respond, she nodded, “That's what I thought.”

“You're the delusional ugly one!” I snapped and before I knew it her hand shot out before I could brace myself and I found myself flying across the garden, landing in the dirt.

The sharp ache blooming in my ribs was too familiar—it was just like back at the Dusk Warden pack house, the merciless blows I’d taken, the constant reminder I was worth less than nothing. I’d convinced myself this place was different. Raya had promised me it would be. So why… why did it feel worse?

“Say it again, ugly.” She loomed over me as she smacked me across the face continuously. Each hit stung and soon the metallic taste of blood coated my tongue. “Oh! You don't have guts anymore? Say it again, I dare you.”

When I didn’t respond to any of her backlash, she huffed in irritation and stalked to where Raya kept her garden tools. She picked up a pair of sheers and my heart palpitations increased with fear that she was going to hurt me with it, as the blades gleamed sharply in the light.

What she did instead, was make a deep cut in her arm with it, blood welled up instantly and she tossed the sheers in my direction and began to scream.

Wolves patrolling the grounds rushed in at once. None of them spared me a glance as they swarmed Selene, trying to get an explanation from her.

“I came here to give Raya information about the injured wolves,” She sobbed, her voice breaking perfectly in all the right places. I had never seen someone fake tears so flawlessly in my entire life. “When she left, she…” she pointed at me, trembling. “I tried talking to her about not taking the Luna test and saving her dignity and she cut me, I pushed her away, but she already cut me.”

First it was gasps, then murmurs then every eye turned to me with disbelief first, slowly turning to disgust. It was like watching their perception shift, seeing myself shrink from a rat to a cockroach in their gaze. They wanted to rip me apart for allegedly daring to harm their council-selected Luna.

But I didn’t care. I hadn’t expected them to take my side anyway.

Slowly, I pulled myself up, my body screamed in pain with each movement. I limped toward the exit feeling their glares burning into my back.

“Aren’t you going to at least apologize to her?” one of the wolves barked.

“No.” I said, as I continued to move.

At the entrance, Kieran stood. For a moment—just a moment—our eyes met, and hope flickered in my chest. But then he walked right past me, heading straight to Selene.

That flicker died instantly.

“What happened? Are you okay?” I heard him ask her and I didn't stay to hear whatever explanation she had to give him, so I left, hurriedly, before the tears in my eyes could roll down. I wasn't going to cry, especially not there.

My room was just around the corner and I could feel my body already giving out. Just as I was about to reach for my door, a hand shot out and grabbed me.

I tried to struggle free from their grasp but I realized it was Kael so I settled.

“Ivy?” He asked, staring at me like he'd just seen a ghost, “what happened to you?”

I didn't reply instead tears fell from my face, not because I was trying to play the pity card, but because I was already on the verge of breaking down.

He hesitated for a bit and then pulled me gently with him. “Come with me.”