The Scorned Luna Lives Again!

Chapter Eight

Ashlyn began to stir, her body felt heavy and she struggled to open her eyes but after a while of struggling she managed to blink her eyes open. The light of the room was dim but she could feel the familiarity. It was her room at her original pack house.

She began to wiggle her toes, with some time and effort she was soon able to sit up to take in the sights around her. The room was void of warmth. The aging wallpaper was dingy and peeling in various places, the windows were cracked letting in the elements and aside from very few things the place lacked a true presence. There was a picture of her family before things fell apart that hung crookedly on the wall alongside an old cracked mirror, some sketches of jewelry designs cluttered the top of her dresser alongside a small ornate music box her mother had given her for her 8th birthday. The quality of furniture was also poor for her status, they were second hand items. She had been given an old broken dresser, a small wooden twin bed that creaked with every movement and a scratched up nightstand with a sticky drawer.

The room wasn't befitting a slave let alone The daughter of the late alpha and blood relative to the current alpha, her eldest brother Jacob. Despite being an alpha female herself she had once been an affection starved little girl, begging for love from people incapable of giving it to her. This foolishness unfortunately led to her untimely death as she had become less than an omega in everyone's eyes. No. Even omegas were referred and nurtured, she was a slave in everyone's eyes, someone to be looked down on and living only to serve others needs.

Her eyes welled with tears as she approached the cracked picture frame. Lily had broken it in a tantrum but somehow Ashlyn had been scolded for it. It was one of the earliest memories of her brother's favoritism and the most fitting metaphor for her life as the crack severed her from her brother who had stood beside their father while Ashlyn was held affectionately on their mother's lap.

Wiping away her tears she looked at her dresser, opening the wobbly drawers. Inside were mostly hand me downs from Lily who was a smaller height and with less curves making everything fit awkwardly, this had been one of the reasons Ashlyn had always kept to herself and had body issues.

Hidden beneath the ill-fitting clothes was a dress box containing her late mother's last gift to her, a beautiful dress, hand tailored to give the wearer an almost ethereal presence. In the past Lily had found out about it through Mikhail who was casually discussing the dress with Lily when she had gone shopping. Lily was so intrigued that she refused every boutique and demanded Ashlyn's dress instead. Mikhail, to his credit, tried to encourage Lily to find something else but Jacob, who always doted on Lily, ordered Ashlyn's dress to be seized and given to Lily.

In exchange he had left Ashlyn with a poofy, pink princess style prom dress that made Ashlyn look like she was going to her junior prom more than becoming an official adult. She was ridiculed and humiliated on her own birthday while Lily received numerous compliments and affection, flaunting the dress as often as she could.

Ashlyn gently opened the box. Her fingers trailing the female bead work and delicate crystals embedded into it. This was her mother's final work. A dress befitting her little princess. She hugged it tightly to her before hiding it again. She had to act quickly, Lily would soon demand the dress and Ashlyn had no intentions of relinquishing it. Luckily for her no one had seen the dress except her, Mikhail only knew it was sentimental and special.

Quickly Ashlyn took her purse and took the last few meager dollars she had to buy a dress from a thrift shop. She was quick with her haha and managed to polish it up to pass as an evening dress and switched it with her actual dress. She waited patiently as she worked on some sketches casually when Jacob stormed out his beta on one side and Lily on the other, her eyes already red and puffy from her most recent tantrum.

"Ashlyn! Give Lily your dress, she doesn't have anything to wear tonight and we can't lose face." His tone was annoyed. Much like it always was when he had to be around Ashlyn.

She couldn't understand his distaste for her. He had been a very loving and protective older brother once upon a time. He had even brought Lily into the family to give her a playmate when he became too busy with his duties as alpha but soon he only saw Lily and the lies she would feed him until there was no sibling bond between the two anymore. Mikhail had remained neutral but often sided with Lily for the sake of 'family harmony' despite hurting Ashlyn time and time again.

In the past she would have quickly moved to please Jacob. She even surrendered her precious keepsake to him in hopes he would show her any kind of love but he only showed indifference or disgust. In this life Ashlyn refused to grovel for his affection.

"Get it yourself, Alpha." The words were cold and threw him off. She always called him 'big brother' with affection but now she treated him like they were pack mates and nothing more.

He quickly recovered and narrowed his gaze on her. "Is this some new game you're playing? Acting like a brat? Because I assure you Ashlyn Marie Rose, It's not cute."

She continued to ignore him as she sketched. His fury was almost palpable. His Beta, Derick, began to tear apart the room until he found the box. He smugly handed it to Jacob who glared at Ashlyn.

"Such a troublesome girl. I hope you find your mate tonight, you're old enough to be on your own and I'm tired of your little games." Jacob answered before lovingly handing the box to Lily who kept an angelic appearance despite the darkness in her smile.

"Thank you big brother! You love me the most!" She purred like a kitten who got the cream.

Ashlyn remained unfazed, ignoring them. Before he left, his arm affectionately wrapped around Lily who hugged the dress box tightly to her chest, he snapped and his beta delivered the same ugly dress as her past life.

The beta snickered as he presented it to her, "a dress more suited to you."

Ashlyn looked at him coldly, her alpha energy rumbling to the surface as she spoke calmly. "Did I say you could speak to me?"

Derrick was stunned. Her alpha presence was stronger than even Jacob's, he couldn't help but bare his throat in submission. "F.. Forgive my ignorance.. Alpha.." he pleaded.

Jacob was enraged. He had spent years trying to subdue her alpha energies. He snarled and gave his own command to desist but she just looked at him with an indifferent glare before retracting her energy and taking the dress, a show of false submission.

Thinking it was only a fluke, a flare of her emotions over the dress he decided to let it be. Not wanting to fight before the big ceremony. Derrick kept his head low as she slunk away, cheeks red with embarrassment. Lily was clearly stunned and annoyed but she had gotten what she wanted.

Looking into the mirror Ashlyn smiled feeling powerful for the first time in her life since her parents' deaths. She looked at the picture against focusing only on her parents as she gently touched their image.

"Don't worry Mom and Dad. I won't waste this life again. I'll make you both proud." She gently caresses the pictures before getting to work on a special accessory to match her dress.

She wanted to claim everything that should have been hers and it would start tonight with her debut.