The Scorned Luna Lives Again!

Chapter Nine

Ashlyn carefully brushed and styled her long golden curls, pinning the stragglers in place with crystal flowers. She applied only light makeup, enough to highlight her ruby eyes and the golden glow of her natural skin tone. She slipped into her dress, the feeling was perfect as if her mother could see the future.

She touched it gently as she twirled around her room feeling beautiful for the first time in a long time. After she admired her healthy, glowing reflection she gently put on a necklace she had specially designed to help complete her overall look. It was ornate and made of the finest sterling silver with roses made of rubies expertly laced into it. It was unique and the perfect statement for her declaration of Independence she was planning.

Before she left she concealed herself under a simple black cloak and headed to the greenhouse to have her destiny.

The greenhouse had been expertly decorated with twinkling golden fairy lights, dozens of bouquets of red and white roses decorated the space as they were Ashlyn's favorite, though lilies mingled in the fray as an attempt to incorporate Lily's tastes even on Ashlyn's birthday. With a small smile she began to pluck every single lily from the bouquets and brought them to Lily.

"Here darling sister, I picked these for you." Ashlyn gave a devious smile as Lily's eyes widened.

She shrieked out, "how could you?!" She began water works but Ashlyn beat her to them. Dropping them with subtle tears in her eyes

"I..I just wanted to give you your favorite flowers...I..I thought they looked so pretty for you." She sniffled softly, dabbing away the moisture in her eyes.

As everyone gathered around the two it was clear to the spectators that Lily was overreacting. Realizing she had been beaten she quickly dried her tears, her fists trembling at her sides as she grit her teeth.

"Thank you.. Sister." She hissed with barely contained rage.

Ashlyn smiled softly, taking Lily's hands in hers. "We're sisters. Giving you what you deserve is the least I can do." her gentle smile turned darker as she pulled lily into a hug, whispering in her ear "and I mean it Lily. I'll give you everything you deserve." With that she put back on her cheery smile and released Lily who had turned paler as the implications of Ashlyn's words settled deep in her mind.

Deciding to enjoy herself Ashlyn began to stalk the snack table, her eyes wide at the spread of delicious treats and finger foods that filled the large serving tables. She greedily stole a plate and slipped away undetected.

As she ate her fill she couldn't help but feel eyes on her, she quickly looked and her heart jolted, an all too familiar sense of longing and fear as Marcus came into view.

He looked young, carefree even as he offered her a glass of juice. His warm ocean blue eyes sparkling with attraction as the mate bond pulled him instinctively closer to her. He was lost in his own thoughts; he didn't register her look of fear and disgust.

His voice was warm and gentle, just as she remembered. "Hello beautiful, I must have died because I see an angel before me."

The same cheesy line that had once swooned her now filled her with dread. He didn't share her rebirth, to him this was their first meeting, but she would never forgive him for being a weak and ruthless partner. She didn't forgive him when she died and she won't forgive him now.

She stood, her eyes cold and detached as she spoke calmly. "Seems I've lost my appetite." She handed him her plate and left quietly.

He was stunned. He could feel the mate bond so strongly there was no mistaking it, so why was she so cold? He was determined to warm her icy demeanor, thinking it was just part of her personality. His obliviousness infuriated her even in her second life.

Ashlyn spent most of her night trying to avoid Marcus, wanting to keep their bond as insignificant as she could while she built herself up to go out on her own.

She would have rejected him out right but 'you killed me in a past life' wasn't a good enough reason to the elder council, the rulers of all werewolves. They Wouldn't allow a young female to go mateless when in their eyes 'she didn't give him a chance'. Especially when the werewolf population was dwindling in numbers.

This was due to many factors but a main one was the fact that non-fated pairs were less likely to conceive and would often only produce one or two pups if they were lucky. Fated pairs could produce many and were becoming rarer as young wolves were becoming reckless and couldn't be patient. The laws of mates were the reason Marcus had locked her up in her past. They could make many pups as a fated pair so the council would have expelled Lily and put Ashlyn and Marcus through counseling, if they couldn't reconcile then Marcus would have been stripped of his rank for betraying the sacred bond.

Ashlyn was curious what happened after her death. There's no way the council would condone his actions and would have investigated everything thoroughly. The council was powerful and frightening, they had to be to keep everyone in line.

Lost in the thoughts of the past and trying to find a way out of her mate's bond , Ashlyn was stopped by Lily flaunting her dress, claiming it to be a 'special' and 'one of a kind' gift from her doting brother. Ashlyn pretended to be confused as Lily tried to rub Jacob's affection in her face.

"Didn't I give you that dress sister?" Ashlyn smiled softly, she even produced a receipt for it.

Lily looked at her, stunned in place as she looked at the receipt in Ashlyn's hands. "No...B.. Brother, he gave this to me. How could you steal his credit?"

Ashlyn circled around the dress, smiling as she gave off every alteration in vivid detail. Everyone marveled at Ashlyn's capabilities. When Lily felt like she had lost the spotlight she ripped off Ashlyns cloak to reveal the real dress. She let out a screech similar to a child's temper.

"That was my dress! You gave me the wrong one on purpose!!" She began to wait, causing more of a scene. She was too immature to realize the situation she now found herself in as Ashlyn looked at her in feigned shock.

"What do you mean sister? This was crafted by my late mother, her final gift to me for this very day and besides...didn't you just tell everyone how lovely and unique your dress was?"

Lily looked at her. Not sure how to talk her way out of the mess she put herself in. Soon the others began to gossip, disappointed that Lily could look so sweet but have such a poor temperament. In the eyes of the guest Lily was spoiled and entitled, leading them to steer clear of her and question the family dynamics. Feeling embarrassed Lily ran to Jacob who was networking and unaware of the situation.

She spun the narrative to appear as though Ashlyn had set her up to be bullied and when he tried to scold Ashlyn for it, the crowd stood by her side. Telling him he was an awful brother to accuse her of causing problems before knowing the full story and how Lily needs lessons on manners. Even he was red in the face and sheepish. Muttering a halfhearted apology before guiding Lily away.

Jacob tells Lily to stay away from Ashlyn to avoid anymore issues but as everyone showers Ashlyn with compliments from the way her dress accentuates her natural beauty, to the way her eyes sparkle like polish rubies to the rare necklace she wore. Everyone clamored for it, questioning where she got such a thing. When she shyly said she made it every squealed delight and tried to bargain for their own unique pieces.

Ashlyn had felt proud as they complimented her work. She had given it up in the past as Lily always stole her work after the hard parts were done. Even after Ashlyn left the pack to live with Marcus, Lily would steal her work to keep up the charade and with pressure from Marcus and Jacob to just comply for family harmony Ashlyn had grown used to it but she wouldn't live that way ever again.

No one could take anything from her as they pleased anymore. The days of her foolishly submitting were gone. She had finally had a taste of freedom from her oppressive and lonely life and found herself craving more.