The Reborn Luna's Vow; I died loving you

MERA Derick was finally home. I stood at the gates, breath held, heart aching, ready to fall into his arms and forget the years of waiting, the lonely nights, the war. But he didn’t even look at me. Derick walked past me, his wife, with another woman by his side. She was stunning, smiling, her hand resting gently on his chest like it belonged there. My stomach twisted violently. Derick didn't slow down, didn't stop to stare at me, didn't even acknowledge my presence by whispering my name. But when he finally turned to face me, there was no love in his eyes. “Mera, this is my fated mate, Lyra,” he said, as if the words wouldn’t rip me open. “That doesn’t change what we have… right?” Everything inside me broke. I waited for him, fought for him, carried the responsibilities of his pack like they were mine. And in return, he came back with a stranger? His new queen? Does he expect me to let go of everything I've worked for and accept her? “What do you think you're doing, Derick?” My hands trembled as I fought the burning ache splitting me apart. “You can't just bring a stranger in—” “She is no stranger.” His voice hardened. He was different from the man that loved me. I could see it in his eyes, how easy it was to yell at me. “She is my mate, my woman. She deserves your respect.” I swallowed hard, trying to control the anger rising within me. Slowly, I reached for his arm, wrapping my thin fingers around it. “I'm your Luna, your wife. You should respect me as well. Bringing a stranger into the pack and humiliating me before the pack members is unacceptable.” “You want respect, Luna Mera?” Lyra's lips curled into a small smirk. She carefully lifted my fingers from Derick's shirt, eyes filled with disgust. “If you badly want respect, earn it by moving out of the way. I'm Derick's true mate, if there's anyone that needs to leave, it's you." “Are you really speaking to me that way?” Lyra nodded, her lips curling up. “I'm just giving advice, Luna Mera. Woman to woman?” “I'm the Luna of this pack, Lyra.” My voice hardened, anger surging through my veins. “One more word from you, and you won't know what's going to—” “Cut her some slack, Mera.” Derick's gruff voice interrupted my sentence, his arms firmly wrapped around his mate's waist. “I believe you have better things to attend to.” “Yeah, like making sure dinner is prepared. Derick and I are exhausted after winning the war after all.” Lyra chuckled, walking away with Derick. My gut twisted violently, more like my heart was ripped out of my chest with insane force. Each breath I took was excruciatingly painful. I glanced at the pack members around, people I'd helped, mentored. None of them stood by me. A few of them stared at me with pity, others stared at me with mockery, but no one consoled me. I'm not weak. I wasn't just going to break down because Derick came with another woman. He still loved me, right? He had to. Otherwise, what had all those years been for? I kept holding onto the fact that Derick still loved me, but it never got better. Days blurred, whispers grew, and Derick never came knocking. He no longer came to me for counsels, no longer touched me, he became obsessed with the new woman he brought into the pack. And the worst fact? The whole pack followed. I became the shadow no one cared about. My once loyal wolves all turned their back on me, offering loyalty to the matebond other than the woman who bled and gave her whole life for them. I stood before the whole pack, watching as Lyra was being introduced formally. As Luna, it was my duty to be present, but I couldn't take it. “Derick, you don't know what you're doing.” My voice trembled. I hardly cried ever since I became Luna. Weakness became a crime to me, but right now, I just wanted to cry in his arms and find out everything was a lie. “Mera, don't cause a scene here.” He sighed, tucking his hands in his pocket. “It's time for you to make your speech. It's time for you to welcome my mate into the pack.” “What if I don't want to? Do you think I would just watch her take everything I have worked for as the Luna of this pack?!” I yelled, not bothering to hold back. So what if I gave into my emotions? So what if I showed my weakness? “Mera.” Derick warned, his voice deadly. “I'm the Alpha, you do as I say.” “I refuse.” “Guards.” Derick yelled, his patience thinning. “Take her to her room. We wouldn't want her to wreck this ceremony.” “What?!” I gasped, tears prickling the corner of my eyes, but I didn't let them drop. Not once. “Derick, are you really doing this to me?” “Allow us to escort you to your room, Luna Mera.” One of the guards held my arm like I was a prisoner, his voice rough. “We're acting on the Alpha's orders.” I raised my palm and smacked him. Hard. “You touch me again with your filthy hands and I swear—” “Stop with the childish act, Luna Mera.” Lyra stepped down from the high chair, clutching the sides of her yellow gown. “You slapped a guard just because you didn't want to hear the truth? How can a true Luna behave this way? Oh.” Her lips curled up. “You're not really Luna anymore.” Silence. My husband stood there. Watching. Observing. Unbothered. My lips trembled. I was still Luna, I wasn't stripped of my title. Not yet. “The fact that you arrived here overnight doesn't give you the right to talk to me that way, young woman.” “What are you going to do?” She smirked, a growl rumbling from her chest. The pack members gasped, delight plastered all over their faces. “You're not fit to rule when you don't even have a wolf.” “Derick.” My voice trembled, my world spinning. That was my weakness. The fact that I didn't have a wolf after several years of being Luna. I showed my strength in other ways. I counseled the pack, settled disputes, gave my life during small wars! “She's right.” My husband nodded without an atom of guilt. “Mera, my mate here, has told the truth.” I nodded, taking a step backwards. “If you think I'm going to back down because of this, then you have no idea what I'm capable of.”