Scars Beneath the surface
1246 Words
The silence after Luna’s rejection had been deafening. Not just in the ceremonial circle where Ryder had marked Serena before the entire pack, but in every space Luna used to call hers. Her room, the training grounds, even the woods—everywhere held echoes of memories that now felt cruel.
She woke with the weight of yesterday still sitting heavy in her chest. Her body ached, but it wasn’t from physical pain—it was heartbreak, betrayal, humiliation. The rejection ceremony haunted her in flashes: Ryder’s eyes—cold and determined. Serena’s smug smile. The silence of everywhere as her bond shattered.
She stared at the ceiling, the wooden beams above her blurry through tears she refused to shed.
A soft knock broke the quiet.
“Luna?” came a timid voice.
It was Talia.
“I’m coming in,” she said gently, not waiting for permission.
Luna sat up slowly, brushing her tangled hair out of her face. Talia stepped in, holding a small bowl of porridge and a piece of flatbread. Her best friend’s face was pale, eyes red-rimmed. She’d been crying too.
“You didn’t eat last night,” Talia said, placing the bowl on the nightstand.
“I wasn’t hungry.”
“You need your strength. They’re watching you.”
Luna’s lips twitched bitterly. “Let them watch. I’m the show they all came for, right?”
Talia didn’t respond. She simply sat beside her, shoulders touching. “I hate what he did to you. I hate that they let him.”
Luna swallowed the lump rising in her throat. “He made his choice.”
“And you don’t deserve it.”
Luna looked down at her hands. “Doesn’t matter what I deserve. I was never enough for him. Maybe I never was.”
Talia turned to her, grabbing her hand. “That’s a lie. You are more than enough. Ryder is just too stupid to see it.”
Luna gave her a half-hearted smile. “You always say the right thing.”
“I say the truth and nothing more than it.”
---
Later that morning, Luna walked through the pack house, spine straight even though everything in her begged to curl inward and hide. Wolves stopped to stare. Some whispered. Others didn’t even bother to lower their voices.
“She’s still here?”
“I heard she went feral last night.”
“Poor thing. Rejected and replaced in the same breath.”
“She probably deserved it.”
Luna ignored them, every step feeling like walking barefoot over shattered glass. Her eyes scanned the hallway ahead—then landed on Ryder.
He was standing by the training grounds, arms folded, deep in conversation with Serena. The blonde was practically draped over him, laughing at something he said. Her eyes found Luna’s, and her lips curved into a satisfied, smug smile.
Ryder glanced her way too.
Their eyes met for a brief, tense second.
Then he looked away—dismissive, distant.
Luna didn’t stop walking. She didn’t blink. She walked past them like they didn’t exist, even though her heart was screaming.
When she reached the woods behind the house, she collapsed against a tree and let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.
---
That evening, Talia returned, eyes darting nervously as she closed Luna’s door behind her.
“You have to leave,” she said quickly. “Tonight.”
Luna blinked. “What?”
“They’re going to exile you. Ryder and his father had a meeting with the Council. They said your presence is 'unsettling the new bond' between him and Serena. They’re worried about the pack’s stability.”
Luna let out a humorless laugh. “They want me gone because I make them uncomfortable.”
Talia’s voice shook. “They want to strip your rank and cast you out as a rogue. By morning.”
Something inside Luna cracked—quietly, finally.
“Fine,” she said. “Then I’ll leave before they get the satisfaction.”
Talia stepped forward. “Go north. Past the river bend. There’s someone who might help you. His name is Draco. He’s a rogue—but not the dangerous kind. He helps wolves like you. Trains them. Protects them.”
Luna raised a brow. “Why would a rogue help me?”
“Because not all of them are monsters,” Talia whispered. “And because I told him about you weeks ago.”
“What?” Luna asked, confused.
“I had a feeling this was coming. You didn’t see the way Ryder looked at Serena. I hoped I was wrong… but just in case, I reached out. I had to be ready to protect you if you couldn’t protect yourself.”
Luna stared at her in shock.
“You planned for this?” she asked softly.
Talia nodded. “Because I knew they’d hurt you. And I wasn’t going to let them destroy you.”
Luna’s voice cracked slightly. “Why are you helping me?”
Talia looked at her, eyes soft. “Because you would’ve done the same for me.”
---
The full moon was high when Luna slipped out of her room for the last time. She wore a hoodie, leggings, and boots—no ceremony, no emotion, just necessity. Her bag was light: a few clothes, a water bottle, the flatbread Talia gave her, and her most precious possession—a crescent-shaped pendant her mother had given her before she died.
She stood outside the pack house, breathing in the scent of the forest one last time.
She didn’t say goodbye to Ryder.
Or her pack.
They had made it clear she wasn’t one of them anymore.
She shifted into her wolf form once she crossed the outer territory line—her white fur almost glowing under the moonlight. Every step away from Crescent Fang Pack felt like ripping off another piece of herself. But she didn’t stop.
She couldn’t stop.
The further she ran, the more the pack bond faded. It wasn’t instant, but it weakened—like a tight cord finally fraying under pressure. And with each frayed thread, Luna felt something unexpected: relief.
By dawn, she was free.
---
The directions Talia gave led her to the edges of the forest, where the trees thinned and the air grew colder. Just ahead, nestled in a rocky hillside, was a cave shaped almost like a wolf’s jaw—exactly as described.
Someone stood in front of it, leaning against the rock wall like he had all the time in the world.
Tall. Dark-haired. His arms crossed, eyes cold and sharp like ice.
“You’re late,” he said.
Luna shifted back into her human form, panting slightly.
“You must be Draco.”
“And you must be the girl who got tossed aside by her Alpha mate,” he said, dryly.
Luna flinched but didn’t look away. “I’m not here for pity.”
“Good. I don’t offer it.” He studied her, his eyes scanning her face. “What do you want?”
“I want to learn how to never be weak again.”
There was a pause. Something shifted in Draco’s expression, barely noticeable.
“Alright,” he said at last. “Then drop your pride at the door. Because everything you were before this moment? It’s gone.”
Luna took a shaky breath and nodded.
“Fine. Then let’s begin.”
- Writer
