Rise Of The Forsaken Luna

CHAPTER 1

Freya’s POV

I never liked answering calls while I was at work, especially when I was painting. My hands were usually covered in different colors, and my mind would be lost in the image I was trying to create.

But something told me to answer the phone immediately as it vibrated on the table. My phone rang only twice before I reached for it with fingers still stained from the brush. When I saw Zarek’s name on the screen, a strange chill ran down my spine.

Beta Zarek wouldn’t just call unless something serious was happening.

“Luna,” his voice came through the phone, sounding rough, almost as if he had been yelling or crying. I could not really tell which one it was, but I knew right away that something was terribly wrong.

I stood up quickly, and in my haste, my palette fell to the floor. Wet paint splattered on the wooden tiles, but I did not even look at it.

“Zarek, what’s wrong? Please talk to me,” I said, my voice shaking. “You’re scaring me. Just tell me what’s going on.”

There was a long pause on the line. The kind that feels like hours even though it's only seconds. Then he finally spoke.

“It’s Alpha Nero. He’s in critical condition, he… he needs emergency surgery. If we wait any longer... he might not survive.”

I froze for a moment, unable to believe what I had just heard. Alpha Nero was my mate, I was his Luna. I left home just the pack just two days back to finish up a painting project in town, and he was perfectly healthy when I left. How could he be dying?

I grabbed my bag without saying another word, rushed out of the building, and got into my car. I drove without thinking about the road or the speed limit. I nearly crashed twice, swerving hard to avoid hitting other cars. When I finally reached the edge of the territory, I stopped the car and jumped out. I didn’t care that I was in the middle of the woods. I ran the rest of the way, branches hitting my arms and legs, but I kept going.

When I got to the packhouse, I saw the clinic building behind it. It was a small structure compared to the main house, but it was where all the medical treatments in the pack took place. I spotted Zarek standing outside the building. He was pacing back and forth, and when he noticed me, he stopped. He looked down and didn’t say anything right away.

I ran straight to him. “Zarek, where is he? Is he still alive?”

Zarek looked up, but he avoided my eyes. “He’s still breathing, but there’s a serious complication.”

“What kind of complication?” I asked, my voice almost breaking into tears now, but I held it back, I needed to be strong for both I and Nero at this point.

“I’ll take you to him,” Zarek said.

He turned and led me into the clinic. When we got to one of the rooms, he pushed the door open, and I saw Nero lying on the bed.

His skin looked pale, and there were several tubes attached to his arms. Machines were beeping steadily beside him. He looked nothing like the strong Alpha I knew.

I walked over to his side and took his hand. “Nero, I’m here,” I whispered. “Please hang in there. Please don’t leave me, I beg you please...” I said, holding myself from letting the tears behind my eyes pour out.

He didn’t respond. His chest rose and fell slowly, but his face remained still. I sat beside him, holding his hand tightly. I didn’t know what else to do, I just sat there and prayed he could hear me.

A few minutes later, the pack doctor walked into the room. He was an older man with grey hair and there was a serious expression on his face.

“Luna Freya,” he said softly, giving a nod to acknowledge me. “We’ve examined his condition, and realized he needs a kidney transplant. The surgery he needs is possible, but there’s a complication. A human donor organ won’t work, his body would reject it. It has to come from a werewolf within this pack. If it comes from another werewolf outside our pack, it could kill him.”

I looked up at him, confused and trying to keep my emotions in check. “So only someone from this pack can help him?”

“Yes,” he said, “and we’ve gone through every possible match. There’s only one person whose body is compatible enough for a successful transplant.”

The moment I heard that, I felt relieved, knowing that I won’t lose Nero. He was my life and I couldn’t even think of losing him.

“Who is it, who is that person?” I asked.

He hesitated, then said quietly, “You, Luna… You’re the match.”

I didn’t even need to think about it. “Then take what you need from me. I’ll do it, please… Just save him, I can’t lose him.”

The doctor tried to warn me about the risks, but I didn’t care. Nero’s life mattered more to me than anything else. I signed the papers, and they started preparing for surgery.

I remember lying on the bed in the operating room, staring at the bright light above me. The doctor said something, but my mind was already going numb. My last thought before the anesthesia knocked me out was that I hoped he would live. I hoped my sacrifice would be enough to keep him alive.

_ _ _ _ _ _

When I opened my eyes again after several hours, the room was quiet. My body felt heavy, and there was a sharp pain in my side. I turned my head slightly, trying to figure out where I was.

That was when my eyes narrowed in confusion.

There was another bed beside mine. A woman was lying in it. She looked around my age, twenty-five. Her face was familiar, too familiar. Her long hair was brushed neatly across her pillow, and her arm had a bandage over it like mine.

But that was not what made my heart stop.

I glanced up from the woman lying on the bed and I saw him, It was my mate, Nero.

He was standing beside her bed, he wasn’t hooked to any machines. He wasn’t lying in pain, he was standing upright, perfectly healthy. His clothes were clean, and his hair looked freshly styled. He had a calm and gentle look on his face as he leaned toward the woman and placed a gently kiss on her forehead.

He picked up a brush and softly ran it through her hair. “You’ll be fine soon, my love,” he said in a whisper.

I stared at them, my chest tightening. It took me several moments to realize who she was, and then finally the name hit my memories…. Lilith.

It was Lilith, Nero’s ex-lover. .

The same Lilith he told me had left his life completely. The same woman he promised had no place in our future. And now, she was here, in the bed beside mine, recovering from the same surgery. And he was right there with her, comforting her.

I felt my mouth go dry the moment I realized the game that was being played right under my nose.

Nero's kidney never failed. I was not his match but Lilith's only match and that was why he used me to save her. He gave her my kidney. . .