The Forgotten Luna: A Second Chance

Chapter 4 The Severing Ritual

The pain in my abdomen tightened again. I used the altar rail to stay on my feet while the helicopter’s downdraft blew through the Great Hall.

The crowd backed away as I crossed to the dais. Caleb was still trying to calm Selena when he saw me.

"Elora, what have you done?" he snarled.

I went to the ceremonial tablet set into the altar and opened the Legal Affairs system. Two documents replaced the festival display and appeared on the public screen.

My *Petition for Matrimonial Severance*, filed three days ago, now carried a crimson seal.

*EFFECTIVE*.

Below it sat the *Relinquishment of Luna Authority and Revocation of Barrier Core Access*. Caleb’s signature filled the bottom of the page.

The hall filled with whispers. Caleb read the title twice. "No. You can’t."

"I already have."

I drew the silver blade hidden in my boot. Several Elders shouted at once. The f*******n Severing Ritual would scar both souls, and no Elder could reverse it.

The blade opened my palm. I pressed the bleeding cut over the pack sigil carved into the altar.

"By blood given, I reclaim what was mine," I chanted, the ancient words a prayer and a curse. "The bond is broken. The debt is paid. The power is withdrawn."

White light burst from the stone and swept across the hall.

Caleb screamed.

He dropped to his knees with both hands over his chest. The mate bond tore free. Pain ripped through my ribs; then the place where he had lived in my head went still.

The helicopter hovered above the open roof as its bay door slid back. At the same moment, every registered pack device chimed.

My severance petition had released its evidence archive: Selena’s confession, the original audio metadata, and the first authenticated transfer records.

The same files opened on the altar screen under the Legal Affairs seal.

Wolves crowded around the screen and their phones. Selena tried to pull away from Caleb. The people at the foot of the dais were already listening to her recorded voice.

Two figures in black tactical gear descended on ropes. The Blood Moon sigil showed on their shoulders. One held out a hand.

"My Queen, it is time to go."

I took his hand and reached the rope ladder. Caleb was still kneeling at the altar, staring up at me.

"You made this mess, Caleb. I'm not cleaning it up anymore."

The helicopter climbed. Below us, the barrier I had sustained for three years flickered along the Silver Moon border and went dark.