Blessed Luna Rising

The Forgotten Luna That house was no longer her home. Lira Val stood at the top of the grand staircase, her fingers gripping the cold railing, while a soft laugh echoed from below… a feminine laugh that was no longer foreign to the place, but was foreign to her heart. She didn't need to look. She knew who was there. Celine. And her pup, whom my mate treats as his own child. Always Celine. The woman her partner had brought into their lives under the guise of "duty" – his brother's widow. That's what Alpha Kael Draven had said, in a decisive tone that left no room for argument. Duty. A bitter word. Because nothing about the way he looked at Celine resembled duty. Lira forced herself to descend, each step heavier than the last. Before she saw them, she smelled Celine's perfume – soft, excessive… intrusive in her own home. Then she saw them. Kael was sitting casually, his arm stretched behind Celine's chair in a way far too comfortable. She was leaning toward him, laughing lightly, her hand touching his chest as if she belonged to him. And I thought it was truly so, but I didn't know. As if she had always belonged to him. As if I, Lira… did not belong. I am his mate, yet he ignores me for her. I suspect he's cheating on me with her, but I have no proof. My heart didn't just shatter – I was completely shattered. No. I had shattered long ago – piece by piece, day by day. And this… was just another break. "Lira." His voice cut through the air, cold and sharp. "You're late." Late? I almost laughed. "I was in the hospital," I said calmly, despite the storm raging inside me. "Not everyone has the luxury of sitting around all day." Celine smiled a soft, fake smile. "Of course, Luna. We appreciate… your dedication." The pause before the last word was no accident. Neither was her look. It was a look of triumph. I barely ignored her and stepped forward. "Do you need something?" I asked, addressing Kael, my mate, even though I already knew the answer. He looked at me for a second, as if my presence annoyed him. "Bring tea." Silence. For a moment… I thought I hadn't heard correctly. "What?" He raised an eyebrow coldly. "Has this request become difficult for you?" Something inside me… broke. Not because he asked me for tea. But because he no longer saw me. I was no longer his mate. I was no longer the Luna of this house. I had become… a maid. "Celine can serve herself," I said quietly, but my voice carried something new… something sharp. Celine's smile froze. As for Kael, he stood up slowly. And then… the atmosphere changed. "You are crossing your limits." His voice was low… but dangerous. He took a step toward her, his eyes dark. "Don't forget your place, Lira." My place?? I looked at him, a long, silent look. Then I whispered: "I think I really have forgotten… where my place is in this house." For the first time… I did not lower my eyes. For the first time… I did not back down. That night, I did not sleep. I sat alone in my room – the room that was once filled with warmth… and had now become cold, silent, foreign. I placed my hand on my chest, trying to calm the pain. But the pain wasn't just in my heart. It was deeper. Heavier. As if something inside me… was waking up. I breathed slowly, then whispered to myself: "I will not stay like this…" My voice was weak. But it was not broken. Not anymore. I will show him that he no longer matters to me, too. I must return to myself – the thing that was most important in my life before, and now. I got up and went to prepare what he had asked for, all while planning how I would return to the former Luna, the ruler who had offered herself to serve a stupid Alpha who chose to betray her instead of loving her. That night was not ordinary in Alpha Kael Draven's mansion. The air was heavy, charged with something invisible… as if the walls themselves were waiting for an event that would change everything. I stood in the long hallway, carrying the tea tray I had been asked to bring without hesitation. My fingers were steady, but inside… I was never steady. For days, I had been trying to convince myself that what I saw was just a misunderstanding. That Kael's closeness to Celine was just "duty," just a responsibility toward his brother's widow. But duty does not explain the whispers. Nor the looks. Nor those nights when Celine's door closed more often than it should. I walked slowly toward the meeting hall. Before I entered… I stopped. Kael's voice reached me first. "No one should know yet." Then Celine's voice, soft… but full of hidden triumph: "Not even her?" Silence. A very long silence. Then Kael's voice finally came, low… decisive: "Especially her." The blood froze in her veins. The tray nearly fell from her hands. Especially her? She entered without realizing it. And when she opened the door… Something else inside her broke. Kael was sitting at his desk, and Celine was on his lap, holding a ring in her hands. A ring. The Alpha's ring. A ring given only to the leader's mate. She felt the ground disappear beneath her. "What is this?" My voice finally came out… but it wasn't as steady as I wanted. Kael turned slowly. And his eyes… Held no guilt. Not even hesitation. "You had to know sooner or later." The word "know" was enough to tear me apart. I took a step forward. "Know what?" Celine smiled. A small smile… but deadly. Then she placed her hand on her stomach. Lira stopped. The world stopped with her. "I'm pregnant, Lira." The silence wasn't silence. It was a fall. A complete fall of whatever love remained inside me. I looked quickly at Kael… searching for denial, for a mistake, for something to save me from this nightmare. But he didn't look away. He didn't deny it. He didn't hesitate. He said quietly: "This will ensure the stability of the alliance between us and Celine's clan." Alliance. Another word. Stabbing deeper than the previous one. Lira laughed. A short, broken laugh. "Alliance?" She took another step closer. "What does that make me?" My question was simple. But the answer was deeper than it should have been. Kael finally looked at me. A cold, strange look… as if I were someone he didn't know at all. "You are only a temporary Luna." That sentence. It wasn't a betrayal. It was a death sentence. The contents of the tray fell from my hands. But the tray itself remained in my hand. Celine moved slightly forward, as if enjoying the scene. "We didn't mean to hurt you, but… love cannot be forced, dear." Love? What love? In that moment, I felt something different inside me. Not just pain. But an awakening. Something old… powerful… beginning to stir. I slowly raised my head. And my eyes were no longer just wet. They had become… empty. Dangerous. "I understand now." My voice was low. But it cut through the entire room. "I truly understand my place now." I hit them with the tray. Then I turned slowly… and left. Without crying. Without screaming. But behind me… something else was being born. Something that would not remain broken for long. The house was eerily quiet after she left the office. The kind of quiet that doesn't mean peace… but means something big has ended without anyone announcing it aloud. I entered my room and closed the door slowly behind me. I was afraid that even the walls would hear the sound of my breaking. I stood for long seconds without moving. Then… I placed my hand on my chest. The pain was not as it had been before. This time it was deeper. Calmer. As if it had settled inside me and no longer screamed… but had begun to take root. I sat on the edge of the bed. In front of me was my reflection in the mirror. A woman who does not cry. But my eyes were no longer the same. I was no longer that "Forgotten Luna." But something else… something not yet fully born. I whispered to myself: "He chose her… and I am finished for him." Silence. Then a small, bitter smile. "But I… am not finished." I placed my hand on my stomach without thinking. I froze for a moment. As if I remembered something I didn't want to remember. The dizziness I had been ignoring these past few days… the fatigue… the mild nausea… everything began to gather into one point. I slowly raised my eyes. "No…" I whispered. Then I stood suddenly. And headed to the bathroom. After a few minutes. I came out. The test in my hand. My eyes didn't blink. One second… two seconds… Then the result. Two lines. Very clear. As if fate did not want to give me any room to escape the truth. I collapsed onto a nearby chair. The air disappeared from my lungs. "Pregnant…" The word came out almost silently. I put my hands over my face. But I did not cry. Not now. Something inside me was ahead of the pain. Something more dangerous. The child is not just a child. He is Kael's son. The son of betrayal. The son of the mansion that was now rejecting me. And at that same moment… I heard the mansion's door close downstairs. Footsteps. Soft laughter. Celine. And Kael. Together. In the same house. But not with me. I stood slowly. And walked to the window. Outside, the guards were changing shift… the mansion was living its normal life as if I didn't exist at all. But inside me… a decision was beginning to take shape. Clear. Cold. Irreversible. I opened my closet. I began silently gathering my belongings – only the ones dear to my heart. I will return to my original life, the life I had imagined before I left it for this damned man. I never once thought of abandoning him. But he beat me to it. He abandoned me. I looked around. This place that was once a "home." Had become a cage. I whispered: "I will not be anyone's Luna." Then I closed my eyes for a moment. And continued: "Nor a mother whose child is used against me." That night… I did not sleep. I was just waiting. The right time. A weak spot in the guards. The shift change. Anything small enough would suffice. And when night finally came… deep enough to hide me… I put on a dark cloak. Tucked my hair under the hood. Took a long breath. Then I left. Without a sound. Without goodbye. But before I crossed the mansion's gate… I stopped for a moment. Placed my hand on my stomach. "I am not running away…" I whispered. "I am saving you." I stepped out and found her older brother waiting for her. Her brother: "Come on, come on, Lira. Our home is waiting for a little lady to return to it She and her brother disappeared into the pitch-black darkness of the night.