Act I: Chapter Three - The Pack's Decision
1089 Words
The first thing I felt was pain.
My neck throbbed where his fangs had pierced me, the mark pulsing like a living flame. Every beat of my heart reminded me of what had happened—of what we had done.
The second thing I felt was him.
Lucien's wolf pressed against mine, restless, unyielding. Even though he wasn't touching me anymore, I could feel him as if an invisible thread tied us together. His emotions leaked into me—anger, regret, something that burned sharper than either.
I opened my eyes.
He was already awake, standing at the far side of the chamber with his back to me, bare shoulders tense, his body rigid like a predator ready to tear itself apart.
My lips parted.
"Lucien..."
He turned then, and I almost wished he hadn't.
The fury in his eyes was enough to make me shrink against the furs we had collapsed on.
"You," he spat, voice rough, almost savage.
"Do you realize what you've done?"
My throat tightened.
"I didn't mean to—"
"You marked me." His hand pressed to his neck as if the scar burned him.
"You bound me. You—" His voice broke with rage.
"You ruined everything."
Tears blurred my vision.
"It was a mistake. The potion—it wasn't even for you—"
"Potion?" His voice was low, dangerous.
My breath caught. The words had slipped out too quickly.
His eyes narrowed, storm-grey turning molten.
"So it's true. You tricked me."
"No!" I scrambled up, clutching the sheet against me.
"I never wanted this. I swear, Lucien. I thought it would be Elizer—"
"Elizer." His voice twisted with a snarl, his wolf flashing behind his eyes.
"You dared—" He stopped himself, chest heaving, fists trembling. He looked at me as though I was poison.
Before I could explain, the chamber doors burst open.
Gasps filled the air.
Seraphina stood at the front of the crowd, her ceremonial gown trailing behind her like a river of silver light. Her lips parted in horror, then curled into something sharper—triumph twisted into hate.
Behind her, my father's face turned red with rage. His eyes darted from me, half-clothed, trembling, to Lucien, marked and bare, and I knew then that I was already condemned.
"What is the meaning of this?" Father's voice shook the chamber.
"Raina." My name was spat like filth.
"What have you done?"
"I—I didn't—" My words cracked, useless.
Seraphina's voice rang clear, cutting through my plea like a blade.
"She stole him."
The whispers erupted immediately.
"The omega sister?"
"She tricked the Alpha heir?"
"She's marked."
"She's his mate now."
Lucien's jaw tightened. His gaze cut to the crowd, then back to me. His face hardened into stone.
"This bond means nothing." His words were cold, merciless.
"She will never be my Luna."
The mark on my neck pulsed, and I swore it physically hurt to hear him say it.
Gasps rippled through the chamber again, but I barely heard them. My chest was caving in, my vision swimming.
My father's hand cracked across my cheek before I could breathe.
"You shame us," he growled.
"You've cursed this pack."
The sting burned hot, but not as much as the weight of Lucien's silence beside me. He didn't defend me. He didn't speak for me.
He only turned away, as if even looking at me disgusted him.
My sister's smile was sharp as glass.
And then, a voice echoed from the back of the chamber, calm yet commanding.
"Bring her to me."
The pack doctor and healer, Gina, stepped forward. Her robes rustled as she moved, and her eyes glowed faintly with the power of her bloodline. She looked at me, then at Lucien, her expression unreadable.
"The bond is sealed," she declared, her voice carrying through the hall.
"The Red Moon has bound them. There is no undoing it by mortal hands."
A shiver rippled through the gathering.
My father snarled.
"There must be a way. Break it!"
Gina shook her head.
"Not now. Not while the Moon's magic is fresh. The only chance to test the bond again will be under the next Red Moon."
"The next?" Lucien's voice was sharp, incredulous.
Gina's gaze settled on him.
"A year from now. Until then, you are tied. Her wolf carries your mark. Your souls are tethered. No rejection will succeed without destroying you both."
Her words hit me like a storm. A year. An entire year.
The hall erupted in anger and fear. Silver Moon wolves hissed their outrage. White Moon wolves muttered in shame. I wanted to vanish into the ground.
Alpha Darius, Lucien's father, raised his hand and the noise stilled. His eyes, cold steel, fixed on me.
"Then we have no choice," he said grimly.
"The girl is his mate. By law, she must be accepted as Luna."
"No!" Lucien's protest ripped through the air.
"Father, you can't—"
"I can," Alpha Darius thundered.
"You know the laws, Lucien. To defy the Moon is to invite ruin. Until the Red Moon rises again, she is yours. And you will abide by it."
My father's face twisted in rage and humiliation.
"She is my lesser daughter, unshifted, weak, nothing but an embarrassment! How dare you suggest she should wear the title meant for Seraphina?"
"It is not suggestion," Darius snapped.
"It is law. Whether weak or strong, pretty or plain, the Moon has spoken."
Seraphina's hand curled into a fist at her side, her jaw trembling with fury she tried to hide.
And then both Alphas turned to me.
A pawn. That's all I was.
A decision was spoken over my head like I was nothing but cattle.
I would go to Silver Moon as Luna—unwanted, unloved, bound by a mistake neither of us could undo.
Until the next Red Moon.
A year of torment. A year of rejection. A year of being tied to a man who hated me for what had happened.
And deep down, beneath the humiliation, the pain, the raw sting of betrayal—I felt it.
The bond.
It throbbed in my chest, alive and merciless.
Whatever he said, whatever he swore, Lucien was mine.
And I was his.
For better.
For worse.
For a year.
Or for eternity.
"Fine! We will support this decision by law but until then our promised alliance shall continue to strengthen."
My father agreed and I saw how Seraphina wanted to rip me apart.
- Writer
