The Luna They Burned Came Back

Alina's Point of View "Tonight, we execute the murderer who killed innocent pack children with her poisoned hands," Ryker declared to the roaring crowd. I shook my head frantically. "I didn't kill anyone! I'm a healer… I save lives!" My voice cracked as I tried to defend myself. The pack members I had treated, the children I had delivered, the lives I had saved, they all screamed for my blood. "Kill the murderer!" "She poisoned our babies!" "Death to the false healer!" "She's cursed our pack!" Stones and rotten meat flew at my face. The people who once brought their sick children to me in the middle of the night now wanted me burned alive. "By the ancient laws of our pack and the will of the Moon Goddess, I condemn your soul to eternal darkness!" Ryker lifted a blazing torch from the ceremonial fire. "May you never find peace in any realm!" He turned toward me. "Dr. Alina, confess your crimes and we might grant you a merciful death," he said. I refused to look away. My desperate gaze searched the crowd until I found him, my husband,my Alpha. Ryker was holding our sobbing best friend Mira, stroking her hair while she cried into his chest. Our eyes met across the square. His were cold. "Ryker, you know who I am. You've seen me work miracles in our medical center. I would die before harming a child," I pleaded, my voice breaking. "I know who you were," he replied, his voice devoid of warmth. "But the evidence doesn't lie, Alina. The poison was found in your personal medical kit." "Someone planted it! I'm being framed!" He shook his head slowly. "The law must be upheld. Justice must be served." His arm tightened around Mira. Questions exploded in my mind: Why was it so easy for him to accuse me ? Why won't he fight for me? We were so happy together. I never even complained when he started spending late nights with Mira, claiming it was pack business. How did we go from being the perfect pack couple to this nightmare? I couldn't stop myself from remembering that terrible day five months ago, the day that destroyed everything. --- Five Months Ago at the Pack Medical Center I was organizing patient files when frantic pounding shook my office door. "Dr. Alina! Emergency!" "Come in," I called, already reaching for my medical bag. Beta James burst through the door, his face pale with panic. "It's little Tommy Morrison, he's dying. His parents are bringing him now." My blood froze. Tommy was only five years old, the youngest son of one of our pack's most beloved families. "What happened?" "He was playing in the woods and started convulsing, barely breathing." I was already moving toward the emergency room when I heard car doors slamming outside. Through the window, I saw Ryker carrying the small, limp body of Tommy Morrison. His parents were screaming, begging the Moon Goddess to save their child. "Clear trauma bay one!" I shouted to my nurses. "Get me activated charcoal, IV fluids, and prepare for intubation!" For the next four hours, I fought death itself. I pumped Tommy's stomach, filtered his blood, tried every treatment I knew. Ryker paced the hallway like a caged wolf, occasionally glancing through the window at me working frantically over the child. Mira arrived around midnight, bringing coffee and sandwiches for everyone waiting. She squeezed my shoulder when I emerged for a brief break. "You're doing everything you can," she whispered. "Tommy's lucky to have you." But it wasn't enough. Tommy Morrison died at 3:47 AM. I emerged from the trauma bay, covered in the child's blood, tears streaming down my face. The Morrison family collapsed when they saw my expression. "I'm so sorry," I whispered. "I tried everything, but the poison has gone deep.” Ryker pulled me aside, his face grim. "What kind of poison was it?" "Wolfsbane," I said. "But Ryker, something's wrong. The concentration was too high, too refined. This wasn't accidental ingestion from wild plants." His eyes narrowed. "What are you saying?" "Someone gave this to him deliberately." Mira gasped behind us. "You mean someone in our pack would poison a child?" "It's the only explanation," I said. "We need to investigate..” "No," Ryker cut me off sharply. "We don't spread panic based on theories. Tommy ate the wrong plant. That's the official cause of death." I stared at him in disbelief. "Ryker, this could happen again…” "The matter is closed, Alina." But I was right. Three days later, two more children died the same way. Then five more the following week. All with refined wolfsbane in their systems. All after visiting the pack medical center. All under my care. After the eighth child died, the pack demanded answers. Ryker ordered a full investigation of the medical center. That's when they found the wolfsbane hidden in my personal medical kit. --- Present Day "The poison was found in your medical supplies, Alina!" Elder Ryker's voice snapped me back to the present nightmare. "Eight innocent children are dead because of you!" "I was framed!" I screamed. "Someone planted that poison!" "Enough lies!" Ryker commanded. His Alpha voice compelled silence from the crowd. "You had access, and motive." "What motive could I possibly have?" Mira stepped forward, her face a mask of grief. "You were jealous," she said softly. "Jealous that other pack members could have children while you remained barren. You couldn't stand seeing happy families, so you destroyed them." The crowd erupted in fresh anger. More stones flew at my face. "That's not true!" I struggled against the ropes binding me to the execution post. "Mira, tell them the truth! You know I would never…” "I trusted you," she continued, her voice breaking. "I brought my nephew to you for his vaccination just days before he died. You had every opportunity to poison him." My heart shattered. My best friend since childhood, the woman who had stood beside me at my mating ceremony, was condemning me to death. "She's been acting strange for months," Mira added. "Paranoid, talking about conspiracies, blaming everyone else for the deaths." Lies. All lies. But the crowd believed every word. Ryker stepped forward, his jaw clenched. "I've heard enough. Alina Hart, former pack doctor and my mate, you are guilty of murdering eight innocent children. The sentence is death by fire." "Ryker, please!" I begged. "I'm your wife! Your mate! How can you believe I'm capable of this?" "You're not the woman I married," he said coldly. "That woman would never harm a child." "I am that woman! I'm still her!" "No," he said, pulling Mira closer to his side. "You're a stranger wearing her face." Ryker raised his torch. "Any last words, child killer?" I looked around desperately. The pack members I had saved, the babies I had delivered, the families I had helped, they all stared at me with hatred and disgust. There was no mercy in their eyes. "I devoted my life to healing," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "I became a doctor to save lives, not take them. I never hurt anyone." "Your time for lies is over," Ryker said. He lowered the torch toward the kindling and was about to light fire when a voice yelled “STOP.”