The Luna Who Burned The Crown

Episode 04

Jessica's POV

I couldn’t feel my feet anymore. My daughter. My Crystal.

A scream rose from deep inside ME and shattered the silence around us.

I turned on Tiffany, my hands curling into fists. “You did this!” I screamed, surging toward her. “You lied! You stole every healer for your stupid act!”

Tiffany gasped, recoiling behind Asher like a helpless lamb. “Asher, she’s gone mad!”

But I was already there. My hands clutched at her arms, her dress, anything I could grab. “She’s a child!” I roared, my voice shaking the very walls. “A child! My baby! And you left her to suffer!”

“Get off her,” Asher’s cold voice snapped, and the next moment his hand seized my wrist and yanked me back.

“You’ve lost your mind,” he SAID.

“She’s not sick!” I shouted, tears burning down my cheeks. “She faked it! She knew Crystal had a fever and she faked her pain to steal attention!”

His face didn’t even flicker. “You think I’d fall for that? You’re blinded by your emotions.”

“Emotions? She might die, Asher!” I cried. “Your daughter might never wake up and you’re here playing babysitter to a liar—!”

“She’s not my daughter,” he said flatly.

I blinked, stunned, frozen in place. “What… did you say?”

He let go of my wrist like I was something disgusting he didn’t want to touch anymore.

“I said she’s not mine.”

A beat passed. Then another.

The rate started increasing wildly in my chest. “That’s not funny,” I whispered. “Asher, what are you saying?”

Tiffany stepped forward, hands protectively over her belly. “He has a right to know the truth, Jessica. Crystal… isn’t his. She never was.”

My knees buckled, and I grabbed the wall to stay upright. “You’re lying,” I croaked. “That’s not possible.”

“I saw it with my own eyes,” Asher said, pulling a folder from the pocket of his coat. “The patrols found these hidden in your room. Letters. A pendant with his scent. Even hair—matching my brother’s.”

He tossed the folder at my feet. Pages spilled out—photos, notes, even a half-burnt letter with my name forged on it. It was like a nightmare stitched together with broken lies.

“That’s not true,” I breathed. “He’s been in the dungeon for years! He—he’s probably not even alive!”

“I had someone look into it,” Asher snapped. “You used to sneak food to the guards. We thought you were just kind. But now I know why.”

“I did that because no one else would!” I cried. “I pitied them, not him! You know me, Asher. You know me!”

“I thought I did,” he spat. “But turns out you’re just another slut who spreads her legs for power.”

The word slut echoed in my head like a slap. I stumbled back, arms wrapped around myself, trying to hold something in place—my heart, my soul, maybe both.

“This is nonsense,” I said hoarsely. “She’s lying. All of that is forged! You can’t even smell his scent on those things—you know I never went near him!”

“She looks nothing like me,” Asher said coldly, crossing his arms. “You ever wonder why that is?”

“She looks like my grandmother!” I snapped. “You know that! You even said it when she was born!”

“You probably told him that to plant the idea early,” Tiffany muttered with a fake pout. “So he wouldn’t question it when the truth came out.”

“Stop this,” I begged. “Please, Asher. Our daughter—your daughter—is lying in that room possibly dying and this is what you choose to care about?”

He turned his face away. I turned back to the folder, my fingers trembling as I picked up one of the pages. It was an old letter, but the ink was fresh. The writing wasn’t even close to mine. But the name signed at the bottom… was mine.

“She’s been planting this for months, hasn’t she?” I whispered to myself. “All those times she visited my room. All those sweet smiles. You wanted to destroy me, Tiffany.”

“I never wanted this,” she sniffled, leaning on Asher. “But the truth had to come out eventually. There’s something else you should know too.” She turned to Asher. “Tell her.”

Asher faced me, his eyes straight into mine. “Effective immediately, you are no longer Luna. Your sister will be taking your place.”

“What?” I whispered, taking a step forward. “You’re replacing me… with her?”

He nodded, uninterested in how it made me feel.

I stared at him, stunned. “You can’t be serious…”

“She’s more suited for the position,” he said casually. “She’s younger, gentler, and better liked among the pack. Unlike you.”

My throat was dry already, my voice cracked when I spoke again. “After everything I’ve done? After all I’ve sacrificed for you and this pack?”

He looked bored. “That was your duty.”

“Duty?” I choked. “I stood beside you when no one else did! I defended your leadership, bore your child, saved your life more than once, and led this pack when you were wounded!”

“And now I see that everything you did was a lie. Behind your noble acts was a woman willing to sneak behind my back. You’re jealous, spiteful, and bitter. While your sister… is kind, honest, and beautiful.”

The audacity. The blindness.

“You don’t even know her,” I hissed. “You’re so enchanted by her fake innocence that you can’t see through the rot underneath her skin. She’s manipulated everyone—including you!”

“Enough,” he barked. But I couldn’t stop.

“I gave you everything, Asher. My youth. My love. My loyalty. And you throw me away like trash for her?” I spat the words like poison. “I should’ve seen it sooner. You never truly loved me.”

His eyes flared with fury. “Watch your tongue.”

“No,” I snapped, stepping forward. “You want to know the truth? I hate you, Asher. That conniving snake slithered her way into our lives and you let her! I hate that she’s getting everything I bled for, but most of all, I hate you for letting this happen.”

His face twisted with rage.

“You ungrateful wretch,” he growled. “I should’ve rejected you long ago.”

“Then do it,” I said, my voice raised to a pitch now. “Reject me. Right here. Right now.”

His lips curled. “Jessica, daughter of House Lawrence, I, Alpha Asher, reject you as my mate.”

I didn’t flinch. “I, Jessica Lawrence, accept your rejection.”

Tiffany gasped, but I kept my head high.

Asher’s eyes darkened. “You’ll regret this. You want to act like a traitor? Then you’ll be treated like one.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m sentencing you to the dungeon,” he said, voice full of venom. “For the rest of your life.”

My heart dropped.

“Guards, take away the child. Lock her inside and throw the keys away.”