The Jilted Luna

How weak...

Marcus's POV

I had already thought this through more than once. If Carlisle chose Raquel over Victoria, the outcome was clear to me. There was no real debate. Raquel was the Alpha King’s only daughter. With her came influence, protection, and resources we had not seen in years. That kind of backing could restore everything we had lost, take us back to the strength we once held before the pack fell apart after our former Alpha’s death.

And in my mind, that fall had a starting point.

Victoria.

Maybe that was where my hatred truly came from. It was not only about what was happening now. It was everything that came before it. Deep down, I did not just want her gone. I wanted her to answer for what I believed she had taken from us.

The former Alpha’s death had left a wound that never healed. We grew weaker after that, and weakness brought humiliation. Other packs stopped respecting us. They looked down on us, dismissed us like we were nothing.

I remembered those days too well.

I remembered kneeling in front of others, asking for scraps just to get by. I remembered forcing myself to swallow my pride because we had no choice. I remembered the way we were treated, the quiet insults, the open mockery, the constant reminder that we were no longer strong enough to stand on our own.

Those memories never left me. They shaped how I saw everything.

And somewhere along the way, Victoria became the face of all of it.

I was not the only one who felt that way. Plenty of others in the pack carried the same resentment. So seeing her like this now, broken and helpless, it did not feel like punishment alone. It felt like release. Like we were finally pushing back against everything we had endured.

"Victoria, you can’t blame us for this," I said, my voice steady and cold. "You deserve this and everything that’s about to happen."

Off to the side, one of Raquel’s attendants watched with clear satisfaction. She did not need to speak. The look on her face said enough.

Upstairs, Carlisle had no idea what was happening here. His attention was fixed entirely on Raquel and the state of her unborn child. He was waiting outside her room, focused on her and nothing else.

Down here, more pack members began to gather. They were not here out of curiosity. These were the ones who had been carrying their anger for a long time, and now they finally had somewhere to direct it.

No one cared about Victoria’s condition. Not her fever, not her injuries, not the way her body looked like it was barely holding together. None of it mattered.

We dragged her up from the ground without concern. She did not resist. There was nothing left in her to fight back with. Chains were locked around her wrists and pulled tight until she was suspended, her back left exposed.

A quiet laugh slipped out of me as I held out my hand.

Someone stepped forward right away and placed a silver whip into my palm.

I did not hesitate. I stepped closer and swung.

The whip sliced through the air before striking her back. The barbs dug into her skin and tore free, sending blood across the floor.

Her body reacted, but no scream followed.

She bit down on her lip hard enough to draw blood, her body trembling as everything around her seemed to fade. The pain hit her all at once, more than she could handle.

That single strike was enough to break whatever strength she had left. Her body went slack, hanging from the chains as she lost consciousness.

I lowered the whip slightly and looked at her with nothing but contempt.

"How weak. Truly pitiful," I said. "A real werewolf wouldn’t fall apart like this. You are not fit to be Luna of this pack."