THE RISE OF A FORBIDDEN LUNA

TWO

CHAPTER TWO

*Valeria’s POV*

“Found you.” The voice is soft for the chaos in my chest.

I blinked, as my breath was still trapped somewhere between fear and shock as strong arms held me against a firm body. The wind had stopped roaring.

We fell but we didn’t hit the ground.

Are we safe? I asked quietly.

“Let go of me," I whispered, although there was no strength behind it.

Instead of dropping me, the stranger landed lightly, like the earth welcomed her instead of resisting her.

That was when I saw her face as the moonlight spilled across her face. Her face was too familiar. And my eyes widened

“You…” My voice cracked. “You’re…”

“The one who sold the poison to you,” she finishes calmly.

Camila stiffened beside me instantly as she gripped me tightly.

“Valeria,” she whispers urgently. “That’s her.”

Of course, I knew she was the one. I would never forget that face. Those calm eyes and the quiet, unreadable expression.

The woman tilted her head towards me, and studied me like I was something she'd been expecting.

“My name is Luciana,” she says. “And if you want to stay alive, you’ll come with me.”

Just then a growl echoed from above. It was the wolves. They didn’t fall, rather they were circling and waiting. My heart slamed against my chest violently.

“Decision time,” Luciana said without looking up.

Camila leaned closer to me. “We don’t know her,” she said, almost whispering.

“But we don’t have a choice,” I whispered back.

Because the truth is that we don’t actually have a choice.

I looked at Luciana again. Something about her feels off, but I can't place my hands on them.

But one of her features that caught my attention was that she was very calm and composed, like she was not afraid of anything. Not even death.

“Move,” she said, already turning.

And somehow my body obeys.

Luciana lead us through a narrow cut in the cliff, hidden beneath thick vines and jagged rock. It was barely visible unless you know exactly where to look. But of course she does.

We stopped at a hollow beneath the cliff. It was dark and hidden.

My breathing was still uneven as I leaned against the cold stone wall, my legs were finally giving in.

Camila, on the other hand, stayed close to me, her body was tensed, and her eyes were locked on Luciana like she was ready to attack if the need arose.

Luciana crouched near the entrance, brushing her fingers lightly across the dirt. Then she stops.

“They won’t find us here,” she said.

“How do you know that?” Camila asked sharply.

Luciana looked back at her like she was looking for the right answers.

“Because this place masks scent,” she replied. “And right now, you both reek of fear and poison.”

Then there was silence.

“You followed us?” I asked slowly, like I was not expecting any answers.

Julian’s lips curved faintly.

“I helped you.” she answered.

“You sold the poison to me,” I corrected, my voice firmer now.

Her gaze meets mine.

“Yes,” she said. “And I’m the reason you’re not dead yet.”

Camila scoffed, “Or the reason we’re in danger in the first place.”

Luciana didn't react. Instead, she just watched us like she was measuring something.

“You can leave if you want to,” she said calmly. “But I wouldn’t recommend that for safety reasons.”

Just then another distant howl cuts through the night. It was closer than before.

I sank down slowly with my back hitting against the wall as exhaustion crashed over me all at once.

We’re alive for now, but my mind can't stop reminding myself of past events.

♦FLASHBACK♦

I remember the first time Beatriz, my stepmother, called me cursed.

“You killed your mother,” she said with a gentle but cruel voice. She was smiling while saying that to me.

I was just fifteen, grieving over my mother’s death. After my mom died in a deadly car accident, my father remarried to Beatriz after two years in a bid to escape grieving. Beatriz is a single mother of one. A daughter. Whom I came to know as Rocio.

“You were born with bad luck, Valeria,” she continued, brushing invisible dust off my dress. “Nothing good will ever come from you.” she cursed.

I believed her because no one else has ever said otherwise.

Beatriz and her daughter Roćio never treated me like I was human. This maltreatment usually occurs in the absence of my father and they will always shower me with love in his presence.

Not even my father. Rather, he just stayed silent.

♦IN THE WOODS♦

“You’re bleeding.” Luciana’s voice pulled me back.

I looked down to see my arm scratched and bruised, but it was barely noticeable compared to everything else that I’ve endured.

“I’m fine,” I muttered.

She stepped closer anyway as her fingers hovered over my skin, but she didn’t touch it.

“It seems you have a high level of pain tolerance that made you not notice,” she murmured. “ that’s interesting.” She completed.

Camila moved between us immediately.

“Don’t touch her.” she warned.

Luciana raised a brow.

“I wasn’t going to,” she said.

But something in her tone makes my chest tighten.

I looked away because I didn't trust her yet or maybe not ever.

The rejection played again in my head, like it never left.

♦FLASHBACK♦

“I reject you, Valeria Vargas,” Alpha Gael's voice echoed in the hall where the pack ball was taking place.

My knees had nearly given out that day.

The bond that was broken was so hurtful, like something inside me was being ripped apart slowly.

And yet I didn’t scream or cry. Instead, I just stood there and took in everything.

Then he turned around and reached for her Rocio.

Her smile had been victorious.

She didn’t hesitate, not even for a second.

“I accept you, Alpha Gael,” she said.

And the crowd cheered. I was broken and betrayed.

A tear slipped down my cheek before I could stop it, but I wiped it away quickly because I had sworn to myself not to cry for them again.

“Drink,” Roćio’s voice echoed.

She has always been commanding and always above me, even when she didn’t have to be. She had everything she ever wanted.

After I graduated from college at the age of twenty, it became so unfortunate that I did not feel my wolf but Roćio felt hers at the age of eighteen. But I was suspicious that her mother, Beatriz, had used dark powers to subdue my wolf and bring her daughter's wolf to the limelight.

As a result of this, it was impossible for me to have a mate because I was stuck being an Omega without a wolf.

Everybody in the Moon fang pack avoided me, calling me “Jin” because they believed that I was cursed.

That was the reason I was so overjoyed when I met Alpha Gael, and I was hopeful that I would be chosen as his Luna queen because he was a bold Alpha with so much charisma.

That was why I was so devastated the moment Alpha Gael rejected me and chose my stepsister Roćio.

I felt betrayed because I knew Roćio was aware that she had a greater chance of having a better mate than me. But she chose to take mine.

In the midst of everything, Alpha Gael declared that he was keeping me because of how beautiful I was as a breeder for children's production.

I quickly accepted the offer without hesitation so that I could leave my toxic home.

A few months at the Moon fang pack, I found out that I was pregnant. I was so happy, thinking that the neglect from Alpha Gael would stop because I was carrying his heir. But it seemed like I was wrong because Alpha Gael never cared or looked my way.

I began to notice Roćio's undeniable jealous looks, the way she rolled eyes at me whenever I passed her in the hallway. I knew she was planning something.

Even the maids took notice of it. And I have also overheard a gossip from my personal maid, who relayed to me that Roćio had threatened to deal with me.

I tried to avoid Rocio till the day we met at the stairs, and she blocked my way.

I remembered the moment clearly.

“I know you were pregnant,” she said, her voice was light, and almost amused.

I froze.

“How?” I asked, acting completely clueless.

“You really thought I wouldn’t find out?” she asked.

My hand instinctively moved to my stomach, protective and terrified.

“Don’t worry,” she added softly, stepping closer. “I’ll fix it,” she said.

That was the last word I heard from her before she pushed me down the stairs.

Pain exploded through my body as I tumbled down the stairs.

My head hit something hard and everything blurred.

And then I heard her laughter. Before my maids came to my rescue, I was rushed to the hospital.

Then, at the hospital, I was rushed to the ICU. When I woke up, I only saw Camila and my maids with nobody else, not even Alpha Gael. I was so broken.

“Ma’am”. Came the voice of Doctor Kris, the pack doctor.

“We ran a general body examination,“ he continued. “To ensure that you were okay, and it came out excellent because there were no internal injuries,” he concluded.

“What about my pup?” I asked with so much fear in my voice.

The pack doctor hesitated before speaking.

“I'm sorry we lost the pup because of the fall. You have had a miscarriage ma’am,” he broke the devastating news to me.

♦IN THE WOODS♦

My entire body trembled, not from fear this time but from rage.

“They took everything from me…” I whispered to myself.

Camila knelt beside me immediately, her hand gripping mine.

“You’re still here,” she said softly.

“Barely,” I answered.

“No,” she insists. “You survived.”

I let out a shaky breath.

Is that what this is? Because it doesn’t feel like living. It feels like waiting for the next pain.

“I left my pack.” Luciana’s voice cuts through the silence.

I looked up. She was sitting across from us now, her posture was relaxed, and her gaze distant.

“My parents wanted me dead,” she continued.

Camila frowned. “Why?” she asked.

Luciana hesitated, then she spoke again.

“Prophecy.” she said.

The word hung heavy in the air.

“What kind of prophecy?” I asked.

“That I would destroy everything they built,” she answered quietly.

Then Silence followed.

Camila crossed her arms. “Convenient story,” she said, definitely not believing anything that she said.

Luciana shrugged lightly. “Believe it or don’t.” I had already asked my grievances.

I studied her carefully, she didn’t look like she was lying. But she doesn’t look like she was telling the truth either.

“I overheard them,” she continued. “Talking about ending me before I become a threat to the pack.”

“So you ran?” I asked.

She nodded at once.

“I’ve been running ever since.”

Something about that feels familiar just like my own case. But unlike me, Luciana doesn’t look broken. She looked rather patient.

“Get some rest,” she said, standing. “We move at dawn.”

“Where?” Vera asked.

Luciana glanced back at us.

“ To my pack,” she replied. My heart sank into my stomach.

“ Storm pack,” she added.

Camila and I exchanged a look.

“ But how do you return to somewhere you're being hunted down?” Camila asked.

“Because I'm tired of running, and I'm now ready to face them no matter the outcome,” she answered with so much confidence.

This is another risk, but staying here is not an option.

“Fine,” Camila said reluctantly.

Luciana nodded once, then turned away.

And just like that, everything was already decided.

I leaned back against the wall, closing my eyes briefly. My whole body ached, but my mind won’t stop hovering as everything feels like it’s crashing into me all at once.

The rejection, the betrayal, the loss, the escape and now Julian.

The same girl who sold the poison to me was the same girl who saved me.

Though I did not trust her, I might need her help.

My eyes slowly opened, and I was watching her shadows near the cave entrance. It was still and silent like she was waiting for something or someone.

Then a strange feeling settled in my chest. I was so uneasy, like something wasn’t right or maybe something was coming.

And for the first time since we escaped, I realized something that made my blood run cold.

Maybe we didn’t escape at all.