The Luna He Forgot

The Girl At The Window

“Axia?” His voice was low, I looked up.

“That is your name?” He asked, staring deep into my eyes.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” I lowered my face immediately. His gaze was far too intense.

“Such a beautiful name.” He responded . My cheeks warmed. He smiled, then his eyes moved toward Ava…back to me. Something about the way he looked at me made my stomach twist.

“You have beautiful daughters, Mrs. Vale,” he said, turning toward my mother. “The heavens have certainly blessed you.” Mother practically glowed.

“For today,” he continued, “you will become a Queen Mother.” Her eyes widened with excitement. “Who am I to receive such favor from the heavens?” she asked, already smiling as though she knew exactly what was coming. “And which of my daughters has Your Majesty chosen as his mate?”

The King looked at Ava…then he looked at me.

My heart stopped.

“Perhaps the heavens are rewarding you for your kindness toward your stepdaughter.”

Mother’s smile faltered.

“I… I don’t understand, Your Majesty.” She responded softly. He leaned back slightly, his golden eyes locked onto mine.

“I have chosen Axia Vale as my mate.”

Silence.

I stopped breathing.

“She will be my Luna…”

His gaze never left mine.

“And my future Queen.”

I nearly fainted.

Across the table, Ava did too.

Only she actually fell out of her chair.

——————————————————————-

Ava was hysterical until morning…but for me, I felt like I was trapped inside a fever dream.

Mother had moved me from the washhouse back into the main house, into the room that used to be mine before I became a servant.

“You can stay here for now,” she said. “At least until we understand what is happening. You have a lot of explaining to do.”

Then she left.

I stared around the enormous room…a real bed with curtains, a wardrobe. No washhouse or piles of clothes in sight, or scrubbing dishes until my fingers went numb. I threw myself onto the bed and smiled. Maybe being chosen by the Alpha King wasn’t so terrible after all.

Then reality hit me.

He really said I was his mate…and that I would be Queen! I buried my face in the pillow.

What was happening to my life?

A knock sounded.

Before I could answer, the door opened, Alexa walked in. She was holding a peach. Her eyes slowly traveled around the room before settling on me.

“So,” she said, taking a bite of the peach, “you’re back here now?”

I said nothing. She studied me suspiciously.

“Are you some kind of alien?”

I blinked.

“A mermaid…witch?” She added. I almost laughed. “What exactly did you do to make the Alpha King choose you?” She asked, her eyes narrowed. “Especially when you don’t even have a single wolf power.” She added.

I stared at her.

What was I supposed to say? Oh, nothing much. I just met him last night, drank too much, ended up at his ridiculously expensive room, had the best s*x of my life and somehow woke up to discover I’d spent the night with the future King. Yeah…that sounded completely insane.

So I simply smiled.

“I don’t know.”

In fact, I didn’t know what to do with myself. Working was all I’d ever known. Now, somehow, my life had turned into a fairytale, I wasn’t even allowed outside. Mother had maids wash me, dress me, and subject me to endless beauty treatments. Honestly, it was exhausting.

“You cannot go there and embarrass this family,” Mother kept reminding me. “You must look like a Vale. Pure. Dainty. Refined.” Apparently, being chosen by the Alpha King meant I could no longer look like myself. He was the topic of the entire household.

The King.

Everyone had something to say about him… except him. He was nowhere to be seen. Yet somehow, two sentences from him had turned the entire Vale household upside down.

And Ava?

She still hadn’t left her room.

————————————————————

For the next three days, my life became a blur of beauty rituals, fittings, meetings, and introductions. I even met the Queen Mother. I still couldn’t believe any of it. I didn’t know why I’d been accepted into the palace so easily, why everyone suddenly treated me like I belonged there.

But I did.

And it felt wonderful. Elyan—the Alpha King—was almost impossible to understand.

He paraded me around the palace like he couldn’t get enough of me, introducing me to nobles, generals, and anyone important enough to know who his future Luna was.

Sometimes I wondered if he was drunk…or insane, but his excitement made me feel alive.

For the first time in my life, someone looked at me as though I was precious and said loved him for it.

————————————————————

Then came the night before my wedding.

I was at home when Ava finally came out of her room. She was wearing a beautiful white robe.

“Axia,” she said softly. “Can we talk?”

I hesitated—but I wanted to believe we could fix things before I became Luna. So I followed her into the sitting room. She sat across from me. For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then she smiled.

“I’ve come to terms with it, sister.”

I blinked.

“I know it’s beyond me now. He’s chosen you.” Her voice sounded almost sincere.

“And I’ve accepted it.”

Relief washed over me.

“I wish you nothing but the best.”

I stared at her…I couldn’t believe it.

“Do you really mean that?”

“Of course.”

She stood.

“Would you like some tea?” She added softly.

I smiled.

“Sure.”

I didn’t want to make things awkward, so I took the tea.

We kept talking while she prepared the tea, she returned a few minutes later and placed a cup in front of me. “Here.”

She sat opposite me with her own.

We drank.

For a moment, everything felt normal…then she looked at me.

“The truth is…” her voice changed.

“You were never meant to be here.”

I slowly lifted my head.

“What?” I said.

She smiled. “You’re a thorn in my side, Axia.” She took another sip.

“And every thorn has to be removed.”

A sharp pain suddenly tore through my stomach…I gasped. My cup slipped from my hand and shattered against the floor.

“Ava…”

I tried to stand, but my legs gave out.

I couldn’t breathe, she simply watched me.

“You see, I always get what I want.” She added, as she reached for a tobacco roll and calmly lit it.

“Elyan will mourn you for a while.” She said, smoke curling between us.

“But eventually…” she smiled.

“He’ll still be mine.”

My vision blurred…I crawled toward the door, but my arms were already failing me.

“Please…”

She laughed as the floor rushed toward me. The last thing I saw was Ava kneeling beside me, watching me die with a smile.

“Don’t worry,” she whispered. “I’ll take good care of him.” Her smile widened.

“And Eradel.”

Darkness swallowed everything. Tomorrow was supposed to be my wedding day. Instead, it became the day I died.

——————————————————————-

I drifted. I didn’t know for how long. There was no pain anymore. No Ava, poison…no wedding. Just silence.

Then I saw something ahead of me.

A door.

I walked toward it.

When I opened it, I froze. It was the pastry shop. The same one, with same baker stood behind the counter. I looked down, I was wearing my old clothes…My old, worn-out dress. I looked exactly as I had that day.

“Thirty pilfers,” the baker said.

My heart stopped, I knew that price and this place. I also knew what came next. Maybe the heavens had given me another chance…or maybe I was dreaming.

Either way, I knew one thing, if I walked out of that shop, I would meet him…the man who became my King, the only man I loved. The man took my breath by choosing him.

I couldn’t do it again.

So I stayed. I stood there, clutching my little bag of coins, waiting.

Then I heard shouting outside.

“Stop him!”

My heart clenched. I slowly moved toward the window.

There he was. Elyan…running through the street. Those same eyes.

He stumbled and the guards rushed toward him. They caught him this time. He was dragged toward a carriage…and he never saw me.

I pressed my hand against the window, tears filling my eyes.

I had changed it.

I had actually changed it.

A mix of deep loss and relief, it felt like the whole world ended that day. I stood as I watched the carriage disappear and my heart broke all over again. I probably have just lost him forever, I thought to myself.

But at least…

I was alive.

Surely that was enough.

Right?