Black Luna

Chapter 10

The room smelled of dried blood and damp wood, a reminder of her wounds and the endless torment that came with them. Lia lay curled on the hard mattress, her body aching from head to toe. Her thoughts were dark—an endless cycle of regret, pain, and fear. The shadows on the walls seemed to mock her, whispering that she had made the wrong choice by returning to Alpha Kieran’s pack.

Just when she thought she would lose herself to despair, a soft knock echoed at the door.

Her chest tightened. Her pulse quickened. Is it him again? Has he finally come to finish me? The memory of his hand wrapped around her throat, the cruel glint in his eyes, and the blood staining her skin flashed before her mind’s eye. She wanted to scream, to hide, but she couldn’t even move without pain searing through her body.

The door creaked open. Lia’s breath caught.

But it wasn’t Alpha Kieran.

A girl stepped into the room—young, small-framed, with soft brown hair tied back neatly. Her eyes carried none of the cruelty Lia had grown used to. Instead, they brimmed with something unexpected: kindness.

“Luna,” the girl said gently, bowing her head in respect.

Lia blinked in shock. Luna? Did she just… call me Luna?

The girl raised her head, a nervous smile tugging at her lips. “My name is Cora. I’m an omega of this pack. Alpha Kieran has assigned me to serve you from now on.”

Lia’s throat tightened. She didn’t know whether to laugh bitterly or cry. Serve me? He nearly broke me yesterday, and now someone’s calling me Luna? The irony of it twisted her insides.

Still, she couldn’t deny the comfort of hearing a gentle voice after so much brutality. She shifted slightly, wincing as her wounds tugged painfully.

Cora rushed forward, alarmed. “Please, don’t move too much, Luna. You’re hurt. Let me take care of you.”

Before Lia could protest, the omega knelt beside the bed, carefully lifting a small basket she had brought with her. Inside were strips of clean cloth, herbs, and a flask of water. She reached out with careful fingers and began tending to Lia’s wounds.

The sting of herbs pressed against torn skin made Lia flinch, but Cora’s hands were steady and delicate.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Lia whispered hoarsely. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Do you know what he did to me? What he plans to do? Why would he even assign you to serve someone he despises?”

Cora glanced up at her, her expression unreadable. “I… don’t know his reasons, Luna. But whether you believe it or not, you are still under his protection. And as long as you’re here, it’s my duty to serve you. Maybe…” She hesitated. “…maybe it’s also my chance to give you some comfort.”

Something inside Lia cracked. No one—no one in years—had spoken to her like this. Her pack had treated her as dirt, as a curse, something to spit on. Alpha Kieran had dragged her from that misery only to thrust her into another kind of torment. Yet here was a fragile omega, offering her kindness when she had lost hope of ever receiving it again.

Tears streamed down Lia’s face, silent and hot. She bit her lip to stifle a sob, but her body shook as Cora continued dressing her wounds.

“You don’t have to hold it in, Luna,” Cora murmured. “You’ve been through too much. Cry if you need to. It doesn’t make you weak.”

Lia let out a shuddering breath. “Weak is all I’ve ever been,” she whispered. “I was born wolfless, cursed, despised… My pack hated me. And now here, I’m nothing but a pawn. A piece in his game.”

Cora paused, then leaned closer. “I don’t believe that. You survived what others couldn’t. That’s not weakness, Luna. That’s strength.”

The words hit Lia like a flame in the darkness. She wanted to believe them. She wanted to hold onto them. But her scars—both inside and out—were too deep to erase so easily.

Still, she felt comfort in Cora’s presence. For the first time since stepping into Kieran’s territory, she wasn’t alone.

As Cora finished tending to her wounds, the two of them began to talk. At first, it was small things—Cora’s life as an omega, how strict Alpha Kieran could be with his warriors, the quiet fear that lingered in the pack whenever his footsteps echoed. But slowly, the conversation deepened.

Cora confessed she, too, knew what it was like to live under cruelty. As an omega, she was often at the bottom, treated like she didn’t matter. “That’s why I understand you more than anyone,” she said softly. “And that’s why I want to help you.”

Lia’s chest ached at her words. For so long she had longed for even a single friend. Could this fragile omega be the one?

Just as hope began to blossom in her chest, the door slammed open.

Lia’s heart stopped.

Alpha Kieran strode into the room, his presence filling the space with suffocating authority. His sharp eyes flicked to Cora, and a growl rumbled low in his throat.

“What are you doing here?” His voice was cold, dangerous.

Cora scrambled to her feet, bowing her head immediately. “Alpha, I was only tending to Luna’s wounds as you—”

“Enough,” Kieran snapped, his tone like a whip. His eyes burned with warning as he stepped closer. “Get out.”

Cora’s breath hitched. She cast one last glance at Lia, filled with apology, then hurried toward the door.

“Wait,” Lia’s weak voice broke through, desperate. “Please, don’t send her away. She was just helping—”

But Kieran silenced her with a glare so piercing it made her blood run cold.

The omega slipped out, the door closing softly behind her, leaving Lia alone once again with the monster who wore the title of Alpha.

Kieran stepped closer, his towering figure casting her in shadow. His lips curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile—more like mockery.

“Did you enjoy playing Luna for a moment, Lia?” he murmured, his tone dripping with disdain. “Don’t be fooled. You’re no Luna here. You’re nothing but what I decide you to be.”

Lia’s heart hammered painfully against her ribs. His words were a dagger, cutting through the fragile hope Cora had given her.

Her fingers clenched the blanket tightly as tears welled in her eyes again. She had no voice left to fight him with, no strength to resist. And he knew it.

Alpha Kieran leaned closer, his breath ghosting over her ear. “Remember this well, Lia. Kindness in this place is an illusion. Even the omega you trust would turn on you if I willed it.”

With that, he turned and walked out, his footsteps echoing in the silence he left behind.

The door closed, and Lia was left trembling, her fragile comfort shattered once again.

But beneath the fear, beneath the despair, something flickered inside her chest. Cora’s words still lingered in her heart: You survived what others couldn’t. That’s not weakness, Luna. That’s strength.

And for the first time, Lia wondered if maybe—just maybe—she could endure this storm and prove him wrong.