The Last Luna Standing

chapter 25

Tamara

The main hall was still buzzing with the aftermath of the elder’s words. I stood there, my heart still racing from the fear of what was to come when Beta Kain stepped up to my side. He leaned in close, and spoke to me.

"Elder Miko wants to see you in the Alpha's office," he said.

I felt a cold shiver run down my back. What could she want? I nodded at Kain and followed him through the crowded hall, past the rows of warriors who looked at me with curiosity and judgment. We reached the big door of the Alpha's office. I could feel North's presence on the other side. My senses were sharp, and I knew he was standing inside that room.

Kain opened the door for me. I stepped into the room, and the door clicked shut behind me.

Alpha North was standing by the large window, and Elder Miko stood near the desk with her presence filling the room. North turned his head when I entered, his dark green eyes meeting mine.

I felt a small spark of comfort just seeing him, but Elder Miko did not give us a moment to speak. "Alpha," the elder said, her voice firm. "Leave us. I need to speak with the girl alone."

North looked at me once more. His expression was impossible to read, but there was a flicker of something…worry, perhaps, before he gave a short nod.

He walked past me, his shoulder brushing mine, and exited the room, closing the door firmly. The silence that followed felt heavy and tense.

Elder Miko turned her gaze toward me. She looked even older and more imposing in the quiet of the office. "The moon has chosen you to be his mate," she began, her eyes searching my face. "But the moon does not always choose the easiest path. You are the daughter of an Alpha, raised in comfort and safety just as I have been told. You have never had to bleed for your status. Tell me, girl, do you truly think you are strong enough to fight for this?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but she did not give me the chance. She began to bombard me with questions, her voice slowly rising more and more.

"What do you think you can offer this pack? How do you expect the warriors to accept a Luna who comes from such a sheltered place? You have spent your life being protected, but here, you must be the one to do the protecting. Do you even know how to lead?"

I tried to step forward, ready to explain my commitment to learning, but she cut me off again.

"The former Luna nearly failed because the burden was too heavy. Do you honestly think you are the only one with ambition? Those other women outside that door have trained their whole lives for this moment. They have sweat, suffered, and sacrificed everything to be ready. What makes you think you, a girl who has known nothing but ease, can beat them at their own game?"

I felt my throat tighten. Every question she asked hit me like a physical blow. She was listing all the fears I had kept hidden in my heart for weeks. I gripped my hands into fists at my sides, my nails digging into my palms.

"I am learning," I managed to whisper, but she did not let me finish.

"Learning is not enough! You need to want to earn it. You need to understand the dark and dirty side of power. You act as if love is a shield, but love is the first thing that dies in the fire of the trials. You are fighting against women who want your head on a stick. Are you prepared to kill to keep your place? Can you look at your own pack and make the hard choices that cost lives?"

The questions came faster now, a flood of doubt that washed over me. I felt small and powerless under her gaze.

My vision began to blur, and I realized, with a shock of shame, that tears were streaming down my face. I could not hold them back. They spilled over, hot and fast, betraying my exhaustion and my deep, hidden fear.

Elder Miko did not stop. She stepped closer, her shadow falling over me. "Why are you crying? Is this your strength? If you cry now, how will you face the cruelty of the final challenge? The pack will not follow a Luna who breaks in the face of difficulty."

I shook my head, my shoulders shaking with quiet sobs. I wanted to be strong, but she was breaking me down piece by piece. I felt like the outsider she said I was.

I felt like the mistake. I took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to regain some small piece of my pride. I looked up at her, my eyes wet and my voice barely a breath of sound.

"But I..." I started, my heart aching with the truth I had only just realized myself. "I think I love him."

The room went completely still. Even the sound of the wind outside seemed to vanish. Elder Miko leaned in, her eyes narrowing as she looked at me with a mix of pity and cold skepticism.

She did not soften her expression. She did not offer me a kind word of comfort.

Instead, she tilted her head and looked deep into my eyes.

"But does he love you?”