The Last Luna Standing

chapter 22

Tamara

North went completely still. For a moment, I thought he was going to stop me, or tell me that his family history was none of my business and to order me back to silence.

Instead, he let out a long breath and turned to look into my eyes.

"What do you want to know?" he asked quietly, his voice without its usual edginess.

I looked over at him, meeting his dark gaze. "Everything or anything," I answered softly.

He turned his eyes back toward the cold stone fireplace. "My parents were not kind people," he began, his tone flat. "They did not believe in gentle words or soft touches and showing care was a weakness in their eyes.

But they were strong together, and they always stayed together for some reason I never understood. I always believed my father never loved my mother but they ruled this pack with a strict hand and built it into the safe place it is today. That was how they survived, and that was how they expected me to survive."

I listened closely, not daring to interrupt.

"They kept the peace through fear," North continued, his voice dropping lower. "Until a brutal pack attack broke our borders. In that fight, my mother was killed.I was young, and I expected my father to continue being the man he always was. But to my complete surprise, he did not…. And he never did. He lost his mind completely without her."

A cold feeling ran down my spine. An Alpha losing his mind was a dangerous thing for everyone around him.

"As I said, I never believed that my father truly loved her," North said, a bitter edge slipping into his tone. "I thought their bond was just about power, politics, and survival. But when she died, it broke something deep inside him. He lost his mind. He could not handle the emptiness."

He stopped, his hands tightening into hard fists on his knees. "I eventually had to kill him myself when he lost all control and almost killed Earth. Now, it is just me, Earth, and…this pack."

The sad truth of his words really struck me. My heart felt sad for the boy he used to be, forced to kill his own father to save his sister.

Needing to change the conversation away from the ghosts of his past, I moved slightly on the chair and asked about the present. "What about the Luna trials? Why do they have to be so violent?"

North breathed out sharply, rubbing the back of his neck. "It has been that way for as long as I can remember. It is the old law of the pack. I have never seen a change because my mother was chosen last, but the process is deeply built into our rules. It is taught to all pack members, especially by Elder Miko."

I frowned, furrowing my brow. "Elder Miko? Who is that?"

"She is the oldest living pack member," North explained, looking at me. "You have not met her because she lives out at the far edges of our land. She hardly ever enters the main pack house unless an old ritual or real need requires her presence."

The rain outside had slowed to steady drops, hitting a soft rhythm against the roof. I thought about the words in my mind, thinking of the trials, the violence, and the endless demand for blood just to prove a woman was good enough.

I looked at him, my heart beating hard against my ribs as I said a thought that felt dangerous to speak out loud.

"Have you ever thought of ending this rule?" I whispered, my voice shaking slightly.

North blinked, turning his head to look at me in surprise.

"Think about the fact that no one needs the Luna trials to be fit," I pushed on, getting a little courage. "Strength is not just about killing your rivals or surviving a fight. A person can be strong, capable, and brave without having to destroy others for it."

He looked at me, staring into my eyes with a serious face. The air between us grew tense but he did not yell and he did not push me away. He just sat there silent.

Finally, he broke the look, stood up slowly from the chair, and looked down at me.

"Go to bed," he said quietly, his voice flat.

Without waiting for an answer, he turned around and walked out of the cabin, leaving me sitting alone in the quiet shadows, wondering if we would ever truly work out.

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Far away from the warmth of the cabin, deep in the dark, wet trees near the pack border, a desperate voice broke the night.

"Please, wait!" a shadow called out, chasing a running person through the mud.

The young woman stopped, turning around with tears on her face. "I am sorry…I'm so sorry" she sobbed, stepping back. "If I go there... they will kill me. I am the child of a traitor."

Without another word, she turned and ran away into the dark forest, disappearing into the night.