THE BROKEN LUNA

NATALIA’S POV I am staring at my reflection. Looking at the outline of my pitied face. My anxiety is building as my heart is pounding fast. I reach for my hand and touch the mirror, drawing the outline of the person in front of me. The disgrace, the black sheep, and the wolf-less daughter of the Alpha of the Light Chaser’s Pack. The one who tainted the prestigious family of Wynknight. The family is known for their wolf's strength and wit. Blessed by the Moon Goddess, and envied by the rest of the packs. The prestige that this person in front of me disgraced and put dirt on. The person who is me. "Natalia Wynknight." I whisper with guilt and blame. Unworthy of the name Wynknight. The first and only failure of an offspring of the world’s most powerful Alpha of his time. My father, Alpha Dimitri Wynknight, or so I still may call him, "You can do this, Natalia." I’m trying to console myself and build that strength to face the Alpha this night. "You did great today. You did nothing wrong. You were a very good child. You ran away at the right time to ensure the dignity of this family and of the Alpha. You did great." I clenched my hands and took a deep breath. I stopped myself from shedding a tear from the fear and anxiety upon being called to the Alpha’s office this night. All for a while recalling the past events of the day, the congratulatory party for my twin and older sister Natasha. The event that started, went, and ended smoothly. So I do not need to be afraid, right? "YOU ARE SUCH A DISGRACE!" No, I was absolutely and utterly wrong. "Damn it, Natalia!" Alpha Dimitri's shouting voice and in boiling wrath. As he slams his hands to the table and looks at me with those distasteful eyes and a condemning expression. I back away a bit, slowly. Just in time, as the vase shatters after being thrown in front of me. I clenched my hands, looking down, shivering from anxiety and fear. I am fighting against fainting right now, or else I will end up in much more trouble than this. "I only give you one instruction." He warned me and made me remember what he wanted from me that day and at the recent party. "Do nothing and stay put in your place. Do not make unnecessary things nor say anything, but you did otherwise." His disappointed tone now turns deep. Not shouting or throwing anything anymore, but ripping some documents and throwing them right in my face. A gesture of annoyance and frustration. "Why did you run away and not come back to the party after some misunderstanding from your peers?" he asks, which made me tremble in place. "I-I, o-only did i-it b-because I d-do n-not w-want t-to b-be a l-laughing s-stock t-to t-the p-party a-and b-become y-your d-disgrace." I defended myself and hardly for myself. The one wronged here. The one insulted and poured wine on the face and dress. The one who laughs and mocks, but I couldn’t tell it to him. Not at all, for I will always end up the villain. "But you are and have always been a disgrace to me, to this pack, and to this family." Direct, deep, and without hesitation to say so. I wanted to slump down and cry, but I couldn’t and shouldn’t. For with those vicious eyes and hating glare. I know more than anyone that he wanted me dead, and it has been a long time since I became a wolf-less one. "Just why did I ever have a daughter as weak, useless, and wolf-less than you?" he blames and indirectly refers to the late Luna, which I hated and pains me the most. Unknowingly, out of negativity, I blurted out what I was thinking. "I d-didn’t i-intent to be l-like t-this?" I misspoke and terribly It ends up with me earning some curses and the Alpha’s fist slamming on the table. "Damn with that stuttering, and I wanted to hear any excuses from you!" He didn’t hesitate and even shouted. With the mockery that he deems necessary because of my stuttering, my speech, and how cowardly I am. The daughter that he regretted having and his greatest disappointment. I, who everyone branded the dirt and the flaw of the family’s legacy and standing. "Don’t give me a damn about your ideas, nor even dare to show off what you can do, for nothing will ever change about you and how you are such a disgrace to this family!" He continues on emphasizing those facts and rubbing some salt into my already deep wound. Head down and shivering from fear. I tried to look at him and say, "I-I’m s-sorry." I apologize, but he only throws a disgusting look and reprimands me instead. "Just shut the hell up!" His voice is echoing. His tyranny over me worsened with the sudden brewing storm outside. Accompanied by lightning and thunder that somehow manifested his anger towards me. Then, he stomps his cane hard on the floor. Making a loud thud and borrowing a hole in the concrete floor, shattering the porcelain marble white tiles. A warning that I should keep my mouth shut and obey his command without question. "Get out." He says in a calm tone, and he directly points at the door. "Do not even think of coming out of your room for the rest of the week. Do you understand?" A hard notion. "Y-Yes, f-father." I quickly responded. I turn my back and walk out of his office. I was trembling in fear and almost losing breath and consciousness from my anxiety, yet I couldn’t afford to let him see or know. I opened the door, went out, and closed it silently. With my shivering hand and the storm outside that is getting heavier and stronger. I let go of the knob, lean my forehead for a bit toward the door when those known footsteps echo and a voice calls. "Just what did I tell you, Natalia?" a mocking and proud words. That made me almost lose all my strength and fall down while sitting on the cold floor. I then collected myself and immediately looked back. Welcome by that perfect smile, gentle face, ideal feature, and everyone’s adored blessed one. The favorite daughter and everything that isn’t me. This pack’s pride and joy, and that of the Wynknight. My older twin. "Natasha." I acknowledge her presence with a forceful smile. She smiles back, but unlike mine, it is full of mockery and superiority. "How many times did I warn you not to do anything, for it will only burst your father’s anger and put you in the same insulting place like this? Aren’t you had enough, Natalia?" She slaps me with those insulting reminders that weren’t gentle and unmeaning at first glance. Deep inside and the truth that she was only hiding. She, my twin, and my older sister hated me to the core. Just like the rest, she disdained me and wanted me gone. And her way of doing so is through her pretentious care and smile, which always put a lot of shivering horror down my spine. "I d-didn’t m-mean to c-cause any t-trouble. W-What h-happened d-during t-the p-party, I o-only w-wanted to g-get o-out of t-trouble." I defended myself, even though I knew it was useless. "Enough." She commanded. Still with those gentle smiles that, in my eyes, look like a devil’s grin. She reaches out her hand, pats me on the shoulder, moves her face closer, and whispers the words. "Take a rest. Listen to your father’s words. In that way, you will survive in this family and we will not throw you out. Remember who you are and your position in this family, Natalia. We may be twins, but we are miles apart from each other. So, do not act harshly, alright?" drawn with that gentle smile that is nothing but fakery. My anxiety is hitting the roof, as I can only reply. "I u-understand." "Remember, you are not what you used to be; even being my shadow is not worth it to beg given to you." She added, along with the stride of her calculating footsteps and stares that bare nothing more but disgust. The door opens and closes once more behind me, leaving me with the echoing laughter and warm greetings I couldn’t have, no matter how hard I tried. Our standing in this family and in this pack are miles apart. And I could never compete against Natasha or put myself on par with her worth. "Don’t worry, everything will be alright. It will be---" My tears finally fell from my eyes and are now streaming down my cheeks. I couldn’t help it, and even though I know I am only digging into my despair and self-pity. I looked back slightly, opened the door, and saw how special Natasha was in the eyes of our father. "If only I didn’t lose it, would I still be a special one like I used to be in his eyes?" I ask myself as I remember that memory from the past. "You both are my daughters. That will never change, and I am and will always be proud of you both." Our father’s words are still true during a time when everything is special and clear. All before I lost my wolf and followed by everything. "Liar." The word that I boldly whisper. That I can only describe what I am feeling right now. Those days are nothing but a fleeting memory. Once upon a time, I was equal and stood on the same pedestal as Natasha. "Just how stupid could you be for giving me such a useless excuse for you not knowing what happened? Where is your wolf? What in damnation happened to you for losing it, Natalia?" The echoing hate and blame from the Alpha. The memory and the start of my nightmare. I close my eyes and shake those thoughts away. Closes the door and goes back to my room, with the hunting memories and blame that I am recalling and hearing now from the past. "She’s cursed. An abomination and a disgrace to the Wynknight." Criticism, curses, and judging gazes are now flooding and echoing inside my mind. In the past, that was like an incurable disease, like the sickness that I once went through. I couldn’t completely rub it all off my skin. And put me in this place, right where I am standing. "Stop! S-stop please." I beg, slamming the door and hiding myself under the covers of my bed. All the while crying and pleading for the torment to stop. While deep down inside of me is wishing and a bit forming the ifs and probably a good end if the Luna, our mother, and my mother didn’t die that time. If she didn’t, maybe I would never be in this situation right now, and I would not be crying my heart out. "Mom, I miss you. I miss you so much." I can only whisper, sobbing in my sleep and slowly drifting asleep. "I DIONNE WYNKNIGHT, Alpha of the Light-Chaser pack, condemn you to death for being the daughter of the devil, and carrying the mark of the curse that brought chaos and almost the destruction of the entire pack." Firm, strong, and with no bit of remorse. Words and more than just a curse that shook my entire existence. A sentence and death that I needed to face right now because I caused something that I didn’t do. Falsely accuse, and now hang on to death’s door. The people who put me on this death floor are none other than my family. "Any last words? was Dionne's last grace of consideration for me. My older brother, who once adored me, changed and became someone like any other who hates me and now holds the string for my death. "Dionne, please." That gentle voice. But a contemptuous real self that she is only hiding behind those innocent faces, Natasha. "Do not torment Natalia anymore. No matter what happens, she is still our once beloved sibling." Her fake sentiment and cries. The pretenses that everyone buys, blinded by, but not me. "Did you hear that, Natalia? After what you did and almost killing Natasha, she still thinks of you as her sister." Dionne’s scornful look and tone. "But not me." he made it clear more than anything else. "From the very first day that you became someone who tainted our family name, I have never seen you as my little sister." Words that I can only reply to with the same distasteful look and nothing else but that. Since they cut my limbs, severed my tongue, and are now placing me to this death. Dionne continued to mock me. "You should be grateful to live this long. But our mistake of letting you be. Was the mistake that made me lose my father, and worst of all, at the hands of his own flesh and blood?" His blaming tone. Flesh and blood? I wanted to curse those words and laugh maniacally, snapping out of all the abuse and torment that they caused. Thinking back right now, that a person who I desperately wanted to accept is the person of my greatest nightmare. And right now, the one who replaces him is just like him, and only him. I bit my lower lip, easing the pain and tears from falling. How do I look right now, considering the torture that I have been through and the suffering that I didn’t deserve? Yet, they all insist that it is barely enough for the sins that I didn’t even commit, which is like a taboo. "Brother, can I have a word with Natalia for a moment? Please?" Natasha’s request will never be gentle. "Very well. But be careful." Dionne’s care that I had never had since they all threw me away. Natasha then jumps to hug him, as she said. "Thank you. You are the best." Her smiles and shows excitement as she walks towards me. I bite my lower lip firmly when she crouches down. Hold my chin up and force me to look her way. My eyes widen and my heart beats with uncanny anger when she smiles in a sinister way, screaming that she is more than enjoying this spectacle. No, she is silently screaming straight to my face that this is all her plan. "I guess I wouldn’t need to say anything to you, for I can see directly that you got everything sorted out from that stupid head of yours." She whispers while laughing in between. "Yet, I still couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction at your inevitable end at the blade of the guillotine." She mocks me with it. The guillotine. An ancient way, but still considers it the most disgraceful end for anyone. The sentence that Dionne deems worthy for the likes of me — no, the entire highest council of the twenty-four existing packs with neutral agreement for peace—was my fate. For I am a curse, a witch that Natasha made them believe. "Your little pathetic life that is too easy to manipulate and throw in the trash with simple manipulation and two." She whispers, giggling in between. I can only grit my teeth and glare at her at the most because of the condition and a lot of disadvantages that I am facing right now. For the utter disgrace and wrath that I am feeling now that I am seeing, too late, and towards the face of the traitor and true villainess. Natasha smirks, adding the words. "In this world, it is to survive or die. To fool or fooled. To be killed or to kill. Now, where do you think you have placed, Natalia?" Her sinister smile is clear. Everything from the beginning is all her fault—all her schemes. But why? She then moves her face closer and whispers in my ear. Natalia, you are always the real one." I hardly grasped what she meant by those words. Strong arms grab me from behind and place my neck on the guillotine, and within a swoop of a second, the blade drops, and the cheers of the crowd echo as my head rolls down, and everything ends like a nightmare. "NO!" I scream, waking up drenched in sweat and shivering. Holding my neck, which was still in place, I could still feel the sharp blade that decapitated me. The lightning strikes and the thunder rumbles. With my reflection showing me nothing but death.