The Broken Luna

Unwanted Blood

The last thing she saw before darkness swallowed her was Uncle Aldo standing at the edge of the crowd, watching her, smiling.

Pain dragged Gianna back to consciousness. Her head throbbed, and the voices around her sounded distant, as if she were underwater. Slowly, she opened her eyes.

The grand hall was almost empty. The music had stopped. Servants moved quietly between overturned chairs and half-empty glasses. Most of the guests had already left for the night.

For a moment, Gianna forgot where she was. Then everything came rushing back. Marco. The rejection. The laughter. Chiara in his arms.

A small sob escaped her lips.

“You’re awake.”

The cold voice belonged to her mother. Gianna turned her head. Elena stood nearby, still dressed in her elegant gown, though her expression held none of the grace her appearance suggested.

“Mother.”

“Get up.”

Gianna pushed herself into a sitting position. Her body ached from sleeping on the marble floor.

“I’m sorry.”

The words came automatically.

Elena let out a sharp laugh. “Sorry? Do you think that fixes what you’ve done tonight?”

Gianna frowned weakly. “I didn’t do anything.”

“You ruined everything.” The hatred in Elena’s voice stunned her. “The alliance between the Alpha family and the Beta family has been planned for years. Marco was supposed to strengthen our pack’s future.”

Gianna stared at her mother. “I didn’t ask to be his mate.”

Elena’s face hardened. “No, but somehow you still managed to destroy everything.”

Tears filled Gianna’s eyes again. “Mother, please—”

“Do not call me that.”

The words cut through her like a blade. Elena stepped closer and lowered her voice. “Do you know what people will say tomorrow? They will speak of the Alpha’s cursed daughter who was rejected in front of the entire pack.”

Gianna lowered her gaze. She had spent eighteen years trying to make her parents proud. Nothing had ever been enough.

“Stand up,” Elena ordered.

Gianna obeyed immediately, her legs trembling beneath her. Without another word, Elena turned and walked out of the hall. Gianna followed behind her through the silent corridors of the pack house, every step heavier than the last.

The servants they passed avoided looking at her. A few whispered behind their hands, and she heard enough to understand. Rejected. Pathetic. Cursed. The words clung to her like shadows.

They reached her father’s study. Light spilled from beneath the door. Elena pushed it open without knocking.

Alpha Enzo stood beside the fireplace, a glass of whisky in his hand. Matteo lounged in a chair nearby, while Bianca sat by the window, still wearing the silver dress she had worn to the ball. No one looked happy.

As soon as Gianna entered, Enzo turned toward her, his face unreadable.

“Father—”

The slap came so quickly that she never saw it. Pain exploded across her cheek, and Gianna stumbled sideways, nearly falling. The room fell silent. She pressed a trembling hand against her face. Her father had never struck her before.

“Do you understand what you’ve done?” Enzo asked coldly.

Tears spilled down her cheeks. “I didn’t choose this.”

“You ruined years of planning.” His voice echoed through the study. “The Beta family wanted a union with us. Marco was meant to marry Bianca’s friend from the Silver Fang Pack to strengthen our alliances.”

Gianna blinked in confusion. “What does that have to do with me?”

Enzo stepped closer. “Everything.”

She shook her head desperately. “He rejected me.”

“And now the entire pack thinks there is something wrong with our bloodline.”

The accusation left her speechless. For eighteen years, Gianna had blamed herself for being different. But hearing her father say it aloud hurt in a way she had never imagined.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Matteo laughed from his chair. “She says that every time.”

Bianca rolled her eyes. “She should have stayed hidden instead of embarrassing us.”

Gianna looked from one face to another. No one defended her. Not even now.

Elena crossed her arms. “You will no longer stay in your room.”

Gianna frowned. “What?”

“You will move into the servant quarters tomorrow morning.”

The words hit her harder than the slap. “The servant quarters?”

“You heard me.”

Gianna stared at her mother in disbelief. “But that room belonged to Grandmother.”

“And your grandmother is dead.”

The cruelty in Elena’s tone made Gianna flinch. “You do not deserve to live in the family wing anymore.”

Something inside her shattered. She looked at her father, hoping, just once, that he would stop this. He said nothing.

“Please,” she whispered.

For the first time that night, anger flashed across Elena’s face. “Stop begging.”

“I have nowhere else to go.”

“Then perhaps you should have thought of that before ruining your family.”

Gianna could barely breathe. She had always known that her parents disliked her, but tonight she realized something worse. They truly did not care what happened to her.

Matteo stood and walked past her. As he did, his shoulder slammed into hers, sending her crashing into the edge of the desk.

“You’re pathetic,” he muttered.

Pain shot through her hip. “Matteo”

He turned back and kicked the leg of the chair beside her. “You should have left the pack years ago.”

Bianca giggled.

Gianna looked toward her father again. Enzo returned his attention to the fire. The message was clear. No one would protect her. No one ever had.

“Get out,” Elena said.

Gianna wiped her eyes and stumbled toward the door. Her vision blurred as she stepped into the hallway. The moment the door closed behind her, she broke.

Tears streamed down her face as she walked through the dark corridors of the pack house. She did not know where she was going. She only knew she needed to escape.

The walls seemed colder tonight. The portraits of past Alphas stared down at her from the stone walls. Strong men. Proud warriors. Leaders. And then there was her, the daughter no one wanted.

Eventually, her feet carried her to the back staircase leading to the servants’ wing. She sat on the top step and wrapped her arms around herself. Her cheek still burned from her father’s slap. For a long time, she cried quietly.

Then voices drifted from the study down the hall. She recognized them immediately. Her father. Her mother. And Aldo.

Gianna stood slowly and moved closer without thinking. The study door was slightly open.

“You should send her away,” Elena was saying.

“And where exactly would she go?” Enzo replied.

“She is your daughter.”

Aldo chuckled softly. “She may be your daughter, brother, but she is becoming a problem.”

Gianna froze.

“She embarrassed the family tonight,” Elena snapped. “The entire pack saw Marco reject her.”

“Then let me take her off your hands.”

The words made her blood run cold. Silence followed. Gianna pressed herself against the wall, barely breathing.

Aldo continued speaking. “She needs discipline.” His voice was calm. Too calm. “I can keep her away from the main house. No one will complain.”

Elena sighed. “Honestly, she should be grateful if someone still wants her.”

Gianna’s stomach twisted.

“She has no wolf,” Aldo added. “No mate. No future. At least under my care she would still have a place.”

Something in his tone made her skin crawl. Even from outside the room, she could hear the smile in his voice.

Enzo remained silent for several moments. Then he said quietly, “Do whatever you think is best.”

Gianna stopped breathing. No. Surely she had misunderstood. Surely her father would not

“She needs to learn her place,” Aldo said.

Elena laughed bitterly. “She should thank you.”

The conversation continued, but Gianna no longer heard the words. Her heart pounded violently against her ribs. They were talking about her as though she were livestock. As though she belonged to no one. As though her uncle could simply take her.

A floorboard creaked beneath her foot. The voices inside stopped. Panic surged through her.

Without thinking, Gianna turned and ran. She raced down the corridor, her breath coming in short gasps. The pack house felt enormous at night. Dark. Empty. The candles along the walls flickered in the cold air.

She reached the servants’ wing and slowed, trying to catch her breath. Maybe she was overreacting. Maybe Aldo only meant—

A shadow moved at the end of the hallway.

Gianna froze.

A tall figure stepped into the candlelight. Uncle Aldo.

He smiled. “There you are.”

Her pulse thundered in her ears.

“I’ve been looking for you.”

Gianna took a step back. “I was just going to bed.”

Aldo started walking toward her. The corridor suddenly felt too narrow. Too dark. Too quiet.

“You heard us talking, didn’t you?”

She swallowed hard. “No.”

His smile widened. “Liar.”

Gianna backed away again, her heart hammering inside her chest. Aldo stopped only a few feet away, the candlelight casting strange shadows across his face.

Then, very slowly, he reached out and locked the hallway door behind him. The sound of the bolt sliding into place echoed through the darkness.

And Gianna realized that they were completely alone.