The Luna They Rejected

Chapter 3: The Poisoned Luna

The forest went silent.

Even the rain seemed to stop for one terrifying second.

Kael’s grip tightened on the warrior’s shoulder. “What did you say?”

The warrior looked shaken. “Lady Selene collapsed during the celebration. The healer says it’s wolfsbane poisoning.”

Gasps spread among the patrol behind us.

My stomach twisted violently.

Wolfsbane.

A poison deadly to wolves.

Kael’s expression darkened instantly. “Who had access to her drink?”

The warrior hesitated.

Then his eyes flickered toward me.

Every muscle in my body went cold.

No.

“No one knows yet,” he answered carefully, but the damage was already done.

The suspicion had entered the air.

And everyone felt it.

I saw it in the warriors’ faces.

Rejected mate.

Humiliated publicly.

Heartbroken.

Perfect motive.

Kael looked at me silently, and somehow that hurt worse than an open accusation.

Because for one horrible moment…

He considered it.

Rage burned through my chest instantly.

“You think I poisoned her?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.”

Lucas stepped between us quickly. “This isn’t the time.”

But it was already too late.

The tiny piece of trust I still had left was shattered completely.

Kael exhaled sharply and turned toward the pack house. “Seal the eastern wing. Nobody enters or leaves without my permission.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

The warriors hurried off immediately.

I should have left then.

I should have walked away and never looked back.

But something stopped me.

Maybe pride.

Maybe anger.

Or maybe the strange instinct growing stronger inside me.

“Take me to her,” I said suddenly.

Kael frowned. “What?”

“If someone poisoned Selene, I want to see it myself.”

Lucas looked uncertain. “Aria, that’s probably not wise right now.”

“Because everyone already thinks I did it anyway?”

Neither of them answered.

Exactly.

I lifted my chin despite the ache in my chest. “I’m not running from accusations I didn’t earn.”

Kael studied me carefully, conflict flashing in his silver eyes.

Then he nodded once.

“Fine.”

The walk back to the pack house felt suffocating.

Whispers spread the moment we entered.

Every wolf we passed stared openly.

Some looked shocked.

Others suspicious.

A few looked afraid.

Not because of the poisoning.

Because of the mark on my neck.

I caught several wolves lowering their eyes when I walked by.

Fear.

Why were they afraid of me?

The grand celebration hall was nearly empty now, the earlier joy replaced by panic and tension. Broken glasses littered the floor while servants rushed frantically through the corridors.

Nina spotted me instantly and ran over.

“Oh my God, Aria!”

She threw her arms around me before stopping suddenly.

Her eyes widened when she noticed the glowing mark beneath my ear.

“You have the Crescent Mark,” she whispered.

Even hearing the words again made my stomach tighten.

“You know what it is?”

“Only stories,” she admitted nervously. “My grandmother used to talk about it.”

Before I could ask more, Kael interrupted.

“Where’s Selene?”

Nina looked toward the eastern hallway. “In the healer’s chamber. They said the poison is spreading fast.”

Kael immediately headed down the corridor.

I followed without hesitation.

The healer’s chamber was crowded with anxious wolves when we arrived. The moment Kael entered, everyone stepped aside.

Selene lay unconscious on a large bed, her skin pale and clammy. Dark veins spread slowly beneath her neck like cracks of ink.

The sight startled me.

Wolfsbane poisoning was brutal.

An older healer stood beside her mixing herbs rapidly. “Alpha, the poison is unusually concentrated.”

“Will she survive?” Kael asked.

The healer’s silence answered first.

Then quietly, “I don’t know.”

Kael’s jaw tightened hard.

For the first time since the rejection, I saw genuine fear in his eyes.

Not for politics.

Not for alliances.

For her.

Pain stabbed through my chest unexpectedly.

I hated that it still hurt.

A younger healer suddenly pointed at me. “She shouldn’t be here.”

Everyone turned toward me instantly.

The accusation in his eyes was obvious.

My temper snapped.

“Say what you actually mean.”

The healer straightened nervously but continued anyway. “You had motive.”

“Careful,” Lucas warned sharply.

“No,” I interrupted coldly. “Let him speak.”

The healer swallowed. “Lady Selene arrived only today. Few people interacted with her privately.” His eyes narrowed slightly. “But everyone witnessed what happened between you and the Alpha.”

Whispers spread around the room.

I felt every stare pressing into my skin.

Humiliation mixed with fury until I could barely breathe.

Kael finally spoke. “There’s no proof Aria had anything to do with this.”

The weak defense almost made me laugh.

Almost.

“But you suspect me too,” I said quietly.

His silence was enough.

My chest hollowed out completely.

Nina stepped beside me protectively. “Aria would never poison someone.”

The younger healer crossed his arms. “Desperate people do dangerous things.”

Before I could respond, a strange scent suddenly hit me.

Sharp.

Bitter.

Wrong.

My wolf stirred violently.

Something’s off.

I frowned and looked around the room slowly.

The scent wasn’t coming from Selene.

It was coming from the healer’s table.

Without thinking, I walked toward it.

“Aria,” Lucas warned carefully.

I ignored him.

Small bowls of crushed herbs covered the table, but one glass vial near the edge caught my attention instantly.

The scent pouring from it matched the strange bitterness in the air.

I picked it up slowly.

The older healer’s face changed immediately.

“Don’t touch that!”

Too late.

The moment my fingers wrapped around the vial, heat surged through my body again.

Visions flashed across my mind.

A shadow slips into the celebration hall.

A hand pouring liquid into Selene’s wine.

Silver rings.

Dark sleeves.

Male.

I gasped and nearly dropped the vial.

“What happened?” Nina asked quickly.

I stared at the glass in horror.

“I saw something.”

Kael stepped forward sharply. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know,” I whispered. “It was like… a memory.”

The room fell silent.

The older healer looked terrified now.

Kael noticed immediately.

“You know something.”

“No,” the healer said too quickly.

Lucas moved beside him. “Then why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”

Sweat formed along the healer’s forehead.

My wolf growled softly inside me.

He’s hiding something.

Suddenly, the chamber doors burst open.

A warrior entered breathlessly.

“Alpha, we found wolfsbane in Lady Aria’s room.”

Everything stopped.

The younger healer smirked faintly.

Several wolves immediately backed away from me.

Nina looked horrified. “That’s impossible.”

But nobody listened.

Kael stared at me with unreadable eyes.

Pain hit harder than the mate rejection itself.

Because this time, everyone believed I was dangerous.

Even him.

“I didn’t do it,” I said quietly.

No one spoke.

The silence crushed me.

Lucas looked conflicted. Nina looked furious.

But Kael…

Kael looked disappointed.

And somehow, that hurt the most.

“Search the entire pack house,” he ordered finally.

The warrior nodded immediately.

Then Kael looked at me.

“Until we know the truth, you’ll remain under guard.”

The words hit like a slap.

“You’re imprisoning me?”

“It’s procedure.”

I laughed bitterly. “Right.”

The guards approached carefully.

Not aggressively.

Fearfully.

As if they expected me to attack at any second.

That strange ache inside me deepened again.

The Crescent Mark.

The visions.

The power.

What exactly was happening to me?

Nina grabbed my hand. “Aria”

“I’m fine.”

But I wasn’t.

Not even close.

As the guards escorted me through the corridors, whispers followed everywhere.

“She poisoned the new Luna.”

“The rejected mate finally snapped.”

“But what about the mark?”

“I heard the Lunar Guardians were cursed.”

Fear spread faster than truth ever could.

They already decided who I was.

Monster.

Traitor.

Threat.

The guards stopped outside an old guest chamber and opened the door stiffly.

“You’ll stay here tonight.”

I entered silently.

The moment the door shut behind me, exhaustion crashed into my body again.

I sank onto the edge of the bed and buried my face in my hands.

Everything was falling apart too fast.

Kael rejected me.

Selene was dying.

Someone framed me.

And now strange powers were awakening inside me.

A soft knock interrupted my thoughts.

Before I answered, Nina slipped into the room quietly.

The moment she saw my face, her expression softened.

“You okay?”

I laughed weakly. “Do I look okay?”

She sat beside me immediately. “I know you didn’t do this.”

“Apparently nobody else does.”

Nina hesitated.

Then carefully, “Including Kael?”

The question hurt more than it should have.

I looked away.

“That answer tells me everything.”

Silence settled between us briefly.

Then Nina lowered her voice.

“My grandmother used to say the Lunar Guardians could sense truth.”

I frowned slightly. “What does that mean?”

“She said the Moon Goddess chose them to protect balance. They could see hidden memories… hidden intentions.”

My pulse quickened.

The vision.

The vial.

It wasn’t random.

“You think that’s what happened to me?”

“I don’t know,” Nina admitted honestly. “But if you can truly see fragments of truth…” She grabbed my hand tightly. “Then maybe you’re the only one who can prove your innocence.”

Hope flickered faintly inside me for the first time tonight.

Tiny.

Fragile.

But real.

Then suddenly,

A scream echoed through the pack house.

Followed by crashing glass.

Nina and I jumped to our feet instantly.

The door outside burst open.

Panicked footsteps thundered through the corridor.

Then someone shouted the words that made my blood run cold.

“Selene is awake!”

A pause.

Then,

“She says Aria tried to kill her.”