Reborn: Luna Takes It All Back

“It hurts!” Selena gasped, sliding from her chair and pulling the tablecloth down. The porcelain shattered on impact with the ground. “Help me!” she reached out to her lover with shaking hands. Panic set in as she struggled to breathe, vision flickering. Shards dug into her back as she writhed on the ground. Her throat burned, and her entire body felt ablaze. Glass crunched underfoot as her lover approached. “What are you doing? Call someone—help me!” she choked, coughing red, the metallic taste flooding her mouth. Inside, her wolf keened, not with words but a raw, animal cry. Mate. Hold him. Live. “My love! Is it done?” a voice called out as someone ran in. Selena’s vision cleared momentarily, and she stared at her best friend’s face. ‘Ray? My love? What?’ “She’s still alive?” What are you doing?” Ray asked, entering the room and closing the door behind her. Sif didn’t answer. He only crossed to the window and yanked the curtains shut, shutting the world away. Selena blinked slowly. No. Not possible. Not them. Surely her wolf wouldn’t have chosen wrong? She dragged her body forward, bloodied fingers reaching for Sif. Tears blurred her eyes as her wolf begged, desperate. Touch him. Prove it’s a lie. Please. Sif frowned and took a step closer. Selena’s heart surged. Yes. Come closer. Hold me— But Ray slid between them, pressing herself to his chest, her arms circling his waist. “Sorry,” Ray murmured, eyes never leaving Selena’s. “It had to be this way. Do you know how it feels? To watch my mate wrapped around someone else?” Selena’s lips trembled. “What—” The word cracked soundlessly, just blood and air. Ray smiled, too bright, too sharp. “I was done sneaking in shadows. You were the problem. So now? I remove the problem.” Her wolf snarled in Selena’s chest, thrashing against the poison. Not acceptance—rage. Mate. Mine. Fight. But Selena’s body betrayed her. The darkness pressed closer, heavy as stone. “This is taking too long,” Ray sighed, almost bored. “End it.” Sif’s hand reached for her throat. And the last thing Selena saw was not love, not regret—only the frozen, black hate in his eyes. ------------------------------------ Consciousness clawed its way back in fits and starts. Selena’s body felt heavy, her limbs useless. Where… am I? She groaned as she realised she was slung over someone’s shoulder like a sack of grain. Her stomach pressed hard against bone, each step jarring through her ribs. She tried to move, but her arms wouldn’t obey—her body felt like lead. “She’s stirring,” a voice muttered close to her ear. The accent was strange, foreign—Eastern. Too far west for that to be possible. “That’s fast,” another answered, sharper, more clipped. “She’s a Luna. Of course, it’s different. Hurry.” Selena’s blindfold pressed tight across her eyes, cutting out the world. The pressure made her dizzy, her head lolling. Her wolf growled faintly in her chest, urging her to wake, to fight, but she could barely keep her thoughts from sliding into blackness again. A woman’s bark snapped through the haze. “Move faster!” The world tilted, then slammed. Selena hit wood with a hollow crack. Air punched from her lungs as she curled into herself on instinct, trembling. Rough hands tugged at her blindfold, and after a moment of burning blur, her vision steadied enough to see a crouched figure before her. “Hey there. Have a nice nap?” Her blood went cold. Ray. “R… Ray?” Selena croaked, her throat raw. No. I saw her. I felt the poison. I died. Ray smiled without warmth and grabbed her chin, jerking her head up. Her nails dug into Selena’s skin, holding her like prey. “You just had to make things difficult, didn’t you?” she hissed. “Why couldn’t you have stayed down? Do you know how much poison we poured into you? Enough to kill three wolves, but no—you just love making me suffer.” She shoved Selena’s face aside like it disgusted her. Selena’s wolf snarled in her chest, weak but defiant. Her body quaked with the effort to lift her head, but her vision swam. Ray rose, pacing in tight circles, her voice slicing the air. “I tried so hard to get rid of you. Do you know what a chore it was? All those meddling fools getting in the way. You never make anything easy for me, Lena.” Her grin flickered sharp as her fangs glinted in candlelight. “But you know what? I should thank you. Without you, none of this would have been possible. You played your part beautifully.” Ray turned to the man beside her—the Eastern slaver. He smelled of sweat, foreign spices, and coin. “She’s healthy. Strong. I expect full payment.” The merchant handed over a pouch heavy with gold. Ray’s eyes glittered as she weighed it in her palm. “Oh, and another dose,” she added carelessly, as if talking about seasoning a meal. “She’s stubborn. She’ll try to run.” Selena’s pulse kicked weakly as the slaver approached. She shook her head, tried to push herself back, but her body betrayed her. No. No, stop. The sharp, chemical stench hit her nose a second before the cloth did. She thrashed, or thought she did, but her strength failed. The wolf inside her screamed against the smothering dark. Her last breath before the void was poison and fear.