RISE OF THE HEALER LUNA

SERENA I smiled so hard my cheeks hurt as I pushed open the tall doors of the pack hall. Tonight was special, and I was happy to finally see Liam after him being absent the entire day. Maybe I would tease him first, complaining about how he had dragged me out of bed instead of letting me sleep in. I would tell him he owed me a real date because summoning your mate to the pack hall on your anniversary was not romantic. The other anniversaries had been grand, and Liam, being a thoughtful man, knew the right things to make me happy. He hadn’t sent me a single flower all day, like he would on our anniversaries. I told myself it was nothing, that he was just swamped with work this year. He probably chose the pack hall because he still knew he needed to fulfill his duties to me as his wife while tending to his people. I stepped inside with a bright smile. “Happy anniversary, Liam…” The words died in my throat because he wasn’t alone. Alpha Liam Moonsault stood near the council platform with his tall figure relaxed, his shoulders loose, his voice low, and standing far too close to him was Cassandra Drakon. She was the queen bee of Silverclaw Pack with perfect hair, perfect smile, perfect confidence, and a talent for getting under people’s skin without lifting a finger. She was leaning toward Liam. Not touching him exactly, but close enough that I felt it in my bones. The air between them didn't just feel professional. It had a dark, magnetic pull of s****l tension that made my skin crawl with a sudden jealousy. She was useful to the pack, but Liam said he didn’t like her because she wasn’t very nice to me before I became Luna, so why was she close to him like that? My smile stiffened, and for a second, I wondered if I had walked into the wrong hall—or the wrong universe. The air in the room thinned out, but I told myself she was just making a report to the Alpha. I walked forward anyway, slowly, calmly, and dignified. If Cassandra wanted a show, I would not give her one. I stopped beside Liam and slipped my arm around his. “My Alpha,” I said lightly, forcing a playful tone. “You summoned me like I was a soldier. I was starting to think you forgot our anniversary.” My fingers brushed his sleeve in a gentle reminder that he is mine. Cassandra’s eyes flicked to me, and the look she gave me was not subtle. It was disgust, like I was a stain she had just noticed on a white dress. Her lips curved into a polite smile, but her eyes were sharp. “Well,” she said softly, stepping back, “I should leave you two alone.” She walked away with slow grace, her hips swaying slightly and her head held high. The audience around us pretended not to watch, but they watched. Everyone always watched Cassandra. I turned to Liam with a relieved smile. “There you are,” I said, trying to sound cheerful. “I thought you were going to cancel our date again.” He didn’t smile back, and that was when I noticed it. His jaw was tight, his eyes were cold, and there was a small twitch in his upper lip. My stomach dipped. “Liam?” I whispered. “What’s wrong?” He didn’t answer. Instead, he gently removed my hand from his arm. Not roughly, not kindly either—just deliberately. I expected him to laugh and pull me into a hug, proving my fears wrong, but the ice in his gaze made me feel like I was being slandered just by existing in his space. Then he walked past me straight to the center of the hall. Confusion crawled up my spine, but I turned slowly as the entire pack hall had gone quiet. Even the councilors had straightened in their seats. Liam faced the crowd, and his voice echoed across the hall. “Silverclaw Pack,” he said calmly. “We have come a long way.” People nodded while I stood there frozen, my heart starting to beat too fast. “Our pack has survived wars,” Liam continued. “We have faced rivals, hunters, rogue clans, and modern threats. Yet we stand strong.” More nods and soft murmurs of pride. “We did not survive because of luck,” he went on. “We survived because of strength, perseverance, and discipline.” Then his gaze shifted. It landed on me, and my chest tightened. “And not because of weakness.” The word hit me violently, and I swallowed. I knew that word too well. Weak. That was what people called me when my heart gave up in the middle of almost everything. That was what they whispered when my wolf couldn’t keep up with others. That was what I tried so hard not to be. But Liam would never call me that in public… so this had to be a mistake. Liam continued speaking, his voice steady and his tone sharp. “Every battle Silverclaw has won was earned through power, not pity. Through courage, not fragility. Through warriors who could stand and fight.” He looked away from me again, but the damage was done. My fingers curled into fists, and my heart began to ache in that familiar, dangerous way. Every word was a slander that turned my medical struggles into a shameful character flaw before the very people I had loved and served. Then he turned back to me fully, coldly, and the hall felt smaller. “Serena Rowan,” he said. My breath hitched as every eye turned toward me. I took a shaky step forward. “Yes?” I whispered. Liam’s voice was clear, loud, and merciless. “I reject you as my mate.” It can’t be, I said to myself, looking at him with a smile still on my face. He would take his words back, give me a hug, and tell me it was all a joke. But his face remained cold. My knees almost gave out. The words didn’t make sense, and my mind scrambled for explanations. My lips shook as I tried to speak, but nothing came. A broken whisper escaped my lips finally. “No… Liam… what?” Some councilors nodded, and one of them even clapped slowly. “Hear, hear,” Councilor Gaius said firmly. My ears rang. I stared at Liam like he was a stranger. “Is this some kind of joke?” I whispered, forcing a weak laugh. “Because if it is, it’s not funny. At all.” He didn’t blink. “I am the Alpha,” Liam said coldly. “And I cannot continue to have a weak Luna.” My throat burned. I wanted to shout that I wasn’t weak, that I had fought every day against my own failing body just to stand here beside him. But the words tangled in my chest, strangled by the searing bond. My hands shook so violently I had to clench them into fists to keep myself from collapsing in front of everyone. The words hurt more than any blow, and the crowd erupted again. “She’ll be our downfall!” “Even newborn wolves are stronger than her!” Someone laughed. Someone else yelled, “Banisher her!” My hands trembled. I turned slowly, looking at the faces I had grown up with—people who had eaten at my table, smiled at me yesterday, and sworn loyalty to me. Now they looked at me like I was a disease. Councilor Gaius stepped forward. “The Alpha’s decision is wise,” he said loudly. “Silverclaw Pack cannot afford weakness.” I felt my throat burn. “Liam,” I whispered, stepping toward him. “Please. Talk to me. Alone. We can fix this. We always fix things, remember?” His eyes hardened. “There is nothing to fix.” My heart shattered a little more. Then he lifted his chin. “There is someone more suited to stand beside me,” he said. The hall went completely silent. He turned slightly. “Cassandra Drakon,” he announced. “Step forward.” My breath stopped as Cassandra walked toward him slowly, her expression calm and satisfied. I pinched my hand so hard it started to bleed, just to confirm this was real and not a nightmare. Liam’s voice echoed through the hall. “From this moment on, Cassandra Drakon is recognized as my chosen mate, my future wife, and the next Luna of Silverclaw Pack.” For a second, no one moved. Then the hall erupted into applause—claps, cheers, and shouts of approval. Cassandra smiled sweetly. Her eyes met mine, and she smiled wider. Inside, I was breaking apart piece by piece. Every step felt like walking on thorns, and my vision became blurry. It was painful, and I needed to get out of there before I collapsed. “Liam, I—” “Accept the rejection so we can get on with this,” he said, looking away. For minutes, I stood rooted to the ground, refusing to move my lips. But with the feeling of defeat pulling me into exhaustion, I said the words I hated the most. “I… accept your rejection,” I whispered, choking on the words as tears blurred my vision. The words tasted like ash, and the hall fell quiet again. For a moment, I thought Liam would say something. He didn’t. So I turned around and dragged my heavy feet, navigating the halls through the blur with a hand on my chest as I begged my wolf not to give up so fast. When I stepped outside, snow was falling softly and silently. More tears slid down my cheeks, warm against the freezing air, but I wiped them away quickly. No one deserved to see them. Behind me, laughter echoed faintly from the hall. Three days to Christmas, I thought bitterly. So this was my gift. A group of teenagers stood near the gate. They recognized me, and one of them laughed. “Hey, weak Luna!” he shouted. Another picked up snow and threw it at me. The snowball hit my shoulder. Someone else threw another, but I was too numb to react. I just kept walking. They laughed harder, but their voices faded as I entered the forest. I had no clue where I was going, but this place didn’t feel like home anymore. I could never watch my Liam wed Cassandra. That was too much for me. But why was he this cruel? The trees swallowed me whole, and the world became quiet while the cold grew sharper. My steps slowed, and my heart began to ache again. Not emotional pain—real pain. The kind I knew too well. My breath became uneven, and I pressed a hand to my chest. “Not now,” I whispered. “Please… not now.” But my heart didn’t listen. The world began to blur. My legs felt weak, and I stumbled. My hand slammed against a tree trunk as I tried to stay upright. Snow fell into my hair, and my vision turned fuzzy as I slid down slowly until I was sitting on the cold ground. “Great,” I muttered weakly, forcing a shaky smile. “Rejected, banished, and now… dramatic collapse in the snow. Very poetic, Serena.” My breath came out in gasps as the pain spread through my chest like fire. My ears rang like Christmas bells. Then I heard footsteps slowly crunching through the snow. I lifted my head slightly to see a large wolf standing between the trees. Its eyes glowed faintly in the dark, and for a second, fear shot through me. Then the wolf moved closer, and its form began to shift. Slowly, the wolf turned into a man—tall, broad-shouldered, a dark silhouette against the falling snow. My vision blurred further as I tried to focus on his face, but I couldn’t. He stepped closer, and I felt his presence—strong, dangerous, and unknown. My lips parted, but no sound came out. The world spun, and the last thing I saw was his shadow kneeling in front of me.