RISE OF THE HEALER LUNA

2

LIAM'S POV

I woke up to silence, the kind of silence that didn’t feel peaceful but empty.

The space beside me on the grand bed was cold, and for a moment, I just lay there on my back staring at the ceiling, letting out a slow breath I didn’t realize I had been holding.

Of course, Cassandra wasn’t here. She never was in the mornings anymore. I didn’t need to guess where she was. I already knew.

I dragged a hand over my face and sat up slowly, the sheets sliding down my chest. My head felt heavy, not from sleep, but from thoughts that never seemed to leave me alone these days.

Three years, three damn years since I rejected Serena. Three years since I told myself I had done the right thing. But thinking never solved anything, and I had a lot of planning to do to move the pack forward.

I swung my legs off the bed and stood up, my body moving on instinct. The room felt too big for one person, too quiet, and too cold. I grabbed a robe and tied it loosely around my waist before walking toward Cassandra’s makeup room.

As I approached, I heard her voice, bright, cheerful, and fake.

“Guys, I swear this new gloss is literally magic,” she said sweetly. “Look at that shine. If your lips don’t glow like this, are you even trying?”

I paused at the door for a second. Livestream again. Of course.

I pushed the door open.

Cassandra sat in front of her huge mirror, surrounded by lights, cameras, and makeup kits. Her hair was perfect, her lashes long, her lips glossy. She looked like a queen—a queen performing for an invisible crowd.

The moment she noticed me in the mirror, her smile froze. Her eyes narrowed. She turned sharply toward me and immediately reached for her phone.

The livestream ended, and the room went silent.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” she snapped, her voice losing all sweetness. “Do you enjoy ruining my videos or what?”

I frowned slightly.

“Good morning to you too.”

She shot me a glare.

“Don’t start.”

I glanced down at myself. My robe was loosely tied, my chest exposed.

“What’s the problem?”

“You walked in here half-naked!” she snapped. “Again! Do you know how unprofessional that looks? Thousands of people watch my streams!”

I stared at her, disbelief slowly turning into irritation.

“I’m your mate, Cassandra. Your Alpha. Your husband.”

“And?” she shot back instantly. “Does that give you the right to sabotage my work?”

I felt something snap inside me.

“Work?” I repeated in a calm voice, staring her down.

Her eyes flashed.

“Yes, Liam. I do.”

I walked further into the room, leaning against the doorframe, my arms crossed.

“It’s been three years.”

She rolled her eyes and turned back to the mirror, adjusting her hair.

“Here we go again.”

“Three years,” I repeated, my voice firmer now, “and all you care about is livestreams, makeup, filters, followers, whatever trend you’re chasing this week.”

She let out a sharp laugh.

“I can’t believe you’re so old-fashioned.”

I stepped closer.

“We barely talk anymore. We barely see each other. And don’t even get me started on the fact that we haven’t had s*x in months.”

Her hand froze mid-air. Slowly, she turned to face me, and her eyes were cold now.

“So that’s what this is about?” she said.

I clenched my jaw.

“I’m saying you don’t act like a Luna.”

That did it. She stood up so fast her chair scraped loudly across the floor.

“A Luna?” she snapped. “You still think this is the dark ages, Liam? Wake up! The world has changed!”

She stepped closer to me, her finger pointing at my chest.

“Gone are the days when Lunas were silent puppets who existed just to please their Alphas. I am not Serena. I am not going to sit quietly and revolve my entire life around you!”

My voice dropped.

“You are right. Serena never needed to paint her face in front of an audience to matter. She acted like a real Luna!”

“You wanted a strong Luna,” Cassandra continued sharply. “You chose me because I’m ambitious, visible, influential. Now you want to complain because I actually have a life?”

I exhaled slowly, trying to keep my temper in check.

“You’re supposed to stand beside me,” I said. “Not live in your phone.”

She scoffed.

“And you’re supposed to lead a pack that’s falling apart. Maybe focus on that instead of my schedule.”

With a straight face, I spoke to her.

“From this moment, pack duties are not optional. You will attend every assembly and council meeting as Luna. If you choose otherwise, then watch that pretty little title disappear.”

She visibly shook at my words, and I turned to leave after this, believing I had passed my message.

As I walked out of the room, her voice followed me.

“That is not fair, Liam! Don’t you dare slam that door!”

I slammed it hard, the sound echoing across the hallway. I walked away, my mind spinning with anger, frustration, and something else I didn’t want to name.

Serena. Her name came to me without permission.

Three years ago, she had stood in the pack hall, her eyes wide, her heart breaking, yet her back straight. She had accepted my rejection without screaming, without begging, without collapsing.

She had just walked away and never returned. We searched for weeks, then months, but nothing.

Eventually, everyone assumed she was dead. I told myself the same thing. But sometimes, in the quiet moments, I wondered if she was still alive somewhere and if she was, whether she hated me.

If she was here, she would have found a solution to this problem. She was weak physically, but she was intelligent. This may have been my worst mistake.

I shook my head and went to the bathroom, turning on the shower. The cold water helped clear my thoughts a little.

When I finished bathing and dressed in a black shirt and coat, I felt more like an Alpha again and less like a confused man trapped in his own choices.

I had just finished buttoning my cuffs when there was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” I growled.

The door opened slightly, and Beta Emmett stepped inside, looking tired.

“Sorry to disturb you, Alpha, but there’s more brought in today,” he said quietly.

I closed my eyes for a brief second and let out a heavy sigh. I didn’t need him to explain. I already knew what he meant. The Silver poison, at it again.

“Let’s go,” I said.

We walked out together, and the courtyard was already crowded when we arrived.

Dozens of body bags lay on the ground, lined up in rows. Families stood around them, some crying, some screaming, some staring at me with eyes full of anger.

Emmett stood beside me silently as I stepped forward slowly.

“My people,” I began, my voice tired but firm. “Please, stay calm.”

Someone laughed bitterly.

“Calm?” a woman shouted. “My son is in one of those bags!”

Another man yelled, “You say that every time!”

I clenched my fists.

“I am working on this,” I said, “day and night. We are studying the Silver poison. We are trying to understand it better. We will find a cure.” I said with my back straight.

Murmurs spread through the crowd.

“A cure?” someone scoffed.

“There is a cure!” another voice shouted.

I frowned slightly.

“What?”

An older man stepped forward.

“We heard rumors,” he said loudly, “about a girl, an anonymous healer. They say she has the cure.”

The crowd erupted instantly.

“Yes!”

“I heard that too!”

“Why haven’t you brought her here?”

“Why is she hiding?”

I raised my hands, trying to calm them.

“I’ve heard the rumors as well,” I said. “But for reasons unknown to us, this healer has chosen to remain anonymous. We do not know her identity or location yet.”

The crowd grew louder.

“You’re lying!”

“You don’t care!”

“You’ve never lost anyone, Alpha!”

A man pushed forward.

“My brother died last week!”

A woman screamed, “My mate is next!”

“Enough!” I shouted.

But they didn’t stop until Emmett stepped forward quickly.

“Guards!” he ordered.

Within seconds, pack guards surrounded the crowd. Silver bullets glinted in their weapons. Tear gas canisters flew through the air. People screamed and scattered, the courtyard turned into chaos.

“Stop!” I yelled at the guards, and they put down their weapons, but the damage had already been done.

The bodies remained, but the voices were gone.

I turned to my beta and the guards.

“Emmett, you are in charge. I want this healer found before the new year!”

“Yes, Alpha,” he bowed.

I turned away and walked back inside the pack house, and by the time I reached my room, my anger had hardened into resolve.

Plans formed in my mind, including quarantine protocols, budgeting for more healers and researchers, council schedules. I tried to pinpoint where we had failed as I paced around.

A knock sounded on the door again.

“What now?” I snapped.

The door opened slightly, and a servant stood there, pale and trembling.

“I… I’m sorry, Alpha,” he stammered. “I just wanted to ask about tonight’s arrangements for the Christmas Full Moon Assembly.”

I stared at him blankly.

Christmas?

For a moment, the word felt foreign. Then it hit me. Today was Christmas, while my pack was dying, while my marriage was rotting, while my past haunted me like a ghost.

“Make sure that everyone who enters that hall is properly checked,” I said. “If anyone is suspected to be ill, they must be quarantined. If anyone gets ill from this event, you all will answer for it. Is that understood?”

The servant bowed quickly and left.

***

By evening, the pack hall was decorated with lights and silver banners.

Normally, the Christmas Full Moon Assembly was loud, joyful, full of laughter and music. But tonight, it felt like a funeral dressed in gold. No one laughed, and no one danced.

Cassandra sat beside me on the Alpha throne. Her legs were crossed, her eyes glued to her phone, her fingers moving quickly across the screen.

I noticed how people watched and talked about her behavior. I leaned forward, my teeth clenched.

“Put that phone away!” she scoffed, before tucking it into her purse.

I stood up slowly, and the hall went silent as all eyes turned to me. I walked forward, my steps steady, my expression calm.

When I reached the center of the hall, I cleared my throat.

“My people,” I began.

But before I could say another word, the massive doors of the pack hall suddenly opened, and a loud gasp echoed across the hall as every head turned toward the entrance.

I frowned slightly and followed their gaze, but then… I froze, and my heart momentarily stopped.