The Injured Luna

The Luna Awakens

Chapter 8 – The Luna Awakens

Point of View: Anna

The moon had never felt so close.

Its silver light bathed my skin as the ribbon binding our hands was cut, sealing the ancient vow. The claiming ceremony had ended hours ago, but I still stood beneath the stars in the pack’s sacred grove, the silk of my ceremonial dress swaying in the breeze.

My heart was full and aching at once.

I was Luna now.

Officially. Irrevocably.

But more than that, I was claimed. By Richard. My mate, my protector… and something I was still too scared to name out loud. His presence burned through every corner of my soul. The bond between us pulsed like a second heartbeat.

I had never belonged anywhere in my life. Now I belonged to a man who could destroy armies with his bare hands—and who had held me last night like I was the most fragile thing in the world.

Princess, the rogue had said.

The word felt foreign. Like a storybook name someone else had worn.

But I could no longer deny what I was.

The spell had broken.

My wolf had awakened fully on my eighteenth birthday, and with it came dreams—wild visions of fire, of a palace I didn’t recognize, of a woman who looked like me singing lullabies in a golden throne room. I had tried to forget them. Suppress them.

But now, everything was different.

My blood had drawn the first attack.

And it wouldn’t be the last.

“Still out here?”

Richard’s voice wrapped around me like warmth.

I turned. He stood a few feet away, wearing a dark linen shirt unbuttoned at the top, sleeves rolled up. His jaw was shadowed, his silver eyes glowing faintly in the moonlight. My mate. My Alpha.

“Couldn’t sleep,” I said softly.

He stepped closer. “Too much ceremony?”

“Too much everything.”

He nodded and offered his hand. I took it.

He led me from the grove, through the forest trail lit with lanterns, back toward the Alpha's house. The night was quiet but alive with energy—like the forest itself held its breath.

“Come with me,” he said.

We didn’t return to the main house.

Instead, he guided me to the small stone cottage nestled deeper in the woods, a place I’d never been before.

“My mother’s old retreat,” he said, opening the door. “She used it when she needed peace. I thought… maybe you’d feel safer here tonight.”

The inside smelled like cedar and roses. A single room with a fireplace, fur-covered chairs, a wooden bed piled with blankets, and a claw-foot tub in the corner.

Warmth bloomed in my chest.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

He set down the ceremonial cloak and turned to face me fully.

“You were incredible tonight,” he said. “I’ve never been more proud.”

I felt a rush of heat. “I was shaking.”

“No one could tell. You walked like a queen.”

“I’m not a queen.”

His gaze softened. “Maybe not yet. But you're Luna now. My Luna.”

The title pressed into me like a second skin. Strange and beautiful.

“I don’t know how to be one,” I admitted. “I’ve never even led a kitchen shift, let alone a pack.”

“You don’t have to know everything,” he said. “You just have to be you. The rest will come.”

I wanted to believe him.

I wanted to believe I was enough.

“Richard…”

He stepped closer, hands rising to cup my face. “You’re not alone anymore, Anna. Whatever comes—threats, politics, even the crown—you face it with me.”

A tear slipped down my cheek. He caught it with his thumb.

“I’m scared,” I confessed.

“So am I,” he said. “Because I’ve never cared for anyone the way I care for you.”

That broke something open in me.

I surged forward, pressing my lips to his.

He kissed me back with a hunger that lit my whole body on fire. There was no hesitation—only heat and need and the soft sound of fabric falling to the floor.

He undressed me slowly, reverently, as if I were a sacred thing.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered against my shoulder, kissing the fresh scar where I’d been attacked.

When we finally fell onto the bed, skin against skin, the bond snapped fully into place.

And it was like coming home.

His hands mapped my body like he’d always known it. His mouth worshipped every inch of me. I felt safe in a way I never had before—wrapped in his arms, breathless and whole.

He made love to me with a mix of tenderness and raw passion, anchoring me to the present, grounding me as my mind threatened to drift into fear and uncertainty.

I cried when it was over, and he held me without asking why.

We lay tangled in the blankets, his heartbeat steady beneath my ear, the fire casting flickers across the walls.

“You’ll make a powerful Luna,” he said against my hair.

“I don’t want power,” I murmured. “I just want peace.”

“You’ll have both,” he promised. “If I have to burn the world to give it to you.”

I believed him.

But deep down, I also knew the peace wouldn’t last.

The next morning, I woke alone in the cottage bed. Sunlight filtered through the curtains, and the scent of pine lingered in the air. A tray of breakfast sat near the hearth—warm bread, berries, and tea.

My heart swelled.

But when I stepped outside, I heard whispers.

I wasn’t sure if it was my imagination or the enhanced hearing that came with the Luna bond, but the words were clear:

“She’s too young.”

“An omega, before.”

“She’s dangerous. That bloodline brings war.”

I walked toward the packhouse with my head high, but every step was heavy.

In the dining hall, the murmurs stopped. All eyes turned to me.

Some bowed. Some didn’t.

“Luna,” Elder Mira said, approaching with a careful smile. “May we speak privately?”

I followed her to a side chamber, where she gestured for me to sit.

“You’ve shown great strength,” she began. “But as your advisor, I must be honest—your position is… delicate.”

“Because of my past?” I asked.

“Because of your lineage,” she corrected. “If you are truly the missing princess, others will rise to challenge you. Some will want to control you. Others will want to destroy you. And still others will see you as a symbol to rally behind.”

“I didn’t ask for that,” I said quietly.

“No,” she agreed. “But it’s yours now. And what you do with it could change the future of this region.”

I stared at her. “Are you saying I should take the throne?”

“I’m saying you must be ready for the option. That means training. Political knowledge. Control of your wolf. And alliances.”

The door creaked. Richard stepped in, expression unreadable.

“We’ll handle it,” he said firmly. “She doesn’t have to face it all at once.”

Mira bowed slightly and left.

He crossed the room to me, taking my hand. “I won’t let them overwhelm you.”

“I need to be strong,” I said. “Stronger than I’ve ever been.”

“You’re already stronger than you know.”

But strength, I was learning, came with a price.

That night, I had the dream again.

The fire.

The palace burning.

The woman screaming my name—“Annaleia!”

And a child, running through the halls, her white nightgown soaked in blood.

I woke up gasping, the sheets twisted around me.

Something was coming.

Something dark.

And I was no longer just the frightened omega girl hiding behind a mop and apron.

I was Luna.

And I would not run.