Rise Of The Fallen Luna

Chapter 4

••• Leicia’s POV •••

Matthew opened his mouth to argue, but Alpha King raised a hand. “If a vow was made in front of her late mother and broken—then no one here can oppose her request.”

His tone was final, carving silence through the room like a blade. It was impossible for Matthew and Lydia to retort.

But yet Lydia, still clinging to delusion, stepped forward.

“But Alpha King, Matthew is a hero. Without us, the treaty wouldn’t exist. What will people say if Leicia divorces him? We just don’t want her reputation tarnished.”

Alpha King frowned, eyes like sharpened steel. “Do you know the most important trait a warrior must possess?”

Matthew dropped his gaze while Lydia still had the gall to shake her head.

“Other than bravery, it is loyalty. Without it, bravery means nothing. No leader can trust a warrior without it. Who can guarantee that you might one day decide to run to our enemies and sell important information to them?” Alpha King said coldly

Queen Kathreena’s voice cut in, soft but laced with iron. “I never imagined someone who claimed battlefield valor would so easily break a sacred vow. Marriage is no small bond. And yet, after swearing before her dying mother, Alpha Matthew still took a mistress.”

She turned to Lydia.

“And you, Warrior Lydia. You knew he had a Luna, yet you still spread your legs on the battlefield. Where others fought to protect our borders, you seduced your way into false glory. So yes, perhaps you ended the war—but who’s to say you didn’t do it on your back?”

She then shook her head. “That is not how a warrior should behave, much less a hero, and is very disappointing to learn.”

“So spare us your bullshit excuse. You didn’t come here to defend Leicia’s reputation—you came to protect your own.” Alpha King glowered at them.

He stood and announced, “Alpha Matthew and Warrior Lydia, I hereby revoke your proposals to join the elite guard. The kingdom has no place for untrustworthy people in uniform.”

Matthew paled. Lydia flushed red from humiliation, her mouth open, stunned.

The Alpha King and Luna’s Queen’s words must have struck them like lightning out of nowhere. Even I was dumbfounded. I never thought Luna Queen, who was always soft-spoken, could say those words.

I tilted my head slightly as I looked at Matthew and Lydia—curious, detached, like watching strangers realize their masks were slipping.

If disgrace had a face, Matthew and Lydia just wore it.

And yet, no laughter rose from me. I just felt a quiet satisfaction as the truth began to rot their pride from the inside. They should’ve known this would happen, but they were over their heads, thinking their heroic acts allowed them to do and say anything they wanted. Now they had made their bed, and had to lie on it.

I sighed secretly. So much for being heroes. Turned out the battlefield wasn’t where the real war was, and I knew this was just the beginning.

“Did you bring the divorce papers?” Alpha King asked as if he hadn’t just delivered the news that shattered Matthew and Lydia’s illusion of getting higher ranks.

“Yes, Alpha King,” I replied smoothly. “It’s the paper in Alpha Matthew’s hand. I had signed it, so I just needed his signature.”

Alpha King gestured for his Beta to give Matthew a pen, and Matthew, left with no choice, signed the paper before giving it to the Beta. I heaved out a sigh of relief. With the divorce papers in the royal Beta’s hand, Matthew couldn’t go back on our divorce.

Now, it was time for us to reject each other.

But before it could happen, King Thyrius’s brows drew together as he shifted his gaze to me.

“Before the rejection, what is your plan for the future, Leicia?” he asked, concern flashing in his eyes. “You will not belong in a pack anymore. You will become a rogue.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lydia’s lips curled into a smug smile. But only for a while.

The next second, Luna Queen spoke. “She won’t be. The Blazefang Shadows Pack will welcome her.”

I didn’t need to see Lydia and Matthew’s reaction. From how I felt like a hole was being bored into the back of my head, I knew Lydia was staring daggers at me.

Although I felt grateful, I declined the offer. I bowed my head slightly. “Thank you for the offer, Luna Queen, but I’m thinking of returning to my original pack with Annisa and Kyle.”

Luna Queen and Alpha King exchanged glances. I knew they were worried, and I knew they had kept my pack clean, but they were also concerned about how returning there would make me feel because the memories of my pack were soaked in blood.

I couldn’t deny it would hurt. I hadn’t gone back ever since the m******e happened, but I wanted to stay there. It was where I grew up.

“Leicia, come here.” Luna Queen gestured for me to approach her, and I moved gracefully toward her, sitting on the chair beside her that was specifically reserved for the mate of the Alpha Prince. “Are you sure?” she asked gently, concern etched on her face.

I nodded. “I’m sure.” My voice was soft but firm. “But I would like for Alpha Matthew and Warrior Lydia not to hinder me from retrieving and moving my stuff from the Whitemaw Tails Pack.”

Lydia scoffed and muttered under her breath, “What does she have? Outdated clothes?”

Luna Queen’s lips twitched like she was suppressing her laugh. She knew. She knew, as well as the Alpha King, that the antiques, the art, the heirlooms in that pack house were mine. Once I left, it would look like a ransacked museum.

But Lydia and Matthew didn’t know it.

“Alright, I will send some warriors to help you move,” Alpha King promised. “Just tell us when the time comes.”

I looked at him and sent him a grateful smile. “Thank you,” I said softly.

But then he added, “Leicia, you should remarry soon. There are loyal Alphas—”

A deep growl erupted from Matthew, but Alpha King narrowed his eyes at him and sneered. “You are the one who cheated on Leicia. You do not have the right to growl possessively like she is yours anymore.”

I shook my head helplessly. I knew Alpha Thyrius was trying to help me, but to have another marriage so soon? No. I didn’t think so. Not now.

Shaking the thoughts away, I quietly asked my wolf, “Belle, are you ready for the rejection?”

Although Mathew and I weren’t fated mates, had only spent a few hours together after our wedding, and hadn’t had s*x yet, we had marked each other, so the rejection would hurt, especially for Belle.

I felt her hesitate before her determined voice sounded in my head. “I’m ready.”

I stood, took a breath, and looked Matthew in the eyes. “I’m ready for the rejection process.”

Luna Queen took my hand and squeezed it as encouragement. I took another deep breath and began speaking, “I, Leicia Garnet, a former member of the Dawn Guardians Pack, reject you, Alpha Matthew of the Whitemaw Tails Pack, as my mate and my Alpha. I’m also severing my ties with the Whitemaw Tails Pack from now on.”

Matthew looked about to throw up, but accepted my rejection.

And then I felt it—agony.

Pain tore through me like lightning. My body convulsed, tears streamed down my face, my scream echoed off the marble walls, and Belle howled in pain, but I felt Luna Queen’s arms around me, her soft voice soothing me.

When it passed, I could barely sit straight.

I saw Matthew kneeling on the floor, his body shaking and his shirt soaked with sweat. Lydia clung to him, trying to comfort him.

Alpha King frowned again and asked an Omega to bring a glass of water for Matthew, while Luna Queen had already given me one.

The hall fell silent—save for Lydia’s frantic whispering and the sound of my breathing, slow and broken.

After my heart calmed, I heard Alpha King dismiss Matthew and Lydia. He must have calmed down as well. I stared as they went away. Relief flooded my body. At long last, I was now free of his poisonous family.“Leicia, are you alright?” Luna Queen asked with worry. “Is Belle alright?”

“I’m alright,” Belle spoke in my mind. “Please thank the Luna Queen for worrying about me.”

I smiled at Luna Queen and replied, “We are both alright and grateful for your concern.”

Luna Queen dabbed the sweat off my forehead, but it seemed Alpha King still looked troubled.

“Leicia, please consider remarrying,” he said. “I know this must be the last thing on your mind, but we can’t let you be a rogue. Returning to your pack doesn’t change your status, and it may also still be dangerous for you.”

I understood his point and worry, so I smiled faintly and replied, “I will think about it.”

I spent a few more hours there, accompanying the Luna Queen while the Alpha King went to his office to deal with his duties.

When I was ready to return to the Whitemaw Tails pack, Luna Queen arranged for a car to drive me back.

I thanked her, but as I walked toward the entrance, I collided with someone—a solid chest which nearly toppled me to the floor, but strong arms steadied me.

I looked up to see a he-wolf with an unkempt beard and hair. War-worn eyes. Tired. Quiet. A real warrior, unlike Matthew. Someone who had just come back from the battlefield.

It made me pause. I didn’t know who he was, but those green eyes—light, piercing—sent a familiar feeling over me.