Chapter 2 Chapter 2

Chapter 2

- Aria -

The trial room is packed with wolves from every corner of the territory. Their eyes follow me as the guards drag me in, my wrists bound with silver chains that burn my skin. I keep my head high despite the whispers that follow my every step.

"Murderer."

"Jealous bitch."

"She tried to kill our future Luna."

Sophie sits in the front row, her hand dramatically placed over her flat stomach, tears streaming down her perfect face. She's wearing a white dress, pure, innocent. Everything she wants them to think she is.

Marcus sits on the Alpha's throne, his face carved from stone. He doesn't look at me once.

"Bring forth the accused," Elder Thompson announces, his voice echoing through the hall.

The guards shove me forward, and I stumble, the silver chains making my wolf weak. The vial Doctor Mills gave me is hidden in my mouth, tucked behind my back teeth. One bite and it'll be over.

"Aria Rivera, you stand accused of attempted murder of Sophie Santos and her unborn child. How do you plead?"

"Not guilty," I say clearly, though my voice shakes.

Someone in the crowd laughs. "Of course she'd deny it."

Elder Thompson raises his hand for silence. "Present the evidence."

Beta James steps forward. He's been Marcus's best friend since childhood, and the sympathy in his eyes makes this worse somehow.

"This bracelet was found next to the poisoned food," he says, holding up the silver bracelet with the moon charm, my anniversary gift. "Kitchen staff confirmed the Luna was seen near the preparation area an hour before the incident."

"I was in the library all morning," I protest. "Check the logs -"

"The logs show no entry," James continues, not meeting my eyes. "Furthermore, these threatening messages were found on the Luna's phone."

He reads them aloud, horrible, vicious threats against Victoria and her baby. Messages I never sent from a phone I haven't seen in three days.

"Anyone could have taken my phone..."

"SILENCE!" Marcus's alpha command crashes over me like a wave, forcing me to my knees. The crowd gasps at the display of dominance against his own mate. "You will speak only when asked."

Sophie lets out a delicate sob. "I just don't understand why she hates me so much. I only wanted to come home."

"You wanted my husband," I spit out, fighting against the alpha command despite the pain it causes.

"He was mine first," Sophie says sweetly. "You were just... temporary."

The crowd murmurs in agreement. Of course they side with her. She's carrying the Alpha's heir, after all.

"Do you have any witnesses to speak for your defense?" Elder Thompson asks.

I look around the room. My parents sit in the back, their heads down, refusing to meet my gaze. Anna, my best friend, is nowhere to be seen. The pack members I've helped for three years all look away.

"No," I whisper. "No one."

"Then we will proceed to the verdict..."

"Wait!" A small voice calls out.

Everyone turns as Lily, a young omega I once saved from rogues, stands up. She's trembling but determined.

"Lily, sit down," her mother hisses, trying to pull her back.

"No! The Luna saved my life. I won't let her die without speaking." Lily faces the elders. "The Luna couldn't have been in the kitchens yesterday morning. She was with me in the orphanage, teaching the pups to read. From eight until noon."

Hope flares in my chest, but Marcus stands, his power filling the room.

"You dare lie for a criminal?" His voice is deadly quiet.

"I'm not lying, Alpha. Ask any of the pups..."

"The pups who adore her? Who she's clearly manipulated?" Sophie stands, clutching her stomach. "Oh! The stress... the baby..."

She collapses dramatically, and Marcus catches her, his face furious.

"Get the doctor!" he roars, then turns his black eyes on me. "You see what your schemes have caused? Even now, you try to hurt her through your lies!"

"Lily isn't lying!" I cry out, but Marcus backhands me so hard I taste blood.

The crowd gasps. An Alpha has never struck his Luna publicly before. The mate bond screams in agony, and I feel it starting to crack.

"The evidence is clear," Elder Thompson says quickly, clearly wanting to end this. "All in favor of guilty?"

Every hand raises except Lily's. Her mother forces her hand up, tears streaming down the young omega's face.

"Aria Rivera, you are found guilty of attempted murder. The sentence is death by silver injection, to be carried out immediately."

It is now. I bite down on the vial, the bitter liquid flooding my mouth. I force myself to swallow as guards grab my arms.

"Any last words?" Elder Thompson asks.

I look directly at Marcus, memorizing his face one last time. "I loved you with everything I had. When you realize the truth, and you will, remember that you killed the only person who ever truly loved you for who you were, not what you were."

"Dramatic until the end," Sophie mutters, but I catch something in her eyes. Fear? Guilt?

The guards strap me to the execution chair. Doctor Mills approaches with the silver injection, her hands steady. She meets my eyes briefly, she knows what I've done.

"For the crime of attempted murder, let justice be served," Marcus declares.

The needle goes in, but it's just saline. The vial's contents are already working. My vision blurs, my heartbeat slows. I hear screaming, mine? Others? The world tilts.

"Wait!" A voice shouts. "Stop! The Luna is..."

But I'm already falling, falling into darkness. The last thing I see is Marcus's face, still cold, still unmoved, as his mate dies before him.

I wake in complete darkness, gasping for air. Wood surrounds me, a coffin. Panic claws at my throat before I remember. The vial. Doctor Mills.

Dirt falls on my face as the lid opens. Doctor Mills and a stranger peer down at me.

"Quickly," the doctor urges. "We don't have much time."

The stranger, a rogue by his scent, pulls me out. We're in the forest, far from pack territory. A car waits nearby.

"This is Thomas. He'll take you to the human city, where you'll be safe." Doctor Mills presses a bag into my hands. "Money, new identity documents, everything you need."

"Why?" Thomas asks me as I stumble toward the car. "Why would a Luna need to fake her death?"

"Because my mate chose his ex over me and framed me for attempted murder," I say numbly.

"Goddess," he breathes. "Alpha Rivera did that?"

"He's not the man everyone thinks he is." I touch my stomach, where our secret grows. "He's a monster."

"Go," Doctor Mills urges. "The drug will wear off fully soon, and they might notice something's wrong with the body."

I turn to her one last time. "What will you tell them?"

"That you had a weak heart. The stress of the trial caused cardiac arrest before the injection could be administered." She smiles sadly. "They would burn the body immediately. Sophie insisted on it. No evidence left."

Of course she did. She knew I was innocent.

As the car drives away, I watch the forest disappear. Three years of my life, gone. My mate, my pack, my identity, all ash.

"Where to, Luna?" Thomas asks gently.

"I'm not a Luna anymore. I'm nobody." I close my eyes, feeling the broken mate bond throb like an open wound. "Just drive. Far away from here."

"You're not nobody," he says firmly. "You're a survivor. And that's something."

As the miles pass, I feel something shift inside me. The bond with Marcus isn't completely severed, he'd have to reject me properly for that, but it's damaged beyond repair. It hurts with every breath, but I'm alive.

My hand rests on my stomach. We're alive.

"I heard about a pack in the north," Thomas says. "They take in refugees, no questions asked. The Alpha there, he's... different. Fair."

"No packs," I say quickly. "I'm done with packs. I'll live among humans."

"If that's what you want." He glances at me in the mirror. "But humans won't understand when you start showing."

Showing. Because I'm pregnant with the child of the man who tried to kill me.

"I'll figure it out."

"You know," Thomas says after a while, "my sister was rejected by her mate once. Said the pain nearly killed her. But she survived, found a second chance mate who treasured her. Had three pups, happy as can be now."

"This is different. Marcus didn't reject me. He tried to execute me."

Thomas whistles low. "That's got to be a first. An Alpha executing his own mate."

"He loves her more." The words taste like poison. "Sophie was always his choice. I was just... in the way."

We drive through the night, and by dawn, we're in a city I've never seen before. Thomas pulls up to a small apartment building.

"The landlord here doesn't ask questions if you pay in cash. It's not much, but it's safe."

I take the bag Doctor Mills gave me, surprised by its weight. Inside, there's more money than I expected, and a letter.

"Luna Aria,

By the time you read this, you'll be free. I've watched you these three years, seeing how you cared for our pack with genuine love. You deserved better than what our Alpha gave you.

The money is from those you've helped. Lily's family, the widows you supported, the orphans you taught, they all contributed what they could. They couldn't speak for you publicly, but they wanted you to know you were loved.

Start fresh. Live well. And know that not everyone believed the lies.

The truth always comes out eventually.

- Doctor Mills

P.S. Take your vitamins. The little one will need them."

Tears blur my vision. Even in my darkest moment, there was kindness.

"You good?" Thomas asks.

"I will be." I wipe my eyes and hand him money. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. Surviving is the easy part. Living? That's where it gets hard."

As he drives away, I stand before my new home, hand on my stomach.

"It's just you and me now, little one," I whisper. "But I promise, we'll make it. Somehow."