The Dead Luna

Aurora

"I’m sorry, Phoenix. Okay? But I need to do it for my friends. For Kiara! For Tina! For my pack."

I didn’t know why I was feeling this hurt.

The pain was slowly spreading across my chest. I always knew they didn’t like me. But never had the idea that they actually hated me this much.

All this time, I thought maybe I did belong to this pack. Maybe if I worked hard enough, they’d see me. Accept me.

But standing here now, with her words hanging in the air, I felt stupid.

They never wanted me.

And the worst part? I think I always knew.

"I know nothing about your past, Phoenix. But Tina and Kiara are my friends. I stayed quiet because initially, it was only Jai. But what did you do? You tried stealing Kiara’s head warrior post... You danced with Tina’s fiancé. Are you even ashamed of what you are doing to us?"

She looked at me with so much hate, her face didn’t even look like hers anymore-- it was pale and twisted, almost grey.

She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes, "Stay here. Even if you survive, don’t come back to our pack, Phoenix. I’m not even sure that’s your real name."

"Luna..." I tried calling her, but she shifted into her wolf and flew away, leaving me all alone in the water, across that dark forest.

I was shaking all over as I tried to make my way to the riverbank.

Jai was my mate, but he rejected me.

Jai was supposed to be my friend. Ever since he started treating my face, he never showed any disgust, nor did he ever flinch.

Why did Luna Raya think that Jai rejected her because of me? We were just friends. I never felt anything for him.

He never even tried to kiss me. Making a scarred face girl your friend was one thing, but kissing her cheeks and lips that were already occupied by the worms was entirely another thing.

It must all be a misunderstanding.

B...but why did she leave me here?

"Shit," my ass landed on the ground with a thud, "The Phone was inside my jeans pocket that Luna Raya had already taken. How will I contact someone from the pack?"

I lay on the ground and stared at the sky. The moon was now completely behind the clouds, and everything was pitch dark except those stars above me.

The phone would be useless here, anyway, because there were hardly any signals.

I was trying to understand Luna Raya’s intentions, and only one thing was crossing my mind. She wanted to see me dead.

The moment I stepped into this pack territory, she never tried to hide her hatred from me. But I never expected her to attack me like this. On my back.

I wish... I wish I could have warned Jai on the call that I was near the forest or with the Luna. Anything that could give him a sign about my whereabouts.

We had patrol guards on this side, but they never came this far near the river.

I was stranded here.

Oh, Goddess! I placed my hand on my forehead, and then out of nowhere, mirth started bubbling in my chest.

"Just look at me," I said, no one in particular, with a big grin, "still not dead. Ha-ha," I again started laughing.

And then I didn’t know why I started crying. I snatched off the mask from my face and turned my face to the ground, feeling the cold thing against my cheek.

Soon, those worms would start crawling out of my skin and spread all over my face.

If the hunger wouldn’t kill me, then those worms would.

I inhaled a long breath and cried again.

"You are my golden child," my father’s voice echoed in my ears, "I’m so proud of you."

"I’m sure one day you’ll make it to the top," my mom chimed in, too.

"He can’t keep his eyes off you," Maya told me while her gaze remained on Mateo.

"Why is he not divorcing you?" Tina’s voice from the past yelled at me, "What’s so special about you?" She had asked me before throwing that foul-smelling dust on me.

Later, Alpha Blake took me in, but he couldn’t give me my rightful place as the head warrior.

"Why does everyone hate me so much?" I asked, looking at the sky.

"Because you let them," a voice echoed, and I thought I was dreaming. I tried getting up but couldn’t.

"So, you think I invite hatred?" I laughed sarcastically, "Who am I? A punching bag for everyone?" I sobbed, clutching my chest, "I’m getting tired of all this bullshit, Moon Goddess," I pressed my nose in the mud, "I’m done with being nice to everyone... there is... no hope for me... no love for me... nobody cares, Goddess..." I was hiccupping badly now, "Right now, nobody knows where I am. Nobody will look for me. Like the Lycans, they will also think that I’m dead. Then what?" I shot up in rage, "Then what, Moon Goddess? Will you send me to another pack where they can take out their frustrations on me again? That’s what I’m to you, Moon Goddess?"

For the first time in my life, I felt utterly disgusted by these worms when one of them crawled up my ear.

"What will they do if they find my dead body?" I asked myself and then smirked, "They won’t give me a proper burial with that rotten face," I thought with a chuckle and started shaking my head, "My friend Jai won’t let this happen."

I reached out to pick up my mask and wore it over my face.

"I need a proper burial, Moon Goddess. Please don’t take it away from me," I requested sleepily and smiled to myself.

Yes. That was what I dreamed of in the last two years.

A peaceful death without any pain.

"Once I die, I want to meet you and have tea with you, woman. I need to ask you so many questions," I yawned loudly while mumbling my last wish to the Moon Goddess and lay back.

Dear Moon Goddess. Here I come.

And then something unexpected happened. A name skipped my lips. A name I never knew meant something to me.

"Sebastian!" I wasn’t aware of what made me so bold to take his name like this without adding a rank.

It was a sin.

"Sebastian... Save me, Sebastian," I whispered, my voice fading into the darkness. The last thing I remembered was cold air against my skin before everything slipped away and I lost consciousness.