The End and The Plea

Valerie’s POV

The air in the hallway felt like lead, thick with the scent of pine and the bitter metallic tang of my own fear. Every step I took away from Declan’s study felt like walking through waist-deep water. My legs were shaking, my vision blurred by a hot, stinging film of tears I refused to let fall. Not here. Not in front of the people who were already whispering behind their hands as I passed.

I rounded the corner to the servant’s entrance, and there she was.

"Luna…"

Selina’s voice was a ragged whisper. I stopped dead, my heart hammering against my ribs. She was leaning against the cold stone wall, her small frame trembling. But it was her face that made the breath catch in my throat. Her left eye was swollen shut, a deep, angry purple-red bruise blooming across her cheekbone. Her lip was split, a thin trail of dried blood staining her chin.

"Selina," I choked out, the name catching on a sob. I reached for her, my fingers hovering over her ruined skin. "W-what is going on? Why did they do this to you?"

She didn't look away, though I could see the shame burning in her one good eye. She tried to step closer, her arms wrapping around me in a desperate, protective embrace. "It doesn't matter. They were saying things... horrible things about you in the kitchens. I couldn't just stand there, Luna. I told them you were the daughter of the Great Alpha. I told them you were a better woman than any of them."

"You fought them for me?" I whispered, my heart breaking. "Oh, Selina, you shouldn't have. Not for me. Not now."

I pushed her back gently, looking into her battered face. I was the one who was supposed to protect her. I was the Luna. Or I had been. Now, I was nothing. A nameless exile with a target on her back.

"Selina, listen to me," I said, my voice hardening even as it trembled. "I am no longer the Luna. I—" I sucked in a sharp, jagged breath, the reality of it slicing through my chest. "I have been banished. Declan... he rejected me. It's over."

Selina froze. For a moment, the only sound was the distant clatter of the kitchens and the wind howling against the packhouse walls. Then, her hand shot out, gripping mine with a strength I didn't know an Omega possessed.

"Then let's go together," she said, her voice suddenly fierce. "I don't care about this pack. I don't care about Declan. I will serve only you, Valerie. In this life and the next. Please... don't leave me alone here. If you go, I go."

Tears finally spilled over, scalding my cheeks. In the middle of this nightmare, amidst the betrayal of the man I had loved and the loss of my entire world, I still had one person who believed in me. One person who was willing to throw away everything for a wolf-less, broken woman.

"I promised your father, the last Alpha, that I would watch over you," she continued, her voice breaking into hiccups and sobs. "I failed him once when I let you marry that man. I won't fail him again."

I squeezed her hand, a flicker of resolve lighting up in the dark hollow of my chest. "Okay," I whispered. "We leave tonight. Pack a small bag—only the essentials. Meet me secretly at the pack’s boundary by the old oak tree at 11 p.m. Can you do that?"

She nodded frantically, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. "I’ll be there. I promise."

"Go now," I urged. "Don't let anyone see you."

I watched her slip away into the shadows, then I turned and hurried toward my own quarters. The room I had shared with Declan. The room that had once felt like a sanctuary and now felt like a tomb.

I burst inside and didn't give myself time to think. I grabbed a sturdy leather traveling bag and began shoving clothes into it. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely fold the fabric. I grabbed a heavy cloak, some dried meat from the small larder in the corner, and a pouch of silver coins I’d hidden in the floorboards months ago.

Then, I reached for the most important thing.

Tucked away in the back of my wardrobe, wrapped in silk, was my father’s moon dagger. I unwrapped it, the silver blade gleaming with an ethereal, cold light even in the dimness of the room. The hilt was carved from white bone, inlaid with a single, glowing moonstone. It was a sacred heirloom, passed down through the line of Alphas. My father had given it to me on my eighteenth birthday, his eyes full of a pride I hadn't understood back then.

*“This will protect you when I cannot, Valerie,”* he had told me.

I tucked the dagger into my belt, feeling its weight against my hip. I placed my hand over my flat stomach, closing my eyes. *I have to live,* I thought fiercely. *For you.* The tiny pulse inside me, the secret life Declan would surely destroy if he knew, was the only thing keeping me from collapsing.

"Do you know how long I have waited for this day?"

The voice was like a whip-crack. I froze, my heart dropping into my stomach.

I slowly looked up. Lydia was leaning against the doorframe, her arms crossed over her chest. She looked radiant, her eyes glowing with a predatory triumph. She didn't wait for an answer. She strolled into the room, her high heels clicking loudly on the hardwood floor, a sound that felt like nails being driven into my coffin.

"This room," she said, trailing her fingers over the silk duvet. "Everything here... it’s finally going to its rightful owner. I think I’ll change the curtains first. I’ve always hated this color."

I didn't say a word. I just kept packing, my jaw clenched so tight it ached.

"Oh, should I tell you something? For old times' sake?" she taunted, her voice dropping to a low, venomous purr. She walked closer until she was standing right in front of me. I could smell her perfume—something sweet and floral that made me want to gag.

"Do you know how disgusted Declan has always been with you?" she sneered. I tried to ignore her, but the words were like shards of glass. "Every time he touched you, every time he had to pretend to care about your pathetic, wolf-less problems... he was thinking of me. He was counting down the seconds until he could get away from you."

I felt my hands tremble, but I kept my eyes on my bag. *Don't give her the satisfaction. Don't react.*

"But when he realized the Alpha’s only child was nothing more than a gullible, useless idiot who couldn't even shift..." She laughed, a sharp, ugly sound. "Well, he decided to give you a try anyway. You were the key to the throne, Valerie. Nothing more."

"Get out, Lydia," I said, my voice sounding hollow and strange.

"You were so desperate for love that you chose to be blind," she snarled, her face suddenly inches from mine. "You’re dumb, stupid, and pathetic. And here’s the best part—your father’s death. Do you really think that was just some random rogue attack?"

I stopped. The air left my lungs in a sharp gasp. I looked up, my eyes wide, searching her face for the lie. "W-what?"

"Fool," she spat, her hand reaching out to mockingly trail a finger down my cheek. I flinched away, but she just laughed. "Your father wasn't as gullible as you. He never trusted Declan. He knew exactly what Declan was after. He tried to warn you, didn't he? He told you not to marry him. He told you Declan was dangerous."

The memory hit me like a physical blow. My father, standing in his study, his face lined with worry. *“Valerie, please. Think about this. Declan is ambitious. His heart is cold. You deserve someone who loves you for who you are, not for your name.”*

And I had screamed at him. I had told him he was being overprotective, that he didn't want me to be happy. I had chosen Declan over my own father.

"In your selfish desire to feel the mate bond, you overlooked everything," Lydia continued, her voice dripping with satisfaction. "You were so pathetic that I actually decided to give you my mate for a while. Aren't you grateful? We needed him out of the way to take control of the pack. Declan handled the 'rogue' attack personally while you were busy planning your wedding."

The room began to spin. My father... killed by Declan? Orchestrated by the woman I called my friend?

I bit my bottom lip so hard that the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. Guilt, heavy and suffocating, crashed down on me. I had killed him. My selfishness, my desperate need to be loved by a monster, had led my father to his grave. I had opened the gates for the wolves to slaughter the shepherd.

"Hmph. You deserve all of this," Lydia smirked, looking me up and down with utter contempt. She turned on her heel and walked out, leaving me standing in the wreckage of my life.

I collapsed onto the floor, a strangled cry escaping my lips. The grief was so intense I thought my heart might actually stop beating. My father was dead because of me. My pack was stolen because of me. And now, I was carrying the child of his murderer.

I don't know how long I sat there, but by the time I pulled myself up, the room was dark. I had to leave. I had to get to the boundary.

***

The night was bone-chillingly cold as I slipped through the clearing. Every snap of a twig under my boots sounded like a gunshot in the silence. The forest felt different tonight—menacing, as if the trees themselves were watching me with Declan’s eyes.

"Luna, are you okay?"

Selina ran up to me as I approached the massive oak that marked the edge of the Pyreclaw Realm. She was carrying a small bundle, her bruised face pale in the moonlight.

I nodded, unable to find my voice. "Let's go. We need to put as much distance between us and this place as possible."

"Let's go, Luna," she whispered, taking the heavy bag from my hand. "It's a long walk, but I know a cave just outside the boundary. We can rest there for a few hours before we reach the neutral lands."

I leaned into her, drawing strength from her presence. We walked for what felt like hours, leaving behind the only home I had ever known. As we crossed the invisible line that marked the pack’s territory, I felt a sickening wrench in my soul. The connection to the land—the faint humming in my blood that had been there since birth—snapped. I was a rogue now. A woman without a pack.

We reached the cave—a small, hidden crevice in the side of a rocky hill. Selina quickly cleared a small area of stones and leaves. "Rest here, Luna. I’ll see if I can find some dry wood for a small fire, or maybe something to eat—"

"Shh!" I hissed, grabbing her arm.

I raised a finger to my lips, my heart leaping into my throat. The wind shifted, and with it came a scent that made my hair stand on end. Stale sweat, tobacco, and the sharp, aggressive musk of strange wolves.

"Are you sure she's here?" a gruff voice drifted through the trees.

"I'm sure. I tracked their scent from the boundary. I'm not fucking stupid," another voice snarled.

Selina gasped, her eyes wide with terror. I pulled her deeper into the shadows of the cave.

"We have to find her," a third voice said. "The bounty on her head is huge. Dead or alive, but the client said 'alive' pays double."

"I heard she’s a beauty, too," the first voice laughed, a low, oily sound that made my skin crawl. "Maybe we could have some fun first. A wolf-less bitch won't be able to do much to stop us. We can take turns before we hand her over."

I felt a cold dread settle in my bones. I reached into my bag and gripped the hilt of the moon dagger. My hands were shaking, but I forced my fingers to lock around the bone handle. There were four of them. I could hear their footsteps now—heavy, confident. They were hunters. Bounty hunters.

"Selina, stay behind me," I whispered.

But luck was not on our side. A shadow fell across the cave entrance.

"Found her," the biggest of the four smirked. He was a mountain of a man, his face scarred and his eyes yellow with a predator's gleam. He stepped into the cave, his eyes roaming over my body with a sickening hunger. "Fuck, she’s even better than the description. Look at those curves."

The others crowded behind him, laughing. They looked like animals—rough, cruel, and smelling of death.

Before I could move, Selina lunged forward. She was holding a jagged branch she’d picked up from the floor, her body trembling but her eyes fierce.

"D-don't take a step closer!" she yelled, her voice cracking.

The men burst into a chorus of mocking laughter.

"Oh, look, boys! There's a little bonus snack," one of them jeered. "We're getting lucky tonight."

"Luna, run!" Selina whispered over her shoulder. "I'll hold them off!"

"No, Selina!" I tried to grab her, but she was already stepping toward the giant.

I stepped forward, putting myself in front of her, the moon dagger held out. The blade caught a stray beam of moonlight and flashed with a sudden, blinding brilliance.

"Who sent you?" I demanded, trying to keep my voice steady. "Was it Lydia? Declan?"

The lead hunter chuckled, licking his lips as his gaze settled on my chest. "Lydia? Declan? Honey, the person who wants you back makes those two look like puppies. Now, be a good girl and drop the knife. We can do this the easy way, where you get to enjoy yourself a little before we go, or the hard way."

"You should leave," I told Selina, my heart breaking. "This isn't your fight. Go, now!"

"Please run, Luna," Selina said softly. She looked at me one last time, a sad, beautiful smile on her bruised face. "If there is an afterlife, I hope the Moon Goddess allows us to meet again."

Before I could stop her, she screamed and launched herself at the lead hunter. "You fucking bastards!" she shrieked, her nails clawing at his face, her teeth sinking into his arm.

"Get off me, you bitch!" the man roared. He grabbed her by the hair, yanking her head back with a sickening force.

I watched in frozen horror as his massive hand moved to her throat.

*Snap.*

The sound echoed through the cave like a dry branch breaking. Selina’s body went limp instantly. He tossed her aside like a piece of trash, her head lolling at an unnatural angle.

"Selina!" I screamed, the sound tearing from my throat.

I collapsed to my knees beside her, my hands hovering over her cold skin. She was gone. The only person who loved me, the only person who stayed, was dead because of me. Again. Everyone who touched my life ended up destroyed.

"Ah, damn it, Boss," one of the hunters complained, looking at Selina’s body. "You killed her before we even got a taste. Now we only have the one."

"Shut up," the leader growled, wiping blood from his cheek where Selina had scratched him. He turned his yellow eyes on me. "Get her. Tie her up. And don't bruise the face—I want to be able to see her expression when I'm inside her."

I stared at them, and for the first time in my life, the fear was gone. It was replaced by a cold, numbing void. I looked at the moon dagger in my hand.

*“You are stronger than you think, Valerie.”*

My father’s voice echoed in my mind, clear and steady. I didn't feel strong. I felt hollow. But I knew I couldn't let them take me. I couldn't let them touch me, and I couldn't let them touch the child.

I forced myself to stand. The lead hunter lunged at me, his hands outstretched to grab my hair. I moved—not with the speed of a wolf, but with a desperate, frantic agility. I dived under his arm and swung the dagger in a wide arc.

The blade sliced through his forearm.

The man didn't scream. Not at first. We all watched, frozen, as a white, searing light erupted from the wound. It spread like wildfire, moving up his arm and down his torso in a heartbeat.

"What the—"

He didn't finish the sentence. Before our eyes, his flesh, his bones, and his clothes crumbled into fine, gray dust. He didn't just die; he disintegrated. Within seconds, there was nothing left of him but a pile of ash on the cave floor.

The other three hunters backed away, their faces pale with terror. "What kind of sorcery is that?" one of them hissed, drawing a heavy iron sword.

I looked at the dagger. It was glowing now, a steady, pulsing white light that seemed to hum in my hand. I knew I couldn't kill all of them. They were surrounding me, their fear turning into a murderous rage.

"Kill the bitch!" one yelled. "Forget the bounty!"

I backed up until my heels were at the edge of the steep drop inside the cave. There was no way out. If I fought, they would eventually overpower me. They would beat me, they would use me, and then they would kill my baby.

I looked at Selina’s still body. I looked at the ash of the man who had murdered her.

I inhaled deeply, a strange calm settling over me. I wasn't going to let them win. I wouldn't be a pawn in their game anymore. I wouldn't let Declan or Lydia or whoever sent these men have the satisfaction of breaking me further.

I tilted the dagger, the point aimed directly at my own heart.

"If there is a Moon Goddess watching..." I whispered, the words trembling on my lips. "If there are any gods left who give a damn about justice... please. Give me a second chance. Let me right my wrongs. Let me protect the ones I love."

I looked out at the hunters one last time. They were lunging.

I didn't hesitate. I slammed the hilt of the dagger, driving the silver blade deep into my chest.

Pain—white-hot and absolute—seared through me. My lungs seized, and for a second, the world turned into a blur of agony. But then, the light from the dagger exploded. It wasn't just a glow anymore; it was a blinding, roaring sun that filled the entire cave.

I felt my body beginning to unravel. I felt the weight of my mistakes, the grief for my father, and the love for my unborn child all dissolving into that brilliant, pure light.

*Please,* I prayed with my final, fading heartbeat. *Give me one more chance.*

The light consumed everything—the cave, the hunters, the darkness. And then, there was only silence and the cold, gray ash of a life cut short.