Chapter 5 The Mirror of the Moon

RHEA

The trees close in around me as I walk, no, stumble through the woods.

I don't know how I got here. My feet carried me, moving faster than my thoughts, as if instinct could outrun pain. But it doesn't. It clings to me like smoke. A ghost I can’t shake.

I come to the forest when the world gets too heavy. When I can't breathe. When I feel like screaming but know no one will hear. It’s always been my escape. A place to be nothing and no one. Not a Luna. Not a failure. Not a scarred, discarded mate.

Just Rhea. But tonight, even the woods feel different.

The moon hangs above me, heavy and full, silver light pouring through the branches. It should feel like comfort. Like peace. But the truth rides on my shoulders like poison: Kieran replaced me. My best friend betrayed me. And I…

I'm still alive. Why?

Why did the Moon Goddess spare me? To suffer more? To watch my own life be replaced like I was nothing but a shadow?

I press forward, deeper into the trees, until I find my stream.

It runs smoothly and quietly, tucked between rocks and moss, catching the moonlight like liquid glass. I drop to my knees beside it, trembling.

I haven't truly looked at myself in weeks, not really. Mira kept the mirrors away for a reason. And I was grateful. But I could hide from the reflection in the windows

Now I lean over the water and look clearly.

The scars stretch from my cheekbone down to my collarbone. Twisted flesh in gory display. A cruel reminder of the fire that consumed me. My lips are cracked. My once-bright eyes are now dulled by grief. My hair, once my pride, is chopped unevenly, strands burnt at the ends. I look like a ghost of the woman I used to be.

Ugly. Scarred. Not fit to be anyone's Luna, anyone's mate. Tears brim and fall, landing in the stream, rippling my reflection. I want to smash it. Tear at my skin. Rip it all away. But nothing I do can undo what's been done. "I was nothing to him," I whisper. "Nothing."

I try to call her, my wolf. The part of me that once made me feel strong, unstoppable. The part that howled under the moonlight and ran with the wind in her fur.

But there's nothing. Just silence. An emptiness that makes me colder than the dirt beneath me. She won't come. She hasn't come since that night. And maybe… maybe she never will.

Now I'm just a girl with nothing left but a ruined body and the echo of betrayal. The forest holds my pain in silence. "I gave him everything," I choke. "Everything. And he left me to die."

The ache is too vast. I can’t hold it any more. I curl into the dirt, into the roots of the trees, the earth cold and grounding beneath me.

"What did I do to deserve this?" My voice cracks like brittle glass. "Why did you choose this for me?"

The wind stirs the leaves, and for a second I think I hear something, a rustle, a breath, a whisper in the trees.

I close my eyes. And for the first time since the fire, I don't cry.

---

The moon is still full when I rise from the forest floor, dirt clinging to my skin like a second layer. My legs are numb, but my resolve is sharp, sharper than it’s ever been.

I know where she'll be.

It's the full moon now, and she'll be in the temple,  Let the goddess be my witness against this betrayal.

The wind is cold on my skin as I walk. My steps are silent. My rage, louder than any scream. I don't need to ask for guidance. My feet know the way. My blood knows the path.

When I reach the moon temple, I see Eva standing beneath the sacred silver glow, her head bowed, pretending to pray. Wrapped in silk and wearing Luna robes.

My Luna robes.

There is a basin near the altar, an offering dish for the moon goddess, etched with runes older than memory. In it rests a sacred ceremonial blade that is blessed for vows and sacrifices.

My hand wraps around its hilt like it was made for me. It hums.

Power courses through my fingers, up my wrist. The old magic of the moon goddess surges through the blade.

I move through the temple, quiet as a whisper. A ghost among the pillars. She doesn't see me.

Not until I'm nearly upon her. Her head lifts. Her eyes widen and her lips part. "Rhea?"

She stares at the horror that is my face. For a heartbeat, guilt flashes across her face. Then she smirks. "So the fire didn’t finish you,"

My grip tightens around the blade I pulled from the offering dish. "Kieran was going to make sure of that, wasn't he?"

Her laugh is soft and cruel. "Kieran was never yours, Rhea. You were a mistake. A low-born. You were weak and dragged up into a Luna's seat you didn’t deserve. We fixed that."

My chest tightens. I can't believe this was who I called my best friend.  "You call betraying me, trying to kill me fixing?"

"Betrayal?" She steps closer, eyes flashing. 'You were nothing but a stain on the Alpha’s name. Kieran needed someone worthy. Me. You should thank us for sparing you the humiliation of clinging on."

The blade hums in my hand, heavy with my rage. "He left me to die screaming!"

Eva's smirk twists. She moves suddenly, faster than I expect, a dagger flashing from beneath her robes. "Now I will make sure you stay dead."

Her strike is sharp, aimed for my throat. I block it, the ceremonial blade ringing as it meets hers. Sparks of pain shoot through my arm, but fury steadies me. We clash, steel on steel, the sound echoing off temple walls.

"You’ll never be Luna!" she snarls. "Not with that scarred, ugly face.

Something inside me snaps. I drive her back, blow for blow, until she falters. The ceremonial blade finds its mark, sinking deep.

Eva gasps, staring at me with wide eyes, her dagger slipping from her hand. She stumbles, blood spilling across the altar, staining the robes she stole.

I lean close, my voice low, shaking. "I wasn't unworthy. I was betrayed."

Her lips move soundlessly, but no words come. A final breath rattles in her chest, and then she falls.

The temple is silent again, save for my heartbeat.

"I loved you," I whisper. But the wind carries it away.