The Last Luna

Elara was Cassian's only Luna, and they had loved each other for ten years. But at this year's remembrance ceremony, Elara's name on the stone tablet suddenly split open. The Moon Goddess no longer blessed her, no longer claimed her. Another woman, Seraphina, was about to become the next Luna. And Elara had only five days left to live. What made it worse was that Cassian had known all along. Three years ago, he had led Elara up to the crown himself, and he had signed that contract himself. He knew perfectly well that being Luna had never been an honor, but an offering to the Moon Goddess. Yet Cassian kept it from her for three years. All he said was, "I want to save you." Only later did she discover what his so-called salvation really meant: putting Seraphina in her place as the new offering. Elara finally understood. Cassian loved her, but he had never once thought of letting her choose how to live. But Seraphina told her, "I never wanted to take your place." "I want to destroy the contract." In that moment, the two of them decided to work together. Five days later, Elara would tear down the centuries-old Luna system with her own hands. Even if the cost was— The Alpha stripped of his power, and every rule holding Mooncrown together brought down with it. This time, Elara would never let anyone else decide her fate again. Chapter 1 In the Hall of the Moon Goddess, every wolf waited for the remembrance ceremony to begin. Elara stood at Cassian's side. She was the Luna of Mooncrown, and the woman who had been with Cassian for ten years. Three years ago, he became Alpha and she put on the moon crown. Cassian took her cool fingers and squeezed them gently. It was a habit ten years old. "Cold?" She shook her head. Elder Nyx announced the start of the ceremony. The instant the Moon Goddess tablet lit up, the silver mark on Elara's wrist burned. She covered her wrist without thinking. Nothing like this had happened in three years. Cassian looked at her at once. "What is it?" She shook her head. "Nothing." She started to lower her hand, but Cassian's fingers tightened. This time it was his fingertips that had gone cold. He stared at her wrist as if he were trying to confirm something. "Really nothing?" "It just hurts a little." He did not ask again. But he did not let go of her hand either. Elara did not notice that Cassian's face had already changed. The next second, the silver light on the tablet flared. And then a jagged, hideous crack came snaking down through the middle of Elara's name. The name on the tablet changed, and every eye in the hall turned toward Seraphina. The same people who had bowed to her a moment ago were already looking for a new Luna. Elara realized that in Mooncrown, what people revered had never been her. It was the crown on her head. She froze where she stood. "Let me explain." Cassian's voice came from beside her. She turned to look at her Alpha, and it was hard to do. "You knew?" Cassian said nothing. That one second was all Elara needed. "Cassian." She said his name again. But he offered no explanation. "Did you know all along?" He did not answer. Elara suddenly laughed. "So it's true." The doors of the hall opened again. A woman walked in wearing the robe that belonged to the Luna. Seraphina. She did not look at Elara. Her eyes stayed on Cassian from the first step to the last. But Seraphina was in no hurry to come closer. She climbed the altar slowly, surrounded by attendants, in a gown identical to the one Elara had worn at her coronation three years ago. Three years ago, Cassian had draped that gown over Elara's shoulders himself. Yet now, another woman wore it. Elara looked at Seraphina. She had not come for the dress. What she was here to replace was Elara herself. The bond Elara had believed would last forever was about to be taken over by someone else. Cassian did not ask why. He only turned to Elder Nyx. "When does the new Luna take the title?" Elara's heart dropped. "In five days." Five days. Elara went still. She stood in the place that had been hers, listening to her own countdown. But what really took her breath away was not the five days. It was how calm Cassian looked. He had known all along. For the first time, Elara looked at her Alpha with confusion and anger. But the next second, Cassian reached out and took Seraphina's hand. Chapter 2 Elara shook off the hand Cassian tried to catch her with. Only when the council chamber doors closed behind them did she turn around. "You knew she was coming." It was not a question anymore. Cassian did not deny it, just as he had not on the altar. He walked to the table but did not sit, only looked at her in silence. Elara stared at him. "How long?" ... "Cassian, I asked you. How long?" "...Three years." Elara went quiet. Three years. From the day he became Alpha to the day she became Luna. So for those three years, while she thought she was walking toward a future with him, he had already known that road had an end. "So for three years, you knew I was going to die?" "Yes." Cassian finally spoke. "But I've been looking for a way out..." "Why didn't you tell me?" Elara cut him off. "Because I knew what you would choose." Cassian's voice dropped low. "If you'd known how little time you had, you would have refused to become Luna three years ago. "You would have left Mooncrown. You would have left me." Her Alpha did know her well. "So you hid it from me for three years?" "I only wanted to protect you." Elara looked at him. This was the man who had once told her they would grow old together. But he had understood perfectly that she would never get the chance to grow old. She was going to die at twenty-seven, at her best. "So you decided for me?" Cassian did not answer. "You decided I would go on being Luna, accept the title, and wait to die without knowing a thing." Every word came out like a sentence handed down for his crime. "Elara..." "Did you ever once think about how I wanted to live?" Cassian's face went white. But she did not wait for another explanation. "You don't know me at all." Elara turned and walked toward the door. Her hand on the handle, she suddenly stopped. She looked down at the Luna mark on her wrist. In five days Seraphina would become the new Luna, and she would be gone. If Cassian would not tell her the truth, she would go find it herself. She was the Luna. At least for now she still was. "Have the carriage brought round." The maid stared at her. "Where are you going?" "To see Seraphina." Chapter 3 Elara pushed open the door of the Moon Tower. Seraphina already knew she would come, and showed no surprise at all. She did not even turn around, only stood in front of the mirror studying the Luna robe she wore. Elara looked at the gown Cassian had once draped over her own shoulders, now on another woman. It fit so well, as if the Luna's place had been waiting all along for her to arrive. And she herself had been nothing but an accident. "You took longer to get here than I expected." Elara stopped walking. "You knew I'd come?" "Of course." Seraphina watched her in the mirror, her eyes settling on the Luna mark at her wrist. "You only just found out that I'll replace you in five days." Elara let the taunt pass. She stepped closer, taking in this woman who was about to become the new Luna. "Are you happy?" Seraphina frowned and looked down to smooth her skirt. "Becoming Luna, wearing the moon crown, standing second only to the Alpha. Shouldn't I be happy?" "That isn't what I asked." Elara stared at her. "What do you actually want?" Seraphina finally turned, and for the first time their eyes met straight on. "What I want is something I can only get after I become Luna." "Power?" "More important than power." "The Alpha?" Seraphina laughed. "Are you really stupid enough to think I came here to take your man?" Elara clenched her fists until her nails stung her palms. She did not answer. But Seraphina kept looking at her, and then she asked, "Do you really think being Luna is something worth envying?" Elara went still. "What do you mean?" Seraphina did not answer directly. She only pulled out a yellowed book. "You've been Luna for three years. Do you know where the Lunas before you lived?" Elara looked around. This tower had not been abandoned because it fell into disrepair. Instead, the people who had lived here had disappeared long ago. Seraphina watched her expression change and said softly, "Everyone says the Luna is the most honored woman in Mooncrown. But do you know where they all ended up?" Elara said nothing. Seraphina did not press her for an answer. She only pushed the book across to her. Elara's eyes fell on the cover. Register of the Lunas. She reached out but did not open it. "What exactly do you know?" Seraphina looked at her. "More than Cassian told you." Something tightened in Elara's chest. "If you want to know why you're going to die, go to the underground temple." Seraphina met her eyes. "Everything you want to know is down there." Chapter 4 That night, Elara went into the underground temple alone. It had been sealed by the Alpha's order for years. But she was still the Luna. Even a Luna about to be replaced was not dead yet. The gatekeeper saw the silver mark on her wrist and did not stop her. The heavy stone door closed behind her. She looked back once. Every sound from outside was shut out. No Cassian. No Seraphina. Only her. She raised her hand and pressed the face of the ring on her middle finger against the tall shelf. The mechanism opened. Hundreds of records slid out of the hidden compartments and drifted toward her, covering the whole stone table. She did not read them one by one. She went straight to the records of the Lunas. Every page ended with the same two words in bold. Duty fulfilled. Elara's hand stopped. No death records. No records of anyone stepping down. They had simply vanished, one after another. She yanked out the file at the very bottom. The cover held a single word. Contract. Elara opened to the first page. The next second, her breath stopped. The Luna is the offering to the Moon Goddess. The pack calls them an honor. But their true duty came down to a single word: sacrifice. Every Luna must bind her soul to the Moon Core and become the power source that holds the whole pack together, until the next one appears. Elara stared at those lines, and the color drained from her face. She kept turning pages. The last page. She saw her own name. Elara Voss. Duty fulfilled on: five days from now. In the blank space below that line, Seraphina's name had already risen to the surface, complete. She read on. Tucked inside were the signatures of every Alpha. The second page held one cold clause. Informed of and consenting to the continuation of the Luna offering. The third page was a promise to keep the secret from the Luna herself. Elara's breath caught. They had written the promise out themselves, that they must keep it from their own Luna. Including one name she knew better than any other. Cassian. Date of signature: three years ago, the day before the Luna coronation. Elara stared blankly at that name. One truth came clear to her all at once. Cassian had not made this choice later. He had made it the day before she became Luna. Elara stood there and did not move for a long time. Her fingertip traced slowly across that date. Three years ago. That day, she had thought she was about to become this man's most honored partner. And he had already signed a death contract for her. He had even promised everyone he would never tell her. Elara suddenly laughed. Very softly. Yet it looked worse than crying. It wasn't that he had forgotten to tell her during those three years. Instead, he had decided from the very beginning to keep it from her. She pulled that sheet out of the contract. Her fingertip brushed over Cassian's name. "How much can you possibly love me," she asked under her breath. The next second her fingers snapped shut, crushing the paper into creases. "...that you'd decide I don't even deserve to know how I die?"