178

178
Scarlett
The guest quarters were bathed in a gentle silver glow from the moonlight as Mother and I sat on the balcony, wrapped in thick shawls and memories.
The cool air carried the scent of pine and distant bonfires. But in her warmth, I felt safe and peaceful in a way I hadn’t felt in years.
She brushed my hair like she used to when I was a child.
“Do you remember how you used to sneak into my room with your blanket?” she asked.
I smiled. “You always left the door open for me. I thought it was magic.”
“It was,” she whispered. “You were my magic.”
A lump formed in my throat as I rested my head on her shoulder, letting the silence convey what words couldn’t. In that moment, for the first time in years, I wasn’t pretending to be strong. I was simply her daughter.
We spent the night talking about the stars and childhood memories.
We laughed until our stomachs hurt, tears streaming down our faces—not tears of sorrow or rage or betrayal, but of pure, cleansing joy.
And when the laughter died down, she cupped my cheek in her palm and said, “You’ve grown into the kind of woman I always dreamed you’d become.”
That moment would stay with me forever.
The next morning, a loud knock interrupted our breakfast.
Finn entered first, his expression unreadable, followed closely by his beta, David, and behind him was…
Nina.
She entered the room with an air of ownership, chin held high, eyes scanning every corner with the same disdain she always directed towards me.
Her gaze briefly flickered over Mother before settling on me with resentment. Her arrogance was as overpowering as an expensive perfume, too strong and too obvious.
“Hello, sister," she drawled, her voice dripping with sugary venom. A slow, predatory smile crept across her face. “Do you miss me?”
My body tensed, filled with intense hatred. This woman had tormented me for years, plotted my downfall, and tried to steal my mate. Now she stood in my territory, wearing that smug smile that haunted my nightmares.
“Sister," I scoffed, rising to my feet. The chair scraped against the floor, a harsh sound in the tense silence. “I guess Stone Ridge Pack didn’t inflict the wound I thought I would see on your body.”
“What do you think, Sister?” Her emphasis on the word made it sound like a slur. She tossed her hair back with ease. “My mate is now the Alpha.” She smirked, her eyes glittering with triumph. “I guess he can’t bear to see me suffer.”
I walked towards her calmly, not wanting to show how much she still affected me.
Despite my racing heart, I maintained a composed and detached demeanor. “Really? You were treated nicely?”
Her eyes blinked before she responded. “What do you think? You guessed it right. I still don’t know why my presence is needed here when I will soon become the Luna of Stone Ridge Pack.”
Her claim was so audacious that it almost made me laugh. Before I could respond, another voice sliced through the room.
“Really?” The voice asked, filling the hall with cold fury. “And who told you you could become my Luna?”
And there he was—Jack.
Jack, the man I once considered a friend before his betrayal was revealed, stood in the doorway. His frame almost vibrating with rage, his eyes locked on Nina with intense fury.
Beside him was his mother, Diana, her elegant features twisted with disgust as she looked at the woman who had manipulated her son.
“I knew you could act like a bitch and spill lies,” Jack snarled, stalking toward Nina like a predator closing in on prey. The shift in power was immediate and palpable.
Nina, who had just exuded confidence moments ago, now appeared to shrink before our eyes, her body visibly trembling.
“Why... Why are you here, mate?” she stammered, her voice small and hesitant—a far cry from the smug tone she’d used with me.
This wasn’t the Nina I knew; this was a glimpse of someone desperate, someone who had gambled everything and lost.
“If shamelessness was a person,” Jack howled with such fury that I felt the vibration in my chest.
His hand shot out, striking her with enough force to send her stumbling backward.
Nina let out a scream as he followed with a kick to her stomach, doubling her over.
“Mate?” Jack sneered, looming over Nina’s hunched form. “Don’t you dare address me like that.”
“You’re mine," Nina screamed, clutching her midsection. Her face contorted with pain, but her eyes still burned with obsession. “You can never deny that. The Moon Goddess herself bound us!”
“The bond between us is already broken, dear Nina,” Jack said, his voice dropping to a deadly calm that was somehow more frightening than his earlier rage. “I rejected you.”
“I didn’t accept your rejection,” she declared firmly. “In this life, you can never escape me.”
I watched as they both exchanged words. Nina could never change; she was still the villain she had always been.
And yet, there was something almost pitiful about her desperate clinging to a bond that was clearly severed.
“I don’t think so,” Jack muttered, a mocking smile playing at his lips. “I can only disappoint you.”
He approached her, standing tall above her, his eyes cold and unforgiving. “I’ve already found my second chance mate, and she’s nothing like you.”
“Hmm." The room erupted in shock, with everyone except Jack’s mother expressing surprise. Her knowing smile hinted that she had expected this all along.
“Y...You,” Nina stuttered, unable to find the right word. Her face drained of color, leaving her pale as death. “You must be joking,” she finally managed, desperation cracking her voice. “Tell me you are joking, bastard.”
“Why should I do that?" Jack responded with a cruel amusement dancing in his eyes. He turned toward the door, a genuine smile softening his features for the first time. “Come in, honey.”
The woman who entered seemed to bring light with her, as if the sun had suddenly broken through storm clouds.
Everything about her radiated elegance and grace, not the manufactured kind that Nina affected, but something natural and effortless.
Her eyes, warm and kind, surveyed the room without judgment but with quiet confidence.
I blinked, trying to process the transformation in Jack as he looked at her. His entire being softened, the hard lines of anger melting away, replaced by something I recognized all too well—the look Finn gave me. It was pure adoration.
Was a second chance mate this easy to find? So quick to bond with? I’d always believed such things were rare, precious. I guess Jack must have been particularly blessed by the Moon Goddess after all the pain Nina had caused him.
The difference between Nina and the other woman was striking. Nina exuded sharp edges and shadows, while the other woman radiated gentle curves and light. The aura surrounding her was light.
I watched Nina as she struggled to stand up, her face contorted with pain. It was a pain that seemed to go beyond the physical realm.
It was the first time I saw genuine fear in her eyes, not the fear of physical harm, but the deep-rooted terror of losing something irreplaceable.
“Who is she?” she snapped. “Who the hell is that bitch?”
“Come here, love,” Jack said softly, extending his hand toward the newcomer. She moved toward him with quiet grace.
Jack wrapped his hand around her waist as he introduced her. “This is Light, my Luna.”
Light—the name fit her perfectly. Pure, beautiful, she embodied everything Nina lacked and could never hope to imitate.
Where Nina demanded attention, Light simply drew it, like moths to a flame.
The young lady gently bowed her head. “My greetings to you, Alpha and Luna of Crescent Pack. I’m Light, the Luna of Stone Ridge Pack. Nice to meet you.”
“Pleased to meet you, Luna Light,” I responded, returning her greeting with genuine warmth.
Despite the tension still thick in the air and all that had happened, I couldn’t help but be captivated by her presence. She carried herself with the quiet dignity of someone who had nothing to prove.
“Ha,” Nina let out a laugh. “I don’t believe you.” Her voice rose hysterically as she pointed an accusing finger at Jack. “I’m your one and true mate. You’re my mate and I am your Luna!”
“Luna, my foot,” Jack sneered, his momentary gentleness vanishing as he turned back to Nina. “Do you think I am a fool to marry someone who poisoned me?”
“That was a simple mistake,” Nina mumbled, her eyes darting around the room as if seeking an escape.
When she found none, her shoulders slumped in defeat, yet her next words contradicted her defeated posture. “It is my past. Please forgive me. I promise to be a good Luna and a good mother to our kids.”
Her plea was absurd, considering all the harm she had caused. I couldn’t help but burst into wild, unrestrained laughter.
I doubled over, clutching my belly as tears streamed down my face. Every time I tried to regain control, another wave of emotion hit me.
The image of Nina, the woman who had tormented me for years, who had plotted, schemed, and betrayed without remorse, now pleading to be a “good Luna” and a “good mother,” was simply too much.
An evil being like her dreaming of becoming a Luna, and to top it off, she wanted to be a mother?
The woman who had shown nothing but cruelty and selfishness throughout her life, who had poisoned her own mate, now imagining herself caring for children?