Chapter 54: Just Luna
Chapter 54: Just Luna
(Scarlett’s POV)
The satisfying clink of moonstone crystals echoed through the room as I arranged them on the shelves. Their gentle glow might have calmed me on another day, but not today. My movements were stiff, my grip too tight, and my mind was still replaying Roman’s overprotective tone
“You might c***k one if you’re not careful, Claire remarked, her voice tentative. She hovered in the doorway, holding a clipboard and biting her lip as
she watched my restless hands.
I paused, exhaling slowly to steady myself. “Didn’t mean to handle them so rough”
Claire stepped forward cautiously. “Do you want me to help? These are pretty rare, you know. It’d be a shame if we lost even one.”
I was about to wave her off, then stopped. Her tone carried genuine concern, but before I could answer, the air shifted. A weight heavier than anger
pressed down on me like a storm about to break.
I froze. My senses sharpened instantly as I turned toward the door. The world outside went silent, leaving behind the unmistakable charge of wolf
energy approaching fast. I didn’t need to see who it was. That signature hostility was so familiar it could have been burned into my memory.
Sarah Winter
“Claire,” I said sharply, my emerald eyes locking onto hers. “Do me a favor, Sarah’s here. Go meet her at the door and bring her in” My voice was steady, edged with iron. “And don’t worry about me. I’ll handle it.”
Her shoulders tensed, her expression flickering with hesitation. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” I replied, my gaze never leaving the door. “Do as I say. Now”
She nodded quickly, her footsteps vanishing down the hallway as I set the last handful of moonstone crystals down carefully. My hands smoothed over the folds of my skirt. The action was slow and deliberate, grounding me.
Cora stirred within me, her presence calm but alert. She was ready, and so was 1.
Then the door burst open, slamming violently against the wall.
Sarah’s entrance was as loud and commanding as I expected–a whirlwind of rage, power, and wild emotion. She stomped into the room, her wolf power crackling visibly in the air. Her eyes blazed with fury, and her clenched fists shook slightly at her sides.
“Scarlett!” she snapped, venom dripping from every
ry syllable. “What the hell is this??”
I didn’t flinch. Instead, I leaned casually against the edge of my desk, arms crossed, a small, cold smile curling my lips.
“Hello, Sarah” I said, my tone light but soaked with sarcasm. “Would you like to start with a proper greeting, or do you want to skip ahead to the
screaming?”
Her growl filled the room n like thunder. It was feral, wild, and unrestrained.
“Don’t toy with me she barked, the fire in her eyes growing hotter “What is this–this empire you’ve built? What right do you have to stand here and flaunt something like this? Without pack support! Without my authority!”
I arched an eyebrow but stayed calm. “What I’ve built,” I began my voice
Her growl deepened, her teeth visibly gritting as her wolf energy flared again. “Hard work?” she spat, pacing aggressively toward my desk. “You expect me to believe you acquired moonstone crystals, rare salves, and every high–end supply in this building with hard work? You’re lying to me.”
y voice calm but deliberate, is called hard work, Sarah. Maybe you’ve heard of it.”
The tension in the air thickened as she took a step closer. “No wolf–especially a cast off like you–could ever gain access to resources of this scale without..” Her lip curled in a vicious sneer. “Doing something inappropriate. How did you do it? What little scheme are you running under our noses?”
Her words came like lashes, but I refused to let them sting. I held my ground, meeting her anger with icy control.
1/2
“Oh, you me
mean like how you let a rogue she wolf fool you for years and call her your daughter?” I shot back, my tone razor–sharp
Sarah’s step faltered for the briefest moment. A flicker of guilt crossed her face, but it vanished as quickly as it come.
“Don’t try me, Scarlett,” she hissed, her voice trembling with restrained fury. “I am your mother.”
Chache St. Justina
No amount of control could stop the bitter laugh that tore from my throat.
receated, my voice dreping with disbelief. Don’t make me laugh, Sarah. A mother? You?”
wolf power surged again, her hands curling into tight fists. “Yes, Scarlett! I am your mother?”
No” said coldy, my emerald eyes narrowing. “You stopped being my mother the day you left me in that healing den for two months. Two months, Sarah, While Grace got to walk free. Do you remember that? Do you even care?”
ed, the faintest tremor in her jaw betraying her struggle to control herself.
she said quietly, though her voice wavered with each word.
other cold laugh. “Necessary? You mean letting her off with a slap on the wrist while I crawled my way back from near death?”
That’s enough she cried, her wolf energy flaring wildly. The room felt smaller, suffocating under her presence.
But it didn’t matter. She could pour every ounce of power into this room, and it still wouldn’t touch me.
“And you know what’s funny, Sarah?” I continued, my voice clipping through the tension like a blade. “Even now, after everything Grace has done, your sal defend her. Why? Why is she worth more to you than your real daughter?”
She’s my daughter too Sarah snapped, her voice cracking with raw emotion.
“She’s not?” I shouted, my wolf stirring angrily within me. My voice echoed through the room, fierce and unwavering. “She’s not your daughter, Sarah She never was. And you knew it. You knew it and still chose her over me.”
Her expression broke for a split second, the faintest flicker of remorse flashing in her eyes. But it wasn’t enough.
She didn’t deserve what she went through” Sarah muttered, averting her gaze slightly as if avoiding a truth she couldn’t bear to face.
“And neither did I retorted, my voice quieter but no less powerful.
Her breath hitched, and I surged forward, closing the space between us. “But I survived, didn’t I? Without you. Without anyone. Meanwhile, your precious Grace sneered her name, “couldn’t last without manipulation, lies, and betrayal,”
Blood ties cannot be broken Sarah whispered, her voice desperate and trembling. “You’re my daughter.”
Itited my head, staring into her eyes with a gaze so cold and unyielding it could have frozen fire,
“Blood tes,” I repeated, mockingly “Really? Then why didn’t you recognize me when I was switched at birth? Where were those ‘blood ties when Grace was plotting to kill me? Your precious daughter, Sarah. That’s who you chose.”
Her lips quivered, but the silence that fell was louder than any plea she could have made.
1 don’t need you.” I said, each word deliberate and cutting. “You’re not my mother, Sarah. You lost that right the day you abandoned me. means that much to you, then cling to her. Because you’ll never have me.”
be
I turned away, the tension in the room thick and heavy as the silence stretched.
“Scarlett, you don’t mean that,” Sarah whispered, but the strength in her voice was gone.
1 do,” I replied without looking back. My voice was steady, final, and filled with the cold weight of years of betrayal.
If Grace
“You’re nothing to me now,” I finished, glancing at her one last time, my emerald eyes sharp and closed off. “Just Luna Sarah. And that’s all you’ll ever
My words were full of venom. “And I even doubt your sanity as Luna, since you chose an adoptive daughter who tried to kill your own flesh and
blood.”
