Alpha's Discarded Luna (Talia) novel Chapter 33

Chapter 33-1

Talia’s POV

Three days pass in a haze of antiseptic and silence. Aires doesn’t return to my room. He’s waiting, I know… waiting for me to break, to crawl, to apologize.

I do none of those things.

Rather, I prefer to stare at the ceiling and let the hours pass by.

On the third morning, my phone explodes.

I wake to a continuous vibration, like it has turned into an angry hornet’s nest. 16:10

Chapter 33-1

When I finally force my eyes open and reach for the screen, and my stomach drops.

I’m trending on number one.

The headline screams in bold caps: CAR ACCIDENT COVER–UP EXPOSED: The Truth About Talia Perseus’s Attempted

Murder.

My thumb trembles as I scroll. Photos accompany the article: grainy, carefully selected shots that show my car moments before impact, my face through the windshield, an expression that could be interpreted as determined instead of terrified. The angle is precise, damning.

2/10

! 16:10

Chapter 33-1

New evidence reveals the full extent of

Talia Perseus’s viciousness. Witnesses confirm she accelerated deliberately, aiming for Miss. Volkov’s vehicle. This was no accident, it was attempted murder, driven by jealousy and rage at Ms. Volkov’s terminal illness and her enduring bond with Alpha Perseus.

The comments section is a sewer.

[She’s a monster. She broke them apart AND tried to kill her?]

[Alpha Perseus needs to annul this bond immediately. She’ll come for him next.]

[Rot in hell, Talia. You don’t deserve to

breathe the same air as Imema.]

* 16:10

1

Chapter 33-1

[Death penalty. Now. Before she hurts anyone else.]

[I made a memorial page for Imema. We need to protect her from this psychopath.]

Someone has posted my contact information. My phone number. My email. My temporary address. The implications crawl down my spine like ice

water.

The calls start immediately. I reject the first dozen, then turn off the ringer. The messages flood in anyway–hundreds, thousands, each more vile than the last.

4/10

16:10

Chapter 33-1

Die, bitch.

Hope you suffer.

The world would be better without you.

Some are creative. Some are just

relentless.

A few rational voices attempt to surface— there’s no actual evidence, just witnesses –but they’re drowned immediately, buried under mountains of hate. Anyone who questions the narrative is branded my fan, my accomplice, equally guilty.

I stop reading after an hour. My hands are shaking, but my heart is strangely still. This is what she built. This is the weapono

Chapter 33-1

she forged from Aires’s resources and her own manufactured tragedy.

I won’t give her the satisfaction of seeing me break.

The day of my discharge arrives quietly. I don’t notify anyone. Electra offered to come, but I told her not to–she’s already done too much, and I won’t drag her further into this quicksand. Raymond has been traveling, handling whatever empire business consumes his time. Robin sends messages every few hours, little hearts and questions about when I’m coming

home.

6/10

I 16:10

Chapter 33-1

Home. Such a strange word for an apartment I’ve barely inhabited.

I sign the discharge papers with a numb hand. My ankle still throbs, but I can walk. That’s enough. The nurse wishes me well with eyes that slide away too quickly -she’s seen the news. Everyone has.

The hospital lobby is bright, almost painfully so. I step through the automatic doors into fresh air for the first time in

three days.

And the world explodes.

They surge from everywhere–from behind cars, from the corners of the building, from across the street. A mob16:10

Chapter 33-1

maybe twenty strong, faces twisted with righteous fury. Phones are raised to capture my humiliation.

“There she is!”

“Murderer!”

“Talia, you vicious bitch!”

I freeze. Before I can retreat, they’ve surrounded me, a tightening circle of hatred made flesh.

୮

A woman shoves me, hard. I stumble, catching myself on someone else who shoves me back.

You tried to kill her! We know what you 10

Chapter 33-1

did!”

A man’s voice, spitting with rage. “Think you can buy your way out? Bribe witnesses? We won’t let you!”

“You don’t deserve to live!”

Another shove. My ankle screams. Someone grabs my hair, yanks. I cry out.

“Punish her! Since the law won’t, we will!”

୮

I’m on the ground. I don’t remember falling. Shoes crowd my vision, pressing closer. Someone kicks—my ribs, my hip, I can’t tell anymore. The world narrows to pain and noise and the suffocating press of bodies.

* 16:10

Chapter 33-1

Write your comment

1 Gifts

10/10

| 16:10