Luna Forsaken (Arya and James) novel Chapter 22

22 The Luna’s Chain

Arya’s POV

The moment Leah’s words landed, the hall didn’t explode, no, it curdled.

Whispers. Low. Sharp. Hungry.

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A ripple of murmurs rolled across the long tables, like the pack had been waiting for

permission to react.

Leah lifted her hand with a calm, practiced smile, palm open to the crowd.

“Easy,” she said lightly. “It’s a good night. Let’s not ruin it with noise.”

The murmurs softened, but they didn’t stop. People leaned into each other, eyes darting, some to Leah, some to James, and far too many to me.

Leah kept smiling, like she was the sun and everyone else was meant to orbit.

And that was when I saw it.

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A thin silver chain sat against her throat, delicate, unmistakable. The pendant hanging from it was shaped like a crescent claw.

My pendant.

The one James placed around my neck the night we first claimed this territory.

The one he said meant Luna, even before anyone else respected the title.

My lungs locked.

My hands went cold.

Leah’s gaze slid to mine, slow as a blade being drawn.

She didn’t touch it at first. She just stood there and let me stare, like she was enjoying the way it dismantled me in front of everyone.

Then, very deliberately, she lifted her fingers and brushed the pendant.

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Like a lover.

Like an owner.

Like a thief showing off stolen gold.

My eyes burned. Tears rushed up so fast it felt violent.

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Across from her, James’s mouth tightened into a hard line, his jaw flexing like it hurt to hold

his face still.

Leah’s smile widened.

She let her fingers stroke the pendant again, and when she leaned toward me, her voice

dropped, soft enough that only I would hear.

“He told me you used to kiss it when you were scared,” she whispered, sweet as poison.

“Before battle.”

I froze.

Leah’s lips barely moved as she continued.

“That it gave you luck.”

My throat clenched.

My gaze snapped to James.

His eyes flickered. Not to her. Not to the pack.

To the chain.

To my face.

Then away.

Leah straightened and lifted her voice, turning back to the room like she was addressing her loyal subjects.

“Now that I am the new Luna,” she said proudly, fingers still on the pendant, “and the rightful owner of this territory,”

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A cheer broke out. People slapped tables. Someone whooped.

Leah waited for it to build, then raised her chin.

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“I hope it brings us luck too,” she continued, voice ringing, “so we join the Union and we

don’t have nights like this anymore.”

More jeers. More cheering. More noise.

But to me, the sound faded.

Not because I was floating away.

Because the truth hit like a punch.

Only James knew that.

Only James knew I kissed it before battle.

I stayed standing, jaw set, not moving, not blinking, waiting to be dismissed like I was a

servant who had wandered too close to the high table.

Leah tilted her head at me, pretending to be gracious.

James finally looked at me again.

His eyes pleaded.

His voice came out gentle, too gentle, like he wanted to soothe a wound he had just carved

open.

“Please return to your seat, Arya.”

The hall went quiet enough to hear my breath.

Not fully quiet, just quiet in the way predators get quiet when they want to see the prey

flinch.

I didn’t speak.

Because if I opened my mouth, something ugly would come out.

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22 The Luna’s Chain

Something that would make Rebecca smile.

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Something that would make Marcel decide I was too much trouble to keep alive.

So I nodded once, slow and stiff, and turned away.

I walked back to the seat they’d given me, every step loud in my head.

Some people watched me with pity.

Some watched me with satisfaction.

Some didn’t look at all, like I wasn’t worth their attention anymore.

I sat.

My fingers curled under the table.

Leah returned to her place beside James like she belonged there.

And then dinner continued.

Like I hadn’t just been stripped in front of everyone.

Servants moved between tables, setting down trays.

Glasses clinked.

Meat was carved.

Laughter returned, cautious at first, then louder as people remembered this was meant to

be a celebration.

James lifted his glass.

“To unity,” he said.

The pack roared back.

“To unity!”

Leah leaned into him with perfect timing.

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“To the Union,” she added brightly, lifting her own glass.

People cheered again.

James drank. Leah drank.

Then James turned to her, his voice pitched warm for everyone to hear.

“You handled yourself well tonight,” he told her.

Leah giggled like a girl being praised by her Alpha.

“I’m only doing what I must,” she replied, eyes shining. “For the pack.”

James nodded slowly.

“For the pack,” he echoed.

My nails dug into my palm.

Leah reached out and touched his forearm as if it was natural.

“Thank you for trusting me,” she said.

James didn’t pull away.

He didn’t smile either, but he didn’t pull away.

“Of course,” he replied.

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Leah’s eyes slid toward me again, just for a second, like she wanted to make sure I saw every detail.

Then she leaned closer to James, voice still audible enough to carry.

“I’ve been learning the pack accounts,” she said. “The patrol rota. The stores. The security.”

A few people nodded, impressed.

James nodded too.

“That’s good,” he said.

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Leah’s fingers drifted again, lightly touching the pendant at her throat.

“I want to make you proud,” she added.

James’s jaw ticked.

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“You’re doing what needs to be done,” he said, and the way he said it, flat, controlled, made

it sound less like praise and more like a command he was forcing himself to follow.

Leah didn’t mind.

She smiled anyway.

“Oh, I’ll do more than that,” she promised. “I’ll make this pack respected.”

A cheer answered her.

Rebecca sat further down the table, eyes sharp, mouth curled like she’d already won.

Marcel didn’t even bother pretending to be pleased. He sat back like a king watching a

marriage he’d paid for.

And then, somewhere between the second course and the third, Leah laughed again, bright, high, carefully placed, and James responded.

Not with laughter.

With attention.

He listened.

He nodded.

He poured her wine.

He let her speak.

He let her take space.

And every time he did, the pack looked more convinced that she belonged beside him.

I kept my face still.

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I kept my mouth shut.

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I ate enough that no one could say I was sulking like a child.

But I felt like a ghost at my own funeral.

Across the table, Nixon’s face was carved into stone.

His eyes didn’t cheer.

He didn’t jeer.

He didn’t lift his glass as high as everyone else.

He watched James like he wanted to drag him outside and shake him until sense fell out of

him.

Beside Nixon, Raymond’s gaze stayed low, but his jaw was tight.

When Leah spoke, Raymond’s eyes didn’t soften.

When Leah touched the pendant, Raymond’s nostrils flared.

But neither of them moved.

Because the hall was full of Rainhorn guards and Marcel’s power sat on the table like a

loaded gun.

Leah noticed anyway.

She lifted her chin toward Nixon at one point, smile polite, voice sweet.

“Beta Nixon,” she said, “I hope we can work well together.”

Nixon didn’t smile.

“Luna,” he replied, the word coming out like it scraped his throat.

Leah’s smile sharpened.

“Oh,” she said, tilting her head. “You can say it.”

Nixon’s eyes flicked to James.

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James didn’t look back.

Leah’s smile widened like she’d just won something small but delicious.

Raymond cleared his throat, low.

“Patrol reports will still go through me,” he said evenly.

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Leah turned to him.

“Of course,” she replied. “And you’ll report them to me.”

Raymond’s gaze held hers.

“For now,” he said.

Leah laughed softly.

“For as long as I’m Luna,” she corrected, still smiling.

James lifted his glass again.

“That’s enough,” he said, calm but firm.

Leah immediately softened.

“Of course, Alpha,” she said, and the obedience in her tone made the pack murmur with approval.

The dinner dragged, but it also moved too fast.

A strange, twisted rhythm.

Celebrate.

Cheer.

Smile.

Drink.

Pretend nothing was wrong.

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Pretend the chain around Leah’s throat hadn’t been torn from mine.

At last, the final course ended.

People rose.

Chairs scraped.

Voices swelled as the hall turned into a buzzing hive.

Leah stood beside James, radiant, accepting congratulations like she was already crowned.

Someone hugged her.

Someone kissed her cheek.

Someone said, “We’re lucky to have you.”

Leah laughed, delighted.

James stayed close, playing his part.

I didn’t wait.

The moment I could leave without drawing attention, I moved.

Quick.

Silent.

Out of the hall.

Down the corridor.

Past servants who pretended not to see me.

Past guards who looked straight through me.

My feet didn’t slow until I reached my door.

I pushed it open.

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Stepped inside,

And stopped.

James was already there.

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<Luna Forsaken