Luna Forsaken (Arya and James) novel Chapter 29

29 The Banquet That Bled

Arya’s POV

They arrived at dusk.

Not the way a normal visitor arrived, quiet, discreet, forgettable.

The Union’s guests came like an announcement.

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Horns at the gate. Boots on gravel. Orders being barked. Guards snapping into formation.

And then the message moved through the pack like wildfire:

“Everyone to the hall. No exceptions.”

I stood in my room when the order came.

A maid delivered it with her chin lifted, like she was pleased to be the one to remind me I

had no choice.

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“The banquet is mandatory,” she said.

I stared at her. “Who said?”

She blinked, then stiffened. “The Alpha.”

Of course.

Even now, “the Alpha.”

Not James.

Not my mate.

Just a title that seemed to swallow everything human he used to be.

I nodded once. “Leave.”

She hesitated like she wanted to add something sharp, then thought better of it and hurried

out.

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<29 The Banquet That Bled

I dressed without ceremony.

No jewellery.

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No pendant.

No softness.

Just fabric over my mark, the way they wanted. The way Leah had ordered. The way James had begged.

When I stepped into the corridor, two guards stood outside my door.

Not my guards.

Not men assigned to protect the Luna.

Men assigned to watch.

“Evening,” one of them said flatly.

I walked past them.

Behind me, I heard one murmur, “She’s actually coming.”

As if I’d ever been allowed, not to.

The hall was louder than I expected.

Not just elite chatter. Not just the officers and their mates.

Everyone.

The entire pack had been invited.

Warriors. Hunters. kitchen staff. young wolves. older members who rarely left their homes.

Everyone pressed into the hall, filling every corner, packed shoulder-to-shoulder like they

were attending a coronation.

Maybe they were.

Long tables ran the length of the room. Food covered them, trays of roasted meat, bowls of

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<29 The Banquet That Bled

stew, breads stacked high, pitchers of drink.

Servants moved quickly, almost running.

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Guards lined the walls in twice the number I’d seen at the full moon dinner.

Union security stood out immediately. Their posture was different. Their weapons were

polished. Their eyes didn’t dart like pack members’ eyes. They scanned like professionals.

At the front, a smaller table had been set aside, elevated, framed by banners, flanked by guards.

The elite table.

James’s table.

And my seat was there.

Right there.

Among the leaders.

Among the Union guests.

Among the cameras of attention.

For a moment, I stood at the entrance, watching the hall like it was a cage I’d walked into

willingly.

A hand brushed my elbow as someone shoved past.

“Move,” a woman muttered.

I moved.

Not because she ordered me.

Because I didn’t want a scene.

I walked along the side of the hall, eyes forward, avoiding faces, avoiding whispers.

But they followed anyway.

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I heard them.

“She’s sitting with them?”

“Why is she even here?”

“I heard she’s not Luna anymore.”

“She should be grateful they didn’t banish her.”

“Look, Leah’s there. She looks like a proper Luna.”

I didn’t look at Leah yet.

I kept walking.

My plan was simple.

Sit among the commoners.

Disappear in plain sight.

Let them pretend I wasn’t there.

But as I approached the middle tables, a guard stepped in front of me.

He wasn’t one of Marcel’s guards.

Not one of our usual hall guards either.

Union.

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His voice was polite but firm.

“You’re seated at the front,” he said.

I stopped. “I’m not.”

He didn’t blink. “You are.”

I looked past him and saw the seating chart pinned to a pillar. Names in neat ink. Orders.

My name was there.

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Placed.

Assigned.

Like property.

I exhaled once and tried to move around him.

He stepped again, blocking me.

“Ma’am,” he said, still polite, still firm. “Please.”

I turned my head slightly. “I don’t want that seat.”

The guard’s gaze flicked to someone behind me.

A woman’s voice answered before he could.

“Oh, Arya.”

Leah.

Her voice carried. Warm. Sweet. Public.

The guard stepped aside immediately as if Leah’s words were law.

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Leah approached with her attendants behind her, dressed like she had stepped out of a story meant to impress powerful men. Her hair was styled perfectly. Her makeup was subtle. Her neck, bare, smooth, held no pendant tonight.

Not mine, anyway.

She smiled like she was doing charity work.

“I’m so glad you came,” Leah said.

I didn’t answer.

Leah’s smile didn’t falter.

She reached out as if she might touch my arm, then didn’t, like she thought I might

contaminate her.

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“You look… presentable,” she said, voice still sweet.

A few people nearby chuckled softly.

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Leah turned slightly, making sure the Union table and the pack could see her profile.

Then she lifted her voice, as if this was a moment she’d planned.

“You’re trying to sit among the commoners?” she asked, loud enough for people to hear.

I stared at her. “I’m trying to sit where I want.”

”

Leah laughed lightly, like I’d made a harmless joke.

“Oh,” she said. “Don’t be like that.’

Her gaze softened theatrically.

“1

might not be Luna anymore,” she said clearly, “but you fought for this pack.”

hall quieted in waves.

People leaned in.

Leah continued, voice smooth.

“You will always have a place here.”

Someone murmured, “How gracious.”

Leah’s eyes flicked toward the Union representatives, making sure they were listening.

“James and I might be in love,” she added, still smiling, “but we cannot erase your bravery.”

A hum of approval spread.

Someone near the middle table actually clapped.

“Magnanimous,” a woman whispered loudly.

“So proper,” another chimed.

Leah’s smile brightened, pleased by the reaction.

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She turned back to me, eyes shining like she was offering me a gift.

“So,” she said, “come. Sit with us. You deserve that much.”

I didn’t move.

Not because I didn’t understand the trap.

Because I did.

If I refused, I looked bitter.

If I accepted, I looked obedient.

Either way, Leah won.

The hall waited.

All those eyes.

All that expectation.

Leah tilted her head as if coaxing a stubborn child.

“Come on,” she said gently. “Don’t embarrass yourself.”

I forced my feet forward.

Not toward her.

Toward the elite table.

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