The Abandoned Luna's Journey to Power (by Emily Reed) novel Chapter 31

Chapter 31 Too Late to Matter

Chapter 31 Too Late to Matter

Cindy’s POV:

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Priscilla’s words still hung in the air. She said as long as I’m willing to say it, Duskfang Pack will only recognize me as its Luna. The sentence echoed like a sick spell. It sucked all the sound out of Moonwhisper Residence. A place that moments ago reeked of blood and killing intent fell into dead

silence.

I looked at the old woman in front of me. Servants held her up, acting as if she were weak and near the end of her life. But I knew better. Behind that frail shell was a sharp mind, always calculating. What rose in my chest wasn’t gratitude. It wasn’t even anger. It was laughter.

This was absurd. Truly ridiculous.

Just thirty minutes ago, this same woman had allowed her grandson to put me on trial in front of the entire pack. She had allowed Hannah to lead people to ransack my place. When I was driven out, she didn’t even bother to show her face, let alone say a fair word for me.

And now? Just because my silver wolf bloodline awakened, Prince Adam officially recognized me, the Silverpeak Pack rose behind me, and I saw the title of Duchess placed on my head-she could swallow back every insult she had ever thrown at me.

“Haha…”

A soft laugh slipped from my throat. In the silence, it sounded sharp and ugly.

I didn’t answer her right away. Instead, I tilted my head and looked at a man nearby with quiet interest. The man who once swore, again and again, that Evelyn was the only woman he would ever love.

James was slumped on the floor. His face was pale. Blood stained the corner of his mouth, spilled from the backlash of a broken mate bond.

When he felt my gaze, he flinched. Slowly, he looked up.

I didn’t see anger toward his grandmother’s shameless offer. I didn’t see him defend Evelyn.

In his now dim gold-brown eyes, I saw something that made my stomach turn. Regret.

He stared at me-silver hair flying, standing high above everyone else. In his eyes was a greedy, aching sense of loss.

What was he regretting? Was he regretting losing me as the perfect Luna who would support him quietly?

Was he regretting not realizing sooner how much power slept inside me?

Or was he regretting something even worse-that the person now standing at the peak of honor no longer belonged to him?

This scene was clearly seen by someone else, too.

1/2

18:02 Sat, Jan 10

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Chapter 31 Too Late to Matter

I turned to look at Evelyn.

The woman who called herself a Valkyrie was staring at James so hard it looked like her eyes might burst.

Her face had turned beet red. Her chest rose and fell fast. What showed on her face was shame and despair -the kind that comes from being betrayed by the person you love most.

She probably never imagined this. She fought for this man with everything she had. She took the blame. She ruined her reputation to claim him. And yet, when his grandmother was about to throw her out like trash, he chose to stay silent.

That silence was deafening.

“Priscilla,” I finally said. My voice was calm, like I was talking about the weather, but every word cut deep. “Your plan is so loud I could hear it all the way from Northmere. You say your pack will only recognize me as Luna? Then what about Ms. Rusell here? She gave up her name and her pride for your grandson. Are you really going to use her and toss her aside now?”

Evelyn shook hard. She turned to Priscilla, her voice sharp and panicked. “Priscilla! What are you saying? I was acknowledged by the alpha-no, I was approved by the Royal Council-”

“Silence!” Priscilla snapped. She didn’t even look at Evelyn but turned to me with a smile so fake it made my skin crawl. “Cindy, Evelyn is easy to deal with. If you agree, I’ll have James remove his mark from her right away. We’ll give her some money and send her off. We are family. You’ve worked for this family for a whole year. I see everything.”

“Family?”

I burst out laughing. I laughed so hard my eyes almost filled with tears

“Have you lost your mind?” I stopped laughing at once. My gaze turned sharp, like a blade, aimed straight at those two false faces. “Just earlier today, your granddaughter led people to steal my inheritance and hurt my maid. Were we family then? When your grandson listed my crimes in the square and tried to throw me out like a stray dog, were we family then?”

I walked up to James, step by step. I looked down at the man I once thought I could spend my life with.

“James, the regret on your face makes me sick,” I said, tearing away his last excuse. “You didn’t rebuke your grandmother right away because you hesitated, didn’t you? You realized I’m more useful than Evelyn. She only caused you trouble. Isn’t that right?”

James’s face turned dark purple. He opened his mouth, trying to explain, but no sound came out. In the end, he could only look away.

Then I turned to Evelyn. A mocking smile curved my lips. “Evelyn, this is the man you fought so hard to steal. When profits are on the line, you mean nothing to him. How does that feel?”

18:02 Sat, Jan 10 G