The Alpha's Borrowed Luna (Abigail Hayes) novel Chapter 26

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The Alpha’s Borrowed Luna

Scars That Speak–2

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, unable to tear my gaze from the ruined landscape of her face. “I didn’t know…”

“You don’t have to be sorry,” she replied with surprising clarity. “You aren’t at fault, nor were you the cause of this. My mate did this

not you. This is what becomes of a Luna who believes she has rights.”

to me.

My stomach turned. The Alpha King had done this to

own mate? How… how could he do this to you?”

A bitter smile twisted her scarred lips. “I am alive, I survived, and I will continue to survive, but there are things I had to do to assure that I’ll remain safe. These scars were all due to my carelessness, he would say. My failure to be perfect. And he never failed to correct me. The sooner I learned my place, the better it became for me. Remember that.”

Anger flared hot within me, pushing past my shock. “You are his mate; he had no right to treat you this way. The mate bond is sacred-

“No,” she cut me off, her voice sharp. “I am not his mate. I am just…his. A possession. Something to break when he’s angry. Trust me–it hurts less when you stop expecting anything better. The moment you believe you deserve respect as a mate‘ or ‘partner‘? That’s when it gets worse.”

Her words struck me like physical blows. I thought of my own situation with Kaius–the contract that defined me as his possession for six months. Was I merely repeating history in a different form?

“Kaius did nothing?” I asked, my voice dropping to a horrified whisper. “His own mother…”

Something flashed in her eyes–pain, perhaps, or resignation. “Alpha Kaius is very much like his father. Do you know his father admires him, even though he still views him as a threat? He is the only man who has risen to the level of being considered a threat to the Alpha King. Kaius learned from the best how to rule… and how to break.”

Ice filled my veins. Kaius’s similarities to his father had been apparent in their looks, their commanding presence.

But this? Would Kaius become this monster in time?

Ophelia leaned closer, her voice urgent. “I won’t question fate. But hear me: never defy him–especially in public. Keep your pain private. Obey without question. And when you find him with other women–and you will–swallow your tears and blame yourself. These aren’t just rules. They’re how I survived.”

I thought of how I’d already defied Kaius–refusing to wear the revealing dress, challenging him about the contract terms. Each small act of rebellion suddenly seemed like steps toward the fate that had befallen this broken queen before me.

Yet something within me rebelled against her advice. I had endured Dorian’s abuse, his rejection, his cruelty–and I had survived. I wouldn’t trade one form of submission for another.

“I am not a toy,” I said, surprised by the steadiness in my voice. “I have feelings; there would be mutual respect between the both of us. I won’t live as you have-”