The Fake Luna

## Ana POV

I stood by the window, resting my forehead against the cool glass. I looked out over the pack’s territory, which was bustling with life despite the late hour. This place was completely different—almost unreal— compared to the hell hole I’d been forced to call home for the last fourteen years — if that hell could even be called a pack. Here, it was joyful, clean, and safe. It was the kind of home that people like me could only dream of.

The sun was slowly sinking below the horizon, painting the sky purple.

I took a deep breath and turned around. My two black, braided plaits—probably quite tousled now after my escape—bobbed at the back of my head with every movement I made. I looked at the huge bed in the middle of the room, where he was lying. My savior from dire straits, but also the cause of my great troubles.

He looked imposing even now, when he was completely defenseless. Although his body was covered by the sheets, the broad line of his shoulders and the outline of his muscular, athletic chest—further accentuated by white bandages—were clearly visible beneath the thin comforter. His dark chocolate-colored hair, no longer than mine, was scattered across the pillow.

I wonder how he styles it on a daily basis? The thought flashed through my mind. My attention was also drawn to his hard, masculine facial features, with a strongly defined jawline covered in the shadow of dark stubble. My gaze involuntarily drifted to his right shoulder, where the outline of an intricate tattoo emerged from beneath the bandage.

“I’m also curious to see what the whole thing looks like and how far it goes,” Isa, my she-wolf, suddenly spoke up in my head. “Lift the blanket!”

I was surprised by her request. Isa was like a mother to me—wise, strong, always caring. She’d been looking after me ever since I lost my parents. I got her when I was thirteen, even though in our world wolves usually don’t awaken until around the age of fifteen. Despite the passing years, I had never transformed. As Isa put it, “She’s fine where she is, and for now, she has no desire to reveal herself.” I fully accepted that. The fact that everyone around me considered me a wolfless omega meant they completely ignored and underestimated me. And that gave me the perfect opportunity to blend into the background and eavesdrop—which, in my line of work, is invaluable.

When I was younger, a big older boy from the outcast camp tried to lay a hand on me. I beat him to a pulp, using the agility and fighting techniques I’d picked up from watching adult warriors. I trained at night, secretly doing calisthenics (a holdover from when I was part of a pack and had a family) and stretching. Ever since that fight, I’d become an outcast, but no one messed with me anymore. I was untouchable. I also had no trouble sneaking food for myself—my speed made me a ghost in that camp.

But now Isa had really surprised me. For the first time, I was the one who had to talk some sense into her.

“No way!” I snapped back in my mind. “First of all, that’s an invasion of his privacy, and second, you wouldn’t see anything anyway—the guy’s covered in bandages!”

I approached quietly, trying not to let my shoes clatter against the shiny floor. I sat down carefully on the edge of the mattress, right next to the IV tubes.

“They say that if you talk to someone in a coma, they wake up faster,” I began, speaking directly to him. “I doubt you’ll open your eyes right away. Your doctor said that with injuries like these, it’s a miracle you’re still breathing at all. But I owe you one. Finding you in that forest gave me a ticket into your pack. So at least I can do this much: sit here with you and talk. And since I don’t even know what you like to read, I’ll tell you a little about myself. My name is Ana. And I’m a thief.”

The only response was a deep silence. It was both comforting and sad.

“But don’t worry, I don’t steal from good packs,” I added quickly with a faint, sad smile. “Only the ones that are rotten to the core. Like the one I ran away from.”

I ran my fingers through my short, black hair and looked at my hands, covered in tiny scars.

“I was eleven years old when the outcasts killed my pack and my parents. Back then, I still went by a different name: Anais. They took me to their base as living spoils of war. For years, everyone thought I was a nobody—a powerless, helpless girl. It was damn hard.”

Suddenly, a single drop fell onto the man’s hand. My tear. Even though so many years had passed, the memory of those days still hurt just as much. I quickly wiped my cheek and took a deep breath.

“When I was seventeen, everything changed. They brought in Eryk. He was barely seven years old at the time. A small, terrified, skinny boy with light brown hair and huge green eyes hidden behind oversized glasses. They beat him because he wouldn’t fight. He’d get distracted, staring at bugs on the ground, at trees, at rocks... Everyone thought he was a fool. But he was special. Moon- touched. So I made a deal with Draven, the leader. I’d bring him the secret plans of the neighboring pack if I could have the little one all to myself and everyone would leave him in peace.”

I paused for a moment, and the image of that night flashed before my eyes as if it were yesterday. It was a suicide mission. That pack was heavily guarded, and anyone who tried to sneak in ended up as a corpse abandoned at the border. Then, as usual, Isa came to the rescue. She whispered in my ear, “Focus, Anais. Feel the wind, be a shadow. Don’t rush—spot the pattern.” I didn’t return until six hours later, but with the documents in hand.

I cleared my throat, my thoughts drifting back to the sterile medical room.

“I completed the task. And my lonely life finally stopped being lonely,” I smiled gently. “It turned out that this little guy can remember everything he reads even just once. Since then, I’ve been getting him every book I can find so his extraordinary brain doesn’t go to waste.”

“And let’s not forget about memorizing all those secret documents you stole,” Isa interjected with a chuckle. “You’d give them to Eryk to read before they went to Draven. The kid didn’t understand a thing, but his mind worked like a camera. He memorized every map, every plan, every signature,” she said proudly.

“We both know that, but I don’t have to tell him everything,” I hissed mentally at the she-wolf, glancing at the man. “And now don’t distract me, or I’ll lose my train of thought.”

I returned to my monologue

“For every subsequent mission, I demanded money from Draven and more books for the boy. I created a little sanctuary for us. I finally had something to live for and a clear goal: to save up money and free us from all of them. But three years later, Sandy joined us.”

“I hope I’m not boring you?” I interrupted my monologue and asked rhetorically, looking at his profile. As expected, silence was the only response. “I’m telling you all this because without it, you won’t understand where all this commotion is coming from!” I explained, and clearing my throat, I continued, “When Sandy came to us, she was thirteen. She was only half-wolf, which is why her own pack heartlessly cast her out.” A beautiful blonde with forget-me-not-colored eyes. The outcasts immediately wanted to hurt her, so I stood between them and her, knife in hand. Ever since then, I’ve hidden her beauty under oversized, ugly rags. And two years after her… Beany showed up. My little bean. Her mom died in my arms after a brutal attack on their village. Beany is three years old now and the absolute apple of our little family’s eye. These kids have become my everything.”

My voice suddenly hardened, and dangerous sparks flashed in my eyes.

“I wanted to save up more money to escape, but Draven started making leering eyes at Sandy. She’s about to turn eighteen… We had to flee immediately.” Eryk knew the area maps from one of the books I’d brought him. We decided to flee west. I knew Draven’s reach didn’t extend that far, and we’d be safe. And that’s when we found you in the woods. I carried you on my back to the nearest pack, hoping you belonged there. But the Beta, Alex… Goddess, that guy is so distrustful! He wouldn’t let us in. He thought we were outcast spies. He growled at me, demanded an explanation, and threatened to lock us in the dungeons. He even suggested that we were the ones who’d done this to you. I had no choice. I had to come up with something to protect us, so I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. I said that before you passed out, you whispered the word mate to ‘me’. I really had no idea how high up you were in that pack...”

Suddenly, a soft click broke the silence. The door to the medical wing slid open, and a doctor entered the room with a stack of documents in her hands. She paused in the doorway, clearly surprised to see me.

“Oh, you’re here?” she asked in a warm, gentle voice. “I thought that after such a long journey and all the hardships that came with it, you’d prefer to rest in your own rooms.”

I jumped out of bed, instinctively smoothing out my clothes. I tried to keep my voice from trembling, even though my heart was now pounding in my throat.

“I’ll stay with my mate for a little while longer,” I replied with perfectly feigned calm.

The doctor smiled approvingly and gathered her things from the desk.

“In that case, I won’t bother you any longer, Luna.”

The door closed with a soft hiss, leaving us in absolute silence. The word “Luna” still rang in my ears, heavy and terrifying. I turned slowly toward the unconscious man, feeling my cheeks burn with a fiery heat.

“Well...” I whispered, shaking my head in disbelief. “You already know everything. Congratulations, Alpha... You’ve just earned a Luna.”