Saving The Accused Luna

*Adelene*

"Traitor!"

The word hit Adelene Hartwell like a thrown stone.

"No mercy!" a man shouted from the back.

"Death! Death!" A cluster of warriors raised their fists and roared it together, over and over, until the whole square shook.

Adelene kept her chin up. She would not flinch. She would not give them that.

But every shout cut deeper than a blade.

These were her people. She had stitched their wounds in the healing house. She had stood in front of them when rogues crossed the border. She had smiled at their pups and carried their sick through the night.

Now every face she knew was twisted with hate.

The iron chains dug into her wrists. Her skin was already raw. A little boy, no older than six, spat in her direction, and her stomach dropped.

Even the children, she thought. Then there's really nothing left.

She swallowed hard, but the bitterness stayed in her throat.

They wanted her broken. They wanted her on her knees, begging. And all it had taken was one accusation. Just one, and the Luna they once cheered for became the monster they wanted dead.

*I didn't do it,* she screamed silently. *I never did.*

But no one was listening. No one had ever planned to.

Tonight was her execution. Part of her had always known this day was coming. She wasn't happy about it. But strangely, she wasn't sad either. She was just tired.

Heavy boots stopped in front of her.

Alpha Cassian Thorne looked down at her, and for one second, Adelene searched his eyes for the man she used to know. The one who kissed her forehead before every patrol. The one who whispered *forever* against her neck.

He leaned close and spat in her face.

"I hate everything about you," he hissed through his teeth.

Adelene stared at him, stunned. This was her mate. The man who had once begged the Moon Goddess for her. And he had thrown her to the wolves without even asking for proof.

Cassian stepped back and lifted his voice so the whole pack could hear.

"I, Alpha Cassian Thorne, reject you, Adelene Hartwell, as my mate and my Luna."

A smirk tugged at his mouth.

"I won't even force you to accept it. You'll be dead soon anyway."

The crowd cheered.

Adelene closed her eyes. When she opened them, her voice came out as a whisper.

"I, Adelene Hartwell, accept your rejection."

The words tore through her like broken glass.

Then the bond snapped.

It felt like her soul was being ripped in half. Fire raced through her veins, and her chest caved in around the pain. Her knees nearly gave out. Her wolf let out a broken, howling cry inside her head.

But Adelene locked her legs and stayed standing.

*Not in front of him. Never again.*

If this man could throw her away so easily, then she had no reason left to hold on to him.

Cassian watched her closely, almost disappointed that she hadn't fallen.

"Let's see how long that pride lasts," he said coldly. "You'll be crawling back to my feet, if you even live to see the sunrise."

He laughed and walked back to his seat, then waved a hand at the herald.

"Read the charges."

The herald unrolled a scroll. His voice rang across the square.

"By order of the council, the accused is guilty of the murder of Luna Vivienne, mother of Alpha Cassian."

The crowd gasped. Then it exploded.

"Murderer!"

"Rot in the dirt where you belong!"

Adelene's heart clenched.

Luna Vivienne had held her hand when she was a lost, scared girl with no family. She had taught her how to lead. She had called her *daughter*.

And now that sweet woman's name was being used like a knife.

"She is also guilty of treason against the pack."

The uproar doubled. Boots stomped. Men screamed for the rope. Women hissed that she had betrayed them all. Even the children shrieked words they were too young to understand.

*Treason.*

The word echoed in Adelene's skull, heavier than any chain. She wanted to shout the truth. She wanted to tell them they were killing the wrong person.

But her voice was buried under their hatred.

She looked at Cassian one last time. His face was stone. He didn't stop them. He didn't even blink.

*How can you just sit there?* Her chest tightened. *Do you remember the nights we planned our future? Do you remember how much I believed in you?*

"By the decision of the elders," the herald finished, "the sentence is death."

The square went quiet for half a heartbeat.

Then Beta Rowan came rushing through the crowd. He bent down and whispered something in Cassian's ear.

Cassian's face changed. Just slightly. But Adelene saw it.

He stood up and cleared his throat.

"The execution is postponed."

Groans rolled through the crowd.

"The Lycan King is arriving soon," Cassian said, his eyes sliding to Adelene with disgust. "And he will not walk into my territory to find this mess."

*The Lycan King?*

Adelene's breath caught. Why would the most powerful ruler in the world come here, of all places?

"Guards! Take her back to the dungeon. Watch her closely."

Rough hands grabbed her arms and dragged her away. Her bare feet scraped across the stones as the crowd's curses followed her all the way down.

\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*

**Back in the dungeon**

The cell was colder than before.

It was a small, damp pit of stone in the darkest corner of the dungeon, where no sunlight had ever reached. The guards chained her to the wall and walked away without a word.

Adelene slid down against the wet stone.

How did it all fall apart so fast? Just a few months ago, she thought life was finally getting better. She had a mate. A home. A future.

Now she had nothing.

Her wrists burned inside the cuffs, but the pain in her heart was far worse.

Hours crawled by. At last, heavy footsteps echoed down the corridor. The guards were heading off to bed. Her body ached from where they had slammed her into the ground earlier, and her eyes were heavy.

Then she heard it.

*Click.*

The lock on her cell door turned.

Adelene froze. Her pulse hammered in her ears. Was this it? Had Cassian decided not to wait?

The door creaked open, and a small figure slipped inside.

Adelene's eyes widened.

"Becca?"

Her voice came out cracked and broken. Becca was her personal maid, the only person in the whole pack who had never stopped being kind to her.

"What are you doing here?" Adelene whispered. "If the guards catch you..."

Becca put a trembling finger to her lips.

Then she pulled something from beneath her cloak, and Adelene's blood ran cold.