Refuse to Be Your Luna’s Shadow Chapter 04

Refuse to Be Your Luna’s Shadow Chapter 04

The night of the ball finally arrived.

Pearl insisted on “helping” me get ready and handed me a dress. It was a neon pink, skin-tight mini dress that looked like it had been stolen from the cheapest club.

Clearly it was an insult wrapped in fabric, but I didn’t argue, simply putting it on.

The ball took place on the top floor of the tallest skyscraper in the city. Pearl floated through the crowd in a stunning white gown, the triumphant princess returning to her throne. All eyes followed her.

I stayed near the edges, lingering in the shadows, feeling practically naked and unwilling to be seen.

The Crescent Sisterhood closed in on me like vultures circling roadkill. They were led by Isabella, a sharp-featured Beta with dark brown hair.

“Evening, Freya,” Isabella drawled, her voice full of scorn. “Nice dress. Very strip-club chic. Why are you even here? Did you forget to bring your boyfriends along?”

A wave of mocking laughter rose around us.

“Maybe she is finding her next client,” one girl snickered.

Another “accidentally” tipped her glass, and red wine spilled over my dress. The cold liquid soaked into the cheap fabric and dripped down my legs. Laughter exploded.

“Sorry, Freya! Maybe you should just take it off,” the girl smirked. “Not like there is a difference.”

“Looks exactly like the photos,” someone said loudly. “Whore!”

I didn’t cry or fume the way they wanted. I simply turned around and left my words behind. “Your acting is terrible. I hope you don’t have an actress dream.”

My calm threw them off balance. Isabella shoved me hard. I hit the polished floor with a thud. Before I could push myself up, someone yanked my small jacket away. My arms and chest were suddenly exposed to the lights, covered in ugly red bruises.

Right on cue, Pearl walked in and gasped dramatically. “Freya, oh my! What did you do to yourself this time?”

Her voice rang out clear and loud, drawing the entire room’s attention toward us. The crowd stared at me, their disgust palpable.

Whispers started almost immediately.

“Disgraceful.”

“An Alpha’s daughter, like that?”

“If I were her,” Isabella said, pointing at me, “I would jump off this building just to salvage a shred of honor!”

The hatred in the air felt like a physical thing, pressing against my skin. Pearl pulled a shawl from somewhere and draped it over my shoulders like a merciful saint.

She bent close, her lips brushing my ear, whispering her venomous curse. “Freya, go to hell! Your death does good to everyone.”

Something inside me snapped, but not in the way they expected. Her words didn’t crush me. Instead, they were a key turning in a lock. A strange sense of clarity washed over me.

What she said made perfect sense.

I looked her straight in the eye, a small, spooky smile tugged at my lips. Then, in front of everyone, I turned and ran, not away from them, but toward the floor-to-ceiling windows that led to the balcony.

I saw Cassian’s head jerk up from across the room, his eyes going wide in sudden horror.

I didn’t slow down. I burst through the glass door onto the balcony and stopped at the railing. The city spread out below in a sea of lights, tiny and far away.

For a heartbeat, I hesitated. Then the desperate need for peace swallowed everything else. I climbed over the railing and jumped into the air.

The wild wind roared past my ears as I let go, deafening. For the first time in years, I felt freedom. This falling didn’t feel like punishment, but a release to me.

In that last split second, the final thing I saw was Cassian’s face above me, twisted in a way I had never witnessed. There was no anger there, no disgust, only a raw, animal panic.

He lunged forward, arm outstretched, his mouth forming a broken roar. “Freya, no!”

I don’t understand.

Why does he look so sad?