DRAVEN'S POV.
A symbol. A Luna in name only. A woman forced to stand next to me while I lived in torture?
Disgust crawled up my spine.
"If you want a decorative Luna so badly," I said, "put a statue next to the throne. It will serve the same purpose."
There were gasps and shocked murmurs. My mother closed her eyes like she was praying for patience.
"You are impossible." She said.
"I am cursed," I corrected. "Not stupid."
One of the older councilmen tried a different tactic.
"Alpha, if you continue to refuse, other clans may see this as weakness."
I leaned forward, eyes burning.
"Let them try."
The temperature in the room dropped.Everyone went still. This was my old self, my real self.
The one carved out of frost and fire and blood.
The one that existed long before Selin had walked into my life and made everything complicated.
My mother released a slow breath.
"Draven…this isn't sustainable. You cannot live isolated forever."
"I can," I said.
Because before Selin—
