My Twin Luna

VIOLETTA'S POV

"I will be marking Claudia as my mate today," Sabastian announced, his words making me shocked. The wine glass slipped from my hands, shattering on the floor, but I barely noticed. My eyes were glued to the altar where Claudia had just joined Sabastian, both of them smiling as they shared a warm, intimate kiss.

This can't be happening. Sabastian was supposed to be mine. Today was our mating ceremony and engagement day, the day he was supposed to mark me as his mate. But why is it Claudia, my best friend, standing beside him? Is this some kind of nightmare? As I scanned the room, I felt everyone's eyes on me, murmurs and confusion filling the air.

I couldn't stand it any longer. My blood boiled with anger as I stormed toward them, my voice ringing out loud enough to silence the room. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Sabastian?" I tried to keep my composure, my fists clenched as I struggled not to make a scene. "I know you must be joking, but seriously, Sabastian, this is our engagement ceremony. This isn't the time or place for such a cruel prank."

"Who says I'm joking?" Sabastian's words hit me like a punch, leaving me stunned. My heart raced as I tried to process what he was saying, but the more I thought about it, the less it made sense.

"What do you mean?" My voice shook as I fought to hold back tears. "I'm the one you're supposed to mark today. I'm your mate. This engagement was meant for us. Why is Claudia up there with you on the altar?" The urge to cry was almost too much to bear, but I swallowed the lump in my throat, determined not to break down-at least not yet.

"Yes, I know, but plans changed," Sabastian said, pulling Claudia close by the waist. She wore a satisfied smile, one that made my stomach ill.

I forced myself to take a deep breath, steadying my voice as I managed to say, "Make it make sense, please." I looked at Claudia, who only smiled at me. I turned back to Sabastian, my voice desperate. "What are you doing? Explain what's going on."

"Oh, you want an explanation?" Sabastian's voice was cold, detached. "I'll make it simple. I reject you as my mate, Violetta. From this day onward, you and I are no longer bound by the mate bond and I am calling off this engagement, I will be engaging someone today but not you," he looked at Claudia with a smile as he said "only Claudia"

His words shattered me, breaking my heart into tiny pieces. It was so sudden, so brutal-where had this come from? The pain in my chest was unbearable, a pain so intense that I could barely stand. I fought to stay upright, but my legs gave out, and I collapsed to the floor, struggling to breathe through the pain in my chest. I could feel the connection to my wolf weakening, just like me, she was also in pain, a result of the broken bond. Today was supposed to be the happiest day of my life, and now this... this nightmare was my reality.

"There's no need to be so dramatic, Violetta," Claudia said. "Sabastian and I did what needed to be done for the future of this pack. You as Luna would spell nothing but chaos. You're just not strong enough for that role."

I lifted my head, tears streaming down my face, and glared at her through the haze of my pain. She smiled down at me, her hand resting on her stomach. "Besides," she added, "there's not much I can do when I'm carrying his child, you know? Do you want your best friend to have a child out of wedlock? Don't be selfish"

Her words hit me hard, breaking my heart even further. How long have they been doing this behind my back and now she is pregnant? I desperately wished this was just a cruel dream, some twisted joke the universe was playing on me. But it wasn't. This was real, too painfully real.

Sabastian had once been just a rogue, a stranger who had saved me when I was being chased by other rogues. We had grown close after I realized he was my mate, and I thought I'd found my soulmate in him. Claudia, on the other hand, had been my best friend, especially after our mothers-who were best friends-had brought us together. But everything changed when her mother, now my stepmother, married my father just days after my own mother's death. That betrayal had shattered our friendship, and ever since my father died, I had been next in line to lead the pack as his only legitimate child.

I thought Sabastian, who was wise and deeply cared about the pack, would make a better Alpha, so I decided to give my position to him, believing he would make me his Luna. But now, on what was supposed to be our special day, he's choosing Claudia instead of me. How could he mark someone else as his mate when I was supposed to be the only one?

"How could you do this to me, Sebastian?" I asked, tears rolling down my face.

Claudia snorted, rolling her eyes as she said. "Oh, spare us the theatrics, Violetta. You're not as entitled to sympathy as you think you are."

I turned to her, my voice shaking. "Aren't you supposed to be my best friend?"

Claudia's smile was a thin, cruel line. "Best friend? Ha! I was just playing the part to get everything from you and to be honest I hate the very ground you walk on. And now that I have got something that really matters to you, I don't need you anymore. You're nothing but a pathetic, clingy little leech. I am done with you and Sabastian here," she said patting his arms lightly "he is also done with you"

I looked at Sabastian whose expression remained as cold as ever. It was obvious he didn't care about how much I was suffering. "Both of you will suffer for doing this to me? How could you?"

"You're embarrassing yourself, Violetta," Sabastian replied "What's done is done. You need to deal with the fact that I don't want you anymore. Yes, I used you, but who wouldn't when you're so vulnerable and easy to manipulate?" His words sliced through me, causing me to step back as I cried

"When you're done, leave, so our ceremony can continue. My mate needs to mark me as his, and your presence here is only delaying things," Claudia sneered and at that moment, I lost total control of my temper.

"You fucking witch!" I spat, charging toward them. But before I could reach them, someone yanked my hair from behind, painfully jerking me backward. I screamed in discomfort as pain shot through my scalp, the person pulling me closer before finally releasing me.

I turned around, and there she stood-my stepmother, Claudia's mother. Before I could react, she slapped me hard across the face. The force sent me falling to the ground. "What help can you possibly offer this pack that makes you deserve to be Luna when your wolf is as weak as a common Omega's?" she hissed. I could only stare back at her in disbelief . "You're just like that entitled whore mother of yours. Do you think that just because she was lucky enough to be a luna, you deserve that position? Don't be ridiculous."

I forced myself to stand, my jaw clenched. My eyes went to Claudia, who stood beside Sabastian, a cruel smile on her lips. She moved closer to him, clearly enjoying the pain she was causing me. I blinked back the tears, turning my eyes back to my stepmother. "I wouldn't expect any less from Claudia. Like mother, like daughter, I guess," I spat out.

"What?" she snarled.

"My mother died, and the next thing you did was marry her husband the very next day, even though you claimed she was your best friend. Then you brought that bastard child of yours to steal my positi-" I couldn't finish before her hand lashed out again, another slap sending me back to the ground.

"Bastard! How dare you call my Claudia a bastard when you're not even the Alpha's real child?" Her words sliced through the air, and everyone gasped. She glanced at the crowd before declaring, "You hear that, everyone? This fool was adopted by the Alpha when he couldn't have an heir with his barren wife. But let me tell you who the legitimate daughter is." She strutted toward Claudia, gripping her hand and raising it high. "My daughter. She is the Alpha's legitimate daughter. She was the product of love between the late Alpha and me years ago. So tell me, who better deserves to be Luna if not her? If you all don't believe me, then I'll bring out the DNA test conducted years ago."

Murmurs filled the air, the crowd nodding in agreement, while some looked confused, questioning the truth of her claim. But I was the most shocked, feeling my world unraveling before my eyes. How could this be possible? All my life, I believed I was the Alpha's child. None of this made sense. How could everything I knew be a lie?

Just then, Sabastian called for a few guards who wasted no time stomping over to me. They grabbed me roughly, pulling me to my feet. Sabastian's voice filled with authority as he commanded, "Get her out of my sight and punish her for daring to question my orders in front of my loyal subjects." There was no chance to protest; they dragged me out of the hall where the mating ceremony was taking place.

I struggled against their grip, but one of the guards punched me square in the face. I heard the terrifying crack as my nose broke, and I fell to the floor, clutching my bleeding nose, groaning in pain. Desperately, I tried to reach my wolf, hoping she could lend me strength, but she was too weak, shattered from the broken mate bond.

Another guard grabbed me by the hair and slammed me against the wall. I screamed in pain, wondering what I could have done to deserve this. On this day of all days, why were they punishing me so brutally? A guard yanked me by the hair again, dragging my limp body across the hard floor toward a waiting vehicle. They shoved me into the trunk, slamming it shut, trapping me inside. My claustrophobia set in, but I was too weak to resist, too broken to fight back.

The drive felt endless. Blood poured from my nose, and my body was covered in scratches. When the car finally stopped, a guard opened the trunk and dragged me out, throwing me to the ground. I sobbed, raising my head to take in my surroundings through blurry vision. That's when I realized we were in the middle of a forest, far from anywhere familiar. My stepmother stood there, glaring at me, a few guards by her side.

I struggled to my feet, weak, but I managed to stand. My stepmother held a silver dagger in her hand and at this moment I got even more scared.

"If you had just kept quiet and let the mating ceremony go as planned, I wouldn't have to kill you," my stepmother said, walking toward me with the dagger.

I tried to run, but the guards behind me caught me instantly, holding me in place despite my struggle. My stepmother closed the distance between us, and I cowered in fear, my legs threatening to give out. She raised the dagger, her smile wicked as she said, "Now that you're about to die, I might as well let you in on a secret." She paused. "It was all me from the very beginning-your father's death, your mother's death, and now, I'm going to kill you."

She moved closer, and I shook my head, pleading, "Please, don't let me die. I'll leave, go far away, and never come back-just don't kill me."

"I'm very sorry, but this is how it's meant to be," she said. I pleaded for my life, but she wasn't listening. The next moment, I felt a sharp pain pierce my heart, silencing my pleas. My eyes widened in shock, the last thing I saw was my stepmother's cold smile. "Keeping you alive would threaten everything I've worked so hard to build," she whispered as she twisted the dagger and plunged it into my heart once more, ensuring I would remain dead. I felt life slipping away from me.

The guards released their grip, letting my lifeless body collapse to the ground. My vision darkened, and the last thing I heard was the sound of footsteps fading away, followed by a car engine roaring to life. They left me there-left me to die a slow, agonizing death.