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The boos from the crowd were deafening to Aurora's ears as she fought to keep her eyes open, staring back at them bravely.
She was tied to a stake, her hair matted with dirt, sweat, and blood while her face was covered with soot.
Amid all this humiliation, there was one thing missing. Tears.
There was not a single drop of tears that slipped from her eyes.
That's right.
She has not shed any tears ever since her ordeals began. She only gazed back at the crowd with defiant fury in her eyes.
"You should look at yourself first before you try to seduce our Alpha. Is a runt like you qualified to be our Luna?" Someone from the crowd booed.
"Tch! That innocent face and vixen body are only good for deceiving men. Go to hell! Go die!" another wolf chipped in.
A chuckle escaped Aurora's lips as she couldn't believe that, these were the same people who once called her Luna.
Even the maids that once served her were also there, jeering at her, not minding the fact she treated them all like sisters when she was up there, never looking down on any of them.
She looked at her mate and scoffed, biting her lips to endure the pain in her heart.
When she heard that the pack council was calling for her demotion because of her heart condition, she was worried. But not too much because she knew her mate loved her and had promised to protect her at all costs.
Yet, everything fell apart last as her world crumbled last night. Within a few hours, there she was, tied to a stake, like a criminal waiting to be demoted.
As for her beloved mate, Alpha King Rowan Claudius, ruler of the Silver Fang territories, he was standing on a podium with his hand wrapped around the waist of a familiar she-wolf.
This wolf was the preferred Luna queen, unanimously accepted and recommended by all the pack members.
"You're the weak yet shameless woman I've ever seen. You didn't look at your mirror before dreaming of being our Luna?" the voice of an older woman cut through the air, her words cutting through Aurora's already bruised heart.
"Bitch! Because of you weakening our alpha and distracting him with your sickness, our treasuries were robbed, our farms and land plundered, and now my son is dead. Pay for it with your life!" another woman wailed.
A single step forward by Rowan and the pack center contorted into a deafening silence.
Rowan took another step forward, clearing his throat as he prepared to address the pack. Maddy, the preferred Luna, stood close to him, wearing on her face a mocking smile of victory.
"Silence!" Rowan shouted, raising his hand.
At once, everywhere went silent, except for Aurora's labored breaths. One could even hear a pin drop. Even though they didn't agree with Rowan's choice of his first mate, it never changed the fact that they respected him as a competent leader.
He walked up the stage and motioned to Maddy to stop following him. She frowned, but quickly masked it with an amiable smile and obeyed.
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