Luna Who Broke the Line Chapter 02
When I got back to the Grayson estate, my parents and Callum were gathered around Talia, taking turns trying to make her laugh.
All three of them looked so eager. So patient. Like the person in front of them wasn’t an eighteen–year–old adult but a tiny pup who needed the whole pack to protect her.
Callum’s eyes flicked toward me as I approached.
Something sly sparked there.
I didn’t catch it in time.
A bucket of pepper–laced ice water came down over my head.
The cold hit first. Then the burn. My nose, my throat, my lungs. I choked, coughing so hard I could barely stand.
Talia’s laughter rang through the room. Bright and delighted.
“She’s laughing! Finally!”
My parents‘ worried faces flooded with relief. Like they’d just pulled off something monumental.
I’d seen this scene so many times.
If I scored a few points higher than Talia on a test. If a classmate said something nice to me. If I simply
walked home from school a little faster than her. Any of it could trigger a meltdown.
And when Talia cried, my parents‘ worry turned into rage. Rage that always landed on me.
Callum used to be caught in the same trap. We’d been
thrown into that pit together by Talia’s tears, and for a
little while, we’d been close. Actual siblings.
Then one day, right as our parents were about to punish us both, Talia spoke up. For Callum.
“Don’t blame Callum. He bought me candy yesterday.”
My parents‘ hands stopped mid–air. Turned toward me instead.
That night, I lay on my narrow bed by the balcony,
bruised and aching, while Callum apologized through
the door. I didn’t answer. I didn’t blame him for wanting to protect himself.
But that candy. I’d saved it for ages, I’d been saving it for him.
After that, Callum joined Talia’s side. Shared candy with her. Bullied me with her.
Then I met Gideon. Under his protection, the wounds.
Callum left slowly scabbed over. My gray world had light again.
But in the end, all that light found Talia too.
She took my life. Then took every person in it.
Now Talia looked at me, a glint of triumph barely
hidden behind a mask of kindness. She held out a towel.
“Here, Freya. You’re soaked. Dry off.”
I looked at her. I didn’t take it.
Instead, I grabbed the bucket and threw the rest of the pepper water at her.
Talia shrieked and stumbled backward. Her freshly dyed pink hair plastered against her cheeks. Her beautiful white dress was drenched, ruined.
Something long dead inside me flickered with cold satisfaction.
Callum lunged forward and shoved me back.
My father, Alpha Marcus Grayson, was already there.
His hand cracked across my face.
My ears rang. The taste of rust spread through my mouth.
My mother, Luna Elaine, wrapped her arms around
Talia. The look she gave me was pure loathing.
“Freya Grayson. If you’re going to act insane, we’ll send you away.”
The first time I heard those words, I was four years old.
I’d been fighting to get my grandmother’s stuffed bear back from Talia. Those words made my hands go slack.
I used to have nightmares about it. Being thrown out of Pack territory. A rogue with no one to claim her. Shivering under a bridge in the rain.
I’d wake up crying and run to my parents. “I won’t fight with her anymore. Please. Please don’t send me away.”
I was too full of terror back then to notice the flash of satisfaction in their eyes.
Now I lifted my head. Met my mother’s gaze.
I pulled the Pack adoption record from my pocket and threw it at their feet.
“Go ahead. Send your real daughter away. Clear the path so you can pour everything into the one you actually adopted. Talia.”