Fallen Luna Taking Back My Empire From My Alpha Husband

The moment my pen slid across the paper and my name was signed, another dull, heavy pain shot through my chest. I pressed my left hand against my heart, cold sweat trickling down my forehead. It took a long time for the pain to subside. My inner wolf whimpered weakly, as if bidding me a final farewell. I wanted to say something back to her, but the front door downstairs creaked open. "Watch your step. Don't twist your ankle." It was Daniel’s voice. It was soft and gentle, carrying a patient warmth he rarely showed me anymore. Holding onto the handrail, I walked downstairs. Daniel was carefully guiding a woman inside. It was Rachel. She was Daniel's childhood friend—the girl who once made him smoke an entire pack of cigarettes in a single night. After we reached adulthood, she refused to remain an ordinary pack member and chose to go abroad for college. Now, she was back, boldly stepping into my home. Rachel scanned the living room before her eyes finally settled on me. A smirk played on her lips, but she quickly shrank back into Daniel’s chest, acting fragile. "Luna Sarah, I’m so sorry. I just got back and haven’t found a place to stay yet." "I have to crash here for a few days. You don't mind, do you?" I gripped the handrail tightly. The failing heart in my chest was struggling to beat. What was the point of minding? Last night, Daniel hadn’t even consulted me. He simply informed me that she was moving in. Before I could answer, eight-year-old Jack ran up to Rachel, holding a pair of brand-new slippers. "Aunt Rachel, wear these. They’re super soft." My vision blurred as I looked down. Those were the slippers I had run to three different stores under the scorching sun to buy just two days ago. When I first brought them home, Jack had hugged my leg, sweet-talking me, saying his mommy would look the prettiest in them. Now, he didn't hesitate to give them away to please another woman. Rachel smiled and patted Jack's head as she slipped them on. They were a bit too big, and she frowned delicately. Seeing this, Daniel immediately glared at me, his brows furrowed in disapproval. "Sarah, you have nothing to do all day. How can you fail at basic hospitality?" "Rachel has small feet. Giving her slippers this big—did you do this on purpose to humiliate her?" A wave of nausea washed over me. I took a deep breath, forcing it down. Those slippers were bought for me. Of course they wouldn't fit her. Without a word, I turned toward the couch. I moved too quickly, my body swayed, and I had to grab the back of the sofa to steady myself. Daniel didn't notice my struggle at all. He pulled Rachel down to sit across from me. "Rachel must be starving after running around all morning." "Go to the kitchen and make a pot of seafood broth. Put in extra scallops. Rachel has a sensitive stomach and can't eat anything greasy." He leaned back on the couch, throwing orders at me. In the past, I would have rushed into the kitchen, working tirelessly just to earn a single word of praise from him. But today, I was exhausted. The stabbing pain in my chest had drained all my strength, let alone the energy to serve his childhood sweetheart. I took off my apron and draped it over the back of the sofa. "I’m tired. I don't want to cook. Go eat out." Daniel froze. He clearly hadn’t expected his obedient Luna to reject him so flatly in front of an outsider. A sneer of annoyance quickly crept onto his face. "Sarah, are you throwing a tantrum now?" "It’s Rachel’s first day back, and you’re already throwing your weight around as Luna? You’re going to throw a fit over a single meal?" "This hard-to-get act of yours only disgusts me." Even a simple refusal to cook was treated as jealousy in his eyes. Before I could speak, Jack pouted and pointed a finger at me. "Mom is so selfish. She does nothing at home all day, and now she won't even cook a simple meal." "Aunt Rachel worked so hard traveling back. You don't care about her at all. Aunt Rachel is way sweeter than you." The eight-year-old’s words pierced my heart like daggers. This was the family I had nurtured for eight years. My heartbeat grew erratic, and my vision went dark again. I knew I couldn't stay here any longer. I turned quietly, dragging my heavy steps toward the guest room on the first floor, leaving the master bedroom and the living room to the three of them. "Stop right there! Who are you rolling your eyes at?" Daniel’s suppressed anger followed me from behind. I didn't stop. I walked into the guest room and shut the door. Soon, Rachel’s soft, comforting voice drifted through the door. "Daniel, don't blame Sarah. I'm sure she's just unhappy that I'm here. Let's just go eat out." Jack chimed in, begging to take her to a fancy restaurant. Soon after, the front door slammed shut. The house fell into dead silence, leaving only my ragged breathing. I slid down against the door, pulled out my bottle of heart stabilizers, and swallowed a few pills dry.I pushed myself up against the wall. Just as I got my balance, I heard the lock click. Jack rushed in, clutching a faded, yellowing notebook, and headed straight for the living room. That was the diary I had kept when I was pregnant with him, recording every joyful kick. I had kept it safely in the living room glass cabinet. I walked out of the guest room and saw Jack shoving my diary right under the serving tray Rachel was holding. "Aunt Rachel, the table is a bit wobbly. I'll use this notebook to level it so your soup won't spill." Blood rushed to my head. I marched over to pull the notebook out, but Rachel deliberately pressed her hand on the corner. She looked up at me with an innocent expression, though the corners of her mouth twitched upward. "Sarah, I'm so sorry. Jack said this was just a useless scrap notebook, so I used it." "Don't be mad at the kid. I'll wipe it clean for you later." The edge of the heavy tray dug a deep scratch into the cover. The moment my hand touched the edge of the diary, Jack shoved me hard. Caught off guard, I stumbled backward, hitting the wall. A dull pain radiated through my back. "Stop scaring Aunt Rachel! It's just a trashy notebook, how much could it even be worth? I'll just ask Dad to buy you a new one." Jack stood protectively in front of Rachel, glaring at me with pure hostility. Daniel walked out of the kitchen with a glass of warm milk. Without asking what happened, he frowned and snapped at me. "Sarah, what is wrong with you this morning? You're ruining the mood." "So what if they used an old notebook to level the table? Is that worth hitting our son over?" My fingernails dug deep into my palms until they bled. "That diary holds the records of the six months I spent bedridden in the hospital just to safely give birth to Jack." My voice was dry and tight. A flicker of guilt crossed Daniel’s eyes, but his face quickly hardened again. He pulled a black card from his wallet and tossed it onto the table, sliding it toward Rachel. "Rachel, after lunch, have Jack take you shopping. Buy whatever you want. Consider it compensation for the trouble you went through today." Using pack funds to please another woman—just to compensate her for the "fright" of using my precious diary to prop up a table. The metallic taste of blood rose in my throat. My legs gave out, and I slid down the wall, clutching my chest. Cold sweat poured down my face as I gasped for air, but my lungs felt empty. Jack rolled his eyes and snorted. "Look, Dad, she's acting again. Every time she loses an argument, she pretends to be sick. That trick is so old." "Aunt Rachel, let's ignore her. Let's go buy that giant Transformer toy." Daniel looked at my pale face and trembling body. He frowned, taking a step toward me, but Rachel gently tugged his sleeve. "Daniel, I feel a bit dizzy... maybe it's the jet lag..." Daniel immediately turned to support Rachel, never sparing me another glance. I forced the blood in my throat back down, using the wall to drag myself up. I walked to the dining table. Right in front of them, I yanked the crumpled diary out from under the tray. The cover was already stained with grease. I didn't look at it again. I threw it straight into the trash can. Daniel’s face shifted as he watched the diary land in the trash. He opened his mouth, but ended up scoffing instead. "Unbelievable. Your temper is getting weirder by the day." He wrapped his arm around Rachel's shoulders and led Jack out the door. As the sound of their car faded, I crawled back to the guest room and collapsed onto the bed. Only after the deadly palpitations quieted down did I grab my phone. I dialed a number I hadn't called in a very long time. "Mr. Foster, it's Sarah. I want to withdraw all the patent rights belonging to me from the Blue Moon Pack." Similar to human patent laws, werewolves had their own legal system for intellectual property. Whether a pack filed for a patent was up to the Alpha, and the process required detailed documentation, including development history and efficacy reports. Filing a patent allowed a pack to control production and distribution, bringing in massive wealth depending on how they marketed it. My antidote research had been highly successful, generating astronomical profits for our pack. Although the patents had been held under the pack's name, as the sole creator, I had the legal right to reclaim all ownership. Mr. Foster agreed immediately, scheduling a meeting for tomorrow afternoon to finalize the details. As soon as I hung up, I received a message from the pack's chief healer. "Luna Sarah, your lab results are back. Your heart failure has worsened. Honestly, you have less than three days left. Please come to the clinic immediately." Three days. I stared at the screen, my dry lips curling into a bitter smile.With only two days left, Daniel pushed open my door. Ignoring my pale face, he demanded, "Give me the keys to the Bayview villa." That was the house he had bought for me. It was also where he proposed. I leaned against the headboard, motionless. "What do you need them for?" He pulled at his tie impatiently, his face darkening. "Rachel is in a bad mood and wants to relax by the beach. I'm taking her and Jack there for two nights." "She just returned and has nothing. As the Luna, can't you be generous enough to let her use the house for a few days?" He wanted to take another woman to the place where he proposed to me, and he wanted me to hand over the keys myself. I opened the drawer, pulled out the keys and the keycard, and tossed them onto the bed. "Take them. You can use whatever is inside." My easy compliance caught Daniel off guard. Holding the keys, he muttered defensively, "It's just a trip to help her clear her head." I didn't reply. I turned away and texted Mr. Foster. "Please prepare a declaration of severance as well. Send it to me as soon as possible." Though I knew a mere piece of paper couldn't easily break the mate bond between Daniel and me, I still wanted to sever all ties. Seeing me ignore him, Daniel scoffed, took the keys, and slammed the door. By evening, I was in the kitchen brewing my heart medicine. The bitter, pungent scent made me cough uncontrollably. In the living room, I could hear Rachel and Jack laughing as they packed. Suddenly, a sharp gasp was followed by a heavy crash. Rachel had fallen down the last three steps of the stairs. She sat on the floor, clutching her ankle, crying in pain. Daniel rushed downstairs at the noise. He scooped Rachel into his arms, then glared fiercely at me as I walked out of the kitchen. "Sarah! Look what you've done!" "It was just a set of keys! How could you be malicious enough to push her down the stairs?" My hand trembled, spilling a few drops of the boiling medicine onto my skin, burning it red. "I’ve been in the kitchen the whole time. I didn't go near the stairs." Rachel clung to Daniel, crying and shaking her head. "Daniel, don't blame Sarah. I just lost my footing. Maybe she just bumped into me when she walked past." Daniel snapped. He lunged forward and kicked the bowl out of my hands. The ceramic shattered on the floor, splashing the hot medicine I had spent three hours brewing all over the ground, soaking my pants. Looking at the mess, the agony in my chest flared up again, robbing me of the strength to stand. My knees hit the floor. I reached out with trembling hands to salvage whatever medicine was left in the broken shards. Just as my fingers touched the liquid, Jack stepped heavily onto the back of my hand, grinding his shoe down. He glared at me, his young face filled with disgust. "You evil woman! Not only do you bully Aunt Rachel, but you also brew this stinky garbage at home." "I don't want a mom like you. You embarrass me!" My knuckles throbbed with pain as the broken ceramic sliced into my skin. Hearing my own son say those words, I didn't cry. My eyes didn't even water. I slowly pulled my bloody hand away. Looking at the clear shoe print on my skin, I smiled. I smiled at how my eight years of devotion had ended in this. My smile only deepened Daniel’s disgust. He carried Rachel and walked out without looking back. "Let's go, Jack. We'll take Aunt Rachel to the clinic. Let this crazy woman stay here and think about what she's done." As the three of them left, thunder rumbled outside. Within minutes, a torrential rain began to pour. Suddenly, all the lights in the villa flickered and died, plunging the house into darkness. The spasms in my chest turned into a continuous, sharp pain. I shivered and pulled out my phone, only to find the battery had died. My inner wolf was too weak to even establish a mind link. I had to crawl toward the landline phone in the living room. It was only a few yards, but it took me twenty minutes. When I finally reached the receiver and pressed it to my ear, there was only silence. I ran my fingers down the cord and felt a clean, smooth cut. The phone line had been cut. Jack had been playing with his craft scissors before they left. My own son had cut off his mother's last lifeline. The excruciating pain swallowed me whole. I curled up on the cold floor, my consciousness slipping away. I didn't even have the strength to breathe. I could only lie in the dark, waiting. Hours passed. The rain stopped, and the pale light of dawn crept through the window. In the distance, the faint wail of a clinic siren echoed.The front door of the villa was kicked open with brutal force. A group of people rushed in, their flashlights beaming onto my face. The pack healers had sensed something was wrong and rushed over. The lead healer knelt down, checking my pupils, and shouted urgently. "She's in deep shock with a barely detectable pulse! Get the stretcher, now!" Numb and lifeless, I was lifted onto the stretcher and rushed into the emergency room. With the shock of the defibrillator, a flicker of consciousness returned to me. The lead healer stood by my bed, his face grim. "Luna Sarah, your heart has completely failed. We've done everything we can." "The machines can only keep you alive for another two hours. Do you have any final words?" The oxygen mask was fogged with my breath. I used the last of my strength to shake my head. With teary eyes, the nurse dialed Alpha Daniel’s number and placed it on speaker next to my pillow. It rang for a long time before he finally answered. In the background, there was loud, cheerful music and the booming sound of fireworks. "Daniel, look at that firework! It's beautiful! Jack, come take a picture!" Rachel’s giggles echoed through the room. The nurse raised her voice. "Alpha Daniel, this is the Pack Clinic emergency room." "Luna Sarah is in critical condition and could pass away at any moment. Please come immediately." The other end went quiet for a second before Daniel’s impatient roar shattered the silence. "Sarah, are you seriously doing this again?" "Rachel finally got a chance to relax at the amusement park, and you just have to ruin it by faking your death?" "Let me tell you, even if you die in that house today, I won't step a foot back!" After some rustling, the phone seemed to be snatched away, and Jack's shrill voice came through. "Yeah! Stop lying! You always use this trick." "If you're really sick, kneel down and beg Aunt Rachel for forgiveness, or we're never coming back!" The medical staff in the room exchanged shocked and sorrowful looks. The ventilator hissed as I lifted my blood-stained hand with the last bit of my strength. The nurse quickly held the phone closer to my ear. I swallowed the metallic taste of blood and parted my cracked lips. "Don't... come back." "Have... fun." My voice was quiet, completely hollow. I used the last ounce of my life to press the end-call button. The breath I had held for eight years finally left my body. The lights above blurred, and the beeping of the monitors faded into the distance. I was finally free. The monitor let out a long, flat tone. The screen showed a straight line. Miles away at the amusement park, fireworks lit up the night sky. Daniel shoved his phone back into his pocket, cursing under his breath. Rachel held his arm, pointing at the sky with a laugh. He tried to force a smile, but his phone buzzed violently again. Annoyed, he pulled it out. It was the same clinic number. He answered, ready to unleash his fury. But the voice on the other end was icy. "Alpha Daniel, this is the Pack Clinic." "Luna Sarah has been pronounced dead. Please come to handle her final arrangements."