Reclaiming My Broken Luna by Selene Souchon

Chapter 266: Painful Truth Astrid's POV My body ached from the grueling training session I had endured all day. Every muscle felt like a knot, protesting at every slightest movement as I finally prepared to sink into the relief of my bed.

Sleeping had been my only source since I arrived to this pack. But just as I began to settle into the covers, my phone buzzed, pullingsharply back to reality.

I frowned when Giselle's nappeared on the screen. Her message was terse, askingto cto the Pack garden immediately to deliver the "urgent" papers she had requested earlier.

I frowned. Urgent? There had been nothing remotely pressing about those papers when she asked for them this afternoon, though she was in a rush like the world was on fire.

Something didn't sit right. Why the Pack garden? Why now? But I couldn't ignore her. She'd leftno valid excuse to refuse. Maybe it was important, or maybe I was just too tired to argue with the situation. I shoved my fatigue down and dragged myself out of bed, my body still screaming for rest. As I made my way to the garden, the weight of weariness clung tolike a second skin.

When I arrived, I wasn't prepared for what I saw.

The garden was bathed in a soft, golden glow from twinkling lights strung through the trees. The romantic sound of violins drifted on the night air, creating an atmosphere that felt like a fairy tale. It was beautiful, romantic.

What's going on? My questions were answered when I finally entered.

At the center of it all were Giselle and Killian, seated at a candlelit table, intimate and far too close for comfort.

My heart twisted painfully in my chest, a lump forming in my throat as I froze. I couldn't move. I didn't need to wonder why Giselle had askedto come. The answer was sitting right in front of me. She wantedto see this.

She wanted to make sure I knew that Killian was hers now. That he cared for her more than he ever did for me.

Killian, seated across from her, sawfirst. His expression shifted-surprise, tension, and something else I couldn't quite place.

He looked like he wanted to say something, like he was trying to reach out towith his eyes. But I couldn't bear it.

Whatever he was thinking, whatever he wanted to explain, I wasn't interested to hear it.

Giselle, noticing Killian's attention had shifted, turned in her seat, her eyes gleaming with thinly veiled triumph. "Ah, Astrid, there you are," she said, her voice sharp against the soft music.

She feigned surprise, as though she hadn't been waiting for this exact moment. "I almost forgot about those papers. Thanks for bringing them here," she added, with that smile-insincere, cruel, and meant only for me. Forgot? She hadn't forgotten. She deliberately said that to send a message to me. To make sure I'm aware of the reason why she calledhere.

I forced my feet to move forward, my jaw clenched so tightly I thought it might crack. My fingers dug into the edges of the folder I carried, willing myself not to break.

I approached the table, and for a brief moment, Killian's eyes met mine again. He looked...troubled, as if he wanted to explain, to stop the hurt that was radiating off of me. But I wasn't interested in his comfort. "Here," I said, my voice flat as I handed Giselle the documents she had so tically demanded.

She barely glanced at them, her attention already shifting back to Killian, her fingers lightly brushing his hand as she took the papers.

"You're such a lifesaver, Astrid," Giselle said, her tone dripping with insincerity. "The Pack really owes you a big favor." My stomach churned. I wanted to snap back, to say something cutting, but I was in no mood to bite back after seeing this scene before me.

All I could feel was the ache-the gnawing, unbearable ache of betrayal, That should be me. I should be the one sitting on Giselle's seat as Killian's rightful mat@and Luna.

Killian hadn't said a word, but I could feel his eyes on me, like he wanted to say something but couldn't. I could sense his hesitation, his tension, but what did it matter? He had made his choice. He had chosen her.

There was no point in staying any longer.

"I... should go," I muttered through gritted teeth, my voice barely audible. I turned quickly, desperate to escape the twisted scene unfolding before me.

The papers had never mattered-Giselle had won, and I had walked straight into her trap. She had succeeded in makingsee them together.

But as I took a step to leave, Killian's voice stoppedin my tracks. "Astrid-" he began softly, almost pleading, but I couldn't bring myself to look back at him.

Not now. Not when something raw and unexpected was tightening in my chest.

I had told myself for so long that I hated him, that I had moved on. had convinced myself that all I felt for Killian was anger, resentment, and bitterness over what had happened between us.

But standing here, seeing him with her, something deep withincracked. The pain I felt wasn't just anger. It was hurt-genuine, heartbreaking hurt.

What would he even say? What words could possibly fix this?

He was with her. He had moved on. And yet, the realization hitlike a punch to the gut—I hadn't. Not truly. All the hated had built up had been a mask, a way to protect myself from facing the truth. And now, watching them together, I couldn't deny it anymore. I still cared. Maybe I always had.

My heart felt like it was being crushed under the weight of everything I had been pretending wasn't there.

No amount of explanations or apologies from him would change the fact that he was hers now, and I was just standing on the outside, alone.

I swallowed hard, pushing the lump in my throat down as forced myself to keep walking.

Each step felt heavier than the last, like I was dragging the weight of every eotion I had tried to bury.

I wouldn't break-not in front of them.

The night air felt sharp against my skin as I left the garden, the haunting music fading into the distance.

e m Giselle's laugh still echoed in my ears, but it wasn't her voice that haunted me. It was the silence-the silence from Killian. He hadn't stopped me. He hadn't cafter me.

Because he didn't need to.

I wasn't part of his world anymore.

He was building sun shadow with her. I was the past, lingering too long in a place I no longer belonged. And no matter how much it tore at me, I had to face it now. The hurt wasn't from hate-it was because I still loved him.

And that was the most painful truth of all.