Ch. I Refuse to Be Your Luna 3 I Refuse to Be Your Luna 3

Chapter 3 I Am Done With Him

Flourish’s POV

Finished

By the time my ride reached the main fortress of Stonehedge, the entire territory was already glowing beneath moonlight and silver fire lanterns.

Music drifted from the upper balconies while servants moved briskly across the massive courtyard carrying trays of wine and crystal cups toward the grand banquet hall. Alpha Magnus’s winter moon celebration was always excessive, but tonight felt heavier than usual. Wolves from neighboring territories filled the fortress, their scents mixing together beneath the cold winter air.

Every wolf that mattered was here.

And everyone already knew about the failed Luna Rite.

Fine by me. I was done hiding my humiliation for their comfort.

The first thing I saw when I stepped down was Harold standing near the entrance stairs speaking to several council wolves.

The conversation stopped the second his eyes landed on me.

I almost smiled.

For one long moment, he simply stared.

Not subtly either.

His gaze moved over the lavender gown hugging my waist before falling smoothly toward the slit running along my thigh. The dress itself was elegant enough for a formal Alpha gathering, but it was softer than what I normally wore, the color making my skin appear warmer beneath the moonlight.

I chose it carefully.

Not because Harold would like it.

Because I knew he wouldn’t.

A dangerous look crossed his face before he excused himself from the council wolves and walked directly toward me.

“You changed your mind about dressing modestly, I see.”

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His voice remained calm, but I knew Harold well enough to hear the irritation beneath it.

I adjusted one sleeve lazily “You granted me enough privileges to deserve visual satisfaction.”

The nearby servants immediately lowered their heads to hide their reactions.

Harold stopped directly in front of me, close enough for me to catch the familiar scent of cedarwood and winter smoke clinging to his ceremonial coat. Usually, that scent settled my wolf instantly.

Tonight, it only reminded me of the medicine–covered blankets inside the western estate.

“You’re drawing attention,” he said quietly.

“Excellent,” I replied. “That was the goal.”

His jaw tightened slightly. “This is Alpha Magnus’s banquet, not some childish revenge game.”

“And abandoning your Luna Rite for your dead beta’s widow wasn’t childish?”

The words landed sharply between us.

For a brief second, genuine anger flashed through his eyes.

I was tired of being the only wounded person in this situation.

Several wolves near the staircase were already pretending not to listen, so Harold lowered his voice further before speaking again.

“We are not discussing this here.”

I looked past him toward the brightly lit hall entrance. “Then perhaps you shouldn’t have created the discussion in public.”

That silenced him for a moment.

Interesting.

I had spent years avoiding conflict with Harold because I hated the cold distance he slipped into whenever we argued. Now that I no longer cared whether he pulled away from me, I realized something almost embarrassing.

Winning against him was not difficult.

You simply had to stop loving him enough to surrender first.

Harold exhaled slowly through his nose before offering me his arm. “The northern Alphas are

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already inside. We’re late.”

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I stared at his arm briefly before accepting it, though not because I suddenly felt cooperative. Alpha Magnus had treated me kindly for years, and I refused to humiliate him publicly on this night.

Still, the moment my fingers brushed Harold’s sleeve, another scent reached me immediately.

Moonflowers.

Soft winter herbs.

Phina.

The warmth disappeared from my expression instantly.

My eyes drifted toward the silver strand caught near the shoulder of his coat.

It was long, pale.

Definitely not mine.

I looked at it quietly for several seconds before lifting my gaze back toward Harold’s face.

“You missed a spot.”

His brows furrowed. “What?”

I nodded toward his shoulder.

Understanding crossed his expression almost immediately, followed quickly by irritation. Without another word, he brushed the strand away.

A soft laugh escaped me.

“Careful,” I murmured. “People might start thinking your beta’s widow spends more time touching you than she should.”

His grip tightened around my hand instantly.

“Flourish.”

“What?” I asked innocently. “I’m protecting your reputation.”

The vein near his temple pulsed sharply, but before he could answer, several elders approached from the entrance hall, forcing the conversation to end there.

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The second we entered the banquet hall, the atmosphere shifted noticeably.

Conversations softened.

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Eyes followed us openly.

Some wolves looked curious while others looked entertained, but almost all of them stared at me with the same question written across their faces.

After publicly rejecting the Luna Rite, why was I still standing beside Harold Virel tonight?

Poor Flourish.

Still chasing him.

Still hoping.

If only they knew I was being financially compensated for my suffering.

Harold leaned slightly closer as we moved deeper into the hall. “Stay here for a moment. Alpha Magnus wants me greeting the eastern territories personally.”

I smiled politely. “Go entertain your political obligations.”

His eyes narrowed faintly, but he eventually released my hand and disappeared toward the center of the hall where several territory leaders already waited for him.

The second he left, the whispers started.

“Well, this is embarrassing.”

I turned slowly to find three she–wolves standing near one of the wine tables watching me with open amusement. They belonged to lesser Alpha families within Stonehedge, wealthy enough to act arrogant and unimportant enough to gossip constantly.

One of them smiled too brightly. “After all that drama during the Luna Rite, I honestly expected you to hide for at least a month.”

Another laughed softly into her wine glass. “Maybe she realized Alpha Harold still hasn’t replaced her yet.”

I stared at them calmly before reaching for a glass from a passing servant’s tray.

“You know,” I said thoughtfully, “Stonehedge really should improve its banquet entertainment. The wolves here repeat the same insults every season.”

The taller woman folded her arms immediately. “At least we’re not publicly begging males to

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choose us.”

That almost made me laugh.

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“Begging?” I repeated softly. “Please. If Alpha Harold wants me standing beside him tonight, he has to pay for it now.”

Shock flashed across all three faces.

I took a slow sip of wine while enjoying the silence that followed.

“You’re lying,” one of them finally snapped.

I shrugged carelessly. “You’re welcome to ask him yourself. Although judging by how obsessed half this territory is with him, I might need to start selling appointments.”

A servant nearby choked violently trying to suppress laughter.

The women looked horrified.

For years, I stood quietly while Stonehedge wolves whispered about me behind my back. Tonight, I suddenly understood how entertaining it felt to make other people uncomfortable instead.

Before another argument could begin, a familiar voice interrupted sharply behind me.

“Flourish.”

My mood worsened instantly.

I turned to find my stepsister Selene approaching with my stepmother Lydia beside her. Selene looked elegant in pale blue silk, her golden hair pinned carefully away from her face, but the irritation in her expression ruined the effect immediately.

“Mother and I have been trying to reach you since the Luna Rite,” she said. “You disappeared.”

I swirled the wine inside my glass lazily. “That sounds peaceful. Maybe I should disappear more often.”

Selene’s face tightened. “Why are you acting like this?”

Lydia placed a gentle hand against her daughter’s arm before stepping forward with her usual composed smile.

“You frightened your father,” she said carefully.

That finally earned a real laugh from me.

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“My father barely notices whether I’m alive unless someone important is watching.”

The smile on Lydia’s face faltered for half a second before recovering smoothly.

Years ago, that tiny crack would have satisfied me. Now it mostly exhausted me.

Selene suddenly glanced toward the grand staircase near the upper hall entrance, and her entire expression brightened instantly.

“Phina’s finally downstairs.”

The room shifted subtly the moment Phina appeared at the top of the staircase dressed in soft silver, her dark hair falling loosely around her shoulders. Wolves immediately moved aside for her while conversations softened into whispers.

Beautiful, fragile and untouchable.

Phina had always looked like the type of woman wolves wanted to protect instinctively.

Especially Harold.

Lydia followed my gaze before sighing softly. “The poor thing still looks weak. Moon sickness nearly destroyed her.”

I remained silent because I no longer trusted myself to discuss Phina politely.

“She’s lucky Harold stayed beside her through recovery,” Lydia continued carefully. “Most males would have distanced themselves after Rowan died.”

There it was.

The bait hidden beneath fake sympathy.

I glanced toward Harold across the hall just in time to catch him looking toward the staircase before Phina even reached the bottom step.

That tiny movement used to destroy me.

Now it only embarrassed me for spending six years pretending not to see it.

“You’re right,” I said quietly. “He’s very devoted.”

Lydia studied me carefully. “After everything, he still worries about her first.”

I looked back at her slowly before smiling faintly.

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“Tell me something instead,” I said. “Does Harold know your daughter’s been in love with him since she was sixteen?” 

The silence that followed was immediate and spectacular.

Selene nearly dropped her glass.

“Flourish!” she hissed, her face turning bright red. “What is wrong with you?”

I tilted my head innocently. “Why? We’re discussing unhealthy emotional attachments tonight, aren’t we?”

Lydia recovered quickly, though not quickly enough to hide the panic that flashed across her face.

“Selene admires Harold as family,” she said sharply.

I nearly laughed into my wine.

Family.

That word again.

Amazing how wolves kept using it to excuse relationships that clearly crossed lines nobody wanted to admit existed.

“It doesn’t matter anyway,” I said calmly.

Lydia frowned slightly. “What doesn’t?”

I looked across the hall again.

Harold stood near Phina now, leaning down slightly while she spoke to him. The expression on his face had softened in that familiar way I spent years trying to earn for myself.

For the first time, seeing it did not hurt.

It simply made me tired.

“I’m done with him,” I said quietly.

Lydia stared at me silently, but before either of them could answer, the air behind me shifted suddenly.

My wolf noticed him first.

Power.

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Cold and heavy.

A dangerous Alpha scent rolled slowly across the hall carrying traces of rain, smoke, and pinewood.

Not Stonehedge.

Every instinct inside me sharpened instantly.

I turned slowly.

A tall man dressed entirely in black stood several feet away watching me with calm, unsettling focus. Silver markings lined the collar of his coat, identifying him as territory nobility, though I didn’t recognize the crest immediately.

His face was sharp enough to look almost cruel beneath the lantern light, and unlike most males in the room, he was not staring at my dress.

He was staring at me.

Like he had been listening for much longer than he should have.

Then his mouth curved slightly.

“That,” he said smoothly, “sounds like the most dangerous statement made in this hall tonight.”

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