Shadows Follow Lonely Minds — Christopher Harris 4
Chapter 004
The council doors slammed shut behind me and I was shoved into the cold night air.
Guards gripped my arms like iron, dragging me down the steps.
The crowd was already waiting. They erupted the moment they saw me.
“Traitor!”
“Murderous monster!”
“Get out of our pack!”
“Leave, or die!”
The pack’s fury rose like a storm, their faces twisted with hate.
Some hurled stones at my feet while others spat on my face.
I forced myself to keep my head high, though every step felt like a dagger to the chest.
This was the same pack I had healed, protected, bled for. Now they wanted me gone—or dead.
Then a soft voice stopped the chaos.
“Wait.”
Liora stepped forward, her face swollen from fake crying.
One hand rested protectively on her flat belly, she looked as pure as a dove , the contrast picture of me, who looked like a haggard criminal.
The crowd immediately quieted, bowing their heads slightly as if she were already their Luna.
“Stay away, my lady. She’s very dangerous. She might attempt to harm you and your baby” The Delta said, urging Liora back.
He looked at me with disgust, as if I was going to cut through my chains and kill her.
“I beg you,” Liora said, her voice trembling. “Let me speak with her… just once. She was my Luna, after all.”
Gasps rippled through the crowd when Liors spoke. They looked at her with admiration. They were moved by her facade.
The guards hesitated, glancing at Draven’s men for guidance. At last, one gave a reluctant nod.
My stomach twisted. I knew this was no act of mercy.
Liora approached slowly, eyes glistening with false tears. Her perfume is sickeningly sweet. She leaned close enough that only I could hear.
“You look so small like this,” she whispered, lips curving into a cruel smile. “Dragged in chains, your title stripped, your name ruined. And all because you couldn’t accept that he chose me.”
“Did you hear them? They begged for your head and I saved you. I told Draven banishment would be enough. You should thank me,Kaia…Afterall, without me you’d already be rotting in a shallow grave”
My throat burned, rage choking me.
Liora was deliberately provoking me to my limits, twisting the knife deeper into my heart. I can’t let her.
She wants to see me lose control and snap recklessly in front of these people.
Not like they think any better of me anymore.
“You thought he would fight for you? You thought they would believe you? ” Liora chuckled,mockingly. “Poor Kaia. You’ve lost everything —Your crown, your mate and your pack. So sad”
Pointing to her stomach, Liora reminded. “This child will carry the Alpha’s blood, the future of Silvermoon Pack. And me? Soon, I’ll be Luna in name, not just in heart. And you? You’ll be nothing but a forgotten shadow. By the time my child is born, nobody will remember you anymore”
Hearing this, I clenched my fists hard, and my nails pierced my palm.
Liora lowered her voice even further, her eyes glittering with malice.
“Do you want to know a secret, Luna Kaia? That attack on me… it was never meant to kill me. It was meant to kill you. And now the whole pack believes it was your doing. Tell me, how does it feel to be crushed by your own story?”
I lunged, fury exploding out of me, but the guards yanked me back.
“How could you be so evil, Liora? You are a monster!”
I struggled against my chains, spitting out words that were lost beneath the gasps of the crowd.
Liora jerked away, clutching her belly, feigning fear.
“You see? She would harm me even now!” she cried, her voice breaking. “Luna Kaia, I was trying to have a word with you”
“Banishment is too lenient. She deserve to die”
“Die! You evil woman”
The pack erupted again, voices thundering in defense of their new darling. To them, Liora was the fragile, forgiving victim; I, the unhinged traitor.
“As a Luna, she carried the title with pride once,” Liora wistfully spoke again.“But being a Luna is a heavy burden…Not everyone can bear its weight”
Her eyes shimmered as if in sympathy, but the slight curve of her lips told me exactly how much she was enjoying seeing me humiliated.
“She stumbled,” Liora went on gently, “and the pack suffered for it. But I cannot let bitterness linger in my heart. A queen must forgive… even when the wounds run deep.”
Murmur spread through the crowd as they nodded in approval of Liora’s graceful and forgiving spirit.
“Please take the former Luna away. She still needs to learn to let go of the hate in her heart” Liora turned away, instructing.
The guards dragged me forward, jeers chasing me into the night.
I struggled against the chain piercing my skin like hot iron while they roughly dragged me away.
Once we reached the main exit gate of the pack, they flung me out like trash.
And above the noise, Liora’s soft, poisonous whisper lingered in my ears;
“Goodbye, Luna. You’ll die forgotten, while I reign in your place.”
The gates thundered shut behind me.
For a moment, I collapsed to my knees, the world spinning. The jeers of the pack still rang in my ears, cruel and merciless.
They hate me now. They forgot so soon everything we’ve been through together.
I pressed a hand to my ribs where the guards had shoved me, trying to breathe through the sharp sting of rejection that cut deeper than any wound.
I was no longer their Luna. No longer their Kaia. Only an outcast.
But as I lifted my head to the silver glow of the moon,my tears dried. Rage and resolve hardened in their place.
Clasping my ribs, I swore bitterly.
“This is not the end, Liora. It’s only the beginning. I will be back but not as the Pack’s Outcast Luna”
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella’s storytelling style is immersive and addictive—perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.
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