Chapter 0370

Hannah

That gaudy ring flashing on Zoe’s finger felt like an insult. And it was. Noah had gotten engaged to her mere days after our divorce was finalized. Three days—that’s all it had been since I collapsed in the foyer of my childhood home. Three days since I had keened and dug gouges into the floor with my claws. Three days, and he was already planning a wedding with that little…

“How?” I don’t know how I managed to choke that word out around the icy lump in my throat. “How could he do this? So soon after…?”

Drake’s hand on my shoulder tightened. Viona was still too stunned and furious to speak. “Because he’s a bastard, Hannah,” Drake hissed. “A lying, cheating bastard.”

Drake was right. Noah was a lying, cheating bastard. My shock suddenly gave way to fury. I scrolled past the damning photo of the two of them and went down to the comments. My hand shook as I began to read—the top few comments were from verified accounts, other Alphas and celebrities wishing them well. But the comments quickly shifted in tone. And I felt a breath release from my lungs.

“Look at this,” I said, holding up the phone with righteous satisfaction. “You couldn’t even wait for your marriage bed to cool before you filled it again?”

Viona took the phone and scrolled to the next comment, reading aloud, “‘Luna Hannah is a good woman and an even better Luna. She saved my son’s life with the funds she raised in her eating disorder campaign. What has Zoe done except move from one wealthy Alpha to another? You should be ashamed.’”

I leaned forward, reading another. And another. People were coming out in droves to comment on this post, many of whom were in support of me.

“I hear he kicked her out in the middle of the night with no warning,” one comment read. “Maybe he couldn’t wait to get his mistress into the house.”

“Zoe doesn’t hold a candle to Luna Hannah. I’ll NEVER see Zoe as MY Luna!”

“Typical man. Has something good and proceeds to fuck it up for no reason.”

Those comments gave me a shred of strength, and I pulled my shoulders back. A small, bitter smile tugged at my lips. “I guess I made an impression as Luna, didn’t I?” I muttered wryly.

Drake turned to me, still gripping my shoulder. “Hannah, I just want you to know that I’ll protect you if Noah and Zoe try to start anything. As an Alpha on the Alpha Council, I can make sure Noah never gets considered for things like the Lunar Festival or the winter solstice tournament. He’ll pay for this.”

I looked up at him, touched by his loyalty. “Drake, I—”

“And we can help too,” Viona chimed in. “Amber, Emma, and I can start spreading the truth back in Nightcrest. We’ll make sure everyone knows what kind of man Noah really is.”

For a moment, I was tempted. The idea of ruining Noah, of watching his reputation crumble, was intoxicating. It would be so easy. So satisfying. He had already planted the seeds of distaste himself, and now we would simply nurture them to fruition.

But as quickly as the thought came, it vanished. I couldn’t do it. It wasn’t the type of person I wanted to be anymore. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

“No,” I said firmly. “There’s no need for any of that. Noah will meet his own downfall due to his own actions, not mine. And besides…” I couldn’t help the small smirk that formed on my lips. “I have a coronation to think about.”

The days leading up to my coronation as Alpha of Silvermoon passed in a blur. It seemed like every time I turned around, there was another detail to attend to, another decision to make. But through it all, I felt a sense of purpose I had never experienced before.

It was finally happening. I was becoming a female Alpha despite everything—like a phoenix rising from the ashes. And I made sure to lace that motif throughout the coronation theme, too.