- 1 day ago
Reborn Luna’S Vengeance - Ep ✅ FULL [Eng Sub]
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Short filmTranscript
00:00When I bowed before the Alpha, my sash snapped, my undergarments, my chest exposed, in front of everyone.
00:06My birth parents had just found me, brought me home to compete with my adopted sister Alice for the Alpha's
00:11bond.
00:12Before we left, Mother fixed my collar, then quietly pulled a thread from my sash.
00:18Indecent! Shameless!
00:20Alice swept off her jacket and draped it over my shoulders.
00:24Everyone praised her.
00:26The Alpha chose her.
00:27I knelt before my parents when we got home, swore it wasn't intentional.
00:31They didn't believe me, Father scoffed.
00:33You pulled that stunt for attention.
00:36You disgraced this family, and now you want to blame someone else?
00:40Mother sighed.
00:41You lost a bond, that's all. Don't be so dramatic.
00:45Alice married the Alpha in glory.
00:46I was exiled to the Frost border, and I died there frozen.
00:50Before I took my last breath, I found out Mother hadn't pulled that thread.
00:54She had cut it. On purpose.
00:56Then I was reborn.
00:58Mother smiled and reached for my sash.
01:01Let me tighten this.
01:04We can't have you embarrassing yourself.
01:06Her fingers slipped toward her sleeve.
01:08A blade that blade.
01:09I knew it.
01:10The one that ruined my life the first time.
01:12I could still feel the Frost border kneeling in the snow.
01:15Freezing Alice standing over me in her fur coat.
01:17Eva, all I told Mother was I was afraid you'd outrank me.
01:23I never imagined she'd go that far.
01:25The cold never left me.
01:26I stared at her soft, well-kept hands.
01:28My heart hammered.
01:30She was still smiling.
01:31The blade already out, moving toward my sash.
01:36I let my knees buckle, threw myself forward, straight into her.
01:40She didn't see it coming.
01:41Her hand jerked.
01:42The blade cut through the air and caught the back of her own hand.
01:46The blade clattered to the floor.
01:48Ailey stood nearby, waiting for the show.
01:50She wore a gown of shimmering silk custom made by Mother.
01:52Her sash tied perfectly.
01:54Before she could react, my fingers found her sash one quick pull.
01:57It came loose.
01:58I straightened up fast and put on my most panicked face.
02:02Mother!
02:03Are you all right?
02:05I'm so sorry I slipped.
02:07He seemed through her teeth.
02:08Clumsy girl!
02:09We're about to walk into the Alpha's estate and you can't even stand on your own two feet!
02:16Alice stepped forward with a handkerchief and dabbed at the wound.
02:19She shot me a look of pure contempt, then turned on the sympathy.
02:23Don't be too hard on her mother.
02:24She was raised in a backwater farming pack.
02:27She's just not used to all this.
02:30Father stood in the doorway, hands clasped behind his back.
02:33He checked the hourglass, frowned.
02:35Enough!
02:35Do you have any idea what it means to keep the Alpha waiting?
02:38He didn't glance at me once.
02:40His eyes went straight to Alice, soft.
02:42You look beautiful today, Alice.
02:45Dignified.
02:46Keep an eye on your sister when we arrive.
02:48Don't let her embarrass this family.
02:50Of course, Father.
02:52I'll take good care of her.
02:53She lifted her chin like she'd already won.
02:55I kept my eyes down and smiled.
03:00Mother's hand was still bleeding.
03:01The handkerchief had soaked through.
03:03But we were running out of time and she never got around to my sash.
03:06Instead, she reached for a velvet box.
03:08Alice.
03:09This is the Hale family heirloom.
03:11Priceless.
03:12She lifted out a necklace, crystals catching the light, and clasped it around Alice's neck
03:16herself.
03:17Thank you, Mother.
03:18I'll wear it with honor.
03:19I stood to the side, empty-handed.
03:21Nothing around my waist but a plain white ribbon.
03:23Mother seemed to remember I existed.
03:24She rummaged through a corner drawer and pulled out a fistful of hairpins.
03:28Old ones.
03:29Most of them.
03:30The gold paint was already flaking off.
03:32Here, Eva.
03:32Put these on.
03:33Don't go saying I play favorites.
03:35Your dress is so plain anyway.
03:37These will match just fine.
03:39She dropped them into my hand without even checking if they'd work.
03:41Father watched from across the room.
03:43Not a word of objection.
03:44He nodded.
03:45Alice was raised with us.
03:47She has refinement.
03:49Grace.
03:50The air bloom suits her.
03:52Eva spent years in the farming pack.
03:54Putting something fine on her would just look out of place.
03:57I squeezed those cheap pins as my fist until the metal bit into my palm.
04:01The farming pack?
04:02Why was I even there?
04:03Because when my parents were running from their enemies, I was dead weight.
04:06So they left me behind.
04:07They only brought me back.
04:09Because the Alpha came calling.
04:11His family had an old betrothal agreement.
04:13The firstborn Hale daughter.
04:15Alice was beloved.
04:16But on paper, she was adopted.
04:17They needed me just long enough to put Alice in the Alpha's bed.
04:20I never understood, in my last life, how my own parents could do this to me.
04:24Not until the very end.
04:25Dying at the frost border, two guards stood nearby, talking.
04:28They didn't know I could still hear them.
04:30Hale is cold-blooded.
04:31Leaving his own flesh and blood here to die, all for some adopted girl?
04:35That's his mistress's daughter.
04:37His actual blood.
04:38His wife found out years ago and she brought the girl home.
04:40Called her adopted.
04:42Then spent every year since, grinding the real daughter into the dirt.
04:45So that was the truth.
04:50Mother sacrificed her own child to keep her husband.
04:53Father looked at me and saw nothing worth keeping.
04:56I crushed those pins in my hand and let them bend.
04:58Right in front of me, Alice on Mother's arm.
05:00Father looking on with nothing but warmth.
05:02A perfect, happy family.
05:04And then there was me.
05:07Father.
05:08Mother.
05:09We should go.
05:10Father's eyes cut to me.
05:11Nobody asked you to hurry us along.
05:13Have some manners.
05:15When you're in front of the Alpha, keep your mouth shut.
05:18Watch Alice.
05:19Follow her lead.
05:21If you ruin this, I will have you sent to the frost border myself.
05:25I said nothing.
05:25The frost border.
05:26I'd already been there.
05:27Already knelt in that snow until I couldn't feel my legs.
05:30Threats lose their edge the second time around.
05:32The carriage rolled toward the Alpha's estate.
05:34It was not a quiet ride.
05:36Alice had taken the best seat.
05:38She kept touching the necklace, turning the crystals in the light, admiring her own reflection.
05:43The Alpha's head steward, Zoe, was riding with us.
05:45Officially, she was there to attend to us.
05:48In reality, she was watching.
05:49Taking stock of who we were.
05:51Alice didn't seem to notice or care.
05:53Zoe.
05:54What do you think of the necklace?
05:56Mother had it set aside just for me.
05:58Zoe said nothing.
05:59She was pale.
06:00An unhand pressed to her temple jaw tight.
06:02I recognized it immediately.
06:04In my last life, Alice had done the same thing.
06:06Talked the whole ride over.
06:08Loud and relentless.
06:09But she'd gotten lucky.
06:11By the time we arrived,
06:13Mrs. Walker's migraines had cleared up.
06:15And Alice had been ready.
06:16She'd stolen my remedy formula months earlier.
06:18Passed it off as her own.
06:19Mrs. Walker loved and quit.
06:21This time, Alice wasn't getting that chance.
06:27I reached into my sleeve and pulled out a small lacquered box.
06:30Inside were a few dark brown pellets.
06:32A remedy I'd learned from an old farmer back in the farming pack.
06:35I held them out to Zoe.
06:37You don't look well.
06:38These are cooling relief pellets.
06:40My own formula.
06:41Let one dissolve under your tongue.
06:43It should help.
06:44Alice's head snapped toward me.
06:46Excuse me?
06:47What is that supposed to be?
06:49You're gonna feed her some backwater remedy you cooked up in a barn?
06:52Zoe had been on the edge of nausea the whole time.
06:54After a ride, that shriek nearly pushed her over.
06:56She shot Alice one withering look, then turned back to me.
07:00Her nose twitched.
07:01A faint drift of mint and aged wood had already begun to fill the carriage cutting through the
07:05stuffy heat.
07:06She took the pellets.
07:07Placed one under her tongue.
07:09Within moments, the tension left her face.
07:12She exhaled.
07:14Long and slow.
07:15Color crept back into her cheeks.
07:17Where did you learn that, Eva?
07:19From a healer?
07:20I shook my head.
07:21Heat stroke was common on the farm.
07:22You learn what works.
07:24Nothing impressive, I'm afraid.
07:26Zoe smiled.
07:27If this is nothing impressive, our pack healer back at the estate should be embarrassed.
07:32Alice twisted her handkerchief in her lap.
07:34My semi-searing nest.
07:36She just got lucky.
07:38Zoe didn't even look at her.
07:40Mrs. Walker values silence.
07:41She has no patience for noise.
07:43That shut Alice up.
07:44Zoe lured her voice and turned to me.
07:46Today, the Alpha will also be present.
07:47He runs cold.
07:49He has no interest in women who perform for attention.
07:52And Mrs. Walker, she judges character above everything else.
07:55She has no respect for women who use their looks as currency.
07:58I'll keep that in mind.
07:59Thank you, Zoe.
08:00The carriage slowed.
08:01We had arrived.
08:12The moment Alice stepped out, every head turned.
08:15That shimmering silk caught the sunlight like it was made for exactly this moment.
08:19Is that Alice Hale?
08:21She's stunning.
08:22The whispers rippled through the crowd.
08:23Alice soaked up every word.
08:25She glanced back at me, slow, deliberate.
08:27A smirk, I was wearing a simple white dress, standing next to her.
08:31I looked like her handmaid.
08:32I wasn't worried.
08:34The best part of any trap is the waiting.
08:36The banquet began.
08:38Alice moved straight to the harp and played for Mrs. Walker.
08:41She was good, and she knew it.
08:43Mrs. Walker gave a small, measured nod.
08:46That was enough for Alice.
08:47She floated off the stage, spotted me at the edge of the room, and made her way over,
08:52wine glass in hand.
08:53Eva.
08:55Stop hiding in the corner.
08:57Come toast the ladies with me.
08:58I knew exactly what she was about to do.
09:01Last time she had stumbled right here, or pretended to, she'd thrown wine all over me.
09:06Dragged me down with her, and my sash had snapped on the way down.
09:09Sammy sat up, Sammy smiled.
09:11Sammy two steps away.
09:12Oh, Eva, watch out!
09:14She lurched toward me.
09:15I stepped aside.
09:16She caught nothing but air.
09:17The momentum took her straight down hard onto both knees.
09:20And the sash I had loosened back at the house, the one she never noticed, finally gave way.
09:26That beautiful shimmering skirt slid straight down, all the way to her ankles beneath it.
09:30A pair of pink underwear embroidered with little devil motifs in plain view.
09:35Of everyone, the entire room went silent.
09:38Alice froze.
09:39She felt the cold air first.
09:41Then she looked down.
09:43And screamed.
09:44Chaos erupted.
09:46Women screamed.
09:47But above it all, I felt it.
09:49A gaze.
09:50Heavy.
09:51Cold from the shadow of the second floor balcony.
09:53He was watching.
10:00Alice scrambled to grab her skirt.
10:04Wine splashed up across her underwear.
10:06If it could have gotten worse, it just did.
10:08The ladies around her recoiled, fans raised.
10:10Faces turned away.
10:11Mrs. Walker's expression went stone cold.
10:13What exactly does the Hal family teach their daughters?
10:16I was already moving.
10:17I picked up an outer jacket and draped it around Alice's shoulders before she could catch her breath.
10:21Oh, sweetheart, how did this happen?
10:24I sighed.
10:24The kind that says I love you, but I told you so.
10:27I warned you about this dress.
10:28The fit was too tight.
10:30I said it would give way.
10:33But you wanted the silhouette.
10:35And now look.
10:36Alice looked up at me, pure venom.
10:39You did this.
10:40I know it was you.
10:41I blinked.
10:42Spread my hands wide.
10:43Alice, I was across the room.
10:44Everyone saw you walk over.
10:46Everyone saw you fall.
10:47The women around us were already nodding.
10:49She made a spectacle of herself for attention, and now she wants to pin it on her sister.
10:53Lovely upbringing.
10:54Alice had nothing left to say.
10:56She covered her face and wept.
11:02The room dissolved into chaos.
11:04Maid swarmed Alice and rushed her off to change.
11:06The commotion had done exactly what I expected.
11:09Mrs. Walker's migraine had returned.
11:11She sat with two fingers pressed to her temple, face drained of color.
11:15That is when Lady Allen appeared.
11:16A family friend of the Hales.
11:18Father had personally asked her to smooth things over for Alice today.
11:23Please don't be upset, Mrs. Walker.
11:25I'm sure the dress was simply ill-fitted.
11:28Alice actually brought a gift for you today.
11:32Why don't we have her present it now?
11:35As an apology?
11:36Alice came back red-eyed, but she straightened up at that.
11:39She snapped her fingers and a maid brought out the gift box.
11:41I already knew what was inside.
11:43I knew this family too well.
11:45Whatever it was, it would be extravagant and entirely wrong.
11:48They measured worth in gold and gemstones.
11:50They assumed everyone else did too.
11:52What they didn't understand about Mrs. Walker,
11:54a woman who had lived in wealth her entire life,
11:56was that nothing irritated her more than excess for the sake of it.
11:59Alice lifted the lid with a flourish.
12:03Mrs. Walker, this is a ruby crystal crown,
12:06custom crafted just for you.
12:08The artisans worked through the night for an entire month.
12:11Mrs. Walker stared at it.
12:14You had craftsmen lose sleep for a month over something completely useless?
12:18What a waste of people.
12:19Alice's confidence collapsed.
12:21She sank to her knees, trembling.
12:23Mrs. Walker pressed her hand harder to her temple and said nothing.
12:27I only wanted to show you how much...
12:29The silence stretched.
12:30I stepped forward quietly.
12:32Mrs. Walker, if you'll allow me, I may be able to help with the headache.
12:36She looked at me, skeptical.
12:38You practice medicine?
12:39Just some calming herbs.
12:41Something I picked up along the way.
12:45I lit one end of the incense powder and set it on the table beside her.
12:49The scent unfurled slowly.
12:50Delicate, cool herbal.
12:51Mrs. Walker drew a breath.
12:53The pain didn't vanish, but it pulled back,
12:55enough to breathe, enough to relax the furrow between her brows.
12:57That's lovely.
12:58What is it?
12:59I heard you've suffered with headaches for years.
13:02I brought this back from the farm.
13:03It's what I always used.
13:05Nothing fancy, but it works.
13:07Mrs. Walker nodded slowly.
13:09The way she looked at me had changed.
13:10You're a thoughtful girl.
13:12Out of the corner of my eye,
13:13a tall figure had stopped at the moon gate at the edge of the garden,
13:16still watching.
13:17That had to be Nathan the Alpha himself.
13:19Alice was still on her knees behind me,
13:21eyes fixed on my back like two burning coals.
13:24Lady Allen whispered something to Mrs. Walker,
13:26who finally waved a hand.
13:27Alice could get up.
13:28She was directed to a seat in the corner.
13:30By the middle of the banquet,
13:32Mrs. Walker had my hand in hers,
13:33asking about my life,
13:34my interests,
13:35what I like to eat.
13:36She was already looking at Maliki,
13:38a daughter-in-law.
13:39She called over a maid to bring me a better pour of wine.
13:41The maid crossed the room and stumbled,
13:43just slightly,
13:44just enough to plosh wine across my sleeve.
13:47My sincerest apologies, Miss Eva.
13:49Clumsy fool!
13:50Get out of my sight!
13:51The maid scurried off,
13:52head bowed,
13:52and as she passed Alice,
13:54their eyes met,
13:54quick, deliberate.
13:55The next second...
13:56My necklace!
13:58My necklace is gone!
14:01The family heirloom!
14:02Mother's necklace!
14:03Where is it?
14:07Every head in the room turned.
14:09Mrs. Walker's expression soured.
14:12Stop shrieking.
14:14If it's lost,
14:15have someone look for it.
14:16Alice turned to me,
14:17tears already forming.
14:19Just now,
14:19Eva was the closest one to me.
14:22Could it be that she...
14:24She let the sentence hang.
14:25Lady Allen stepped in right on cue.
14:28If...
14:28something valuable has gone missing,
14:30perhaps we should search everyone present.
14:33It would clear Eva's name,
14:35if nothing else.
14:36I held out both arms.
14:37By all means,
14:38search me.
14:40I won't have anyone saying,
14:42I put myself above my own sister.
14:44A flicker of satisfaction crossed Alice's face.
14:47She nodded to the maid,
14:48the same one who had spilled the wine,
14:49to come forward and search me.
14:51The maid ran her hands along my sides,
14:52patted down my sleeves,
14:53then reached into my inner sleeve pocket.
14:55She pulled something out.
14:56The room leaned in.
14:57It wasn't the necklace.
14:58It was a man's handkerchief.
14:59Deep blue silk,
15:00embroidered with cloud patterns.
15:02The room erupted.
15:03Alice pressed a hand to her mouth.
15:04Eva,
15:05do you have a secret lover?
15:07Our family holds a bedrothal with the Alpha.
15:10Do you understand what this means?
15:11A man's hand to catch.
15:13His most personal item.
15:14If father finds out,
15:15you'll hang for this.
15:18Eva,
15:19I would not have expected this of you.
15:22The ladies around me had already begun to whisper,
15:24eyes sharp,
15:24heads shaking.
15:25Ailey snatched the handkerchief.
15:27Wait,
15:27there's writing on it.
15:29She snapped it open and read aloud.
15:32I want to be tangled with you
15:34on every night
15:36the full moon rises.
15:38She looked up at me,
15:39triumphant,
15:40waiting for me to crumble,
15:41to drop to my knees,
15:41and to beg.
15:42I stood exactly where I was,
15:44calm.
15:45That's quite a performance,
15:46Alice.
15:47But you've overplayed it.
15:51I turned to face her.
15:53Since when do you have the gift of prophecy,
15:55Alice?
15:55She went,
15:56What?
15:57I don't know what you're talking about.
15:59The handkerchief was folded.
16:00The writing was on the inside.
16:02Completely hidden.
16:04So how did you know there were words on it
16:05before anyone unfolded it?
16:07Did you write them yourself?
16:09Or did you prepare this whole thing in advance?
16:12Alice's face went rigid.
16:13Her pupils shrank.
16:15A bead of sweat traced down her temple.
16:17I...
16:17I...
16:18Nothing came out.
16:19And you.
16:20We both know you slipped that handkerchief
16:22into my sleeve yourself.
16:23So let's skip the act.
16:25Who do you belong to?
16:26Where did you get it?
16:27Who told you to plant it?
16:29She had already collapsed to the floor.
16:31She looked up,
16:31and her eyes went straight to Alice.
16:33Alice's composure shattered.
16:35Don't look at me!
16:36Your hands are dirty,
16:37not mine!
16:38Then a voice cut through the room
16:40from the doorway low,
16:41unhurried,
16:41absolute.
16:42Something went missing
16:43from my stables a few days ago.
16:46So that's where it ended up.
16:47The entire room turned.
16:49Nathan walked in
16:50like the air itself
16:50had decided to move out of his way.
16:52He stopped beside me,
16:53reading...
16:54My words,
16:55embroidered in my hand.
16:57Tell me, Miss Alice,
16:58how exactly did you come to recognize them?
17:03Alice's knees gave out.
17:04She caught herself on the edge of a chair.
17:06You bribed a servant in my own estate.
17:08You stole my personal propriety,
17:10and you used it to frame my guest.
17:12Nathan said it quietly.
17:13That made it worse.
17:15Alice opened her mouth,
17:16closed it.
17:17There was nothing to say.
17:18Mrs. Walker rose from her seat,
17:20her whole body shaking,
17:21and slammed her palm on the table.
17:22She ran her schemes
17:24all the way up to the alpha himself.
17:26The audacity.
17:27Someone deal with her.
17:29The two older women moved in fast.
17:30They grabbed Alice by the shoulders
17:32and didn't hold back.
17:33The sound of it echoed through the hall.
17:35By the third strike,
17:36Alice's face had begun to swell
17:37blood at the corner of her mouth.
17:39Hair coming undone.
17:41She was sobbing, gasping,
17:42calling for her parents.
17:43I watched without moving.
17:45For the first time,
17:46it felt satisfying.
17:47Nathan glanced sideways at me
17:48just for a moment.
17:49I inclined my head.
17:52My respects, Alpha.
17:53Thank you for clearing my name.
17:55What had started as a proper banquet
17:56had been reduced to rubble.
17:58When it was finally over,
17:59Mrs. Walker took my hand in both of hers
18:01and walked me to the entrance herself.
18:03Apologizing the whole way,
18:04making sure everyone saw.
18:05The message was unmistakable.
18:07We're now circling back,
18:08all warmth and flattery.
18:10Funny how quickly the room turns
18:11when the Alpha's mother
18:12is holding your hand.
18:16I settled into the carriage
18:17and glanced at Alice.
18:18Her face was swollen on both sides.
18:20She glared at me from her corner.
18:22One hand pressed to her cheek.
18:23Somehow, my parents had already heard.
18:25They were both in the carriage.
18:27Father sat with his chest heaving,
18:28jaw set, saying nothing.
18:29Mother was dabbing ointment on Alice's face,
18:32tears streaming down her own.
18:34You're a curse on this family.
18:36Wasn't it enough?
18:37Did you have to destroy your own sister?
18:39You knew what she was doing.
18:40Why didn't you say something earlier
18:41instead of letting the whole family
18:43be humiliated?
18:44I leaned back against the carriage wall
18:45and closed my eyes.
18:46That's interesting, Mother.
18:48When Alice was planting stolen evidence on me,
18:51did she stop to think of me as family?
18:53If that accusation had stuck,
18:54it would have been the hall name
18:55dragged through the dirt,
18:57not just mine.
18:58Father's hand shut up.
18:59I turned my head.
19:00His palm cut through empty air.
19:01He held it there for a moment,
19:03suspended, then dropped it and looked away.
19:05We'll deal with you at home.
19:07The carriage happened.
19:09Then it started moving along,
19:10the road had narrowed.
19:11The turns were sharper.
19:12We were climbing cliffs on one side,
19:14a sheer drop on the other.
19:15The horses screamed.
19:16Something had scooped them,
19:17or worse.
19:18And suddenly they were bolting.
19:19Full sprint.
19:20No control.
19:21What's happening?
19:22Stop the carriage!
19:23Someone stop it!
19:24Alice was thrown sideways,
19:26tumbling across the carriage floor,
19:27screaming.
19:28I grabbed the window frame and held on.
19:30The driver was gone,
19:31jumped,
19:32or thrown either way.
19:33No one was at the reins.
19:34My stomach dropped,
19:35and not from the road.
19:36This hadn't happened in my last life.
19:38They were moving faster than I'd expected.
19:40I'd rattled them today,
19:41and they were improvising.
19:45The horse had been drugged.
19:47I was certain of it.
19:48A staged accident.
19:49A body at the bottom of a cliff.
19:51But something didn't add up.
19:53Father valued his own life above everything.
19:55So did Mother.
19:57So did Alice.
19:58None of them would ride this carriage off a cliff
20:00unless they had a way out.
20:02Then I saw it.
20:03Father had already pulled Alice and Mother close.
20:05His hand reached beneath the bench,
20:07a hidden compartment,
20:08and came out with thick padded cushions.
20:11They came prepared.
20:13The plan wasn't to die right.
20:14The plan was to throw me out and walk away from the fence.
20:17The carriage lurched.
20:18My grip slipped,
20:19and I went through the door.
20:21The fall never came.
20:22An arm caught me mid-air,
20:23iron solid,
20:24and pulled me hard against a chest.
20:26I knew that scent before I saw his face.
20:28The alpha.
20:30The carriage had ground to a halt behind us.
20:32A wolf had come out of the tree line
20:34and taken down the horses.
20:36He knew the sights,
20:37dropping them to their knees.
20:38I looked up.
20:39Nathan looked down.
20:40Those dark eyes held mine for a moment.
20:42Eva,
20:43it seems there are quite a few people
20:45with an interest in your life ending.
20:48He set me on my feet and stepped away.
20:51Not far from us,
20:52the three of them were crawling out of the wreckage,
20:55scraped, shaken, alive.
20:57Nathan walked to the nearest horse,
20:59ran a finger along its mouth,
21:01and brought it to his nose.
21:04Stimulant poison
21:05drives them into a frenzy.
21:07The horse would have been dead within ten miles.
21:09I stood and watched my parents
21:11check themselves over with trembling hands.
21:13Relieved to be breathing.
21:14Relieved their plan had almost worked.
21:16Whatever had been left,
21:18whatever small,
21:19stubborn part of me
21:20had still wanted them to be my family.
21:21It went quiet.
21:22For good,
21:23Nathan came back to where I stood
21:24and held out his hand.
21:26Get in my carriage.
21:27I'll take you home.
21:33Maybe the carriage accident
21:34had simply been too terrifying.
21:36Three days later,
21:37the alpha's wedding gifts
21:38arrived at the Hale House.
21:39An entire procession
21:40through the front gate.
21:41Boxes carried by uniformed attendants.
21:43The kind of display
21:44the whole street would remember.
21:45In my last life,
21:47this moment had belonged to Alice.
21:48Now, it was mine.
21:50Zoe stood in the main hall
21:51and read from the gift register
21:52item by item.
21:54Unhurried,
21:54with every entry,
21:55Alice lost a little more color.
21:57Mother kept shifting in her seat,
21:59throwing father-pointed looks.
22:01He cleared his throat
22:02and cut Zoe off mid-sentence.
22:04Zoe,
22:04regarding this marriage arrangement,
22:06is there any room
22:07for the alpha to reconsider?
22:09Alice made some mistakes, yes,
22:11but she's accomplished.
22:13Well-bred.
22:13Eva grew up in a backwart farming pack.
22:15She doesn't know our ways.
22:16It's a lot to ask of her
22:18carrying the role of Luna.
22:20Perhaps Alice could accompany
22:22Eva to the estate
22:23as a companion to the alpha.
22:28She could support her sister
22:30from within the household.
22:33A companion,
22:34so Luna was off the table.
22:35Now they were angling for mistress.
22:37Sammy goal,
22:38different door.
22:39Get Alice inside the estate,
22:41let her work her way up,
22:42and find a way
22:43to put me back at the bottom.
22:44Zoe closed the register.
22:45The look on her face
22:46made her opinion plain.
22:48If Mr. Hale truly wishes
22:50to put that forward,
22:51Alice will need to answer
22:52a question first.
22:53On behalf of Mrs. Walker,
22:54if a servant at the alphas' destate
22:57is found to be lazy,
22:58dishonest,
22:58or worse,
22:59disloyal to their master,
23:01how should they be handled?
23:02This was her moment.
23:03Forgiveness, of course.
23:05Servants are people, too.
23:07The right approach
23:07is patience and reform.
23:09Casting them out
23:10would only make the alpha
23:11look cold and unforgiving.
23:14She glanced at me
23:15when she finished,
23:16satisfied with herself.
23:20Father nodded along beside her.
23:22Zoe turned to me,
23:23Miss Eva.
23:24Your thoughts.
23:29Disloyalty is not a mistake.
23:31You forgive.
23:32Once a servant betrays their master,
23:33they are a liability,
23:35not a person to be reformed.
23:37It doesn't matter
23:38how close they are
23:38to the alpha himself.
23:40If they break faith,
23:41they go.
23:41No exceptions.
23:44How can you be so ruthless?
23:46These are the alpha's own people.
23:49That's exactly what Mrs. Walker wanted to hear.
23:52That's the kind of Luna this pack needs.
23:55Mrs. Walker's exact words.
23:57The second daughter of the Hale family
23:59is never to set foot
24:00inside the alpha's estate.
24:01Not once.
24:02Not ever.
24:03And just like that,
24:04I walked into the alpha's estate
24:06as the one and only Luna Dot.
24:08Alice's hatred
24:09could have set the house on fire.
24:11That night,
24:11she broke everything
24:12she could get her hands on Dot bases.
24:14Ceramic jars,
24:15decadent cakes,
24:15screaming and screaming
24:16and sobbing
24:17until her voice gave out
24:18between the crashes.
24:21Peasant.
24:23Worthless.
24:24Enough.
24:26Useless.
24:28Get a message to Mr. Allen.
24:30The old Duke is looking
24:31for a new mate, isn't he?
24:33Send Alice.
24:35I heard about this later.
24:37Mr. Allen was not simply
24:38an older man
24:38with a preference for young women.
24:40He was past 70 violent by nature.
24:43At least three women
24:44in his household
24:44had died under his roof.
24:45What I couldn't understand
24:47even knowing everything
24:48I knew about about my father
24:49was why he would throw
24:50his beloved an elder
24:51at a place like that.
24:52There was something
24:53he wasn't telling anyone.
24:55Not yet.
24:59The day of our bonding ceremony,
25:01the alpha's estate
25:01was lit up
25:02from every window.
25:03It was exactly grand and auto,
25:05draw every eye in the region
25:06and cover what was happening
25:07at the Pearl House
25:08at the same time.
25:09A plane carriage slipped out the back
25:10while no one was watching.
25:12Alice was inside Dot,
25:13found.
25:14Gagged with a silencing tonic.
25:15Father had made sure
25:16she couldn't make a sound.
25:17The official story
25:18she'd been sent
25:19to the Moon Temple
25:20for reflection.
25:21The truth she was delivered
25:22to the old Duke
25:22through her back entrance
25:23like something being returned.
25:25In my last life
25:26I was the one in that carriage.
25:27I had sat in that dark
25:29jolting the claw hand
25:30to understand the moon
25:30and to understand.
25:31Now it was Alice.
25:38Turned I thought
25:38of the way she had stood
25:39over me in the snow
25:40and I felt nothing
25:41but cold satisfaction.
25:42Your own fear's gift to you,
25:44Alice.
25:44I hope you receive it well.
25:46The estate gates opened.
25:48Nathan stood in full ceremonial
25:49armor torches lining
25:50the path behind him.
25:51He was always severe,
25:52that face,
25:53those eyes Dot,
25:54but in the amber light
25:54of the altar
25:55something in him softened,
25:56just at the edges.
25:57We completed the bonding ceremony.
26:02Dot afterward.
26:03I sat on the edge of the bed
26:04gripping the sheets
26:05my heart louder
26:06than I wanted it to be.
26:08I had clawed my way
26:09back to this moment
26:10and reclaimed everything
26:10they had taken from me.
26:12Dot, but this part
26:13I had no memory
26:14to draw from.
26:15No experience.
26:17No.
26:17Nathan looked at me.
26:19Eva.
26:20From tonight.
26:22If the sky falls,
26:24I'll be the one
26:24holding it up.
26:25You are my only Luna.
26:27He tipped his head back
26:28and drained his cup.
26:29I watched his throat move.
26:32Why did you help me?
26:34Because you're sharp.
26:37And you don't flinch.
26:40I don't need someone
26:41to stand behind me, Eva.
26:42I need someone
26:43who can fight beside me.
26:47That day.
26:48Till dawn.
26:49He didn't sapping down.
26:58Next morning,
26:59Mrs. Mocker took one look
27:00at the shadows
27:00under my eyes and beam.
27:02She sat me down,
27:03lifted a crown from its box
27:05and placed it on my head herself.
27:09This was mine once.
27:11It suits you better.
27:13I heard about Alice.
27:15Apparently she's been
27:16causing chaos
27:17at the old Duke's estate.
27:20Robert Allen.
27:21Robert Allen.
27:21Robert Allen.
27:21That man is...
27:22Well,
27:24she'll survive.
27:25Probably.
27:27But...
27:28But it won't be comfortable.
27:31I had stopped wondering
27:32about Alice.
27:33Whatever she was living through,
27:35it wasn't good.
27:35That was enough.
27:38Life inside the estate
27:39settled faster
27:39than I'd expected.
27:41I moved through
27:42the household methodically.
27:43One by one,
27:44I found the one skimming,
27:45betraying me,
27:46and smiling to hide it.
27:47I dealt with each of them
27:48cleanly, Dot.
27:50After that,
27:51the scrap ran like water
27:52downhill.
27:53No one tested me twice.
27:55But Nathan,
27:56I'd been off for several days
27:57running gray skies.
27:58Steady rain,
27:59his steady light
27:59burned past midnight.
28:00He came to meet me,
28:02or not at all.
28:02His temper had a shorter fuse
28:04than usual.
28:05When I brought food
28:06to his study one evening,
28:07I found him with two fingers
28:08pressed to his temple.
28:13Face.
28:14Same look I'd seen
28:15seen on Mrs. Walker
28:16100 times, Dot.
28:16So it ran in the family.
28:18This headache
28:19that never quite left.
28:20I went back to my room
28:22and opened my remedy books.
28:24I adjusted the formula,
28:25added a measure of
28:26Sacrahead pack spring water,
28:27and spent the better part
28:28of the night
28:28stitching a small sleep pillow
28:29by hand packing the herbs
28:31inside myself.
28:32The next afternoon,
28:33while Nathan was out,
28:34I slipped into his room
28:35and swapped his pillow
28:36for mine.
28:37That night,
28:38Nathan came home late.
28:39I was already in bed,
28:41pretending to sleep.
28:42Half conscious,
28:42I felt the mattress
28:43sink beside me.
28:51When I woke the next morning,
28:53his side of the bed
28:53was already empty.
28:55From the outer room,
28:56I heard Zoe surprised.
28:59Alpha,
29:00you slept in today?
29:01Nathan's voice was unhurried.
29:03Slept deeply.
29:05No headache.
29:06I smiled to myself.
29:08The pillow worked.
29:09At dinner,
29:09he reached over and
29:10placed a piece of fish
29:11in my bowl.
29:12The pillow.
29:13You made it?
29:14I nodded.
29:16He looked at me for a moment,
29:18something unreadable in his eyes,
29:19and then the corner
29:20of his mouth lifted.
29:22The stitching is a bit rough.
29:24The scent,
29:24I like it.
29:26The stitching was fine.
29:27He just wouldn't say
29:28what he actually meant.
29:29After that,
29:30the pillow was his alone.
29:31No one was permitted
29:32to touch it.
29:33He stopped walking around
29:34with that permanent scowl.
29:36Some evenings,
29:36he'd call me into the study
29:37and teach me calligraphy.
29:41My characters had always been crooked.
29:43I grew up on a farm,
29:44not in a classroom.
29:46He'd wrap his hand around
29:47Manin Guide,
29:48each stroke his chest
29:49against my back.
29:50One evening,
29:51I knocked over the ink.
29:52He moved without thinking
29:53sleeve down to catch it
29:54and the cuff spoke to the black.
29:55I grabbed a cloth
29:56and dabbed at it.
29:57It spread worse.
30:01Leave it.
30:02It's just a robe.
30:03I took it back to my room anyway
30:05and stayed up
30:06embroidering a cluster
30:06of valyrian grass
30:07over the stain.
30:08Nathan saw it and scoffed.
30:11How childish.
30:13Then wore that robe
30:13every single day.
30:18I wasn't looking for news
30:20about the Hale family.
30:21It kept arriving anyway.
30:23Alice was miserable
30:24at the Duke's estate.
30:26Robert had particular tastes.
30:28The smallest inconvenience
30:30earned a lashing.
30:31Alice was covered in marks
30:33but she was alive.
30:34Running entirely on hatred.
30:36All of it pointed at me.
30:38She had found her pudding though.
30:40She gave the Duke
30:41a tonic called it a stimulant,
30:43something rare.
30:44It worked well enough
30:45that he became very attached
30:46to her after that.
30:48I laughed when I heard
30:49what it actually was.
30:50It was the same compound
30:52used on the first day
30:53of the carriage.
30:54The frenzy drug
30:55just watered down.
30:56Enough to make an old man
30:57feel young for an hour.
30:59He was devoted to her
31:00after that.
31:01But my informant
31:02sent different news.
31:04Alice's people
31:05had been quietly buying
31:06cinnabar and liquid mercury.
31:08Separately.
31:08Both medicinal dot combined.
31:11A lethal poison.
31:12She wouldn't use it on Robert.
31:13He was her only shield.
31:15Which left one other target.
31:17I set the letter down
31:18and tapped the table.
31:20Nathan's birthday
31:21was the eighth of next month.
31:23So that was her move.
31:25If she wanted to come for me
31:26I'd make it very easy for her.
31:29I called my trusted mate over
31:30and spoke quietly in her ear.
31:33She nodded once and left.
31:35She nodded.
31:36She nodded once and left.
31:38She nodded once and left.
31:38She nodded once and left.
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