"Ruby Barnette, I, the Alpha, reject you as my Luna!"
The Alpha's thunderous roar filled the palace hall, making everyone in the room afraid to speak or move an inch.
Beneath the Alpha's throne, a woman wearing a white dress bowed her head deeply. She was reluctant to make eye contact with the Alpha, who was also the King of the Wridal Kingdom.
"Your Majesty, please think carefully before making a decision." The royal advisor, Edgar Greenway, knelt before Greysen Hortone, the Alpha. "If you reject the Luna now. It will take years to find a replacement."
Greysen grunted. His expression was dark as he said, "It's better for me to die than to have to accept this disabled woman as my Luna!"
"How can such a weak woman become the queen of the Wridal Kingdom?" continued Greysen in anger.
That night, as the moon shone brightly, the priest of the Moon Temple announced that the Moon Goddess would announce the name of a woman who would become the Alpha's Luna.
Because of this announcement, all women in the kingdom of Wridal ran to the palace hall wearing white dresses as a symbol of marriage and a sign that they were ready to become the bride of the king of Wridal.
But no one expected that the moon goddess would choose a weak and crippled werewolf to become Greysen's Luna.
Ruby Barnette.
A werewolf who couldn't turn into a wolf and couldn't speak since she was born.
Ruby clenched her fist and gritted her teeth. Her ruby-colored eyes flashed with indignation and anger.
She was mute, but that didn't mean she was a stupid woman.
[I would rather die than become your Luna!] Ruby shouted in her mind.
Everyone looked at her with pity and contempt. Several people whispered to each other that it was only natural for the Alpha to reject Ruby Barnette.
Some women also looked at Ruby with disdain, disappointed that such a useless woman was destined to become Luna.
"The Moon Goddess must have made a mistake!" Greysen shouted again, "My decision to reject her is irrevocable! If anyone tries to contradict my decision, they will end up on the gallows!"
After Greysen said that, the royal advisor didn't dare to speak his mind. It was better for Edgar to follow the king's order than to end up with a death sentence.
Ruby's body suddenly fell to the ground. A chronic pain enveloped her heart, as if a thousand knives were slowly slicing through it.
It must be a curse of the Moon Goddess.
Luna, who was rejected by the Alpha, would suffer severe heartache and Luna's heart would feel broken and painful. There were even rumors that a rejected Luna might die because she couldn't stand the pain.
Tears rolled down Ruby's cheeks as she couldn't hold back the pain in her chest. In her despair, Ruby also cursed the Moon Goddess, the Alpha, the people around her, and her own body, which thirsted for Greysen's acceptance even though her heart hated the man to death.
Ruby opened her mouth to utter various curses, but only a faint voice escaped her lips.
[I curse you, Greysen! I will curse you until the day I die!]
"Guards! Take this crippled woman out of the palace! I'm tired of seeing her face!"
Two guards pulled on Ruby's arm, forcing her to stand despite her painful condition.
Roughly, Ruby immediately fought off the soldiers' hands. She gave Greysen a sharp look before finally snorting out of the palace hall.
Hundreds of pairs of eyes immediately judged Ruby's behavior, which had no manners in front of the Alpha who was the ruler of the Wridal Kingdom.
But Ruby ignored them. She had suffered too much humiliation that night, and she didn't want to be sent out in a dishonorable manner.
Holding the pain in her chest, Ruby walked towards the door of the hall. She tried to wipe away the tears that kept flowing, feeling that there was no point in crying over an asshole.
"Stop! How dare you be so rude in front of me!" yelled Greyson.
As the strongest Alpha in the Wridal Kingdom, Greysen can command the werewolves under his leadership. So when Greysen ordered Ruby to stop, the woman stopped in her tracks.
"Ruby Barnett! Didn't your family teach you any manners?! Shall I punish you and your whole family?!"
Right after Greysen said that, a middle-aged man dressed in luxurious clothes immediately knelt down in front of Greysen. "Your Majesty, please spare my family. My daughter, Ruby, is a bit of a fool and sometimes misbehaves. If Your Majesty permits, I will be the one to discipline her myself."
Ruby scoffed inwardly, [Idiot! You used to be silent when your daughter was insulted, but you spoke up as soon as your family name was threatened].
But thanks to his father's words, Jacob Barnette. Greysen's expression gradually improved after he took a deep breath. "Very well, Marquess Barnette. Since I still appreciate your services to this kingdom, I will spare your family and let you discipline your daughter."
"But if your daughter behaves insolently in front of me again, don't expect me to forgive you later," Greysen added.
Jacob hastily bowed his back in a sign of respect. "Your Majesty is very generous. Thank you for giving my family a chance."
Then Greysen sat back down on his throne. He said lazily, "If only your daughter wasn't handicapped, you might be promoted. Unfortunately, she's just a stain on your family."
Greysen's words made the anger in Jacob's heart explode. He also blamed Ruby for being born with a disability and being a disgrace to his family.
"Your Majesty is right. It is a shame."
• • •
Tak!
A rattan stick was struck into Ruby's back, the blow so hard and loud that it echoed through the room. Ruby grimaced softly, trying to bear the pain she was used to.
"Shameless! His Majesty has rejected you, but you're still acting arrogant!" shouted Jacob.
Tak!
"Why did a handicapped child like you have to be born in my family?"
Tak!
"At the last banquet, people made fun of me for having a useless child! But tonight, His Majesty insulted me for having a blemish in the family!"
Tak!
Tak!
Tak!
The rattan stick was hit again and again without mercy. The rough part of the rattan tore Ruby's clothes and then scratched her skin until she bled.
Such punishment is nothing new to Ruby. But for some reason, her body hurt so badly that night. It was not only her body, but also her heart that had to endure the curse of the Moon Goddess.
"Dad! Why don't you kick her out of our family? It always embarrasses me when my friends find out I'm still related to Ruby!" whined Liliana Barnette, the third child of Marquess Barnette.
Taylor Barnette, Marquess Barnette's oldest son, also chimed in. "Yeah, there's no point in keeping garbage in this family."
After being satisfied with beating Ruby with a rattan cane, Marquess Barnette immediately threw the cane on the floor and kicked Ruby until the woman fell to the floor.
"You are all right. If I continue to let her live as a member of the Barnette family, our family will continue to be insulted by other nobles," said Marquess Barnette.
The Marquess, Demetria Barnette, had the same thought. "We better get rid of her crazy mother as well. It would be better if the Barnette family took out the garbage like she does."
Ruby gritted her teeth for the umpteenth time. Her body shook with rage, while her sharp eyes stared straight at the Marchioness, who always wore a mischievous expression. Ruby could accept her humiliation, but she couldn't accept her mother being insulted in front of her.
The Marchioness then leaned back and whispered next to Ruby. "You and your crazy mother should have died a long time ago, just like your older brother Oscar."
Immediately, Ruby's eyes grew fiercer. Her anger rose at the mention of her sibling's name.
Slap!
Within seconds, a brutal slap landed on Ruby's cheek. "How dare you look at me so rudely!"
Due to the increasingly unfavorable situation, Marquess Barnette finally decided to have Ruby removed from the room. "Guards! Lock this child in Concubine Helena's room! I want to let her and her mother sleep tonight before they are thrown out tomorrow."
The guards immediately took Ruby away by force. This time the woman didn't resist because her body was too weak, so she had to be dragged by several guards to surrender.
Before Ruby left the room, she looked at the figures of her family one by one and saw that there was an aura of color that always covered their bodies.
The color was green.
A symbol of disgust.
The green color around them seemed bright, showing that their disgust for Ruby was so great that they did not want to stare at Ruby's face for too long.
[If I had a choice, I wouldn't want to be a part of this disgusting family either.]