Phoenix Moon: The Rise Of The Luna Novel – Why, Ivory? My husband Alpha Cole asked me, his voice breaking. I shook my head, tears streaking down my cheeks. I had nothing to say. I thought we loved each other. I thought it was the same for you, he said, his tears streaming. He was wrong; it was the same for me. I loved him fiercely, too. I still love him. “If you wanted out, you should have just told me. Instead of what you did,” he said. “I never wanted out, Cole. I never try to hurt you.” “Then why, Ivory? Why have an affair and try to end me for it?” “It is all lies, Cole! I swear. Why won’t you believe me?”
Ivory My heart was racing, seeing all the damning evidence levelled against me. It was hard to look at the faces of the people present at the trial. How had it come to this? Everything had spiralled out of control, leaving me at a loss for words. The evidence was so damning that even I began to doubt my innocence, but I knew deep down I wouldn’t attempt to kill my husband, and I wouldn’t murder my best friend. “What do you say in your defence, Luna Ivory?” The elder presiding over the case asked, and I was tongue-tied. There was nothing to say. My mouth was dry from screaming and crying, and my eyes were swollen from the tears I had shed trying to prove I was innocent, but words alone wouldn’t save me. Whatever was going on was planned meticulously, and my over-trusting and loving heart had made me fall into the trap of my enemy, our enemy.
I knew whoever did this was also my husband’s enemy. The enemy had incredible cunning and intelligence to destroy us from within, leaving no room to question what they wanted us to believe. All loose ends were tied, and I was made the culprit, implicated in ways that only a miracle could vindicate me. Seeing my husband this afternoon after I had been locked away for two weeks during the trial process, I knew Cole was broken. He was shattered beyond repair. “Since you have nothing to say, we might as well go to the sentencing,” the elder said, his words distant from my mind. His words couldn’t register. I couldn’t think straight. Cole’s father wasn’t present as always, and his mother was a complete mess. She hated me now; she used to love me as if I were her own, but the look of disdain in her eyes showed she hated me now.
“Based on the evidence provided by our investigators, this pack finds you guilty of all the crimes you have been accused of. Crimes you carried out deliberately with malicious intent to satiate your carnal desires and greed and hide your secrets. Normally, we would sentence you to death, Ivory Woodson, because you didn’t only commit treason, you also took a life, but we will let Alpha Cole decide on what to do,” the elder said and ended the hearing. People began to disperse while I remained in my silver chains, standing in the box of the accused. I knew the elders’ decision to leave the punishment to Cole was based on my husband’s request. I didn’t know what he would have in store for me, but I braced myself for it. Cole walked to me. I noticed he had a limp on his right leg. Did he not heal properly? Were there complications? My eyes went to the leg, and I was shattered. A powerful alpha like him had been reduced to nothing, and I was framed for the crime.
The moment he was in front of me, I could see the hurt in his eyes vividly. “Why, Ivory?” he asked me, his voice breaking. I shook my head, tears streaking down my cheeks. I had nothing to say. There was nothing I could say in my defence. “I thought we loved each other. I loved you fiercely. I thought it was the same for you,” he said, his tears streaming. He was wrong; it was the same for me. I loved him fiercely, too. I still love him. “If you wanted out, you should have just told me. Instead of what you did,” he said. “I never wanted out, Cole. I can never want out. I do not understand why all this is happening. I love you. I love you too much to try to hurt you,” I said, and rage was on his face. “Then why, Ivory? Why have an affair and try to end me for it? Erin was lucky he got a quick death. If not, I would have made him suffer for everything he did,” he said through gritted teeth, rage evident in his eyes. “He was your best friend, Cole, your Beta…” I said, and he yelled at me.
“A friend that was screwing my wife and wanted my life! A friend you tried to kill me for and murdered my sister to hide your secret,” he said. “It is all lies, Cole! I swear. I will never do that to you and Melissa. Why won’t you believe me? Please, why won’t you see that I was set up? Please, Cole,” I cried, hoping to reach him somehow. I was desperate for him to see my truth, but his eyes remained cold and angry. “The evidence is there, Ivory. Why are you still lying? The video, the calls, the pictures, the emails, your money trail? Everything…” he said and breathed in with difficulty. “When I woke up from the coma, and they told me it was you, I fought them with all my might. I didn’t believe them. I said, ‘Not my Ivory, she’d never do this. We love each other. Not my friend, we have been through so much together; he will never betray me,'” he said and wiped away his tears.
“Then the evidence started rolling in, and with each damning one, my resolve waned, my heart shattered, my soul broke. It was so much I could not refute it. So Ivory, please tell me, why?” he said. “You already had it all. As my Luna, you owned the pack, the money and the power. Why?” he said, and I was speechless. “Rain, please. You can tell if I am lying…” I said, pleading to his wolf out of desperation, hoping he would feel me and know that I was telling the truth. Cole began to laugh. It was a laugh of pain and anguish. “How dare you try to plead with my wolf. How dare you call his name!” he said with pain and unrefined rage. Something was a miss; I could not feel the command in his rage. It had nothing to do with the silver chains I was bound with. Something was wrong with Rain, and I knew it. I could feel it. My wolf couldn’t feel him; she couldn’t reach him. The thought set me in panic and I knew I was doomed. With Rain out of the picture, hoping my husband would sense the truth would be futile. Ivory Cole’s eyes became cold, so cold that I could not keep eye contact. All I could see was pure hatred.
“The punishment is a death sentence. A public execution,” Cole said and sighed. “But I can’t bring myself to do it,” he said, looking at me with pain in his eyes. He chuckled and looked around. “Even now, I am a fool for you. Even now, I still love you. Even now, I can’t bring myself to hurt you. I can’t do to you what you tried to do to me. I can’t give my sister, your best friend, the justice she deserves because my heart still beats for you,” he said, and I could see he was finding it hard. “Will a banishment suffice?” He asked Olsen, and he shook his head. “Banishment is for crimes that didn’t claim lives. Besides, we can’t leave an ex-pack member roaming free. She might cause trouble out there, and it would return to us. With all that has happened, we can’t risk it,” he pointed out. I didn’t want to be banished, either. I didn’t want to leave. “Sentence me to death, please. I do not want to live knowing that I had been accused of hurting the people I loved. Hurting you, killing Melissa…” I said, and he growled at me.
“Do not speak her name!” he warned me, and I was silent. “What is the other option?” he asked Olsen, and he sighed. “Life imprisonment,” he said, and Cole looked away. I could see his difficulty. He was fighting himself. He looked at me, and his eyes blamed me for ruining us. I could see it. I could see he blamed me for ruining us. I blamed myself for allowing this to happen to me. “Life imprisonment,” he pronounced, and I knew that was the best deal I would get. But I didn’t want to be in a cell. Death would be better than the cell. At least I will have peace. Locking me up with criminals I had put away as Luna would be hard. I had been in solitary confinement for the two weeks I was locked up. Life imprisonment meant I would have to adapt and make the place my new home, my new world. Everything outside the prison would be unreachable: it would all cease to exist for me. It was indeed a punishment, but I didn’t care anymore. I was already dead inside.
“You heard the alpha; take her away,” Olsen said, and one of the guards grabbed onto the chain, but I tugged defiantly, wanting to have one last word with Cole because I knew he might never speak to me again. “Please, one last word,” I pleaded with him while the guard tugged the burning metal. Cole hesitated and nodded, instructing them to let me speak. “I know the evidence is damning, but I would rather die than do what I have been accused of. I am not saying this because I want you to pardon me, Cole. I am saying it because it is my truth. I accept the sentencing and all that will happen to me from here on, and I appreciate your kindness for letting me keep my life, even though everything says I tried to take yours. There is nothing I can say or do that would fix this or get me out of this mess. It is over for me, but I beg you,” I said and looked at Olsen. “I am begging you not to dismiss my words. I am innocent in all this, and whoever did this is still at large,” I said, and Cole growled at me. “Liar!” he said with rage. His eyes bloodshot. “I accept my sentencing, Cole, and I won’t fight it. I won’t contest it.
There is nothing to fight or contest, but I know if anyone went through this length, their goal wouldn’t be to just frame me and end me, Cole,” I said, and he looked disgusted as if I was acting. “It is alpha to you,” Olsen corrected me, and the words broke my heart. I never knew a day would come when I wouldn’t be allowed to call my husband’s name. “I am just begging you to be vigilant and watch your back, Alpha,” I said, pleading with him to survive no matter what, and he laughed. “There is nothing to watch, Ivory. Death would be better than what I have now. I have no wolf, no mate, no sibling and no best friend. I have nothing. You and Erin took it all from me. Do you think someone like me wants to cling to life, Ivory?” He asked, and I shook my head, tears falling from my eyes. The implications of his words registering. “Please, Col… Alpha, do not end your life. Please live. You have to live!” I said in tears. Tears fell, a testament to my broken heart, a testament to my loss and pain.
Tears fell because, in his eyes, I was guilty. Ivory I was handled roughly and bruised badly throughout the onboarding process. “Wait until the prisoners welcome you, traitor. Alpha might not have had the heart to do it himself, but you won’t be alive for long,” One of the wardens said to me and pushed me into the cell that would now be my home. The cell had a bunk bed, so I knew I would have a cellmate, and I dreaded who it would be. “Don’t worry, Luna,” The warden said mockingly. “You’d get a royal welcoming soon,” she said, winking at me. There was so much joy on her face that I knew whatever they would do might be life-threatening. I hugged myself and stepped back until my back was against the wall. I had shed so many tears, and my head hurt. I never imagined that my life would change in the blink of an eye like this. A few moments later, a warden came to my cell and dragged me out to a space where there were plenty of female prisoners. As they dragged me through, I could see the hatred and venom in their eyes. Some had mockery, and some were downright surprised.
That was when I saw Diane Preston, a woman who was sentenced to ten years imprisonment. This was supposed to be her second year. I know this because I had presided over her case. Diane was looking at me. Her face bore no expression. We were in the same space and the same place now. Diane was Brian Preston’s half-sister. Brian was Cole’s former friend. They had severed ties because of Preston’s affiliation with crime lords. A silent feud had occurred since then, and it worsened when Diane was put away. I was sure she’d be my tormentor. There was no way I could go head-on with the alpha bimbo. There was no way I could beat her. “Okay, ladies, you have three minutes. We can’t kill her right away,” The prison warden said, and my eyes widened with surprise. Before I could compose myself, the women gathered to give me the beating of my life. I was on the floor in no time, in a fetal position, receiving blows and kicks from the women. I tried to zone out.
Somehow, I knew it would be more than three minutes. I had no silver on, and my wolf was a gamma; I knew I would need to toughen up and take it. I had been shielded all my life. This was a reality I never knew would be mine. I braced myself, and soon, everything went dark. I woke up on the lower bunk in my cell. Someone was in the cell with me, and I dared not think who it was. My body was in pain, but I knew my healing had set in. Rea, my wolf, remained silent. I guess she was still grieving Rain. Honestly, as things are, death would have been better than this, and maybe that is why Cole chose this for me. I’d never know. “Welcome back to the land of the living, Luna,” a mocking voice said above my bunk. “You’d need to toughen up to survive. Honestly, I wouldn’t want to be you right now. Everyone wants a piece of you,” she said, and I couldn’t get up to check who was speaking to me. I was in that much pain. “They should have just killed me,” I said, and she chuckled.
“Alpha Ashbrook wouldn’t like that, they said, and besides, I think ripping your soul apart in bits and pieces would be more fun. Welcome to underworld, Luna,” The woman said, chuckling, and I didn’t say anything else after that. I knew that this would be my life henceforth. In the morning, I found out that my cellmate was Diane. My heart was thumping in my chest. I was afraid of what she might do to me. She stood in front of me, looking at me as I lay. It was as if she were observing me. “Your wolf heals pretty fast, Luna,” she said, and I was freaking out. “Now, don’t be afraid, Luna; I am not going to hurt you,” she said, chuckling. I frowned at her, not knowing whether I could trust her words. She laughed, wagging her fingers. “Why are you nice to me?” I asked her, suspicious of her intentions. “You may find this hard to believe, but I know an innocent woman when I see one,” she said, and I was stunned.
Ivory “What I don’t understand is who you, your sister-in-law, and Beta offended that they would go to this length to do this to all three of you,” Diane said, and I was so shocked that I thought she was trying to mock me indirectly. “Why do you think I didn’t do it?” I asked her, and she looked at me. “It’s in your eyes, Luna. You do not look as cold-hearted as they make you seem. If it weren’t for the evidence, I doubt the allegations would have stuck. You cried for your husband a few times in your sleep. You love him; I just don’t see your motive,” she said and looked away. ” What if it is all pretence”? I said, not wanting to be vulnerable, and she touched my shoulder with her hand. “You look like a woman in mourning, Ivory. You lost your husband, your best friend, and your reputation. That was why you let your wolf slip into unconsciousness. Your wolf isn’t even fighting. More beatings, and I know you will give up. Guilty people do not act like that. It’s just unfortunate that your foes were smarter than you,” she said and looked at me. “I still have eight years in here. I will protect you. I am sure you would have found your footing by the time I am out,” She said, right around the time the cell opened, and we stepped out.
“Come on, we need to shower, eat, and head to our duty post,” she said, and I stepped out unwillingly. As we walked through the hallway, I noticed the scornful expressions on the prisoners’ faces. It looked like they wanted to do damage, but they couldn’t. “That is right bitches, no one touches this one. She is mine,” Diane said, sounding a warning to them. I knew then that I was under her protection. Even the prison wardens dared not touch me. I wondered what gave Diane this much power in here. I dared not ask her because I knew it might be due to her family’s affiliation with crime Lords, and I did not want to get on her nerves. I was grateful for what I could get. One day I felt very dizzy. I had been dealing with severe fatigue since I came to prison, and one month later, it had only worsened. Normally, I would try to breathe so I do not pass out, but this time around, breathing wasn’t helping.
I felt myself gradually slump to the ground, and everything went dark. I awoke in my cell, undergoing treatment with fluids administered intravenously. I wondered what had happened and what they were pumping in me. Diane sat on the single wooden chair in our small cell, her eyes on me. “Welcome back to the land of the living, Luna,” she said, and I groaned, trying to sit up. I had asked her to call me by my name, just like everyone else, but she said I was Luna. Eventually, I decided that that was her term of endearment. Because I was anything but Luna. Even an omega slave was better than me right now. “What happened?” I managed when I sat up, and she smiled at me. “Well, I do not know how you would take this, but congratulations—you are two months pregnant!” she said. “What? I’m pregnant?”