Rebirth Of The Rejected Luna Chapter 145: Before Sundown

**Carlo's POV**

The moment Erika stormed back into the crowd, her face livid, her hands clenched into fists, I knew.

As I watched Erika, I could tell she had found out something big. Her eyes were blazing with anger and determination. She was going to do something, and I wondered what it was that made her so mad.

Alpha Corvin looked at her weirdly, and for a second, I saw fear in his eyes. That never happens with him. He's usually in control. But now, he was scared of what Erika might do to him. It wasn't just about her figuring out the truth. It was about the power she had inside her.

I remembered that Alpha Corvin had been spending a lot of time in the constellation room. What was he looking for? And how did it relate to Erika? Was he trying to understand her power or control her?

I looked back at Erika and took a step closer. Just then, Alpha Corvin raised his hands, and a blade came down. The sound of it cutting through flesh made me wince. I'd seen it before— hell, I'd even beheaded countless people during battle but this time it felt different.

Maybe it was because Erika seemed so calm, even though she was watching someone— her mother, get executed. Or maybe it was because Alpha Corvin seemed to be enjoying it. Whatever it was, I knew I had to figure out what was going on.

I took another step forward, looking at Erika. She didn't flinch or look away. Her eyes just kept burning with intensity. I felt drawn to her, to her power and passion. And I knew I had to be careful.

But I couldn't help myself. I wanted to know what was happening, no matter what.

A dull, sickening thud followed as her mother's head fell to the ground. For a second, nothing moved. Nothing breathed.

I stared in shock as well, bile rising in my throat. My mother-in-law had just been executed publicly and I had done nothing to stop it even when I knew that she was innocent. I was nothing but a coward.

But then again, how could I betray Alpha Corvin after all that he had done for me when he could have as well killed me. And even after that he treated me equally like every other person in the pack and had even found me worthy enough to be Beta despite opposition from the council.

After his Beta died, and had only female daughters who married into other packs, Alpha Corvin did not seem comfortable with having any of their husbands become Beta. He preferred me because I was worthy— and he was the first to ever find me worthy of anything.

There was a round of applause from the crowd of people gathered. People are happy that someone who betrayed the Alpha after his kindness had been punished— if only they knew the truth. Their cheers grew louder and then Erika’s knees buckled suddenly. She hit the ground, her eyes wide, her mouth slightly parted as if she wanted to scream but couldn’t find the air.

My heart twisted painfully, but I couldn’t go to her.

Not yet. Not now.

Instead, I clenched my fists and swallowed the guilt burning in my throat.

Because I had just promised to make her disappear.

How had I gotten myself into this mess?

“As we all know, we cannot keep the daughter of a traitor within our pack.”

Alpha Corvin’s voice rang through the clearing, silencing the cheers almost instantly. The crowd hummed in agreement at this.

My fingers curled into fists. I had known this was coming, but hearing it aloud still sent a wave of dread through me. My mate, my life and my blood was going to be gone from me forever and there was nothing I could do about it. I wondered if Alpha Corvin ever considered the fact that I could go insane from the loss of my mate.

I stared at him for a while, wondering how he had even done it without feeling like he was going to die. Hadn't he felt himself being ripped apart from his insides after his mate died— no, that wasn't even the question I should have been asking.

How could Alpha Corvin live with himself knowing he has been the one to orchestrate the death of his wife. Was it that he was secretly dying inside but didn't want anyone else to know?

What had the Luna even done to deserve such a fate? He still hadn't told me yet so did that mean he was too emotional about it?

So many unanswered questions.

“She will not share in her mother’s punishment,” Corvin continued, snapping me out of my thoughts. “but she will no longer be one of us.”

The whispers started then, hushed but frantic. Banished. She was being banished.

I exhaled slowly, keeping my expression neutral even as my gut twisted. This was better than the alternative. If she died here, there would be questions. Suspicion. But if she simply disappeared…

Corvin turned his gaze toward Erika. “You will leave this pack by sundown. From this moment forward, you are no longer welcome here.”

Erika didn’t respond.

She hadn’t moved since she fell to her knees, her face blank, her eyes distant.

I took a step forward, but Corvin shot me a look, a silent warning to stay put.

She needed to stand on her own.

But she didn’t.

She just knelt there, staring at the ground where her mother’s blood pooled.

For the first time in my life, I saw someone truly broken.

The girl who had defied every rule, who had looked me in the eye and told me she wasn’t afraid of anything—she wasn’t here anymore.

Corvin turned back to the crowd. “This judgment is final. Anyone caught aiding her will share her fate.”

Another hush.

Another warning but it was directed to me in particular.

"Get rid of her before sundown," Alpha Corvin whispered harshly in my ear as he walked away.