Rebirth Of The Rejected Luna Chapter 149: I Just Needed Her To Live

**Alpha Corvin’s POV**

For a moment, I expected to feel satisfaction. Relief. Instead, all I felt was... a strange emptiness. A quiet stillness in my chest. I shook it off.

“She was a threat,” I reminded myself. Too smart. Too powerful. Too unpredictable. And I did what needed to be done.

Still, a part of me wanted to see Carlo.

Not because I doubted him—no, he had always been loyal. But because I knew the weight of this would be sitting heavy on his shoulders.

So, I went to his chambers.

The door was slightly open, and inside, Carlo sat at the edge of his bed, his head buried in his hands. His whole body shook. It was rare to see him this way—raw, broken. For the first time, I wondered if I had misjudged just how deep his feelings for Erika went.

I stepped inside. “You did well.”

Carlo didn’t move.

I placed a hand on his shoulder. “The grief will pass.”

His breath was unsteady, almost ragged.

I frowned. “You knew this had to happen.”

No response.

I studied him closely. Was it guilt? Or something more?

I didn’t have time for doubts. Not now. The pack was watching, and my enemies would be waiting for any sign of weakness.

So, I turned away. “Rest, Carlo. Tomorrow, we move forward.”

And with that, I left him alone.

Because, as far as I was concerned, the past had been buried in the forest. And Erika—

Erika was dead.

**Carlo’s POV**

As soon as the door shut behind Corvin, the room fell into suffocating silence. I didn’t move, didn’t breathe, barely even blinked. I just sat there on the edge of my bed, hands clenched so tightly my knuckles ached, my nails biting into my palms.

She was gone.

I had watched her eat the poisoned meal, had watched her drink the wine I had poured with steady hands, and I had done nothing to stop her.

No—I had done this.

The realization pressed down on me like a boulder, crushing the air from my lungs. I let out a slow, shuddering breath and buried my face in my hands. My entire body shook, but I couldn’t stop it. It was like every part of me rejected what I had done, even though my mind kept screaming that it was the only way.

She was alive. She was alive. I kept repeating it like a prayer, but it did nothing to ease the ice spreading through my chest.

Because Erika was alone in that forest.

And if anything went wrong, if the poison lasted too long, if Corvin’s men decided to burn her body just to be sure, if she was eaten up by a predator then I would have killed her myself.

I swallowed back the bile rising in my throat.

Had I miscalculated? Had I doomed her instead of saving her?

I sucked in a deep breath and pushed myself to my feet, but the second I moved, my knees buckled. I caught myself against the wall, my palm slamming into the cold stone. My heart pounded against my ribs, too fast, too erratic.

I had fought wars. I had stood beside Corvin as we conquered our enemies. I had taken lives without hesitation.

But this—this was different.

This wasn’t an enemy falling to my blade. This was Erika. My mate.

And I had poisoned her.

I squeezed my eyes shut, and all I could see was the moment she sat across from me at dinner. Her expression had been sharp, filled with anger, and suspicion, but beneath it, I could see the regret in her eyes.

“I have no reason to sit here with you,” she had snapped, arms crossed, voice sharp as a dagger. “You’ve already chosen your side.”

“What do you want?” she had snapped.

I shut the door behind me. “The Alpha granted me one last request before you leave,” I said, voice calm despite the storm inside me. “To spend time with you.”

Her scoff was sharp and bitter. “Right. And you chose to use it on me? I thought you’d be busy polishing Corvin’s boots.”

The words cut deeper than she knew, but I didn’t react. I only shrugged. “I wanted to see you.”

“You’ve already seen me,” she shot back. “Now get out.”

I had expected that reaction. Had even braced for worse. But then, as if she was too exhausted to keep arguing, she had sat down anyway.

And then, she had eaten.

Every bite made me feel like I was swallowing glass. Every sip of wine felt like acid in my veins. But I had kept my expression calm, kept my hands steady, even as I felt like I was unravelling from the inside.

Now, standing here in my chambers, I could still see her—her hands curled around the goblet, her lips parting as she swallowed.

My stomach twisted violently, and I turned sharply, pacing the length of the room.

I had chosen the poison carefully, ensuring it would only make her appear dead. But had I accounted for everything? Had I made a mistake?

What if she collapsed too soon? What if she hit her head? What if she never woke up?

I clenched my fists.

I needed confirmation. I needed to know that she had been left in the forest, that Corvin’s men had been fooled. But if I showed any suspicion, if I pushed too hard, Corvin would start to doubt me.

And I could not afford that.

Not yet.

A sharp knock on my door made me freeze. I forced my breathing to steady before calling out, “Enter.”

One of Corvin’s guards stepped inside, bowing his head slightly. “The men have returned. She’s dead.”

Dead.

The word punched the air from my lungs. I knew it wasn’t true. Had to know it wasn’t true. But hearing it still made something inside me crack.

“Where did they leave the body?” I asked, keeping my voice controlled.

“In the eastern woods. Near the river.”

I gave a short nod, dismissing him before he could see the storm raging beneath my skin.

Near the river. That meant she was deep enough in the forest that no one from the pack would stumble across her. But it also meant she was at risk—if she didn’t wake up soon, she could be found by someone else. Someone worse.

My hands curled into fists at my sides.

There was nothing I could do now but wait.

And pray.

But I was no fool. I knew better than to put faith in the gods. If Erika survived, it wouldn’t be because of fate. It would be because she was strong enough to fight her way back.

And if she did—if she made it through this—then she would hate me more than ever.

I could live with that.

I just needed her to live.