Freeing Starr

Oomph!

I winced as I landed hard on my back, knocking the air out of my lungs. My back groaned at the impact as I rolled over and laid there defeated.

Leon, who was the cause of my pain grimaced as he loomed over me and asked, "you alright?"

I huffed and nodded, accepting his hand and pulling myself up off the floor. Then I dusted off my shirt and straightened up.

"Again," I muttered quickly getting into position and throwing a kick at his midsection.

He was ready for me, quickly deflecting my kick and swinging a fist directly at my face, obscuring my vision.

I stepped back and braced my arms in front of my face to absorb the hit, grunting when his foot came out of nowhere and slammed into my side, causing me to stumble backwards.

"Sorry about that," he muttered.

I huffed in annoyance and shook off the pain, quickly swinging out my fist at his face. He deflected it easily and stepped away as I lifted a leg to swing out at his face. He grabbed a hold of my leg and drove his elbow down with force, causing me to cry out in pain.

I reflexively swung my hand out to hit him as I forcefully pulled my leg away, hurting myself in the process.

I hopped on one leg as I placed some distance between us and growled in frustration. No matter what I did, I couldn't land a solid hit on him and it was starting to piss me off. It made me feel weak and pathetic.

He eyed my leg worriedly, "did I hit you too hard? Can you still fight?"

I couldn't help but roll my eyes, "constantly asking if I'm alright after purposely hitting me is very aggravating. If I can't handle it I'll let you know!"

I wiggled my leg dramatically to show him that I already healed then bent slightly and got back in position, "now let's continue."

Leon chuckled and shook his head, "you've become a lot livelier."

Because I felt comfortable whenever I was around you, I thought but didn't dare to mutter aloud. Instead, I grumbled, "Well I can't just stand here and let you pummel me to the ground, can I? Well you're still pummeling me but at least I'm putting up a fight... a weak one."

"You're actually improving fast. It's already been a week since we started and you're already at a high level. You're no longer a beginner."

I grinned cheekily, "I have the best teacher."

"And I have an amazing student."

With that said, I ran up to him and did an uppercut, hoping to knock him off balance which was ineffective. I swung my leg out when that got deflected then quickly pivoted and swung my other leg around when I saw him move to grab me again.

My leg missed his face but slammed into his wrist, causing a pop sound to echo throughout the room. I quickly backed away with a big smile on my face.

I stared at his hand that was hanging limply and jumped in excitement, "finally! I got a hit in!"

A smile tugged at his lips as he snapped his dislocated wrist back in place and watched me in amusement, "so you're not going to ask if I'm alright?"

I froze in embarrassment and chuckled awkwardly, "oh... are you okay?"

He chuckled and shook his head, lifting up his already healing hand, "I'll be alright. Let's call it a day and end here. You did good."

I beamed at him, "thank you! I can't wait to tell Stacy about it!"

"It's good to know that you guys are getting along," he muttered, taking up a towel and dabbing at the sweat that coated his face.

I nodded, "yeah, she's great company and I love the stories she tells me. I'm also learning a lot from her regarding being queen so I'm grateful."

"That's good. Our mating ceremony is next week so I'm sure she's trying to rush things, just don't overwork yourself."

"I know. I'm gonna go wash up and get ready for dinner."

"Alright, I'll meet you there after I deal with a few things."

I nodded and waved goodbye as I left. I was basically skipping my way through the hallways as I reminisced on my first taste of victory, humming to myself as I passed the castle workers and maids every now and then.

It wasn't until I passed the third person did I begin to get uneasy. The atmosphere surrounding the halls felt tense and I could feel the stares drilling into me as I passed.

My smile turned into a frown as I got a little self conscious.

Was something wrong?

I glanced over at a few female maids that were in the corner of the hallway, whispering to themselves and staring at me blatantly with hostility.

Confused, I tuned into my hearing and listened in on their conversation.

"How could she proudly parade herself around the castle as if she belonged here?"

"How did such a woman become our queen Luna? She mated with another man before our king. It's a disgrace."

"Alpha King Leon must be so embarrassed."

"Maybe that's why they're keeping it a secret."

"I feel sorry for him. He's been through so much and had to take in someone's sloppy seconds because she couldn't wait for her own mate."

"She probably dumped her old mate because she found out her actual mate was the king."

"She's so shallow."

"She's a whore."

"If the moon goddess never makes mistakes then what happened? She paired our King with a gold digger."

My heart began to race as I winced at the insults thrown at me. I couldn't help but lower my head in shame as I caught the look in their eyes.

I quickly turned and left, wondering how they knew about that. I remembered Stacia specifically ordering everyone who knew not to mention that I was previously mated before Leon so how in the world did this news spread?

As I continued deeper into the castle, I kept getting stares of hostility thrown at me.

"Slut."

"Look it's her. Our soon to be Queen Luna. I feel so sorry for our King. He got trapped with a used toy."

"A defected product."

"I heard he picked her up from off the side of the road."

"She killed her previous mate after finding out she was mated to the Alpha King."

"Disgusting."

"Trash."

"I heard she was pregnant and lost the child."

"Thank god. Imagine our king raising a child that's not his."

"Why didn't he reject her? Even I'm purer than her and I'm a beta."

"Hahaha she's so pathetic."

"What does the King see in her?"

"Maybe it's cause she's experienced?"

"That's bullshit. Men like their women inexperienced."

"He's probably just putting up with her because he has to continue his strong bloodline. I heard she's a dominant alpha."

"Oh that explains it."

"She's useful then."

"Only her bloodl-"

Slam!

My bedroom door slammed shut as I leaned my back against it and slid down, my chest heaving as tears immediately sprang from my eyes.

Those words... were hurtful. I couldn't pretend like they didn't affect me.

I pulled my legs up to my chest and curled into myself, sobbing. I blocked out all the whispers that was still echoing throughout the hallways and closed my eyes, trying to calm myself.

I knew this would happen.

I knew people would find out eventually and I knew I would get hatred and backlash from this. I shouldn't let them get to me. They didn't know anything.

"I'm sorry," I murmured, wiping at the tears that wouldn't stop flowing, "I'm so sorry for not being the Luna you guys wished for."

But the fact that I was your Luna now wouldn't change.

I sat there for another five minutes as I slowly began to calm down, my breathing going back to normal.

I stood up and wiped at my tears before quickly taking a shower and throwing on a cute dress Stacia gifted me. I did my hair in a ponytail then dabbed a little makeup on my face to hide the fact that I had been crying. Frae really did a good job of teaching me the basics.

Dinner was about to start soon and I wasn't going to let these rumors ruin it for me. I was their Luna whether they liked it or not. I was going to hold my head high, regardless of what gets thrown my way.

I was done cowering. In this new chapter of my life, I wanted to show everyone just how strong I was and that I was in fact, worthy of being their queen. So they could talk all they want now, but just wait and see the footprint that I leave on this throne when I’m crowned. I was determined to do good.

I took a deep breath before I opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. The dirty whispers were back but unlike before, I kept my chin raised high and walked towards the dining room with a vigor like no other.

As soon as I stepped into the room, I tensed at the intensity of the dominance that suffocated the air.

Stacia was currently growling at the butler, "what the hell have I been hearing in my own home? I had to fight two maids on my way to this room! Who the fuck is spreading these rumors!? I want them found and I want them found now or so help me, I will-"

"Starr!" Leona called out in surprise as she noticed me standing at the entrance.

Stacia stopped her argument and quickly retracted her anger, coming up to me with a stiff smile on her face, "Starr! Sweetheart! We've had a change of plans. Instead of eating dinner as a family, we'll have the dinner sent up to your room so you can sit back, relax and eat. Leona, guide Starr back to her room. Quickly," she pushed against my back as she turned me around and impatiently gestured for Leona to escort me out.

A frown pulled at my lips as I asked, "is this about the rumors that are going around?"

Stacia stiffened up then sighed, "you already heard them?"

I chuckled bitterly, "it's hard not to when I'm being glared at like I'm a criminal."

Stacia bristled, "who's glaring at you!? Show me their face let me claw their eyes out."

I shrugged helplessly. I doubt it would be appropriate for us to claw every single worker's eyes out. The people were entitled to their own opinions.

Stacia saw the dejected look in my eyes and sighed, pulling me into a hug, "I'm sorry, love. This is exactly why I didn't want news of this to be revealed yet. Being a royal is hard but being a royal with a terrible past is even harder. I'm sorry you had to hear this. Don't take it to heart. The best thing you can do is prove your competence as a leader and shut those servants up," she pulled back and winked, "of course, maiming one or two always sends a good message."

I shook my head with a smile, "thank you for the advice but I don't plan on intimidating them into silence. I don't want to rule my people with fear."

Stacia rolled her eyes and pulled away, "you're too nice, Starr. You should learn from Leon. Sometimes it's necessary to be the bad guy in situations like these. They're blatantly cursing you, their future Queen Luna. Not only is that a serious offense but it's also an insult to the entire royal family as a whole. Leon is currently tracking down the person who spread this information in the first place. After that, I know he'll put a band on anybody talking about this or showing hostility to you whatsoever. They either shut up or get fucked up. That's the royals' way of doing things."

Leona chuckled, "I figured by now they'd learn to shut up but I guess we've gotten a bit too lenient lately."

A smile tugged at my lips as I began feeling a bit better. It didn't matter what anybody else said because I had Leon and his family fighting with me. They knew the truth and that was all that mattered.

Stacia continued pushing me out the door, "now back to your room, the place is about to get messy. You don't need to see this. Just focus on your wedding and let us handle these rumors.”

I furrowed my brows in confusion but didn't question it, trusting in my in laws and allowing Leona to drag me away and back to my room.

The next day came and the whispers slowly began to die down.