Betrayed Luna's New Beginning

I smoothed the tablecloth one last time, adjusting the crystal glasses I'd saved for months to buy. Twenty-one candles flickered across my tiny apartment, casting dancing shadows against the walls of what was essentially a glorified closet in the pack house. But tonight, I'd transformed it into something special. Something worthy of an Alpha.

Something worthy of Kai.

The wolfsbane-seasoned steak sizzled on the serving platter – his favorite. My nose twitched at the pungent aroma, my throat already beginning to constrict from proximity to the herb that most wolves could enjoy but left me with hives and difficulty breathing. A small price to pay for his smile.

"Perfect timing," I whispered to myself, glancing at the clock. Nine o'clock. He'd be here any minute.

I smoothed down the blue dress I'd splurged on – the exact shade he'd once mentioned brought out my eyes. The dress hugged curves I didn't really have, my wolfless status leaving me smaller and more delicate than the other she-wolves. But tonight was special. My twenty-first birthday, though I'd made sure the celebration was all about him.

Nine-thirty came and went.

I checked my phone again, swiping through empty notifications. No mind-link ping, no Alpha summons. Nothing but silence.

"He's just running late," I reassured myself, reheating the steak for the second time. "Alpha business. Important meetings."

By midnight, the candles had burned low, wax pooling on my carefully arranged table. I'd sent three messages, each more hesitant than the last.

*Just checking if you're still coming?*

*Food's ready whenever you are.*

*Everything okay?*

The blue dots showed he'd read them. No reply.

At two in the morning, I curled up on my threadbare couch, still in my blue dress, watching the door. My eyes burned from staying open, but I couldn't bear to miss him if he finally came. The phantom ache in my chest – where my wolf should be – throbbed with a hollow emptiness that matched the silence of my apartment.

Dawn crept through my single window, painting my failure in harsh morning light. The steak had long since gone cold, the wolfsbane congealing into a gray film across the surface. I hadn't moved in hours, my body stiff and eyes raw.

The lock clicked, and I jerked upright, heart leaping – but it was just Mina, my roommate, stumbling in from what had clearly been a long night.

"Luna? You're still up?" She froze when she saw me, her eyes taking in the untouched dinner, the melted candles, my crumpled dress. "Oh, honey..."

"Did something happen at the pack gathering?" My voice cracked from disuse and unshed tears. "Was there an emergency?"

Mina's face shifted, pity and discomfort warring in her expression. "You... you didn't know about the celebration at the Alpha's lodge?"

My stomach dropped. "What celebration?"

She hesitated, then pulled out her phone. "Everyone was mind-linked the images. I thought you'd have seen..."

The pictures loaded, each one a fresh wound. Kai, resplendent in a tailored suit, his arm wrapped possessively around Sophie's waist. Sophie, radiant in a silver dress that showcased her Beta status, feeding him cake with perfectly manicured fingers. And there – my breath caught – Kai opening a gift box containing a vintage watch with a moonstone face.

The exact watch I'd worked double shifts for months to afford. The one wrapped in silver paper sitting on my counter, waiting to be given.

"I... I didn't know," I whispered.

Something shifted inside me then – a phantom pain where my wolf should be. Not quite a voice, not quite a presence, but a hollow ache that seemed to whisper: *Enough*.

Mina touched my shoulder gently. "Luna, you deserve—"

"It's fine," I cut her off, rising mechanically from the couch. "He's an Alpha. He has responsibilities."

But as I gathered the cold plates, scraping his perfect meal into the trash, I felt something crack inside me – something that four years of neglect had been slowly fracturing all along.