"There you are, Amy. Sit down, please," Alpha Oswald said, his tone measured, but with an authority that seemed to thicken the air. "We have something important to tell you."

"Me too, Uncle," she replied. "I have news to share with all of you." Her voice thrummed with genuine excitement, and a bright smile lit up her face. Yet despite this obvious joy, her gaze slid to Peter.

Their eyes met for a fleeting moment. She expected to see that same happiness reflected there, to see an echo of her smile on his lips. But what she saw troubled her. His jaw was tight, and an unreadable shadow clouded his eyes—a flicker of guilt, perhaps even remorse. Before she could make sense of it, he looked away, leaving a knot of confusion in her stomach.

Despite that unsettling detail, nothing could dampen her elation. Not tonight.

Amy felt as if she were glowing from the inside out. A soft, radiant warmth filled her. The previous night's revelation still filled her heart with a deep, heady joy. Her fated mate was Peter, the heir destined to lead the Goldblade Pack. The man she had known since childhood, now bound to her by the sacred will of the Moon Goddess. That thought alone made her pulse with pride and impatience. She was dying to announce the truth of their bond to the entire world.

She had woken that morning feeling lighter than air. Her inner wolf purred with contentment, murmuring promises of a powerful future woven with love and harmony. For the first time in her life, she felt whole. Even though she had woken alone, Peter's absence hadn't worried her. She understood the weight of his responsibilities. Perhaps he was already planning for the future their union would bring. He had not yet marked her, but she saw that only as a sign of his respect. No doubt he was waiting for the solemnity of the official mating ceremony. That was how she saw him: thoughtful, dignified, and devoted to his duty.

Earlier that day, as she walked through the pack house, her happiness had nearly spilled over. The pack members she passed congratulated her warmly, their open smiles erasing any doubt. They had all witnessed the scene the night before, during the celebration for her return. They had seen her wolf recognize her mate and felt the undeniable spark that had flared between them. No one could deny the obvious.

"Congratulations, Amy!" a pack sister had exclaimed, throwing her arms around her.

"You'll make a perfect Luna," another had murmured admiringly.

She had received every word with gratitude, her heart swelling with fresh resolve. Every embrace, every blessing, every hand on her shoulder strengthened the silent promise she made to herself: she would be the Luna that Goldblade deserved. She would stand loyally by Peter's side and devote all her strength to the good of the pack.

Now, seated in the Alpha's study, surrounded by her family and the man fate had given her, she felt ready to officially share her joy. She was waiting for only one thing—to finally say the words that would seal their union before everyone.

Only the strange chill in Peter's gaze cast a shadow over the moment. She told herself it was just a misunderstanding. In a few seconds, he would smile. Everything would fall back into place.

"Amy," Alpha Oswald resumed, his voice steady but grave, "we need to talk about what happened last night." "We cannot approve your union with Peter."

Amy's breath caught. She blinked, certain she had misheard.

"What... what do you mean? You don't approve?" she stammered, disbelief cracking her voice. "He's my mate. The Goddess chose him for me. No question about it."

Her gaze immediately shot to her parents, pleading for support, for an explanation that would make sense of the nightmare taking shape. But her father was silent, and her mother's was etched with a deep, crushing sorrow. No help would come from them.

An icy dread coiled in her chest. She turned to her sister, then to Peter. Her mate. The man who should have been hers. Neither of them would meet her eyes. Peter's jaw remained clenched, his shoulders rigid. Kathy stared down at her trembling hands, guilt radiating from her in waves.

"What's going on?" Amy murmured, her voice breaking under the weight of the moment.

Alpha Oswald answered bluntly, "Amy, Kathy is carrying the future Alpha's child. For years, she has been preparing to become this pack's Luna. She and Peter had chosen each other long ago as chosen mates."

Each word struck her like a physical blow, shattering the fragile hope she'd clung to.

"You know our laws," Oswald continued. "If the future Alpha does not find his fated mate before the age of thirty, he may designate a Luna. Peter has made his choice."

Her breathing grew erratic.

"But he found me!" she cried, her voice cracking into a raw shout. "I am his mate!"

She shot to her feet, fists clenched, as her wolf howled with rage inside her.

A crushing silence followed. No one objected. No one contradicted her. The truth hung there, implacable.

"No one knew Kathy was preparing to become Luna," she went on, her voice tight with fury. "No pack member imagined Peter already had a chosen mate. You hid it. You hid it from me."

Oswald's face remained impassive. "We kept it secret in case Peter met his destined mate. But Kathy is already carrying his child. We cannot allow the heir to be born without legitimacy. The decision is final."

Her father spoke then, his voice grave and unyielding. "Amy... this is necessary. The pack's future comes first. Kathy will be Luna."

Amy's world cracked. The faces around her blurred behind a burning wall of unshed tears.

They had all chosen. Her parents. Her Alpha. Her sister. Him.

She was utterly alone.

"My sister..." Kathy tried, her voice trembling, but she fell silent at the look on Amy's face—a raw mix of rage and pain that forbade any words.

Amy turned to Peter, her voice shaking with wounded love and restrained fury. "And you? What do you have to say about all this, my mate?"

He finally met her gaze, his eyes hard despite the regret in his voice. "I know this is hard for you. But I cannot let my heir be born without official recognition. I have to think of the pack."

Pain slashed through her.

"You can raise your child without abandoning me," she pleaded. "You don't have to reject me."

The words burning on her tongue—break their bond—remained trapped in her throat, because she feared that once spoken, they would become irreversible.

Peter gritted his teeth. "Kathy has been preparing for years. She has been trained to become Luna, and—"

"I can learn too!" she cut in vehemently. "I will work harder than anyone. I'll make whatever sacrifices are necessary. Don't pretend I'm not capable."

But his expression shut down. He slowly shook his head. "I'm sorry, Amy. I won't give up Kathy. She will be my Luna. It's the wisest decision for the pack."

"The wisest..." she repeated, her voice hollow.

A few hours earlier, she had woken with a heart overflowing with hope, determined to become the best possible Luna, the ideal mate, Peter's unwavering support. She had imagined being honored, loved, standing at his side.

Now she understood that the throne had never been vacant. Someone else had already occupied it long before she had even learned of her own destiny.

The room tilted around her. The voices blurred into distant murmurs. The betrayal sank into her flesh more cruelly than any blade.

Her world had just collapsed.

Pain ripped through Amy's chest. It hollowed her out from the inside, as if something were slowly tearing her soul from her body. Each breath was a struggle, threatening to shatter her completely.

Her eyes blurred with tears she refused to let fall as her gaze locked on Peter, desperate and pleading. Silently, she begged him to take it back, to see reason, to remember what she was to him: his fated mate, the one the Goddess had chosen for him. Yet the look he returned was impenetrable, as hard as stone. He didn't waver. His choice was final.

He had chosen Kathy. Her own sister.

Amy's voice cracked as she turned toward her parents, clinging to her last shred of hope.

"And you?" she asked, her gaze shifting from her father to her mother, searching for a sign, a flicker of refusal, any hint of support. "You approve of this?"

Her father seemed to shrink under the weight of her stare. His tone was even, but his words were a cruel, calculated blow. "We must think of the pack, Amy. Not just our family, but all those who count on us. This decision is bigger than any one of us."

Her mother's eyes glistened with genuine sadness, yet her words struck with the finality of a verdict. "Your sister is expecting a child, Amy. There's the baby to consider."

Amy's heart clenched so violently she thought it might stop beating altogether. She spun toward Kathy, hoping for a protest, a denial, a single gesture of sisterly loyalty.

But only a sheen of remorse filled her sister's eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Amy," Kathy murmured, her voice trembling. "I love you. I swear I didn't know Peter was your fated mate. If it weren't for the baby... I promise, I would step aside. But I can't. Not now."

Every syllable sank into Amy like another blade. The betrayal was unbearable. The people who should have protected her were the very ones destroying her. And the worst part was the way they framed it: as an honorable duty, as if sacrificing her happiness was some noble act.

Something inside her froze. An insidious cold crept through her, encasing her heart in ice. A certainty took hold: she would never look at them the same way again. They were no longer her family. They were the Beta family, devoted entirely to the pack.

The Alpha and Luna were just leaders now, not her parents. And Peter... he was no longer her fated mate. He was only the future Alpha.

She drew a slow breath, forcing down the tremor that threatened to betray her. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing her break. They deserved neither her tears, nor her affection and trust.

"Then," she said, her voice surprisingly composed, almost distant, "what do you suggest, Alpha?"

A stunned silence fell over the room. No screams, no pleas, no desperate begging—only a coldness they had never known from her. Amy had always been warmth and light, the one who comforted and brought people together. Now, that light was gone.

Alpha Oswald cleared his throat, his expression grim.

"Peter and Kathy will have their union ceremony next month," he announced with cold gravity. "The pack already knows you were Peter's designated mate. You will be present, Amy. You must show your support. The unity of the pack depends on it."

Another crack splintered through her heart. Not only were they tearing her mate and her destiny away from her, but they were demanding she attend the ceremony, wear a smile, and pretend to be happy. They were making her humiliation a duty.

"So," she replied, her voice soft but with a sharp, cutting edge, "I'm supposed to give up my Goddess-blessed mate... and be grateful for it?"

"That is not what I said!" Alpha Oswald retorted, a flash of annoyance in his eyes.

"It doesn't matter," Amy cut in, her voice unyielding. "Do what you want. After all, I'm clearly not important to this pack."

"Don't say that, Amy," Kathy pleaded, tears finally streaming down her cheeks. "That's not true."

A bitter laugh escaped Amy, a hollow sound that chilled the atmosphere.

"I'm begging you," she insisted, stepping closer, her voice thick with desperation. "We love you. We know you're suffering, but we have to do what's best for the pack. I never wanted to hurt you. I never wanted any of this. Please, just try to understand."

She reached out to take Amy's hand, murmuring a final, broken "please."

But Amy recoiled as if she'd been burned. The sister she had once adored, the person she cherished more than anyone, was now the source of her deepest pain. And she couldn't bear it.

Her voice turned firm, final. "I need to think. I need to get away from all of you."

Without waiting for an answer, she turned and walked toward the exit, ignoring the frantic calls that erupted behind her—the apologies and pleas and justifications all blurring into meaningless noise. Nothing could reach her now.

She slammed a wall down around her heart. When their voices echoed in her mind, pleading through the pack link, she severed the connection without a second thought.

For the first time in her life, Amy was truly alone.