Caelia’s POV

For three long years, I had carried the title of Alpha Lucien’s wife—though only in name and ink.

In all that time, no one had ever addressed me as Luna.

Not the council elders. Not the pack members who passed me in the halls. Not even the man who had placed the ring on my finger.

Each morning, I slid that simple silver band into place and told myself it meant something. That I wasn’t merely the woman whose signature sat beside his on an official record. I convinced myself that one day, I would walk down a proper aisle, cloaked in ceremony, while the entire pack bowed their heads and acknowledged me as their Luna. That one day, the murmurs trailing behind me would finally fade into silence.

Instead, three years slipped by—and the murmurs only sharpened.

She’s not the real Luna.

She’s temporary.

The Alpha will replace her soon enough.

I heard every word, even when they thought I didn’t. Still, I held my head high and forced my steps not to falter. I had been raised to endure, to stand beside my alpha through hardship and doubt. And Lucien had sworn to me—promised me—that once the pack healed from the devastation of the war, once Nightborne stood strong again, he would give me the recognition and ceremony owed to his mate.

I chose to believe him. Maybe because I needed to. Maybe because, despite everything, I loved him.

I loved him when his voice turned distant and clipped. I loved him when he spent countless nights buried in work at the border office. I loved him even when the pack’s looks reminded me again and again that no matter how many meals I prepared, how many bloodstained uniforms I cleaned, or how warmly I greeted his warriors, I was still not their Luna.

I existed in his shadow—nothing more.

But that evening was supposed to be different.

It marked our third wedding anniversary. Three years since I had taken his name. Three years since I became Caelia, wife of Alpha Lucien.

If he wasn’t going to acknowledge it, then I would.

I devoted the entire morning to baking, refusing shortcuts. I didn’t buy anything from the market or place an order with the kitchen staff. I made it myself—a moist carrot cake, sweet and spiced just right. I had seen him pick carrot pastries more than once on his way to work. I thought it was his favorite. I hoped that if I brought him something he loved, he might finally look at me differently—not as an obligation, not as a convenient wife, but as his chosen mate.

He had warned me before.

“The border office isn’t safe,” he’d said. “Enemy wolves still roam nearby. Stay within the inner territory, Caelia.”

But what was the point of an anniversary without effort? What was the value of a marriage untouched by sacrifice?

So I wrapped the cake carefully and made my way toward the edge of our land, toward the stone structure standing watch near the border. Inside me, my wolf paced restlessly, claws scraping at my thoughts.

“I just want to see him happy,” I murmured, trying to calm her.

With every step closer, the air grew colder, heavier. Pine and iron filled my senses, sharp and unsettling, tainted by the nearness of hostile territory. The guards stationed along the path watched me with open curiosity—some with poorly hidden amusement. None stopped me. Why would they? If the Alpha’s wife wanted to humiliate herself, it was her choice.

By the time I reached the office, my hands were shaking. The silence there felt unnatural, thick enough to choke on. I reached for the door—and stopped.

It wasn’t fully closed.

Inside, Lucien sat behind his desk, his imposing frame relaxed beneath the lantern glow, dark hair catching the light. My heart leapt—then shattered.

He wasn’t alone.

A woman stood beside him, her hand entwined with his.

Calista.

The name echoed painfully in my mind. His first love. The omega who had disappeared four years ago in the middle of the war, gone without explanation. The woman I had believed was a ghost of his past.

She was smiling at him—softly, intimately—the kind of smile that spoke of shared memories and unbroken bonds.

Spread across the desk were official documents. I recognized them instantly. Marriage contracts. My breath hitched as the officiant seated across from them pushed the papers forward.

“By the authority of the wolf realm,” the man said, finalizing the last signature, “I declare Alpha Lucien and Calista lawfully mated.”

The room tilted. I staggered backward, my pulse roaring in my ears. This couldn’t be happening. It had to be some cruel illusion.

Calista hesitated, glancing up at him. “And… your wife? What about Caelia?”

Hearing my name from her lips felt like a blade twisting deeper.

Lucien didn’t even pause. “What I had with her was never real,” he replied coolly. “It was a temporary arrangement to appease the council while the pack recovered. She’s too sentimental to handle the truth, so I won’t burden her with it yet. If she causes trouble, I’ll have her sent away. She’ll learn to live with it.”

My legs nearly gave out. My chest felt hollow, as if something vital had been torn away.

As if that weren’t enough, he opened a small box on the desk and removed a single cupcake—carrot. He set it gently in front of Calista.

“I remembered you like these,” he said, his voice suddenly warm.

And in that moment, everything became painfully clear.

It had never been his favorite.

The carrot cake—every pastry, every effort—I had gotten it wrong. It had always been hers.

I clamped a hand over my mouth to muffle the sob breaking free. I couldn’t stay. I couldn’t let them see me unravel. I turned silently and fled, tears blinding me as I ran. The cake slipped from my grasp, hitting the ground and bursting apart in a mess of frosting and crumbs.

Inside me, my wolf cried out—wounded, furious, betrayed. He never chose us. Not once.

I ran without direction, driven only by the need to escape—from the office, from the lies, from the image of him claiming another woman as his mate.

Branches tore at my skin. Darkness swallowed the path. My lungs burned, yet I didn’t slow down.

Then I heard it.

A growl—deep, threatening.

I stopped cold.

Lifting my gaze, I felt the blood drain from my face.

Rogues.

Six of them at least, their eyes glowing red in the shadows, bodies scarred and wild. I had crossed too far. They had caught my scent.

My heart thundered as I retreated, but they closed in, snarling, teeth flashing beneath the moonlight.

My wolf surged, desperate to fight, to shift—but there was no one behind me. No guards. No alpha. No pack.

Just me.

And the sting of betrayal still burning on my tongue.

“Lucien,” I whispered brokenly as the first wolf leapt forward, tears streaming down my face. “Why was I never enough?”

Caelia’s POV

Everything unraveled in a blur.

One second I was sprinting through the edge of the territory, lungs burning, branches whipping past me—and the next, pain exploded everywhere. Teeth sank into my skin. Claws ripped through muscle. Their snarls swallowed my screams as I fell, blood streaking down my arms, my ribs, my legs, soaking into the ground beneath me.

I fought back. I really did. My wolf slammed against my chest, desperate to break free, but my body couldn’t keep up. There were too many of them. I was too slow, too weak. Every strike tore me open again, and with each wound, I felt myself fading, strength draining until the earth beneath me was slick and dark.

That was when I understood.

I wasn’t surviving this.

My vision smeared at the edges. The metallic taste of blood coated my tongue. My knees gave out, and somewhere deep inside, my wolf cried out—her voice growing faint.

This is how it ends.

Darkness swallowed everything.

---

When I woke, it wasn’t to glowing eyes or snapping jaws.

It was white walls. Blinding lights. The sterile sting of antiseptic in the air. A hospital room.

Pain radiated through my body, dulled but constant, wrapped in bandages and stitches. Somehow, impossibly, I was still breathing.

I blinked, my thoughts slow and foggy. “W-where am I…?”

“You’ve regained consciousness,” a gentle voice replied. A nurse stepped into view, her expression careful, almost mournful. “You suffered severe blood loss, but you’re stable now. You were brought in by another Alpha. He found you near the border… saved your life.”

I barely processed that before she hesitated, fingers tightening around her clipboard.

“There’s something else,” she said quietly. “You were approximately one month along. The trauma was too much. I’m very sorry—the pregnancy couldn’t be saved.”

The words didn’t make sense at first.

Pregnant?

My chest constricted as the meaning crashed down on me. I hadn’t known. There had been no signs, no warning. And now—

“No,” I breathed, clutching the sheets as if they could anchor me. “Please… no…”

The sound that tore out of me didn’t feel human. A baby. My baby. Gone before I’d even had the chance to feel it, to protect it. The pain hollowed me out, sharper than the wounds on my body. I hadn’t just lost blood that night—I had lost something irreplaceable.

The nurse rested a hand on my arm. “You need to rest. Healing takes time.”

But how did someone recover when the damage ran deeper than flesh?

---

Time blurred after that. Hours, maybe days—it all melted together.

What I did notice was the scent.

It lingered faintly on my skin, woven into the sheets, unmistakable. Alpha scent. Strong. Steady. Earth and storm and pine. It grounded me without trying.

It wasn’t Lucien.

Someone else had brought me here.

Whoever he was… why had he bothered?

With shaking fingers, I reached for my phone. If anyone should know I was alive, it was my husband. My Alpha.

I called him.

Once.

Again.

And again.

Each unanswered ring tightened the knot in my chest.

Swallowing panic, I opened my social media, hoping—desperately—to send him a message.

Instead, the screen shattered what little composure I had left.

A post. Public. Fresh.

Calista.

She stood beside Lucien, both of them relaxed, smiling effortlessly. They were on a yacht, ocean stretching endlessly behind them. His arm rested around her waist as if it belonged there.

The caption felt like a knife driven straight through me.

Counting down to our wedding ceremony.

My phone slipped from my hand.

The room closed in as I struggled to breathe. While I had been torn apart at the border—while I lost a child I hadn’t even known existed—he had been with her. Laughing. Planning a future.

I folded into myself, sobs wracking my body. I thought I’d already reached the limit of how much betrayal I could endure.

I was wrong.

---

The door flew open.

Lucien stormed inside, anger etched into every line of his face. “Why didn’t you make more of an effort to reach me when you were in danger?”

His tone cut deeper than claws ever had.

I flinched, staring at him. Words gathered in my throat and died there. What was I supposed to say? That I had screamed his name? That I had called until my hands shook and my vision blurred?

My silence only fueled his irritation. He crossed his arms, looming. “Do you have any idea how irresponsible that was? Going anywhere near the border without protection? You never think these things through.”

Something inside me finally gave way.

Even now—after everything—he wasn’t worried about me. Only about what I’d done wrong.

“So it’s on me,” I murmured, eyes fixed on the blanket. “Almost dying was my mistake too.”

He didn’t argue.

Instead, he exhaled sharply and pulled a container from the bag he carried. “I brought you something to eat.”

He opened it.

Carrot soup.

Of course it was.

Carrot—every time. Always what she liked. Always her.

My hands trembled as he lifted the spoon toward my mouth. My stomach twisted violently. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.

Before the spoon reached me, the door burst open once more.

“Alpha!” Beta Noel rushed in, panic written across his face. “Lady Calista collapsed!”

Lucien dropped the spoon instantly. No hesitation. No backward glance. No concern for me at all. He turned and left with Noel, already barking orders, his footsteps fading down the hall.

I was alone again.

The numbness that settled over me was worse than the pain. There was nothing left to shatter—only emptiness.

Then I felt it.

That scent again.

Stronger this time. Commanding. Wild pine and rain and something untamed beneath it. My wolf stirred weakly, recognition flaring, pulling toward it.

A man stood in the doorway, leaning casually against the frame, arms folded as he studied me. There was no mistaking it—he was an Alpha. His presence filled the room effortlessly, heavy and undeniable. Long dark hair framed sharp features, his expression calm but intense.

And his eyes—

They burned with something that made my heart stutter.

“Want some help disappearing from that excuse of an Alpha you’re tied to?” he asked, voice low and smooth, curling through the air.

My breath caught.

My wolf pressed forward, fully alert now, captivated.

And for the first time in years, something stirred inside my chest that wasn’t grief or pain.

It was hope.

Caelia’s POV

His name was Cassian.

At first glance, I almost didn’t recognize him. He stood framed in the hospital doorway, his presence pressing down on the room like a tangible force. Power clung to him effortlessly—coiled, controlled, undeniable. His dark hair fell past his shoulders, his posture straight and assured, his eyes sharp with authority. This was not the Cassian I remembered.

Once, years ago, he had been a frequent guest in my parents’ pack. My father—though never an Alpha—had been respected for his mind. He had taught strategy, negotiation, and battlefield foresight, and Cassian, despite coming from a far stronger and more influential pack, had listened to him with earnest attention. He had sat at our table, asked questions, absorbed every lesson.

Back then, Cassian had been different.

Gentler. Awkward in a charming way. Always buried in books, spectacles sliding down his nose, his frame too slender to match the title he was born into. No one would have guessed that the quiet heir would grow into a man who carried command so naturally, so decisively. Leadership had reshaped him, hardened him, turned the boy I once knew into something formidable.

“You…” My voice betrayed me the moment I spoke. “Cassian… is that really you?”

The corner of his mouth lifted, subtle but genuine. “Looks like you didn’t forget me after all.”

Forget him? Impossible. He was the same boy who used to sneak extra sweet buns from my mother’s kitchen just for me. Yet the man before me bore no trace of that innocence. He was Alpha through and through—and when he spoke again, my heart faltered.

“Want out?” he asked calmly. “I can get you away from that excuse of an Alpha.”

Those words stayed with me long after he left, echoing in my mind during the days that followed. I hadn’t agreed right away. I’d asked for time instead, my voice barely steady.

“Seven days,” I had said quietly. “Just give me a week. I need to finish things here.”

Cassian hadn’t pushed. He hadn’t argued. He’d simply nodded, unwavering. “I’ll be there when you’re ready. I’m not going anywhere.”

---

I remained in the hospital for three more days. My body recovered faster than my heart ever could. I mourned in silence—the child I never knew I carried, the marriage I thought was real, the betrayal that replayed endlessly behind my closed eyes.

When the healers finally discharged me, I returned to the packhouse feeling heavier than when I’d left.

The moment I stepped inside, I stopped short.

Laughter filled the space. The main hall was bright, the central table overflowing with food as if a celebration were underway. Sitting there together were Alpha Lucien, Beta Noel—and her.

Calista.

The laughter died instantly. Every gaze swung toward me.

“Oh,” Lucien said after a brief pause, sounding mildly inconvenienced. “You’re back already. You should’ve let me know.”

As if I needed permission to return to my own home.

I didn’t respond. My attention was fixed on Calista.

She sat close to him, composed and radiant, a delicate smile playing on her lips. Her posture was relaxed, confident—like she belonged exactly where she was.

Lucien shifted, clearing his throat. “Caelia, this is Calista. An old friend from my childhood. She’ll be staying here for a while. She’s recovering—from an incident. Some kind of sorcery attack recently.”

Sorcery. The word nearly drew a bitter laugh from me, but I swallowed it down.

“I know who she is,” I said evenly. “You two were… close. A long time ago.”

“Yes,” he replied too quickly. “That’s right. She’s been through enough already. That’s why I left the other day—she needed me. Your little trip to the border…” He waved it off. “I knew you’d survive. None of this would’ve happened if you’d just stayed away from dangerous areas.”

My breath hitched.

He was blaming me.

My wounds still ached beneath the bandages. The emptiness in my womb throbbed like a fresh wound.

“I didn’t just get hurt,” I said, my voice shaking despite my effort. “I lost something. I lost our child—”

Before I could finish, Calista gasped sharply.

Her hand flew to her chest. “Alpha—oh no—it’s happening again,” she cried weakly. “My condition—!”

She sagged dramatically, her face pale, her body trembling.

Instantly, the room revolved around her.

Lucien was at her side in seconds, gripping her shoulders. “Easy. I’m here. You’re safe.”

“No,” I whispered, stepping forward. “Please—listen—I lost our—”

But I might as well have been invisible.

His entire world narrowed to her. To her shaking hands. To her tears.

The words about our baby withered in my throat, crushed beneath his indifference.

So I turned away.

---

Upstairs, I went straight to my room—the only place that had ever felt like mine.

Or so I thought.

The door swung open to emptiness.

The furniture remained, but everything else was gone. My clothes. My books. The keepsakes I’d brought from my parents’ pack. Every trace of me erased. The room felt stripped, unfamiliar.

It hit me then.

I no longer belonged here.

I sensed her before I heard her.

“Surprised?” Calista’s voice floated behind me, sweet and smug. “Lucien said this room suited me better. More space. More comfort. More appropriate.”

She stepped closer, satisfaction shining in her eyes. “It was always supposed to be mine anyway. I left once, yes—but you took everything while I was gone. Even him.”

Her tone was venomous beneath the sweetness. In that moment, I saw through the act. She wasn’t fragile. She wasn’t a victim. She was a wolf reclaiming territory—no matter who she crushed along the way.

“So tell me,” I asked quietly, turning to face her. “This illness of yours… is it real?”

For a heartbeat, her composure cracked.

Then her face crumpled as if on command. Tears spilled freely. “How could you say that?” she cried loudly. “After everything I’ve suffered?”

Her sobs echoed down the hallway—too loud, too deliberate.

And right on cue, Lucien appeared.

His concern went straight to her. His anger went straight to me.

“What did you do to her?” he demanded.

“I didn’t—”

“She accused me!” Calista wailed, clinging to him. “She said I was pretending just to steal you from her. She hates me! She wants to destroy us!”

“That’s not true!” I yelled, panic rising—but it didn’t matter.

Lucien’s expression hardened. He grabbed my hand suddenly, his grip brutal. Pain shot through me as he yanked the ring from my finger.

The ring.

The plain silver band he’d given me three years ago. The one he promised would someday be replaced by a Luna’s crown.

He slipped it into his pocket without hesitation. “You’re no longer worthy of wearing this.”

And just like that, the last fragile thread binding me to him snapped.

I stood there empty, finally understanding the truth.

Every promise.

Every vow.

Every dream I had held onto—

All of it had been a lie.