Haley's POV

Tonight would be my mating ceremony – I was finally going to be with the man I love, my mate – Alpha Randolph.

I gazed out the car window, watching the dark silhouettes of the towering Frostwind mountains pass by. I imagined the mating ceremony happily, hopefully, it’ll mark the end of our five years of off-and-on relationship.

Randolph’s phone rang suddenly. He took his eyes off the road for a second and stared at his phone screen. 

“H-Hello?” the voice slurred.

My blood ran cold as Leslie’s voice filled the car. I clenched my fists beside me, fighting the urge not to reach for Randolph’s phone and tossing it out of the window.

“Les!” Randolph’s face contorted in alarm “Are you drunk?”

“Not really!” she slurred again with a drunken laugh “I just had a few drinks. Needed to take my mind off a few things. Ah! I forgot… today is your mating ceremony..."

There was silence. The call was still on but it seemed Leslie was no longer talking. Randolph slammed the brakes as he parked the car at the corner of the road, his body filled with tension. For a moment, it felt like I was in the car with a different man. Randolph who was always so cold and distant was showing signs of fear and for who… Leslie.

“Hello! Les – Leslie! Are you there?” he asked desperately but still, there was no response.

“Fuck!” he growled under his breath and ended the call.

With a grunt, he reached for the ignition of the car and turned it on then in one swift swerve, he turned the car and we started heading in the direction we had just come.

“Randolph?” I turned to him, my eyes wide with surprise “What do you think you’re doing right now? The mating ceremony is this way,” I pointed to the path that led to the MoonShadow pack.

“As if I don’t know,” he hissed “We’ll go later. I just need to go pick up Leslie, whenever she’s drunk she’s always vulnerable and goddess knows… she does the darnedest things ever".

“You can’t do that!” I scoffed “Tonight’s our mating ceremony, Randolph. It’s almost a two-hour drive to Leslie… we cannot keep the pack elders and my parents waiting. That will be rude".

He turned to me, his eyes flashing with coldness. “How about Leslie?” he growled “Didn’t you hear how drunken and…"

“For MOON’S SAKE, RANDOLPH!” I yelled, my eyes filling up with tears “Why are you doing this to me? Is Leslie more important than our mating ceremony?"

He scoffed “What was I expecting? You always make everything about you. We’re getting mated, isn’t that enough? You’ve forced me to do everything you want, what more do you need from me?”

“YOUR LOVE!!!” I yelled as a tear slipped down my cheek. Randolph’s brows arched with surprise as he stared at me “Your love and your attention,” I lowered my voice. “Is it too much to ask for".

He didn’t say anything, instead, he pulled the car over to the side of the road and turned to me. “You should go first,” he unlocked the car. “Our pack is not far from here… tell them, I’ll come soon. I can’t think straight with you always playing the victim mentality".

I stared at him in stunned disbelief. “You don’t seriously mean that. We’re in the middle of the forest and it’s late".

“I’m sure you’ll figure out a way!” he said without remorse. He reached over and opened the car door. “Get out!”

“Randolph!” I screeched. "No, please!” I begged, “Don’t do this, Randolph. Fine! I’ll go with you to Leslie".

“I said, get out!” he roared, his eyes turned pitch black, flashing with fury.

Trembling, I had no choice but to obey. I stumbled out of the car, my heart shattering into a million pieces. As Randolph sped off, leaving a trail of dust in his wake and leaving me alone on the deserted path and the dark forest, I sank to my knees, sobbing.

Picking myself up from the dust, with the light from my phone, I staggered towards the road to Moonshadow Pack.

My heart pounded in my chest as I walked through the dark forest, trying to be brave. Suddenly, a tree branch snapped from behind. Hastily, I turned pointing the flashlight from my phone in the direction of the noise.

“Who’s there?” I inquired.

There was no response.

I swallowed hard and resumed walking. When suddenly, a menacing growl echoed from the bushes behind me. I spun around, my blood turning to my eyes as I saw a massive wolf. Instantly, I knew it was a rogue.

I turned and ran, my lungs burning as I tried to escape it. My phone fell at some point, and I had to rely on the faint light seeping from the moon through the dense forest trees. Desperately, I tried to mind link Randolph.

“Randolph, Randolph, please! I need your help!” I cried through the mind link.

But there was no response.

My heart sank as I tried again, this time louder than the first time. “Randolph, please… I know you’re still angry but you need to save me. There’s a rogue chasing me as you speak. Please…"

Still… nothing.

He wasn’t coming… I was on my own.

I was exhausted coupled with the pain in my heart that seemed to slow me down more. I stumbled to the ground... as I struggled to get up, the rogue wolf pounced on me. I screamed and tried to fight back but he was stronger.

It sank its teeth into my shoulder, its claws raking down my back. I thrashed and fought but I was getting weaker by the minute and blood was pouring out from every part of my body.

As the life began to drain from me, I reached out one last time, through the mind link hoping that Randolph would reply this time around.

“Randolph…please…"

But there was no response, only the sound of my ragged breathing. My vision began to fade, the forest around me slowly turning into darkness.

I tried again… one last time… “Randolph… please… I love you!"

Haley's POV

I opened my eyes – and I was dead. Alone and miserable as my spirit detached from the frail shell of my body.

A cold, creeping numbness spread through me, the agony of my physical injuries in this strange worldly state. I stared at my lifeless form, abandoned in the dark forest, the rogue wolf was still hovering around it.

I drifted in my spirit form covering miles in a few seconds and suddenly, I was no longer in the forest. I arrived at Leslie’s house and passed through the walls to the living room. The soft glow of a single candlelight flickered against the walls, and the fireplace crackled with warmth – it should have been a comforting scene but the chill in my form only deepened at the sight in front of me.

Randolph was there, sitting on the sofa, cradling Leslie in his arms. His expression was soft, his eyes were filled with tenderness as he looked down at her. My heart clenched at the sight – once again, he had chosen her over me. And for the first time, I realized I had never truly captured his heart.

His hand gently stroked her hair, while she leaned into him, her eyes were half-close with a mixture of satisfaction and triumph. She tilted her head, her lips brushing against Randolph’s ears as she said.

“Thank you for coming for me, Randolph but shouldn’t you be heading back already? Everyone must be waiting for you now".

“I’ll go after you’ve slept off and the worst of your hangover has passed. It’s just our mating ceremony. Even if it’s not held today, we can hold it another day".

“Still,” Leslie’s hands traced his chest as she looked up at him with innocent eyes. “Haley must be mad. I don’t want her to think that I’m trying to steal your attention from her".

“She’ll have to deal with it at some point,” he scoffed “She’s going to be a Luna eventually, she needs to control her emotions".

Leslie sighed as a strangled sob escaped her lips. Immediately, Randolph turned to her, searching her eyes with worry. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing!” she smiled wiping a tear that had rolled down her cheeks. “It’s just that, when the mating ceremony is over and you and Haley become official, you’ll be caught up with pack duties and mate duties. I wonder if you’d ever come to see me again or if we can hang out like before".

A fond smile appeared on Randolph’s face as he chuckled. “of course, Les! Haley may be my Luna but I’ll never ignore you. You’re important to me, so I’ll always make time. Don’t worry".

“Really?” Leslie’s eyes glowed with joy as she hugged him again, “Thank you so much. You’re the best, Randolph".

I scoffed to think he had ignored my mind-link because of Leslie… after begging him severally… crying and howling for him as the rogue tore me apart… he had no idea I was bleeding out in that dark, forest where he had deserted me.

Leslie has won.

I wanted to scream, to claw my way back into my body and force myself into that room. I wanted to tear Leslie away from Randolph to demand answers, but I couldn’t. I was nothing more than a nebulous ball of form.

Randolph pulled Leslie closer to himself, a satisfied smile on his face – he didn’t even hold me like that when I was alive. But I could only watch helplessly as he continued to comfort her. Tears I could no longer shed welled up within me.

I had loved Randolph, with everything I had. I had believed in him, trusted him, changed just for him. Given him my heart without reservation, learnt how to cook, learnt how to nurture, to care… and in return he had promised me the world. He had promised me that I would be his Luna, his partner and the one he cherished above all others. I had believed him…and for a while, we had been happy too.

He had cherished me, worshiped the ground I walked on, and reminded me daily how much he loved me with his touch, his words, his eyes… everything…

Until Leslie came back.

She used to be his classmate from high school. He had told me himself that they were enemies back then because she had abandoned him for someone else, that he could never forgive her for deserting him and marrying someone else.

After some years in her marriage, Leslie rejected her mate for no reason and came back to Moonshadow pack and wasted no time to reunite with Randolph. We were four years into our relationship. For one year, I had to share Randolph with her, putting up with him running to her side anytime she called. All my complaints were nothing.

But now, in this moment, I saw the truth for the first time. I was never his priority.

Maybe I was in the beginning of our relationship before Leslie came but right now… I was nothing more than the calm, quiet, obedient mate he wanted because I had never been the one he loved. His heart had always belonged to Leslie and it was me who had been the second choice.

I watched as their lips pressed together in desire. I felt something inside me shatter. The love I had held onto for so long, the love that had blinded me to the truth – it all crumbled into dust.  In its place, something else burned…

Rage! Bitterness!

My spirit trembled with the force of my anger, the light in the room seeming to flicker and dim as if responding to the darkness growing within me. I couldn’t believe they could afford to love themselves while my body lay bleeding out in the woods, alone and forgotten.

I couldn’t believe that this was the man I had wasted my love on… I had begged and pleaded with him to love me – to choose me. He had never truly listened, never truly cared.

And now, that resentment for him and Leslie all these years, had turned into something bigger than I didn’t think I could control.

Haley's POV

My spirit drifted silently behind Randolph, my ethereal form moving through the walls of the packhouse as easily as a shadow. My gaze was fixed on him as he strode down the corridor towards his office.

The once familiar halls felt distant and cold to me now, I had once been part of this life… this community… I had once walked down this hall with Randolph beside me but now, I was a ghost… floating around and no one could see me or hear me. Life has moved on without me.

The soldiers and pack members littered throughout the hallways bowed their heads in deference, but Randolph barely acknowledged them, his expression seemed troubled and distant.

As he strode purposefully down the hallway, his expression was set in his stern ‘Alpha Mask’ as he entered his office. Marco, his Beta was already waiting for him inside.

“Welcome Alpha,” Marco said “I have a report from the warriors we dispatched to our borders last week and also an update on our spies that we sent across the plain for surveillance. They said that the rogue wolves have dispersed but they have no idea why. But we’re strengthening our security at our borders, just to make sure that nothing goes wrong and we’re not taken unawares.

I watched as Marco crooned on about the Pack’s border security but Randolph’s attention seemed elsewhere. His eyes were repeatedly darting towards the doorway of his office as if he were expecting or waiting for someone. I felt a bitter surge of satisfaction. Of course, he was waiting for me – for his obedient Luna who will never return to him.

I floated beside him, as Marco droned on, watching his every movement, every twitch of his jaw, every furrow of his brow, I knew him better than anyone and I could see the tension in his posture, the way his shoulders were just a little too stiff. He was troubled clearly but not about pack matters.

His fingers began tapping impatiently on the table, I could see Marco shifting uncomfortably as he tried to summarize his report as quickly as possible. Randolph’s eyes were still fixed on the doorway and I felt a pang of sadness as I realized that he was waiting for me.

A small smile crossed my lifeless form – I had always been the one to interrupt his meetings, bursting in with a tray of food he had forgotten to eat, or a reminder of something he needed to do. I had always been the one to lighten his mood when the weight of being an Alpha would be too much for him. To soothe his temper when things didn’t go as planned. And now, without me here, he was lost. He didn’t know how to function.

His frustration grew – although he was trying to hide the turmoil inside of him but finally, he couldn’t take it anymore.

“And what of the Luna?” he suddenly interjected, cutting Marco off mid-sentence. “Where is she?”

Marco’s brow furrowed as he stared at him. “I… I’m afraid I don’t know, Alpha. I thought she was with you. As we didn’t see both of you for the mating ceremony, we thought you wanted it to be shifted to a later date".

Randolph’s jaw tightened as he grabbed the pile of paper in front of him, pretending to flip through it. “I see,” he paused then added in a softer tone. “Has anyone gone to look for her? Has anyone seen her today?”

Marco shook his head slowly, staring at him with surprise. “No, Alpha. We thought she’d be with you. Weren’t you two together?”

I felt a twisted sense of satisfaction as the worry on Randolph’s eyebrow he couldn’t hide.

“If I were with her…” he turned to Marco, his eyes flashing with annoyance “Do you think I’ll be asking you?”

“I’m sorry, Alpha,” Marco lowered his head.

“You’re sorry?” Randolph snapped “Why are you sorry? You didn’t see me nor the Luna by this time of the night and no one bothered to check, to ask questions or find her? Is this how you intend to treat her in my absence? Not caring for her?”

Marco shifted uncomfortably. “Alpha, if you could tell me the last place both of you were, perhaps, we could try looking for her there?”

But Randolph didn’t answer, he pulled out his phone and checked his message, frustration and guilt gnawing at him when he saw there was no message from me. He let out a weary sigh, running a hand through his hair. “Damn it, she should have been back by now. Where I dropped her wasn’t too far from the pack".

Grumbling, he dialed my number but there was no response. Marco tried again. “Did you drop the Luna off somewhere? Is it around the pack? I’ll ask the driver or I’ll go myself and bring her back".

Randolph shook his head, “that won’t be necessary,” he said. “We had a little squabble on our way here and I dropped her off but it’s been more than four hours. You know what… I’m sure she’ll come home when she’s done being angry. She’s angry with me so she’s staying away".

Marco eyed Randolph strangely before speaking. “I don’t think it’s safe for Luna to be alone at night. With the Rogues causing troubles these days… it’s not always advisable for…

“Marco! Shut up!” Randolph screeched. “Like I don’t know it’s dangerous out there. Can you just go and ask if anyone has seen her arrive? Have one of her maids check her room to see if she’s there already and if she isn’t make sure you let me know when she arrives".

“Or I could send some of our soldiers to go look for her. You said you stopped her a short distance away from the pack?”

Randolph sprang to his feet slamming his hand on his desk as his eyes brimmed with annoyance.

“Are you deaf? Didn’t I…"

The words were barely out of his mouth when Leslie’s voice came through his mind-link. Her voice was trembling with fear as she cried.

“Randolph, I need you. Please come quickly. I’m scared…"