Celestine's POV

“I AM SORRY BUT THE BABY DIDN'T SURVIVE.”

My lips were shaking and my whole body was left numb. I refused to take the doctor’s words. I refused to listen to what he said. I was shaking my head and kept repeating saying inside my head that this wasn't true.

“N-No… That's not true.”

I shut my eyes as I tried to remember what happened and how things ended up here. It was supposed to be a perfect night for me and Sebastian. Now… it was a nightmare.

And he's nowhere to be found.

Where is he?!

I shut my eyes as I remembered what happened. I can replay everything again inside my head. It was painful! So freaking devastating!

My optimistic heart was mirrored in the warm, golden colours created by the candlelight as it flashed over the dinner table. Clinging tightly to the remnants of love I told myself were still there, I had planned this evening.

Seven years...

Being Sebastian's Luna for seven long, unrelenting years, I supported him through triumphs and storms, yet always felt like a shadow on the edge of his brightness. I had resolved to tell him that we had once been something lovely, something that had been worth fighting for.

But when the main door of our pack mansion swung open, it hadn’t been just Sebastian who had walked in. Aubrey, his assistant, had followed closely, her heels having clicked confidently against the floor, and I had felt a lump form in my throat.

“You’ve prepared all of this?” Sebastian said, his tone casual, devoid of the excitement I had wished for. My heart sank, but I nodded.

“I-It’s our anniversary,” I whispered. He blinked, the realization dawned too slowly, too late. No flicker of recognition or warmth softened his expression.

“But Sebastian, we are supposed to eat dinner at the fancy restaurant near Evergreen City. You booked a table, do you remember?” Aubrey said with a little pouting of her lips. She was acting like a cute child in front of Sebastian.

“Come. Join us,” he said to me. With his authorative voice, I couldn’t protest.

As we drove to the restaurant, the storm that had brewed outside finally unleashed. Suddenly, headlights had cut through the darkness, too fast, too close. A gasp had lodged in my throat as Sebastian swerved, the car had spun, metal had screeched, glass had shattered around us like jagged stars. My world had tipped, pain had burst through my body, and then—darkness.

“H-Help…”

That was the last words I uttered.

The smell of antiseptic and the stiff, unwelcoming linens of a hospital bed were the first things I noticed as I woke up. Flashes of the accident replayed in my mind, causing every inch of me to hurt. Panic broke out. I put my palm to my stomach, hoping for the subtle comfort of life there. However, nothing was present. Sharp, merciless, the emptiness set in.

“My son? How’s my son?!”

A knock on the door jolted me. A nurse entered, her expression somber, eyes avoiding mine as she whispered, “I’m so sorry, Luna.”

“W-What?!”

My baby. My son.

He's now gone...

“I am sorry but the baby didn't survive.”

The doctor left. I was heartbroken by the hush that ensued. My heart broke into fragments that were too little to collect. My eyes ached with tears, but I forced them away because of the anguish in my chest. I looked about, hoping, expecting—I thought urgently that Sebastian must be here. However, the chair next to me was unoccupied and frigid.

I swallowed hard and sat up, my vision blurring as the dizziness threatened to sink me. Determined to locate him, I forced myself from the bed with trembling hands. As I moved down the hallway, the clean white walls crowding in on me, every step seemed like a struggle. Then I abruptly stopped.

“S-Sebastian…”

The private room's door was open across the hall. Soft, familiar, unpleasant laughter wafted out from within. I looked inside and felt my heart pound terribly.

There he was. Sebastian, sitting at Aubrey’s bedside, his hand on hers, his head bowed close as he whispered something that made her smile. I watched as she reached up, brushing her fingers along his jaw with an intimacy that spoke volumes.

Aubrey smiled at him and held his hand. The she said sweetly, “Thank you for saving me, Alpha Sebastian. You are my hero.”

“I will protect you, Aubrey.”

She smiled. “Thank you, Alpha.”

I am his Luna, but he never cared for me like that. Is she really just her assistant?

A noise escaped my lips, part gasp, part broken sob, and his head snapped up. Our eyes met, and for a fleeting moment, I thought I saw guilt flash in his gaze. But it wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough to erase the betrayal searing through me.

“H-How could you hurt me like this, Sebastian?”

Celestine's POV

“YOU’RE HOME?”

I sighed deeply as I slowly nodded my head. I have returned home without him seeing me at least once in the hospital. While, he stayed with Aubrey's side the whole time. I just kept silent while keeping myself busy in fixing our bed.

I will hide from him the devastating truth that we lost our son. This is for the better.

Wearing a mask of smile on my face, I faced him. I gave him the best smile I could give. “Yes, I am fine. Don't worry about me.”

Worry? I wondered if he even felt a bit of that emotion for me. With him, not showing up even once for me was enough testament that he never cared and he would never worry about me.

“I saw the results of your CT scan, it seemed like everything is fine. Just a minor injuries,” he said.

I just nodded. “Yeah…”

After that brief conversation, we became silent. I don't have any energy to talk to him either. I think the picture of him and Aubrey in the hospital is enough to drain everything from me—my energy, my love, and everything. I am just so tired.

I lied on the bed. Then after a couple of minutes, I felt the bed move. It seemed like Sebastian already lied beside me.

I thought it would be a peaceful night for me. But when Sebastian fell asleep deeply, his phone kept on beeping on the bedside table. I tried to check the messages, but I hope I didn't.

It was Aubrey.

From: Aubrey

Thank you for the milkshake. You're cute and abit crazy for buying me 30 different flavors! So sweet!

I wish I didn't opened it. I remembered the time that I asked Sebastian to buy me a milkshake. But he refused and said, “Milkshake? What are you, a kid?” He thought that it was childish.

But why it's different with Aubrey? How can he treats her better than his own Luna.

The silence of our room pressed in from all sides as I lay there that night, wrapped up in the hollow embrace of my side of the bed. Once a place of strength and solidarity, the room now seemed like a jail where I was tortured by recollections of happier days. I had to force myself to read Sebastian's phone messages when I got a glance of his screen earlier that day, and my hands were shaking as I went through them.

From: Aubrey

I love all the flavors. You're the best!

Thank you again, Alpha Sebastian.

Every phrase pierced like a blade, spiralling deeper until only bare, empty agony remained. As mute witnesses to the agony that tore at my chest, tears trickled down my cheeks. I smothered the tears that ripped through me by gripping the pillow. My body trembled as sadness blended with an enrage so intense that I was out of breath.

I wiped my tears. “Shit… Why did I even read this?”

Morning came too soon, and with it, the weight of duty. Sebastian found me in the hall, eyes averted, voice devoid of warmth. “Celestine, I need you to handle the preparations for the feast tonight,” he said flatly. His gaze swept past me, landing somewhere over my shoulder, where I could hear Aubrey and his beta laughing softly.

I nodded numbly, the words catching in my throat. “Of course, Alpha,” I whispered, though my voice felt foreign, empty.

Sebastian continued. He just pushed by me as if I were just another pack member and a supporting character in his universe, without pausing or waiting for an acknowledgement.

Aubrey trailed close behind, her eyes darting to my with that triumphant, sly grin. As they made their way to the second level, the elders and the beta followed, their footsteps reverberating down the hallway.

The hall seemed to close in, the murmurs and laughter fading until all that remained was silence. I took a shuddering breath, straightening my spine as I fought the crushing weight pressing down on me.

“It seemed like Alpha is dumping the Luna for Aubrey…” I heard one woman whisphered.

The other woman nodded. “He likes her more than his wife and Luna.”

With trembling hands, I turned and my mind already racing with the plans for the feast. My duty called, and if nothing else, I was still Luna. For now.

But my heart was hurt when I heard another statement from a woman, another female wolf in our pack.

“What if Alpha Sebastian will replace the Luna soon?”

Celestine's POV

“AUBREY WILL REPLACE CELESTINE AS THE LUNA.”

The rumors were unrelenting, whirling about me like a never-ending hurricane. The remarks cut deep into my heart, reopening scars that refused to heal. They were first excruciatingly painful, sucking blood from the deepest depths of my soul. However, over time, they left me with something worse: emptiness.

I battled hard to keep Sebastian, my mate and Alpha, with me. But each day, the struggle felt fruitless, and my strength dwindled. Love had transformed into a hollow shell, and all I could do was survive.

That night, I waited for him, sitting alone in the silence of our home. When the door creaked open, his footsteps felt like thunder in the quiet.

“S-Sebastian—” I called out softly, but he didn’t respond. He set his phone on the table, its screen lighting up briefly with a message. My heart sank as I picked it up.

To: Aubrey

Sorry for keeping you waiting. I’ll make it up to you. Dinner tonight?

From: Aubrey

That’s a promise!

The words blurred as my tears fell. My fingers trembled as I placed the phone back, suppressing the scream building in my throat. I retreated to the bedroom, staring at the ceiling until dawn broke.

The next morning, I woke to the smell of cooking. Entering the kitchen, I saw Sebastian standing at the stove. He turned to greet me with a plate in hand. “Good morning.”

“Eggs and vegetables?” I said, frowning. “I would’ve preferred bacon.”

His eyes narrowed. “Don’t be ungrateful.”

“I’m not ungrateful—”

“Then stop complaining,” he snapped, his tone cold.

Breakfast passed in tense silence. My thoughts swirled, drowning me until his raised voice brought me back.

“Celestine!” he barked, glaring at me. “Pay attention when I’m talking.”

“S-Sorry…”

He smirked bitterly. “Always playing the victim, aren’t you? Why are you acting like this? Isn’t everything I’ve given you enough?”

Everything. Material comforts, yes. But never his love.

Then his phone beeped again. Unable to stop myself, I muttered, “Is it Aubrey again?”

Sebastian’s expression darkened. “Stop acting immature!”

“Me? Immature?”

“You’re unreasonable,” he hissed before rising from his seat.

“Where are you going?” I asked, though I already knew.

“Aubrey needs me.”

•••

By midday, I overheard whispers that Aubrey had fallen ill and was resting in the pack’s clinic. “The Alpha’s secretary isn’t feeling well,” one of the servants said. “He’s been with her since morning.”

And of course, he had.

Hours later, his voice pierced my mind through the pack’s mindlink: “Celestine, make Aubrey some carrot soup. But don’t come to the clinic.”

My chest tightened as I responded. “I’ll prepare it right away.”

In the kitchen, I worked in silence, chopping and stirring. The soup I poured into a container carried the last fragments of my care. Yet when I sent it to the clinic, I couldn’t resist also gathering a fruit basket and heading there myself.

When I entered the clinic, the sterile scent stung my nose. Aubrey’s room was quiet except for murmured voices. Pushing the door open, I saw her lying on the bed with Sebastian at her side, his hand clasping hers.

“Why are you here?” he asked flatly, his tone devoid of warmth.

“Luna,” Aubrey greeted with a faint smile. The title sounded like mockery. You hold the rank, but I hold his heart. That's what it felt like to me.

“I brought you some fruit,” I said, placing the basket by her bedside.

Aubrey took a peach, murmuring her thanks. Her expression was polite, yet her victory was evident.

Sebastian’s gaze brushed past me without acknowledgment. My stomach churned. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something that twisted the knife deeper.

By the window sat the untouched container of soup I had made. Beside it, a stray dog lazily licked the remnants from the bowl.

My throat tightened. They hadn’t even tasted it.

“I’ll leave you to rest,” I managed, my voice steady despite the tremor threatening to break through. Aubrey nodded, while Sebastian didn’t spare me a second glance.

Back at home, I shut the door behind me, sliding down to the floor. The tears I had fought so hard to hold back came crashing down.

Why is he so cruel to me?