The only growls Aztec had ever directed my way were taunts when he was furious. Otherwise, his face remained an impassive mask, unreadable like stone, showing no hint of emotion. I used to be amazed that someone could bury so much of themselves beneath that perfect exterior. But now? Now, it was my everyday reality.

I didn’t care anymore.

I rose with the first light of dawn, as I always did, but today, there was no thought of waiting for him. I didn’t need him, and certainly didn’t need his hollow expectations. One meal was enough, just for me.

The penthouse felt suffocatingly quiet. No whispers of wolves on the prowl, no unsettling presences, just the thick silence that clung to the space like a fog.

I made myself a simple sandwich, pouring coffee into a lone mug. It was all mine—nothing more, nothing less.

But then, he entered the room. Aztec. His presence filled the space before he even fully stepped inside. He moved like a predator, slow and deliberate, always in control. His gaze swept the room, and for a moment, he froze. His eyes lingered on the empty seat where his breakfast used to be. It was just one small detail, but it was enough to show the mask he’d built was beginning to crack.

Before his lips could form the question, Mark entered the room, standing rigid, eyes downcast. The tension in the room shifted, but this time, it wasn’t the usual fear that hung in the air. It was something different. It was me.

“Alpha,” Mark said, his voice tight, “we’ve confirmed it. It was Yems’ pack that attacked Ms. Veronica yesterday.”

I felt the blood drain from my face. I didn’t want to hear it. I couldn’t.

Aztec turned to face Mark, his expression colder than the Arctic. “Yems,” he muttered, the name slipping from his lips like venom. His eyes locked onto me, sharp and piercing, as though I were a puzzle he hadn’t quite solved.

But that was the problem, wasn’t it? He didn’t know me. He didn’t know anything about what had happened to me.

“You knew they were Yems’ wolves?” Aztec’s voice was low, dangerous, the kind of tone a leader would use when something critical had slipped through his grasp.

I stood still, glaring at him with as much hatred as I could muster. “Why didn’t you know?” I snapped, cutting through the thick air between us. “You were too busy driving off with Britney while I was being attacked! So why are you acting like this investigation is some big revelation? You knew exactly what was happening.”

His expression faltered for just a second—an almost imperceptible shift. But it was enough. Enough for me to see the truth that had been hiding behind that cold mask. He wasn’t shocked. He wasn’t worried about me. He didn’t care. Not really.

I felt my heart turn to stone as I took a step closer, my voice rising with every word. “You left me, Aztec. You left me while they hurt me. And now you’re playing the concerned leader like it’s all some kind of game. Well, I’m not playing along anymore.”

“ You don’t raise your voice at me Veronica…How dare you? You talked back at me at the Pack’s headquarters and I let it slide” He warned like I was his subordinate.

“ Aztec, I know you don't love me and you are bad at pretense… Britney right? You love her” I shook my head. Realization hitting me hard.

His jaw tightened. His eyes burned with something darker now, something familiar. Something that I hated. He didn’t say anything. His silence was his answer. He didn’t care.

Aztec took a step toward me, his towering form casting a long shadow. But I didn’t flinch. I wouldn’t. Not anymore. Not after everything. “Where’s mine?” he asked, his voice unnervingly calm, though the fury beneath it sent a tremor down my spine.

The nerve of him. I wanted to scream, to throw something at him, but instead, I spoke through gritted teeth. “I thought you didn’t like black coffee.”

The words hung between us like a dare. His eyes flared with irritation, the storm behind them almost visible. His lips pressed together as if he were struggling to hold back something darker, something I didn’t want to see.

But I saw it. And I didn’t care anymore.

“Why don’t you go have your precious coffee with Britney?” I spat. The words tasted bitter on my tongue, but it was the truth. He didn’t care about me. All he cared about was her.

Aztec’s gaze darkened, and for a second, I saw his lips part, ready to unleash something—another insult, another dismissal. But I was done listening.

I grabbed my bag, my movements sharp, my resolve clear. I didn’t need to hear his empty apologies. I didn’t need to see him try to fix this with some half-hearted excuse. I was done.

He doesn't apologise to me and I knew not to expect one. He said that I didn't deserve it. That if someone should be worshipped that it was definitely not me, I should have listened but I thought he would change but for almost a decade, he didn't.

As I turned toward the door, I could feel his gaze burning into my back, but I didn’t turn around. Not this time. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

Before I could leave, I heard him speak again. His voice was too calm. Too controlled. “Let me take you to the Pack Headquarters.”

I stopped in my tracks. His voice sliced through the air like a whip.

“So that you can display more of this attitude as a Luna to the most feared Alpha…. You were a mistake. A big one Veronica” His words lace with Sarcasm.

“Really ” I said, my voice cold, my heart colder. “You can take her to the Pack Headquarters. I’m done with you.”

For a moment, there was silence. No more words. No more empty promises. Just the sound of my own heartbeat thudding in my chest.

And then, I walked out of the room, leaving him standing there, the weight of everything I’d just said hanging between us.

But he didn’t care. And I was slowly beginning not to too.

I couldn’t remember the last time I felt this disgusted, this angry. All the time I spent thinking I was special to him. All the time I spent lying to myself that I mattered. But now? Now I saw the truth. I was nothing to Aztec. Just a pawn in a game he played with her.

I knew he was lieing but I was delusional… waiting for someone who wouldn't show up to love me.

I didn’t know if I could ever look at him the same way again. And I didn’t care.

The door slammed behind me, and as I walked down the hall, all I could think about was how I was going to make him pay. Veronica wouldn't think like this, but not this new Veronica that's about to be birthed.

Revenge.

It wasn’t just a passing thought anymore. It was a promise. Aztec had underestimated me. He broke me.

I wasn’t going to be the wolf who was left behind anymore. I have heard of many tales of wolves who got their life back and I am about to be one.

And as for Britney? She would feel the consequences too. Because no one, not even Aztec, could get away with this. Not anymore.

This time?

I wasn’t afraid. I wasn’t broken. I was pissed.

The incident about Yems Clan injuring me died like that. It's been 3 months now and Aztec felt I have gotten over it. To say I was beginning to dislike him is more subtle, now I am disgusted by even the mention of his name.

We’d been mated for eight years, side by side through blood moons and battles. Not that Britney wasn't there, she was but they kept it low. What was never a blazing fire between us had now dwindled to barely glowing embers, suffocated by duty, ambition, and silence.

And then, Betrayal. Effrontery. Guts.

By the time I arrived at the Aztec Fang Headquarters, the whispers had already begun.

The sprawling lodge, surrounded by dense pine forests, was more than the pack’s base—it was the beating heart of Aztec’s empire. Every corridor was patrolled by enforcers in human form, their sharp senses attuned to even the faintest ripple of unrest.

But it wasn’t unrest they watched for tonight—it was me.

I bet they don't know that their Luna isn't docile again. Not to their Alpha.

Minutes later, Aztec arrived. He stepped out of his obsidian-black SUV, his powerful frame commanding respect even in the tense air. Remembering how he treated the Car better than he had treated me, even when he faked loving me.

Flanking him was Britney, her melodic laugh slicing through the crisp mountain air like a blade. The sound froze the whispers momentarily, but only long enough for them to gather momentum again.

Britney. The thorn in my side.

She wasn’t just a distraction; she was a deliberate provocation. I have always stayed in the shadow, hoping that Aztec will choose me but clearly i wasn't the chosen one. Every pack member knew Aztec and I were bonded, but Britney had a way of blurring the lines, stepping into spaces where she didn’t belong. Patrol rides, private meals, and, worst of all, access to the sacred den—a privilege meant only for the Alpha and Luna.

As Aztec walked with her toward the council chamber, he didn’t so much as glance in my direction. And for once i didn't want to meet his eyes, else, i would have them plucked out. The pack’s whispers swelled around me, bold enough now to cut through even my hardened resolve.

“ Alpha is too hot for her to handle…Britney does it better…she knows him better”

“Veronica has lost her edge,” one voice sneered. “Alphas need strength and warmth, not her coldness.”

“And I thought she was better….Britney and Alpha Aztec are matches made in heaven”

I stopped in my tracks, my wolf rising just beneath my skin. Turning slowly, I scanned the crowd. My voice cut through the air like a whip. “Enough.”

The murmurs stopped instantly, heads bowing, tails metaphorically tucked. “If you have something to say about your Luna, say it to my face,” I continued, my tone sharp. “Otherwise, I’ll remind you all who’s in charge.”

“ Want me to have your tails cut off?” I smirked, feeling like a mini version of Aztec.

No one dared respond. Satisfied, I walked away, my wolf still growling softly in my chest.

When I reached my office, a small leather pouch and a scroll awaited me on my desk. The faintly cloying scent of Britney’s perfume clung to the pouch. My wolf snarled as I slipped it into my pocket along with the scroll and marched to Aztec’s quarters.

I knew Britney would have been all over him.

When I reached the carved oak doors, I didn’t knock. My wolf surged forward, clawing at my control, feeding off my simmering rage. I shoved the doors open, startling the two occupants inside.

Britney perched on the edge of Aztec’s desk, her body tilted toward him in a mockery of intimacy. She didn’t flinch when she saw me. Instead, her lips curled into a smirk.

“Well, if it isn’t the Luna herself,” she drawled. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

Aztec’s amber eyes glowed as his wolf stirred in warning. “Veronica, don’t make a scene.”

“ Is that a threat or you are begging me?” I lashed, turning my back to him.

“ Veronica, you are definitely forgetting that I can cripple you…that you don't matter atleast….not here” He voiced, anger in every word.

I ignored him, my gaze locked on Britney. “Get out,” I said, my voice cold as ice.

Britney didn’t budge. Instead, she leaned back slightly, feigning casualness. “Relax, Luna. You’re always so tense. Maybe that’s why Aztec spends more time with me these days.”

My wolf snarled, but I kept my control. For now.

“Oh, don’t give me that look,” she added, her tone turning mocking. “I know you’re still grieving that little accident of yours. What was it, a few months ago? Shame you couldn’t give Aztec the heir he needs.”

That was it. My control snapped. My claws extended as I lunged at her, my wolf taking over. I grabbed Britney by the arm, throwing her against the wall with enough force to make the wood crack. Her smirk vanished, replaced by a flicker of fear she couldn’t quite hide.

It was time she became scared of me. I wasn’t a fool for not fighting for these years. Ok, maybe i was. But not anymore.

“You dare bring that up?” I growled, my voice thick with the power of my wolf. “Say one more word, and I’ll make sure you regret it.”