Aria’s POV

The Dravenwood Pack had been my entire world for as far back as my memories could reach. When my parents fell during the brutal, blood-stained conflict between rival packs, Alpha Gabriel and Luna Naomi Dravenwood opened their home to me and raised me as their own. Their son, Kael—my closest companion, my promised mate, the man I was meant to spend my life with—grew up at my side.

We were meant to be together. At least, that’s what I had always believed.

The elders had arranged our union when we were still children, but to me it never felt forced. Loving Kael came as naturally as breathing. We were always together, always laughing, always dreaming about the life that waited for us. Whenever nightmares dragged me out of sleep, he was there to steady me, whispering that I would never have to face the darkness alone again. I was his, and he was mine—or so I thought.

But destiny… or maybe the Moon Goddess’ quiet cruelty… had something else in mind.

Everything changed on a night in the forest. Rogues attacked him—feral, merciless, leaving him battered and close to death. He survived, barely, his body torn and bleeding. And then she came into the story. Livia Duskbane. A quiet omega no one had ever truly noticed before. She saved his life.

After that night, Kael swore himself to her. A vow sealed in blood and under the Moon. His parents declared that our pack owed her everything for preserving the life of the future Alpha. And Kael… he made sure she was never far from him again.

In the beginning, I tried to accept it. I told myself it was right, that it was honorable. But slowly, piece by piece, everything that once belonged to me slipped away.

During my birthday celebration—a grand event attended by the pack’s elite—Livia stood in front of Kael with soft, pleading eyes and murmured that she wished to share the occasion. Kael, smiling as if it meant nothing, gave her exactly what she asked for. Half of my celebration became hers.

When I had been longing for the rare moonstone archery set, she went to him first and asked for it. He placed it in her hands without a second thought.

Again and again, what should have been mine was given to her instead.

Each time, I swallowed the sting. I told myself it would end eventually—that once Kael repaid his so-called debt, he would return to me. But silence is a slow poison. The disappointments built one on top of another until I could barely breathe beneath their weight.

The moment everything shattered came on the evening he was supposed to finalize our marriage papers—the final step before I would officially become his Luna. I waited in my room, heart racing with anticipation, fingers trembling with nervous hope. But instead of him, I heard whispers that he was at the packhouse… with Livia.

So I went.

And I saw.

His eyes shone as he watched her open a dress—white, radiant, something that could easily pass for a bride’s gown. My chest felt like it collapsed inward. The way he looked at her… it was the same way he used to look at me.

Something inside me broke then—clean and final.

I pulled away from him, from the packhouse, from the life I thought we were building. I had given him countless chances, endless understanding, excuse after excuse. All I received in return was betrayal hidden behind the mask of loyalty to someone else.

So I called him.

“I won’t be your bride anymore, Alpha,” I told him, my voice steady even as my heart ached.

He let out a short laugh, brushing me off like I was being childish. “Aria, don’t act like this. You know I have to repay her. Once I’ve fulfilled that, everything will go back to normal. We’ll get married, and I’ll come back to you.”

Come back to me. I had heard those words so many times that they had lost all meaning.

A few days later, Beta Lewis showed up at my door, holding a dress made of glossy beige silk.

“The Alpha asked me to give this to you,” he said, clearly uncomfortable. “He hoped it might… make you feel better.”

I stared at it. Beige. Of all the colors in the world, he chose the one he knew I hated most—the one that drained all the life from my complexion. It wasn’t a gift of love. It was a careless attempt to smooth things over.

I left it untouched on the table. That night, when the full moon rose and Kael once again failed to keep his word, I finally accepted the truth.

It was over.

No more waiting. No more believing in promises that never came true.

I reached out to my aunt Miranda, a powerful and respected figure in one of the capital’s strongest packs. For years she had encouraged me to consider a political marriage alliance, and for years I had refused because of Kael. This time, with my heart hollow and my resolve firm, I accepted.

Her happiness was immediate. “At last, Aria. You’ll be treated the way you should have been all along. Leave the arrangements to me.”

After the call ended, I began packing. Every single thing Kael had ever given me over the past fifteen years—letters filled with love, pressed flowers, small trinkets, and the moonstone necklace I once thought was a symbol of forever. Each item carried a memory, and every memory felt like it cut into me.

I placed them all inside a box. It was time to give back what was never truly mine to keep.

The house we built together stood on Dravenwood land, meant to be our home as mates. My hand trembled just once as I keyed in the passcode—our names combined. The door clicked open.

Footsteps approached behind me.

Kael stepped into view, just as striking as ever. But where his presence once made my heart race, now it only stirred bitterness.

“Aria,” he said, relief flickering across his face. “So you’ve forgiven me? You saw the dress, right?”

I met his gaze, my expression blank. “I’m not here to forgive you. I’m here to return everything.”

He frowned. “Return what?”

Before I could answer, light footsteps echoed from the stairs. Livia descended as if she belonged there. Without hesitation, she slipped her arms around Kael’s waist.

My eyes fell to her wrist.

The bracelet. My bracelet—the one I had bought with my own money, meant as a pair for Kael and me. He still wore his half. The one on her wrist… was mine.

A hollow laugh threatened to escape, but I forced it down. So this was where all my love had gone.

Kael tensed and glanced between us. He tried to pull away from her, but she clung tighter, pressing herself against him.

“Aria—” he started.

“I came to return everything you’ve ever given me,” I said calmly, placing the box down between us.

His expression hardened. Instead of taking it, he grabbed the box and hurled it onto the floor. Letters, keepsakes, and memories scattered everywhere like the ashes of something long burned out.

“Do you really have to do this right now?” he snapped.

Right now. As if my pain was something that could be scheduled at his convenience.

“I’m ending the engagement,” I said.

Shock flashed across his face before anger replaced it. “Are you serious right now?”

“I am.”

He let out a bitter scoff, stepping closer. “Fine. Then don’t expect me to come running back to you later. You’ll regret this decision.”

I met his glare, my eyes empty. “I regret not leaving sooner.”

With a scowl, he shoved the broken box back into my arms. “If you start begging now, we can still fix this. Otherwise, throw all that away. None of it means anything to me anymore.”

I let the contents slip from my hands, scattering once more across the floor. “You’re right. There’s no reason to keep any of it.”

He smirked coldly. “Exactly. Toss them in the trash. And don’t even think about using them as an excuse to come crawling back.”

I looked at him one last time.

The boy I had loved since childhood—the one I believed would be my future—was gone. In his place stood a man chained by pride and blinded by his own choices, unable to see the wreckage he had left behind.

Aria’s POV

A bitter taste coated my mouth as I made my way up the stairs, each step feeling heavier than the one before. At the top, the place that was once meant to be ours waited for me, and all that was left to do was gather the last of my things.

This house carried both our names. It was supposed to be filled with laughter, the tiny footsteps of pups, and the warmth of a mated bond.

The moment I pushed open the bedroom door, the smell hit me first—long before my eyes could take in the scene.

My wolf recoiled at once. The air was thick with the sharp scent of sweat and musk, unmistakably tainted by the aftermath of sex. My heart froze, then lurched violently, as if something inside me had been clawed open.

No.

I forced myself to step further inside, my gaze sweeping across the room. And there—carelessly tossed at the edge of the bed—was a piece of women’s underwear.

My hand shot out to grip the doorframe, my nails digging into the wood until it splintered beneath them. My wolf snarled, fur bristling in rage. So this was how far they had gone.

I squeezed my eyes shut, a hollow plea echoing in my mind. Goddess, was this truly necessary? This was the room I had designed, the sheets I had chosen, the place where I imagined Kael and I would start our life as Alpha and Luna. Now it reeked of betrayal, tainted by the omega who had wormed her way into his arms.

From downstairs, their laughter drifted up—light, carefree, as though nothing was wrong. As though they weren’t destroying me piece by piece. I bit down hard on my lip until the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. My wolf whimpered softly, wounded and humiliated.

Memories surged without mercy.

From the moment Livia stepped into his life, Kael had given in to her every whim. Always the same justification: a debt he needed to repay.

I remembered the time she craved dragon fruit, complaining about how hard it was to find. Kael had turned to me—his fiancée, his future Luna—and asked me to go fetch it for her.

“Aria,” he had said, his voice carrying quiet authority despite the gentle curve of his smile, “Livia’s been wanting dragon fruit. You can ride to the next town and get some, can’t you?”

It was far, but I went anyway. For him. For us. Because I believed that helping him repay her would bring him back to me sooner.

When I returned, exhausted and carrying everything she asked for, Livia only wrinkled her nose in dissatisfaction.

“It’s not fresh,” she complained, tossing one aside. “I want fruit straight from the farm. Not something bought at the market.”

My jaw tightened as I waited for Kael to correct her, to defend me. Instead, he laughed lightly.

“Then we’ll go to the farm,” he said easily, glancing at me as if it were obvious. “Come on, Aria. Let’s all go together.”

That drive was the longest I had ever endured. I sat in the back seat, silent and simmering, while Livia sat beside him in front, laughing at everything he said, basking in his attention. That seat should have been mine. I was the one bound to him. Yet she sat there as if she already held the title of Luna.

And then, as if fate wasn’t satisfied, it twisted the knife even deeper.

Rogues attacked us on the forest road—snarling, vicious creatures driven by bloodlust.

Kael’s first instinct wasn’t to shield me. He didn’t reach for his fiancée, the woman who had stood beside him all his life. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Livia, protecting her like she was the most precious thing in the world.

I was left on my own.

My wolf fought with everything she had, claws tearing through flesh, fangs sinking deep, while Kael called for backup and Livia clung to him, screaming. By the time help arrived, my body was covered in wounds, blood soaking through my clothes.

I spent a month in the infirmary, wrapped in bandages, my wolf struggling to knit me back together. And not once—not once—did Kael come to see me.

Livia did.

She visited me with soft smiles that never reached her eyes. “Kael’s busy taking care of me,” she said sweetly. “You understand, don’t you?”

Understand? She had barely a scratch on her arm, while I carried deep gashes across my body. And still, he chose to stay by her side.

That was the moment something inside me began to die. Even when I was barely clinging to life, I was never his first choice.

The memory burned even sharper now as I stood in that room, staring at the proof of what they had done in the bed meant for us.

My chest rose and fell unevenly, my vision blurring as tears streamed down my cheeks. My wolf howled in grief, but I had no strength left to fight anymore.

I crouched down and grabbed my luggage, stuffing my belongings inside with trembling hands. I didn’t want to breathe the same air as them any longer. Every inch of this room screamed betrayal. Every object reminded me of how naive I had been to believe in his promises.

Under my breath, I made a vow—not for him, but for myself this time.

“I will never cross paths with you again, Alpha Kael Dravenwood,” I whispered. “You’ve lost me… completely.”

Aria’s POV

I had promised myself I would never face Alpha Kael again. My heart had already been torn apart, and my wolf had cried herself hoarse in the nights that followed. But when Elder Naomi—the woman who had loved me like her own—personally asked me to attend the Dravenwood Crescent Moon Gathering, I didn’t have the strength to refuse.

Naomi Dravenwood was more than Kael’s mother. After the war took my parents, she had become my second home, my second mother. Turning my back on her kindness felt impossible.

So a few days later, dressed in a flowing midnight-blue gown that fit the theme of the evening, I stood at the entrance of the grand hall. Moonlight in the shape of a crescent filtered through the towering windows, spilling silver light over the gleaming floors. High-ranking wolves filled the room, their conversations weaving together into a low hum of laughter and gossip beneath the glow of chandeliers.

And then I saw them.

Kael and Livia.

Even from across the hall, the sight of them cut straight through me. They stood far too close to each other. Her fingers brushed against his arm as she leaned in to whisper something that made him smile. My stomach twisted painfully. That smile—once, I believed it belonged to me alone.

Before I even crossed the threshold, my ears caught the hushed murmurs drifting through the air.

“Look at them… the Alpha treats that omega like she’s the real fiancée.”

“Poor Aria. She’s the one who was promised to him—the one meant to be Luna.”

“Gratitude only goes so far… he looks like he’s in love.”

Each word sliced deeper than claws. I clenched my hands and inhaled slowly, my wolf pacing restlessly beneath my skin, torn between lashing out and hiding away.

I lifted my chin and stepped inside.

At once, the room fell quiet. Conversations faded, replaced by the weight of countless eyes turning toward me.

Kael noticed me immediately. For the briefest moment, something flickered across his face—surprise, maybe guilt, maybe something softer. He shifted as if to come toward me. But Livia was quicker. With a practiced ease, she slipped her hand through his arm and held him there with a gentle smile.

I didn’t hesitate. I walked past them as though they were nothing more than passing shadows and made my way to a seat tucked away in the far corner of the hall. My wolf whimpered softly, but I forced her still.

Kael lingered for a moment, then allowed Livia to cling to him. He didn’t move away. He didn’t try again.

That silence said everything.

The evening carried on around me, though it felt like time dragged its claws through my chest. Music filled the hall, glasses clinked together, laughter rose and fell—but all I could hear were the whispers circling like vultures overhead.

“Why hasn’t the Alpha claimed Aria yet?”

“She’s supposed to be the Luna.”

My attention snapped toward the sound, and I realized the murmurs weren’t rumors anymore. Kael stood near the center of the room, speaking to a small group of elders, his voice carrying clearly.

“It was Aria who chose to end things between us,” he said.

A ripple of gasps spread through the hall. Heads turned, eyes darting between him and me.

My chest tightened painfully. He didn’t even try to deny it. He declared it openly, making it seem like I had abandoned him. My wolf whimpered in confusion and hurt.

The whispers grew sharper.

“The future Luna, leaving her mate?”

“And the omega who saved his life—two women, two different fates.”

“One prayed for him beneath the Moon. The other shed blood for him.”

I wanted to shout that it wasn’t so simple. That I had prayed, bled, sacrificed more than anyone could see. But my voice would only be swallowed by the noise.

Before the murmurs could grow louder, Elder Naomi’s voice cut through the hall like a blade.

“Kael!” She strode across the room, fury blazing in her eyes. “Have you lost your mind? The girl at your side is not your fiancée. Aria is. And you will treat her with the respect she deserves.”

The hall fell into stunned silence. Naomi’s anger carried the weight of authority, her presence commanding even without the Alpha title. Kael stiffened under her gaze, his jaw tightening.

But before the tension could escalate, I forced a small smile, even though my lips trembled.

“There’s no need, Elder Naomi,” I said gently, my voice steady despite the ache. “It’s true. We’re no longer together. Alpha Kael doesn’t owe me anything anymore.”

The room erupted into louder murmurs. My wolf whimpered again, but I forced her into silence. I would not fall apart in front of them.

The air suddenly felt too heavy to breathe.

I slipped away quietly and stepped out onto the balcony, where the cool night air brushed against my skin and the crescent moon hung high above. I rested my hands on the railing and inhaled deeply, trying to quiet the storm raging inside me.

But peace never lasted when Livia was nearby.

Her footsteps were soft, her perfume unmistakable as she joined me outside. A smug curve tugged at her lips.

“You do realize,” she said lightly, “it’s only a matter of time before Kael is completely mine. Naomi can lecture him all she wants, but she doesn’t get to decide who he chooses as his mate.”

I said nothing, my grip on the railing tightening until my knuckles turned white.

She leaned closer, her voice lowering into something cold and sharp. “The only reason Naomi ever favored you was out of pity. She was close to your late mother, so she felt sorry for you. But pity isn’t enough to keep a man. Nothing is.”

My wolf bristled inside me, a low growl building in her chest. I tried to stay calm. Tried to let it pass.

Then she struck where it would hurt most.

“You don’t even have a real family left anyway, do you?” she whispered cruelly. “They all died like cowards.”

My vision went red.

The crack of my hand against her cheek rang out across the balcony. Livia stumbled backward, her eyes wide with shock. For a brief, blazing moment, satisfaction surged through me at finally silencing her.

Then she began to cry—loud, exaggerated sobs like a wounded child. She clutched her cheek dramatically and turned toward the doorway where people had gathered, drawn by the noise.

“She attacked me!” Livia wailed. “I was just telling her not to be upset with Alpha Kael, and she lashed out at me!”

Gasps spread through the crowd. Faces turned toward me—some shocked, others already judging.

And then Kael appeared.

His gaze shifted from Livia’s tears to my trembling hand. His expression darkened instantly. He stepped forward, grabbed my arm hard enough to bruise, and spoke through clenched teeth.

“Say you’re sorry. Right now.”

I stared at him, disbelief crashing over me. This was the man who once stood in front of me against every accusation, every whisper. The man who once promised he would always protect me. And now he looked at me like I was a problem to be dealt with.

“She insulted my parents,” I said, my voice shaking but clear enough for everyone to hear. “She mocked how they died. I will never apologize for defending them.”

His eyes grew colder, his grip tightening painfully. But I pulled my arm free, tears finally spilling down my cheeks.

Once, he would have believed me. Once, he would have fought for me.

Now… I was nothing to him.

I turned and walked away, every step heavy under the weight of the stares burning into my back. My wolf howled inside me, a cry filled with grief and betrayal.

At the exit, I paused, desperate to escape, to leave the humiliation behind. But a gentle hand caught mine.

Elder Naomi.

“Please, child,” she said softly, her eyes filled with sorrow. “Stay for a little while longer. For me. Just an hour.”

My heart twisted painfully. She was the only one who had never left me, the only one who still saw me as family. I couldn’t refuse her.

So I nodded quietly, wiped away my tears, and turned away from the doors. Instead of leaving, I walked back into the hall, searching for a quiet corner where I could breathe—somewhere the whispers couldn’t follow me.