003

Elena

I stood under the shower far longer than necessary, letting the hot water beat against my back until my skin turned pink, until the steam blurred the mirror and erased my reflection.

Still, my heart wouldn’t calm down.

That moment—that surge from earlier…

It hadn’t been imagination.

My wolf had moved.

For the first time in years. I picked up its scent, its move…even for a brief second.

Wrapped in a towel, I stepped out and caught my reflection in the fogged glass. My face was pale—still padded with the remnants of fat in my cheeks. Yet compared to three years ago, when my reflection seemed to consume the entire mirror, there were changes.

A bitter laugh replaced my restless heart.

For whom did I work hard trying to get the body that I once thought the Alpha would like? I once believed if I could just fix myself—fix my appearance, fix my body, fix the parts that embarrassed him—then maybe… maybe he would see me.

So, I worked harder than anyone knew.

I followed doctors’ instructions like it was laws. I endured hunger, endured exhaustion, endured the harsh training of the matriatch just to become the worthy Luna in his eyes, endured endless ridicule from the others, constantly comparing me with Hydra who was a goddess in their eyes—who was sought by countless of high ranking Alphas, while at the same time, I remained with my duty as his Luna.

For three years, I remained consistent. Because his company headquarters sat across the city, I would wake up early, cook quietly, pack everything neatly, then sit in the passenger seat as Julian—his beta, drove me there.

Every day, I brought him hot meals.

Every day, I watched his assistants accept them with a polite nod.

And every day, I watched those containers returned to me—untouched.

I believed he disliked me before of how I looked.

How my body had once been heavy, my aura suppressed, my presence was dull and forgettable—clearly unsuited to be his Luna.

Someone who doesn’t deserve to stand right next to the Alpha.

So, I decided to change everything about myself just for him to notice me.

And now I realize how foolish I was.

He was already emotionally involved with someone else.

I had never been the problem—because in his world, I had never existed at all

I looked away, taking a deep breath as I walked to the living room, watching as Mara arrived, holding the takeout she ordered.

“Okay,” she announced, kicking her shoes. “We need to talk.”

I sat cross-legged on the couch, pulling a blanket around myself while she took out the food she ordered and sat across from me.

“About what?”

“About earlier,” she answered.

Before I could open my mouth, she squinted her eyes on me. “I felt the stir in you.”

I pressed my lips. “I don’t know why either and why it happened earlier in front of the Alpha.”

Mara studied me for a moment, her usual sharpnes dulled by concern before she let out a heavy sigh.

“There’s something,” she said slowly. “I didn’t want to bring these memories of yours. But now that everything’s becoming connected…I think I should let you know what I think about this.”

My fingers stilled around my cup. “What is it?”

She raised her head, looking at me in the eyes. “Do you remember a month ago when you said you just escaped and said that the Alpha were not in the right mind?”

Huh? Did I say that?

I don’t remember.

“What about it?” I asked.

“He was drugged,” she suddenly dropped the bomb that made me pause as I looked at her in the eyes.

Drugged?

How did…

A month ago…

I paused, the memory clawing its way back. Chaos had swallowed that night whole—shouts in the halls, the heavy scent of unrest thick in the air. Before I could even grasp what was happening, my grandmother’s hands were on my shoulders, shoving me into the Alpha’s room.

“It’s time,” she whispered, her voice trembling with urgency. “Time for you to act as his Luna. Time to fulfill your responsibilities.”

I wanted to protest, to ask why the Alpha’s eyes looked clouded, why his wolf aura felt unstable, why he seemed… not himself. But my grandmother didn’t answer. Instead, she closed the door and locked us up in the room.

“It seems you remembered it,” Mara walked towards me, sighing helplessly as her hand reached out, hugging me while patting my back.

“What…What about it?” I found my voice shaking.

“Did you sleep with him that night?” Her hand gently caress my hair. “I saw the heavy marks all over your body that morning.”

“You knew…”

Silence briefly passed between us before she sat beside me. “You didn’t even tell him about it?”

I paused. Alaric’s face briefly passed in my mind before I let out a bitter chuckle, shaking my head.

“What’s the use? He wouldn’t care about it and if he does, he would’ve just added extra money to the divorce settlement.”

I looked at her. “Or worse, he might think it was me who jumped onto his bed.”

Marah briefly stilled for a second, before letting out a heavy curse. “Damn it! That scum! Wait…”

Her eyes fell on me. “Did you—”

Before she could finish her words, a sharp sound cut through the room like a blade.

I glanced at my phone on the table.

Unknown number?

I frowned and was about to reach for it when it died down and a notification pop up, showing one missed call.

“Who was that?” I muttered under my breath, shrugging my shoulder before turning my gaze back at Mara whose eyes were wide as coins as if she saw ghosts.

“What’s with you?” I waved my hands in front of her.

She grabbed my wrist. “Answer me, Elena.”

I frowned, unsettled by the sharp edge in her voice. “What’s going on?”

Her gaze didn’t waver. “Did you take emergency contraception?”

I froze.

I was about to open my mouth to answer when my phone rang again—the same unknown number who called me earlier