Chapter 2: The Morning After

Rhiannon's POV

The cabin smelled like him when I woke.

Pine and earth and that indefinable scent that was purely Darius—the one that made my wolf stir even though she'd never emerged. I reached across the fur rug where we'd fallen asleep, my hand searching for warmth.

Cold. Empty.

I sat up slowly, pulling the blanket around my bare shoulders. Morning light streamed through the gaps in the wooden walls, harsh and unforgiving. The fire had burned down to embers.

He was gone.

He probably just went back early, I told myself, pushing down the flutter of unease in my stomach. The ceremony. He has to prepare.

I dressed quickly, my fingers trembling as I fastened the buttons of my thin dress from last night. The fabric was wrinkled, smelling of smoke and us. I'd need to change before the ceremony.

Before everything changed.

I walked back toward the packhouse, and with each step, memories flooded through me.

Six months ago. The first time.

I'd been scrubbing the floors of the Alpha's wing—late, because I'd been assigned double duty for dropping a tray earlier that week. My knees ached. My hands were raw.

"You're still here?"

I'd looked up to find Darius standing in the hallway, wearing training clothes, his hair damp from a shower. He was the Alpha's son. I was nobody.

"Almost done, sir," I'd stammered, dropping my gaze.

"Don't call me that." His voice had been softer than I expected. "And you don't have to look away. I don't bite."

I'd glanced up—and found him smiling. Actually smiling. At me.

"What's your name?"

"Rhiannon. Rhiannon Ashwood, sir—I mean..." I'd fumbled, heat flooding my cheeks.

He'd laughed. "Rhiannon. Pretty name for a pretty girl."

And just like that, something had shifted.

A week later, he'd found me again. Then again. Secret conversations in empty hallways. Stolen glances across the dining hall. He'd started seeking me out deliberately—helping me carry heavy buckets, walking me back to the omega quarters under the pretense of "patrol."

Two months in, he'd kissed me. Hidden in the storage room, surrounded by cleaning supplies and the scent of lye soap. Desperate and hungry and perfect.

"I shouldn't want you this much," he'd whispered against my lips. "But gods, Rhiannon, I can't stay away."

Four months in, he'd taken me to the cabin. "Our place," he'd called it. Where no one would see. Where we could be ourselves.

Where he'd made love to me like I was precious instead of worthless.

Six months of secret meetings. Six months of promises whispered in the dark.

Tomorrow, he'd said just last night. Tomorrow changes everything.

I believed him. I'd believed every word.

The packhouse loomed ahead, and my stomach tightened. I needed to get to the omega quarters, change into my nicest dress, make myself presentable.

Make myself worthy of standing beside an Alpha.

"Well, well. Look who's doing the walk of shame."

I froze.

Three pack girls stood blocking the path—all daughters of high-ranking families. Miranda Thornfield led them, her perfect blonde hair already styled for the ceremony, her silver gown probably worth more than everything I owned.

"Morning, Rhiannon." Her smile was poisonous. "Rough night?"

"Excuse me." I tried to walk past.

She stepped in front of me. "That's a lovely outfit. Is that what you're wearing to the ceremony? How... quaint."

The other girls snickered.

"I'm going to change," I said, keeping my voice level.

"Into what? Your other rag?" Miranda's eyes raked over me with open contempt. "You know, I almost feel bad for you. It must be exhausting, pretending you belong here."

"I do belong here. I'm pack."

"You're wolfless." She said it like a curse. "You're an orphan. You clean our floors, Rhiannon. That's all you'll ever do."

Something hot and bitter rose in my throat. "You don't know anything about me."

"Oh, but I do." Miranda leaned closer, her voice dropping. "I know you've been spreading your legs for Darius Nightshade. I know you actually think it means something. And I know—" She smiled, cruel and certain. "—that when he takes that Alpha oath today, he'll choose Isolde Ravenclaw as his mate. Not you. Never you."

The words hit me in places I can't name.

"You're lying."

"Am I?" She stepped back, adjusting her perfect dress. "Guess we'll find out in a few hours. Come on, girls. We have a real Luna to celebrate."

They walked away, their laughter echoing across the courtyard.

I stood there, my hands trembling, my chest tight.

She's wrong. She's just being cruel. Darius loves me.

But doubt had planted itself like a seed, cold and insidious.

I made it to the omega quarters and changed into my pale blue dress. It looked worse than I remembered—the color faded, the hem frayed, a button missing that I'd replaced with one that didn't quite match.

I tried to do something with my hair. Braided it. Unbraided it. Finally left it down, silver and straight, the only thing about me that had ever been called beautiful.

It doesn't matter what you look like, I told my reflection. Darius chose you. He chose you months ago.

The walk to the central square felt like walking to my execution.

The square was already packed with hundreds of wolves, all in ceremonial robes. The platform dominated the space—massive, draped in black and silver, the Crescent Moon banners snapping in the wind.

I'd never seen so many pack members in one place. My hands went slick with sweat.

More stares. More whispers.

"Is that the orphan?"

"Why is she even here?"

"Pathetic."

I kept my head up and pushed forward, weaving through the crowd toward the front. I needed to see him. Needed to catch his eye, to see that everything was okay.

The platform came into full view.

And there he was.

Darius stood at the center, his father beside him. He looked magnificent—every inch the Alpha he was about to become. Broad shoulders filling out the ceremonial robes. Dark hair swept back. Strong jaw set with determination.

He looked like he'd been carved from stone.

My heart swelled with pride and love and desperate hope.

His eyes swept across the crowd.

I waited for them to find me. Waited for that moment of recognition, that secret smile meant only for me.

His gaze passed over the section where I stood.

Right over me.

Cold. Distant. Like I was just another face in the crowd.

Like I was nothing.

No. He's just focused. Nervous. He has to stay in character until—

But something in my chest twisted painfully.

Something that felt horribly like the beginning of the end.