BOUND BY FOUR MOONS: The Omega's temptation

“Oh, come on, Olivia, did you really think I wanted you as my mate? You're wolf-less, pathetic, and practically an outcast. You couldn’t even give me the one thing I asked from you, and you complain when I get it from someone else?” Mason sneered, his expression full of disgust.

I stared at him in disbelief, trying to make sense of the heartless words that were coming out of his mouth.

‘This can’t be happening.’

“Is that why you cheated on me with Kathy? You—” my voice cracked as tears stung my eyes, “you slept with my sister because I refused to give you sex?” My eyes burned, my throat was tight, but I managed to hold his gaze.

“What did you expect when you can’t even satisfy my needs?!” he snarled.

Oh, right. Because emotional loyalty doesn’t count if you can’t meet a man’s “needs.” How convenient!

“I’m your mate, and we’ve been friends since childhood. Was giving you sex all I meant to you?” I asked, even though the answer was right before me.

He scoffed. “I wanted to be friends with the alpha’s daughter, but you’re not even the alpha’s real daughter. Is that my fault?”

There it was. The knife I didn’t see coming twisted with precision. I felt my stomach drop.

“But you promised!” I choked, feeling lower than I already felt.

“Even when I found out I was adopted, you said you’d always choose me. Why give me hope and stab me in the back?”

I didn’t understand anything anymore. Had I been that blind all this time? How did I not see the kind of man he really was?

Before I could piece together the remains of my dignity, he delivered the words that tore my shattered heart to shreds.

“I, Mason Archer, reject you, Olivia Quinn, as my mate.”

The words hit like fire through my veins. Pain tore through me, sharp and merciless. My knees wobbled, but I refused to fall. My eyes stung, tears threatening to spill—but no. He wouldn’t see me cry. Not again.

“There, now I’ve taken back the hope I gave you,” he said coldly before slamming the door in my face.

The last thing I saw was Kathy’s smug little smile as she stared at me with mockery. Perfect. Just perfect.

******

“Liv, Liv, wake up! We’re entering the academy’s premises.”

Someone was shaking my shoulder gently. I blinked my eyes open to find Chloe—my new assistant slash chaperone and overly cheerful shadow—peering down at me.

I sighed, realizing I’d fallen asleep. Again. And of course, I’d been dreaming about Mason. Because apparently, my subconscious enjoys torturing me.

It’s been over a month since ‘that day,’ but I still couldn’t erase the image of Mason and Kathy—my mate and best friend since childhood, and my sweet, innocent sister—tangled, naked bodies like some scene from a p**n movie.

My brain clearly missed the memo that we’d moved on.

I sat up and looked out the window. Everything outside looked too… peaceful. Too perfect. The van rolled through tall, ornate gates, gliding along a road framed by the kind of scenery that screamed, “Money lives here.”

Celestial Moon Academy.

Even the trees and plants that marked the trails were greener, full of life, and almost like something out of a fantasy. I swear, even the grass looked richer out of sheer arrogance.

Compared to the desolate ruins and slums of the Central Plains, which reeked of poverty and famine, where even the alpha’s house didn't look any better, this place looked like heaven—or a very expensive lie.

No wonder Father—no, Alpha Robert, my adopted father—had gone to ridiculous lengths to prepare me for this.

The van, the uniformed driver, and Chloe all screamed, ‘We’re trying too hard to look noble.’

The old me would have gasped in wonder at the sight before me, marveling at its sheer beauty, but after finding out the parents I'd known all my life were not my real parents, followed by Mason's betrayal, the new me rarely blinked, feeling numb.

I leaned my head against the window, trying not to think about the past three weeks of “crash course in etiquette lessons.”

Mistress Gwen, a woman I referred to as the Iron Lady behind closed doors, had spent the past three weeks turning me into some kind of walking doll.

Her favorite pastime? Whipping my calves every time the books stacked on my head fell. My legs still had the whip’s love notes to prove it.

“Keep your back straight and chin up!” She would bark, her whip singing in the air. I learned fast. Pain and fear are wonderful motivators.

Now, after endless hours of walking, balancing, bowing, and smiling like a polite corpse, I apparently looked “refined.” Whatever that meant.

Not that it mattered. My only goal was simple: get married to the Southern Alpha and repay the “money used to raise me.” Luna Irene, my adopted mother, had reminded me of that enough times to burn it into my brain.

Still, I couldn’t help but wonder why the school had chosen me and not Kathy, the alpha's real daughter. But it didn’t matter anymore. I was here. I would do my duty.

“Olivia Quinn, the bride of the Southern Alpha,” the driver said, handing my ID to the guards at the gate.

The first guard raised a brow. “The bride of the Southern Alpha?”

A second guard stepped closer. “Who’s she?” He asked.

“Olivia Quinn, I think she’s one of the competitors for the Luna title.”

Wait, what?

The second guard’s frown turned into a polite smile as he whispered something to the first guard before turning to the driver, his smile almost fawning.

“Go straight to the administration block and report. You’ll be directed to your room.”

The van moved again, but I was stuck replaying their words in my head. Competitors? Luna's title? Since when was I competing for anything?

“Did you hear what the guard said?” I asked Chloe. “What did he mean I’m one of the competitors for the Luna title?”

Chloe didn’t even look up from her nails. “Oh, that?” she said, like it was no big deal.

I waited, confused, while she continued admiring her manicure. Finally, she added,

“You know how there are five factions—East, West, North, South, and Central? Well, for centuries, only the four main factions have been recognized, leaving the Central Plains as unreclaimed territory—a no man's land,” Chloe began.

“However, thanks to your father’s contributions at the last Alpha summit, the Central Plains got an extra slot in this year’s selection.”

“Selection?” I repeated. My gut told me I wasn’t going to like this.

“Yes, a competition,” she said cheerfully. “To become a Luna. You’ll compete against 4 other maidens for the chance to marry one of the cardinal Alphas and also become an Alpha queen if your Alpha happens to be elected as the Alpha king after graduation.”

I stared at her, horrified. “A competition? For marriage? Why am I only hearing this now?”

“Because you’d probably have panicked and tripped during training,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Anyway, there are challenges, evaluations, and a point system. You’ll need to earn points to prove you’re worthy of being a Luna.”

“Points?” I echoed, my voice rising. “Like… actual points? Are we participating in a dating game show or something?”

“Yes, there are points,” she sighed, clearly unimpressed by my lack of enthusiasm.

“And if I were you, I would be careful of what I do and say to avoid deduction because you'll need lots of points to win your Alpha. The competition will be fierce since 5 girls are competing for four men this time around.”

“To give you girls a head start, the four cardinal Alphas chose a temporary bride, someone who will be under their protection for the time being until the real competition and accumulation of points begin.”

“Luckily for you, even though you're from the Central Plains, a cardinal Alpha chose you instead of choosing someone from his faction like the previous alphas usually do,” Chloe concluded.

“A cardinal Alpha chose me?” I asked in confusion. ‘I thought I was going to be the odd one left out.’

“Yes, the Southern Alpha chose you as his temporary bride, putting you under the protection of the Southern Alpha. Maybe that was where the lie about you being the Southern Alpha's bride began. Your father thinks that for the Southern cardinal Alpha to have chosen you means he sees your potential. If you compete well, you might as well win his heart permanently.”

I sank back in my seat, trying to process it all.

“So in a nutshell, I've been sent here to compete against four other girls for the chance to become Luna of one of the four cardinal Alphas—men I didn’t even know or want in the first place. And I'm just supposed to accept everything? Who came up with such a ridiculous idea?” I repeated.

I was willing to sacrifice myself to be the bride of the Southern Alpha, a man I didn't love, because I owed it to my adoptive parents, but I didn’t sign up for a full-blown competition.

“Language, girl,” Chloe warned, glancing toward the window. “And remember, every word and action counts now.”

The van came to a stop. Chloe’s lips curved into a polite, practiced smile as the door slid open and a tall man appeared outside.

I straightened my posture automatically, plastering on the same neutral expression Mistress Gwen had spent weeks drilling into me. Inside, though, I was still screaming:

Oh, goddess, what have I gotten myself into! Rejected by one man. Now competing for another man…no, one out of four men I didn't even want.