Chapter 2

Anora’s POV

“Mate.”

The word hangs in the air, aimed at him: Alpha Liam, the man whose touch now makes my skin crawl, my own sister’s fiancé. It feels like a cruel, twisted joke orchestrated by the Moon Goddess herself.

My breath hitches, my heart pounding against my ribs. A collective gasp from the stunned guests rips through the hall. Fear, sharp and icy, swallows me. Every eye feels like a physical weight, their silent scrutiny washing over me, again and again, making my breath tremble. Then the murmurs begin, a low hum that swiftly escalates into vicious gossip and guttural snarls. My muscles seize, locking my limbs as I freeze. My vision blurs at the edges, the vibrant colors of the hall bleeding into indistinct shapes. My heart hammers violently against my ribcage, each beat a terrified drum against the suffocating silence. I know exactly what this means. The ancient, undeniable bond roars to life at the most catastrophic moment imaginable, and a chilling understanding dawns within me. I know how it looks – a desperate, pathetic attempt from the Pack’s runt to claim the Alpha on his engagement day with her stepsister.

“What vile word just oozed from your mouth?” Adriana barks, her composure shattering. Her painted lips curl back in a feral snarl, revealing teeth that look sharp enough to tear flesh. “You… you pitiful, bitter wretch!”

“Adriana, I...” I stagger back, my voice failing as she charges towards me, a menacing shadow of four gamma guards at her heels.

“You think you can just stand there, in front of everyone, and claim my Liam as your mate?” Her words lash out, aimed at the horrified onlookers. “You really are a whore.”

“No, Adriana, no...” I mutter, but the rest of my plea vanishes under the weight of their judgmental gazes, each gleam a shard of disgust. Tears sting my eyes, and my throat constricts. I look at Alpha Liam, but his distorted face twists my gut.

“You are desperate,” Adriana spits, turning to the hushed guests. “I caught her. My own sister, this shameless Omega, just yesterday, trying to seduce Alpha Liam!”

“What? Then why permit her to be here?” Alpha Niklaus, one of the guest Alphas, reacts immediately, his teeth bared at me.

“She should be punished!” An Elder declares.

“What a waste of beauty! She’s a rotten woman.”

“The Luna is your sister, runt.”

“No...no, please,” my voice trembles, barely audible.

A terrible, suffocating fear envelops me, my clammy hands clutching my dress, my chest heaving. The lie squeezes my breath, each syllable a crushing poison. As they close in, the hall shrinking around me like the tight dungeons, the realization hits: I have no choice but to fight back with the truth.

“That’s not true!” The words explode from me, raw and desperate. “It was him! Alpha Liam… he tried to… he tried to take advantage of me. I resisted him!”

My words detonate in the hall. A wave of disbelief and outrage washes over the crowd, stunning everyone into profound silence. Alpha Liam’s already twisted face contorts further, erupting with volcanic fury. His jaw clenches, muscles bunching. His hands curl into white-knuckled fists, a vein throbbing violently in his temple. This time, his eyes burn with pure, unadulterated rage.

“You lying whore!” Alpha Liam spits in a loud, guttural growl promising violence. Before I can utter another word in my defense, his command slices through the stunned silence. “Guards! Seize her!”

Instantly, Alpha Liam’s guards pounce, their rough hands clawing at my skin.

“Let me go!” I cry, pushing against one with all my strength. Freya snarls inside me, her defensive instincts overriding my terror. All the anger and pain I had suppressed explodes within me, and I turn on Alpha Liam, tears stinging my eyes. “You coward! Liar! I swear Karma must come for you, Alpha. It will come for all of you!”

“How dare you?” Beta Stannis sneers, his heavy slap cracking across my face. The tears I’d fought to hold back now spill down my cheeks.

“Take her away quickly,” he orders sharply.

I’m dragged forward, my feet skidding on the polished floor. Humiliation burns like acid in my veins as every eye in the hall follows my forced procession. I clench my jaw, rasping as the weight of his lie, now my shame, settles upon me. Through the roaring in my ears, I hear Alpha Liam’s voice, cold and decisive, addressing Beta Stannis, “Lock her in the dark dungeons. This time, she’ll stay there for three days. By then, I’ll have decided what to do with this… this disgrace.”

The dark dungeons. The very words send a fresh wave of terror crashing through me. My body trembles violently, my breath coming in ragged gasps, but I force my anger down, letting it simmer beneath my skin.

“Stop, stop!” I yell at the guards, my voice raw. “I’ll walk inside myself.” I demand, my eyes burning with unshed tears, and to my surprise, they release me.

Steadying my trembling breath, I push my chin up and straighten my back. But, I turn sharply as Adriana’s cloying scent hits me.

“You bitch!” Her hands lurch for my hair, pulling with brutal force, a searing pain ripping across my scalp. “Fucking look at me.” She screams in my ear, her breath hot and foul. “I’ll be glad to see you damned. You have no fucking idea what Alpha Liam and my father have coming for you for this disgrace, miserable twat! You’re a curse on my life.”

I groan as she shoves me away, swallowing her insults along with the throbbing agony in my scalp.

My grip tightens on my uncomfortable dress, my breath coming in harsh pumps as the steel doors begin to roll shut – until the light vanishes completely, a thick, suffocating darkness even wolf eyes can’t pierce looms with a terrifying cold – and every noise is swallowed, welcoming the despair that claws its way into my mind. The stone walls are slick with dampness, the silence broken only by the occasional skittering of unseen things and the frantic, echoing thumping of my heart. Each breath I take feels heavy, weighted by the crushing darkness that presses in on all sides. It’s more than just a prison; it’s a tomb, designed to suffocate not just the body, but the spirit.

Three days. Seventy-two endless hours stretching before me, filled with nothing but the gnawing fear and the crushing weight of my helplessness. I lick the walls to quench my thirst, and as if my organs stopped functioning, nothing comes out of me.

The iron door groans open, the sudden sliver of light blinding. Rough, unforgiving hands clamp onto my arms, dragging me out. Silver chains, cold and heavy, bite into my wrists. I’m hauled through the pack grounds, the familiar sights now blurred and distorted through my weakened eyes. The air feels alien on my skin, the sounds of the bustling Pack a distant, mocking hum.

They bring me to the Pack’s square, a space usually filled with training exercises and communal gatherings, now transformed into an open-air courtroom. Alpha Liam stands before the assembled pack, his expression a carefully crafted mask of righteous anger.

“Anora,” my name vibrates from his throat, amplified by the unnatural silence of the crowd. A fresh sting of his betrayal cuts deeper, hearing my full name from him for the first time in years. Alpha Liam twists his face. “Confess the truth. Admit that you tried to seduce me out of jealousy for your sister—your Luna, Adriana. Admit this, and you will be freed.”

My thoughts swirl, a tempest of fear and a desperate yearning for release. Should I just admit to what I didn’t do and gain my freedom while living with the shame forever? Or stand my ground, on my truth, and face the cruel, unjust fate?

My gaze flickers to Alpha Liam. Even now, behind the furious glint in his blue eyes, I see it – that familiar flicker of lust, the possessive hunger I’d tried so hard to escape. Then, my eyes find Adriana. Her face is a study in triumphant fury, her green eyes daring me to defy her.

A knot twists in my stomach, and my body hardens with a sudden resolve. I clench my fist and look at Adriana, my voice trembling but clear. “He’s lying, and you’re a spoilt bitch.”

A collective gasp rips through the Pack. The carefully maintained silence shatters, replaced by a cacophony of shocked whispers and angry murmurs. A bitter satisfaction blooms in my chest. Yes, I just called their Alpha a liar, and their Luna a spoilt bitch.

“Unforgivable!” Alpha Liam snaps, his anger blazing in his wicked eyes. He rises from his makeshift judgment seat, his body radiating fury. “This delusional Omega is clearly a threat to the harmony of our Pack.” He draws in a deep breath, and the moment his lips part, my heart stops with a heavy thud.

“I, Alpha Liam of Moon-door Pack, reject you, Anora Steinfeld, as my mate.”

Tears spill down my cheeks, hot trails on my dirt-streaked skin. But the real pain is a cold, heavy weight in my chest, a crushing emptiness that echoes the severing of a bond I never truly understood. It feels like a part of my very being is being ripped away, leaving a raw, bleeding wound.

“Accept my rejection!” Alpha Liam commands, his voice leaving no room for argument.

My voice trembles, but I keep my eyes locked on his. “I... I, accept your rejection, Alpha Liam. And sever this sickening bond.”

Beta Stannis steps forward, his face wrinkled with a grimace, as his claws reach for my neck, clamping my skin, and I instinctively touch my neck—my mother’s necklace! He’s seized it! “The Alpha has spoken. And now, the council has decided on your punishment, Anora. She is exiled, a Rogue just like her unknown father.”

My eyes flutter, and my heart drums. My father is a Rogue?

Lowering his voice, Beta Stannis whispers faintly, a chilling secret meant only for those in the arena to hear. “To ensure the stability of our alliance and to… resolve this unfortunate situation, you will be a substitute.” He says, and the rest of his words tear through me, a brutal, unexpected blow, “You’ll take Princess Natalie’s place in her... arranged marriage... to Alpha Dane.”