Chapter 2

I sat frozen on the edge of the bed as the chaos outside grew.

My stepmother Mia’s sickly sweet voice echoed in my head from that afternoon.

"Faelan? You should use Giselle's room tonight."

"Why?" I had asked, so naive.

"It's to protect Giselle, you understand," she'd said. "Your room is so far away. What if some rough Beta gets the wrong door and hurts her?" Her excuse sounded perfectly reasonable. "Besides, you're strong. Almost a warrior. You can fight back, but Giselle is too delicate for the roughness of the claiming."

"And," she’d added, her voice dripping with fake concern, "think of it as a test for Alpha Joric. A test of your bond. He'll know where to find you, won't he?"

Our bond.

What a sick joke.

I was actually touched at the time. I thought it was a romantic surprise.

"Okay, I understand. I'll go to Giselle's room," I’d even said, offering to help.

"Good girl," she'd purred, satisfied. "You're such a good, thoughtful child."

Now I understood. It was all a setup. A carefully planned 'accident' designed to look real.

They had planned it all.

I was just the pawn they were willing to sacrifice.

A violent crash at the door jolted me from my thoughts. The claiming ceremony had begun.

Alphas and their Betas, shifted into their wolf forms, were storming the Omega quarters. They would smash down doors and find the mates they came to claim.

I heard the distant screams of girls—the ritualistic chase and resistance. But then, a different sound reached me.

"We got her!"

"The Alpha has her!"

"Giselle was so cooperative!"

It was the triumphant shouts of Joric's men.

Suddenly, my door crashed open. Dark figures surged into the room.

It was part of the traditional Claiming Trial. They were supposed to push and shove the Omega to test her.

At first, they just went through the motions. But soon, their shoves turned vicious. Their hits landed hard.

"Joric played us! Let's take it out on his Omega!"

A set of claws swiped at my face.

Right before they could tear into my cheek, a suffocating, freezing Alpha aura flooded the tiny room.

It was so overwhelming that my wolf instinctively whimpered and submitted.

"Enough!" a deep, raspy voice growled, heavy with pure rage.

A towering silhouette stepped in front of me, blocking the light.

With just his bare arms, he shoved the Betas away like they were nothing.

"The Trial doesn't mean you use her as a punching bag! Get out!"

Crushed by his Alpha presence, the Betas went pale and scrambled out the door.

Silence fell over the room.

He looked back at me. It was too dark to see his face.

I could only make out his sharp jawline and his scent—a highly aggressive, yet strangely comforting smell of cedarwood.

He didn't ask why I hadn't fought back. He simply crouched down, offering his broad, muscular back.

"You coming?" he asked.

I looked at this mysterious, powerful Alpha. Without a second thought, I quietly wrapped my arms around him.

He took off. His strides were fast and steady.

We blurred past the corridors, burst out of the building, and rushed into a moonlit field of flowers.

The night breeze hit us, carrying the heavy scent of moonflowers.

It was a sweet, soothing smell.

But I felt nothing. My heart was already dead.

"Look! Over there!"

A familiar voice rang out from up ahead.

My stomach dropped.

It was Joric. They were crossing paths with us.

Under the bright moonlight, the exact scene that shattered my heart played out right in front of me.

Joric was in his human form, carrying Giselle effortlessly on his back.

She was pressed against him, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

"Joric, the moon is so beautiful tonight," she said, gazing up at him.

"It is," he said, his eyes soft. "As beautiful as you."

A tearing pain ripped through my chest. My wolf let out a continuous, mournful cry, but I forced myself to stay silent.

He used to look at me like that. Like I was the only thing in his world.

I remembered a rainy night when I was delirious with fever. I woke up to find him by my bed, holding a moonpetal flower dripping with dew. "I ran through three enemy territories to find this," he'd said. "They say it can heal you." His clothes were soaked, and his body was covered in fresh scratches.

"You're a fool," I'd cried. "It wasn't worth the risk."

"For you," he'd whispered, kissing my forehead, "anything is worth it."

The stars in his eyes back then shone only for me.

But now... now they shone for someone else.

Joric finally noticed us. His gaze flickered to me, on the Alpha's back, and held for a second. But it was only a second. Giselle's whining voice pulled his attention away.

"Joric, my ankle hurts..."

He immediately crouched down to check on her. "What's wrong? Did you run too fast?"

That gentle voice. That careful touch.

It all used to be mine.

Through the blur of my tears, one question burned in my mind. When did his eyes stop shining just for me?