No. 4

OLIVIA_POV

The car ride to the airport was silent.

I sat in the back, as far from Eric as I could get. I stared out the window, watching the world blur past. Trees, houses, people living their lives. A mother pushing a stroller. My breath hitched, a sharp, painful spasm in my chest. I dug my nails into the soft leather of the seat, focusing on that tiny point of physical pain to keep from screaming. To keep from throwing myself from the moving car.

My body hurt with every bump in the road. The pain from the surgery was a deep, constant ache. The pain in my heart was worse. It was a heavy, empty feeling. I felt like a shell. A person-shaped thing filled with nothing but hurt.

Eric didn’t look at me. He was on his phone, texting someone. A small, cold handsome smile was on his face. I didn’t need to ask who he was talking to. I knew. It was her. My sister. Lupiter.

The woman who had everything I ever wanted—our pack’s love. Our parents’ pride. And now, my mate.

I closed my eyes, trying to shut it all out. But you can’t shut out the pain that lives inside you.

Soon, the car pulled up to the airport. It was big and loud and busy. People everywhere were hugging and laughing and saying goodbye. Their happiness felt like a slap in the face. My world had ended, but for everyone else, it was just a normal day.

Eric got out, leaving me to struggle with my suitcase. I fumbled with the handle, my stitches pulling, a fresh, hot dampness spreading beneath my clothes. I was bleeding again. I didn’t care. The pain was a anchor, a terrible reminder that I was still here, still trapped in this nightmare.

He didn’t offer to help. He stood, impatient, scrolling through his phone, a slight, smug smile still playing on his lips. I finally wrestled the case free and followed him, a meek, broken shadow trailing in the wake of her master

I followed him into the terminal. The bright lights hurt my eyes. The noise was too much. I just kept my head down and followed his back, my suitcase bumping against my legs.

We reached a secluded area reserved for high-ranking werewolves. The air here was different—charged with power, ambition, and a subtle, underlying tension. Other Alphas and Lunas stood in clusters, radiating strength and confidence. Their eyes, sharp and assessing, flicked toward us.

I felt their gazes like physical blows. The pity. The curiosity. The disdain. The pathetic Luna. The one who couldn’t keep her Alpha happy. The one who couldn’t produce a viable heir. The story, no doubt curated by Eric himself, would already be circulating. I wanted to shrink into myself, to disappear into the floor.

And then, I saw her.

She stood near the gate, a picture of radiant beauty. Lupiter. My sister. Her long, shiny hair cascaded over her shoulders. She wore a form-fitting dress the color of sunshine, a color that would have made me look sallow and sickly, but on her, it was devastating. A smile on her face that could light up a room.

She was everything our pack valued: strong, beautiful, blessed. She looked like everything I wasn’t.

She was laughing at something one of the other Lunas said, but her eyes were scanning the crowd. Waiting. They found Eric, and her face lit up with a possessive glow. Then they slid to me, and the glow turned into a gleam of malice. A smirk, small and razor-sharp, touched her perfectly painted lips.

My feet stopped moving. The world narrowed to that smirk. The betrayal, which had been an emotional hellish pain, suddenly became a physical horror. It was one thing to hear her voice on the phone. It was another to see her here, in the flesh, standing in my place, wearing the expression of the victor who has taken everything.

Eric didn’t hesitate. He walked straight to her, his entire demeanor shifting. The cold impatience he reserved for me melted away, replaced by a boyish, charming warmth I have always admired. He slid an arm around her waist, pulling her close.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting, my love,” he said, his voice a low, intimate murmur meant for her, but carried loudly in the air.

“It’s okay,” Lupiter purred, leaning into him. “I was just making new friends.” Her eyes flicked to me again, over his shoulder. “I see you managed to get the help to come along.”

The insult was delivered like a blow. Help. A servant. A thing.

Eric laughed, a rich, genuine sound I hadn’t heard in years. He finally looked at me, his gaze sweeping over me with dismissive contempt. “She knows her place. Finally.”

Then, in front of everyone—in front of the gathered Alphas, the Lunas, the other high-ranking wolves, me—he bent his head and kissed her. It wasn’t an ordinary peck. It was a deep, claiming, passionate kiss, a performance to humiliate me, and to show who he truly valued.

A soundless cry died in my throat. The terminal, with all its noise, fell completely silent for me. I saw nothing but them. I heard nothing but the pounding of my own broken heart. The pain in my abdomen was a distant echo.

I stood there, frozen, the handle of my suitcase cutting into my palm. The whispers started then, a hushed, excited rustle that swept through the crowd like a wave. I saw the nods, the understanding looks. The story was being confirmed right before their eyes.

Eric pulled away from Lupiter, smirking. He took her hand, and without a backward glance, they started walking toward the security line together, like a real couple. He left me standing there alone with my suitcase.

I forced my feet to move. I followed them, my face burning with shame. People were staring. I could hear them whispering. I heard the word. “Poor, Luna Olivia” and then a laugh. They were laughing at me.

The pain in my stomach was nothing compared to this. This was a whole new level of hurt. This was a public execution of my heart and everyone witnessed it.

We got in line. Eric and Lupiter were ahead of me, talking and laughing softly. They didn’t even pretend I was there. I was a ghost. A nobody.

Finally, we got to the front. The man at the desk checked Eric and Lupiter’s tickets. They walked through together.

The attendant’s voice was polite, but firm, cutting through the air. “Ma’am? Your boarding pass?”

I blinked, swaying on my feet. I fumbled in my pocket, pulling out the ticket Eric had tossed on the bed beside me this morning. My hand was shaking so violently that I could barely hold it.

The attendant took it, scanned it, and her pleasant smile tightened. “I’m sorry, ma’am. This is for a mated pair seating. You cannot board alone. Regulations for private charter. Where is your partner?”

I stared at her. What was she talking about?

I looked past her. Eric was already walking down the tunnel to the plane. He had heard the woman. He knew what was happening. And he didn’t stop. He didn’t turn around. He just kept walking, with Lupiter tucked under his arm.

He had abandoned me. He had brought me here just to leave me alone at the gate. To embarrass me one last time.

Wetness filled my eyes. I couldn’t hold them back anymore. I was so tired. So broken. This was the end. I had nothing left.

The attendant’s face softened with a pity that felt worse than contempt. “I’m sorry miss. It seems your husband is already boarded with… another. You’ll have to step aside.”

The people behind me were getting impatient. I could feel their eyes on me. I wanted to disappear. I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole.

This was it. This was how my story ended. Alone at an airport gate, abandoned by everyone, including my own mate.

Tears, hot and shameful, finally spilled over. I couldn’t stop them. I bowed my head, my hair falling forward, wishing the floor would open up and swallow me whole. This was it. The bottom. There was no lower to go.

I was completely alone.

But then, just as the first sob racked my body, a voice spoke. It wasn’t loud. It didn’t need to be. It was a low, deep, cold rumble that cut through the whispers and the airport noise. A voice that causes chills down my spine.

“She’s not alone.”

I froze.

The air in the entire terminal shifted. The temperature seemed to drop several degrees. The whispers died an instant, sudden death. Every head turned.