Chapter 2

Aaira

“Do you have any idea how huge this is for us?” Ethan demanded. “My hard work has finally paid off, and you’re ruining our one chance to win the Lycan Queen’s approval with your mood swings!”

I was shocked. His hard work? My mother promised to attend the Lunar Ball only because of me.

He sighed. “Just drop this act and get back to work. You should be proud of me.”

“Proud of you for what?” I raised my voice, my blood boiling because of his ignorance. “For visiting clubs and fucking other women behind my back?!”

He froze, the smug excitement wiped clean from his face. Silence hung in the air, and I watched him scramble for the right words. “How did you know?” he asked.

I scoffed. “It doesn’t matter how I knew! What matters is that you cheated on me, your Luna, for so long! How could you do this to me?!”

I held his gaze, waiting for even a shred of remorse. It never came. Instead, he frowned and demanded, “Why are you overreacting?” His tone was flat, almost bored. “An Alpha keeping mistresses is normal. There’s nothing wrong with it.”

“How can you say that?” I shouted, disbelief thick in my voice. “You promised I’d always be the one for you. If I cheated on you, would you have taken it well?”

Ethan’s eyes glinted, his wolf stirring, and his grip on my wrist tightened until I winced. “Know your place, Aaira. No man will ever desire a fat omega. There’s nothing attractive about you,” he said, almost lazily, as if stating an obvious fact.

My stomach dropped. “So because I’m curvy and an omega, that makes it acceptable to cheat on me?” My voice shook, his words shredding the last of my self-worth.

The man before me wasn’t the one who’d once made me feel like my body didn’t matter, and the one who’d loved me for who I was. Back in college, he worshiped the ground I walked on, never once caring about my identity or my status. His dedication convinced me he was my true love, even if the Goddess hadn’t chosen him for me.

But the moment his pack rose to power, that dedication died.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he scowled, as if I were being childish. “I’ve sacrificed so much to bring this pack to glory while you sat back and enjoyed the benefits. A caring, dutiful Luna should be grateful and let her Alpha enjoy his rewards, even if that means sleeping with other women.”

The words left me speechless. I stared at him, searching for the man who’d once wanted only me, who’d had she-wolves throwing themselves at his feet and still chosen me.

I couldn’t grasp how he’d changed so quickly. The signs had been there all along; I just hadn’t wanted to see them.

He’d stopped making any effort in our marriage long ago, skipping dinners and staying out for hours while I waited up for him. In the rare moments we had together, his eyes stayed glued to his phone. When I confronted him, he told me I was overthinking things, and he was just buried under the pack’s growing workload.

I should have known he was spending time with other women. I bit the inside of my cheek to hold back my tears and wondered if my mother had been right all along.

Three years ago, my mother had warned me. Ethan’s pack was small, poor, its name tainted. She wanted me to marry someone of equal footing and status. But I’d gone against her, boldly declaring that Ethan was the right man.

I’d left my royal life, hidden my identity under her deal, and arrived at Wild Willows as a nameless omega. They’d never accepted me. They hated me for having no wolf. There were days I’d cried myself to sleep, missing home, but I still kept going.

As Luna, I’d worked myself to the bone to lift the pack from its ruin, shoring up border security, forging alliances, and carrying the household duties alongside it all.

Yet he’d neglected every one of my efforts, claimed them as his own, and used that as an excuse to sleep with other women.

Ethan let go of my wrist and cupped my face, speaking in the same tender tone he’d used during our sweet, private moments. “Don’t worry. I’m not replacing you. No matter how fat you are or whether you’re wolfless, you’ll always be my Luna.”

I pulled his hands away from my face. He was comforting me while reminding me I was below him.

“It doesn’t make me feel better. You’re insulting me by making me share when we promised to stay faithful to each other. Don’t you think that as your Luna I deserve your loyalty?” I asked.

His blue eyes darkened. “Well, I deserve a Luna who can bring power and recognition to my pack. But you gave me neither. So I don’t need a fat, useless Luna demanding I don’t sleep with other women.”

My entire body went stiff despite the fever burning through me. How could he call me useless after everything I’d done for him? He had no idea this pack stood at the pinnacle of its success because of me.

“I have done a lot for this pack and you,” I declared, standing my ground. “In case you forgot, every single time you broke down, I was there to hold you. I supported you through thick and thin…”

“And I want you to support me now that things are looking up. The Lycan Queen’s approval is extremely important for the pack, so you need to stop complaining and make sure the arrangements for the Ball are to her liking.” He ordered, completely ignoring what I said.

“But what about my feelings?” I demanded. “You broke your promise and put me through so much pain these past months.” I bared my neck, showing him the scar, his loving mark, now red and inflamed.

Ethan and I were chosen mates, marked like fated ones, bound to feel the pain of a betrayed bond. It wasn’t as intense as a fated bond, but it was agony nonetheless.

“It’s not my fault you’re so weak,” he retorted. “Had you owned a wolf, it wouldn’t have hurt as much. But you even failed at shifting and now blamed me for your shortcomings.”

I opened my mouth to answer, but the door creaked open and Ethan’s mother, Vanessa, stepped in.

“What’s the matter? Why are you two yelling at this hour?” She asked, a frown creasing her face. When her gaze found me, her eyes narrowed.

Vanessa had never accepted me, an omega Luna, for her son. She’d found a hundred small ways to humiliate me, mocking my weight and my status before her friends at every gathering. She’d pushed Ethan to divorce me time and again, and he’d always refused, fighting to keep me as his Luna.

And now that same man had turned on me. Could success really change a person this much?

“Well, Aaira has refused to help us with the Lunar Ball while it’s a week away and the Queen is attending.” Ethan crossed his arms, disappointment plain on his face.

She gasped. “Have you lost your mind?! Our entire pack’s reputation rests on this event. How selfish could you be?!” she sneered.

My fist clenched at my side. “How am I selfish? I’m not fine with my Alpha husband cheating on me. I cannot just overlook that and plan the ball as if nothing happened.”

“Well, whose fault is that?!” she hissed. “I kept telling you to lose weight and give this pack an heir, but you couldn’t do either. It’s a Luna’s duty to look beautiful so she can keep her Alpha’s attention and bear a child. But you failed at it. My son marrying a weak Luna has already turned us into a laughingstock, and you want to make it worse?” Her face twisted with contempt.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “So that’s all I am to you? A womb to fill and a body to satisfy your son’s desires?” I asked, no longer able to stop the tears.

“I am simply reminding you of your duty. Once the Queen acknowledges my son at the ball, the daughters of the Alpha and Beta families would kill to take your place. A weakling like you would be replaced in a second, so stop whining,” she spoke to me as one would a disobedient child.

Quickly, I wiped my tears, forcing my voice to stay steady. “I have always stayed dedicated to this pack and to Ethan. I simply want it to be equally reciprocated. Is that too much to ask?”

“You’re being ungrateful,” he stepped forward, his gaze cold. “You’ve forgotten that it’s under my leadership and protection that you live such a comfortable, safe life.”

I wanted to laugh in his face. I had never needed his leadership or his protection. The only thing I’d ever wanted was his love and devotion, and he wouldn’t give me even that.

“I warned you, Ethan! She’s incapable of being beside you.” Vanessa spat. “The Queen would be displeased to see her as your Luna.”

“If that’s what you believe, then both of you should be fine with me not making preparations for the ball.” I bit out. “I’m sure you can handle the rest of the workload.” Her face paled on hearing that.

Seeing how defiant I stood, Ethan sighed and shook his head. “You are taking this too far. You now leave me no choice. I have to make this decision.”

I frowned. “What decision?”

“You won’t be attending the Lunar Ball,” he declared, and my blood ran cold. His mother smirked.

“What?! But my presence is mandatory as your respected Luna.” I argued.

He shook his head. “You’re not behaving like one. What if an unmated Alpha or Beta she-wolf wanted to dance with me? The last thing I want for them is to see an overweight, jealous omega as my Luna causing a scene. Since you’re not willing to do your part for the Lunar Ball, stay at the packhouse. At least your absence will spare me the embarrassment.”

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