Two

APRIL’S POV

Luke’s hand was stretched toward May, and my twin sister didn’t hesitate. She slipped her hand into his, her fingers curling around his as though they belonged there.

Then she looked at me and smiled.

“He’s mine now, April,” she said sweetly, her voice dripping with false sympathy. “He deserves a real Luna.”

I stared at her, struggling to process what was happening.

“May, how could you…” My voice cracked before I could finish.

She tilted her head, her smile widening. “How could I what? Luke was always mine, dear sister.”

I blinked, trying to hold back the tears burning behind my eyes.

Always hers?

So all those times she’d smiled at me, hugged me, and pretended to be happy about my relationship with Luke, she’d been laughing at me behind my back?

Well, wasn’t I lucky to have such a wonderful sister?

Luke turned back to the crowd, his hand still holding May’s.

“April doesn’t have a wolf. She’s an abomination to this pack.”

His eyes flicked toward my father.

“Howard, make May your heir. She’s the one who deserves it.”

“She is the one I choose to marry”

God..My heart sank.

I spun toward my father, desperate for him to say something. Anything. Surely, he wouldn’t allow this. Surely, after everything, he wouldn’t let them take the last thing I had left.

But Alpha Howard Quinn didn’t even look at me.

It was all becoming too much to process. Luke had rejected me, my own twin sister had stolen my mate, and now they wanted to take my position as heir too?

Was there anything else they wanted to take? My clothes? My bedroom? My damn birthday cake?

My father stepped forward, grabbed my arm, and pulled me back as though I were an embarrassment he needed to hide.

“Enough, April.” His voice was low, sharp, and filled with shame.

Not even concern or sympathy.

It was shame at it peak!.

Then he turned toward the pack.

“From this day forward, I renounce April’s title as heir. May Quinn will take her place. She will be my heir and the future Luna of this pack.”

“WHAT! Father, no!” I screamed.

But my voice was drowned out by the roar of the crowd.

They cheered. They clapped. Some even raised their glasses in celebration like it was a victory to them.

I stood there, watching them celebrate my humiliation as though they’d just witnessed the greatest achievement in pack history.

And I realized, with sickening clarity, that to them, it was.

I stumbled backward, my legs shaking so badly I nearly fell. Stephanie rushed forward and caught me, her hands steadying me even as her face twisted with fury.

“April—”

But I couldn’t hear her.

I couldn’t hear anything except the officiant’s voice as he continued the ceremony and pronounced Luke and May husband and wife.

Alpha and Luna.

My mate and my sister.

I had spent months preparing for this wedding, only to watch another woman take my place. And not just any woman. My own twin sister.

The tears came flooding down my cheeks, unstoppable and humiliating. I tore myself from Stephanie’s grip and ran.

“April!” she called after me.

But no one else did.

My father didn’t bother. Luke didn’t care and May had all her attention on her newly fucking husband now.

I was already gone to them. Already forgotten.

I tripped over my gown, my knees slamming into the floor. Pain shot through my legs, but I shoved myself back up and kept running, pushing through the heavy doors and stumbling into the hallway.

The girls loitering outside, girls who used to pretend to respect me, burst into laughter.

“Guess she’s not Luna after all.”

“Did you see her face?”

“Poor April. She really thought she’d marry the Alpha.”

I clenched my jaw and kept moving.

Trust me, ladies, if I had the strength to deal with you right now, you’d be crying harder than I was.

But I couldn’t stop. I needed to get away from their faces, their laughter, and the entire pack that seemed to enjoy watching me fall apart.

By the time I reached my room, I was sobbing so hard I could barely see. I slammed the door shut and collapsed onto the bed, clawing at my dress as I tried to rip it off.

The stupid zipper wouldn’t move. The lace got tangled around my fingers, and the more I struggled, the more frustrated I became.

“Of course,” I muttered through my tears. “Even this damn dress wants to torture me today.”

I finally gave up and fell back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling as tears streamed down my face.

I cried the fuck out till tears no longer came out from my eyes.

The full moon glowed through my window, bright and mocking.

Why?

I asked the Moon Goddess silently.

Why did you give me hope just to crush it? Why did you make me this way? What exactly did I do to deserve this?

No answer came.

Just the cold, indifferent light of the moon.

I wiped my cheeks and slowly sat up. I needed air. I needed to get out of that room before I suffocated under the weight of everything that had happened.

But before I could stand, I heard footsteps in the hallway.

Then laughter. I knew that sound

It was May’s laughter.

“God, I thought today would never end,” she said. Her voice was muffled, but I could still hear every word. “Watching her stand there like a kicked puppy was pathetic.”

“If you hadn’t warned me, I might’ve actually gone through with it.” Luke’s voice followed, low and amused. “Can you imagine? Me, stuck with her?”

“She actually thought you wanted her.” May laughed. “My sister, the eternal optimist.”

I froze.

“If only she knew how long we’ve been waiting for this,” Luke replied.

“Well, she’s not our problem anymore.”

A soft giggle followed, then the unmistakable sound of them kissing.

My hands curled into fists.

So this was it? They’d planned everything behind my back, and now they were celebrating like they’d just won some prize?

I should’ve walked away. Better still, I should’ve left that place and never looked back.

Instead, I stood up and marched toward the door.

My hand shook as I reached for the handle, but I didn’t care. I’d spent enough time being the good little daughter who swallowed every insult and pretended everything was fine.

Not anymore.

I threw the door open and they sprang apart.

May’s lipstick was smeared across her mouth, while Luke’s shirt was half-unbuttoned and one of his hands was still tangled in her hair.

For one frozen moment, we stared at each other.

Then May smiled.

Not even a hint of guilt crossed her face. She didn’t look ashamed or embarrassed. If anything, she looked amused.

“Oh. April.”

She straightened her dress slowly, casually, as though I’d caught her doing something perfectly normal.

“We were just… celebrating.”

I opened my mouth, but no words came out. My throat had closed completely.

Luke didn’t even bother looking at me. He simply turned back to May and kissed her again, slowly and deliberately, as though I wasn’t standing right there.

As though I didn’t exist.

That hurt more than I wanted to admit.

I had just watched him reject me in front of an entire pack, but somehow, seeing him kiss my sister right in front of me made everything feel even more real.

I stumbled backward, my vision blurring with fresh tears.

I couldn’t stay there another second.

I turned and ran.

I ran down the hallway, taking the stairs two at a time. I didn’t care where I was going. Anywhere was better than being near those two.

I made it back to my room and locked the door behind me. My hands were shaking so badly that I could barely turn the bolt.

Then I collapsed onto the bed.

For a while, I simply stared at the ceiling, my tears slowly drying on my face. The pain was still there, but something else had begun to settle inside me.

Something colder.

Tonight was supposed to be my beginning. My wedding. My birthday. The day I finally became someone who mattered.

Instead, it became the night I lost everything.

My mate. My title. My family. My future.

But here’s the thing about hitting rock bottom. There’s nowhere left to fall.

And when you’ve got nothing left to lose, you stop being afraid.

I wiped my face and sat up.

I didn’t know what I was going to do next, but I knew one thing. I wasn’t going to spend the rest of my life crying over people who had never valued me in the first place.

I was ready to make a reckless move. At that point, I didn’t care about the consequences.

But what happened next?

That was something I never saw coming.

And it nearly destroyed me.