Chapter 2

Sienna’s POV

“Do you take Alpha Darius as your mate…” the elder’s deep voice echoed from the podium, carrying across the hall like a solemn decree. My mother didn’t hesitate, she responded instantly, her voice steady and full of eagerness.

And that was when the truth hit me like a slap to the face.

Up until that very moment, I hadn’t known that Alpha Darius was the man she intended to marry. Not once had she mentioned his name. Not even a hint. And now, standing here, hearing her vow herself to him in front of the entire Silverfang Pack, I felt my stomach twist.

I couldn’t stay to watch.

I turned toward the hallway, forcing my feet to move even as my heart weighed me down.

Alpha Darius had a son called Ronan. The same Ronan I had secretly admired for years, back when my mother worked as a servant for the Silverfang Pack. I’d see him every time I followed her to the estate and somewhere between those days, my admiration had turned into something deeper. I used to imagine that one day, maybe, I’d be brave enough to tell him how I felt.

But now, that dream was gone.

Ever since my breakup with Maddox, I had been trying to console myself with that little spark of hope, the thought that maybe I still had a chance with Ronan. But my mother… she had crushed that completely. She had ruined even that fragile piece of my heart.

Tears burned my eyes as I walked down the hallway, every step echoing with pain. Pain from Maddox’s betrayal. Pain from a mother who never once stopped to ask what was wrong with me. Pain from realizing that she had chosen a path that would only make things harder for both of us.

Soon she would become Luna, the Luna of the Silverfang Pack. And I already knew what they would say.

A lowly omega servant marrying an Alpha? Of course, they would call her a gold digger. They’d sneer and whisper behind her back, say she had trapped him. And somehow, those whispers would fall back on me.

Lost in my thoughts, I didn’t notice someone approaching until I bumped into them. Before I could even apologize, a sharp slap landed across my cheek, loud and stinging.

I froze, my hand instinctively going to my face as I lifted my gaze and met hers.

Betty.

“If it isn’t the gold digger’s daughter,” she sneered, her eyes glinting with cruel satisfaction.

Her words dripped with venom, but I held her gaze, refusing to look away. Betty was the Beta’s daughter, one of the pack’s highborns. She had always been close to Ronan, always part of his circle. I had spent years avoiding her and the others like her, because I knew my place. I was just a wolfless omega and the daughter of a servant.

But now, with my mother’s marriage to the Alpha, I knew that avoiding her would no longer be possible. Our paths were bound to cross again and somehow, I could already feel that this was just the beginning of what she had in store for me.

Not wanting any trouble, not today and not after everything that had already happened, I tried to walk away. I’d had enough since finding out that my mother’s new mate was the Alpha of the Silverfang Pack. The whispers, the stares, the disbelief… I was already drowning in it all.

But before I could take another step, Betty’s hand shot out and tangled in my hair, yanking me backward so hard that I fell to the floor. Pain shot through my scalp and I gasped, clutching my head as her laughter filled my ears.

“Let me go, Betty. I don’t want your trouble,” I said, forcing the words out through gritted teeth as I tried to get back up. I meant it, I truly did.

Before, I had always endured her cruelty in silence. Every time she found me helping my mother sweep the pack grounds, she would come around just to taunt me. She’d mock the way I dressed, the way I smelled, the way my mother bowed too low when greeting others. Betty had always found pleasure in bullying those beneath her and I had been an easy target.

And back then, I’d kept quiet because I was a nobody. Because I couldn’t risk my mother losing her job.

Even now, I was still that same nobody. My mother’s remarriage to the Alpha wouldn’t change that. I knew it. Everyone did. But I wasn't ready to allow her extend her bullying to today.

Betty’s laughter broke through my thoughts, a chilling chuckle that rattled my bones. I froze. I knew that laugh. Whenever she laughed like that, it meant something bad was coming. And this time, I had no idea how far she’d go.

“She thinks her poverty-stricken, gold-digging mother marrying the Alpha makes her special,” Betty sneered, her voice dripping with venom. Her group of followers burst into laughter behind her, each desperate to stay in her good graces.

“She wants to play princess so bad, poor thing,” one of them mocked.

“The mutt actually thinks her rank will change overnight because her mother’s leeching off the Alpha,” another spat, her tone full of disgust.

Their laughter grew louder, echoing through the hallway. Each word cut deep, but Betty’s smirk was the sharpest of all, her satisfaction, her pride in breaking others, her enjoyment of my humiliation.

I clenched my fists and pushed myself to my feet, my voice trembling but firm. “You can insult me all you want, but keep my mother’s name out of your mouths.”

They could call me wolfless, curse, trash and whatever they wanted. But my mother? No. I wouldn’t let them drag her. I had promised my late father I would always protect her, no matter what. That promise was the only reason I hadn’t interrupted her mating ceremony today.

One of Betty’s friends let out a sharp, mocking laugh. “Did you hear that? The little nobody dares to give the Beta’s daughter orders!”

The group laughed again. And as I stood there, trembling but defiant, I realized that this was only the beginning. Betty wasn’t going to stop. Not now that my mother was Luna.

“Seems like she’s forgetting her place as nothing but a slave meant to clean the filth off our feet,” another voice chimed in, her words slicing through me like a blade.

I rolled my eyes, refusing to give them the satisfaction of seeing me crumble. I was tired, tired of them, of the constant taunts, of the world that wouldn’t let me breathe without reminding me where I belonged. Without another word, I turned to leave. I just wanted to walk away, to have a moment of peace.

But I should’ve known better. Betty wasn’t finished. She never was.

“How dare you try to leave when I’m not done speaking to you?” she yelled, her voice sharp enough to pierce through the music drifting faintly from the mating grounds. The celebration continued outside, the laughter and cheers masking the cruelty happening here in the shadows.

“Please, Betty. Let me go,” I pleaded, my voice barely steady. “I don’t have time for this.”

“Well, I have time for this, Sienna!” she snapped, yanking my hair again, harder this time. Pain shot through my scalp and I stumbled back as she pulled me closer, her face twisted with hatred.

“You think your mother’s remarriage makes you above me now?” she hissed, her breath hot against my face. “Sorry to burst your bubble, but you’ll always be the same wolfless miserable servant's daughter crawling at my feet!”

Her words burned, but what came next burned even more. She drew her hand back, ready to slam my head against the wall.

Instinct kicked in. I caught her wrist midair and grabbed a fistful of her hair, yanking it back with every ounce of strength I had.

“What are you doing? Let me go!” she screeched, still tugging at mine.

“Then let me go too!” I shouted back, refusing to back down this time.

We pulled and twisted, both struggling to overpower the other. Her minions stood frozen, unsure of whether to step in. No one dared touch the Beta’s daughter, not unless they wanted trouble.

“Let me go, you wolfless mutt!” Betty spat, her voice shrill with anger.

“Let me go too!” I shot back, my fingers tangled tightly in her hair.

The air around us grew thick with tension, our harsh breaths the only sound breaking through the music beyond the walls.

“What the hell is going on here?!”

The commanding voice sliced through the chaos, freezing us both where we stood. Our grips loosened instantly as we turned toward the sound, dread creeping into my chest before I even saw who it was