CHAPTER 2

Aura's POV

The morning following the claim, I woke up unsure of what to expect. He kissed me as if I were his own, and my lips were still tingling and my skin was still burning from his touch. But nobody was beside me. Only the crumpled sheets and the tiniest trace of his scent remained in the air.

I sat up slowly, aching in areas I hadn’t been before. My heart ached, not with regret, but with the weight of uncertainty. What now?

Would he return? Was that it? Was I just a girl who had her first time with the Alpha, and now he would move on like nothing had happened?

A knock shocked me. I drew the covers tightly around me, even though whoever it was had certainly already heard the whispering.

“Breakfast is ready downstairs,” came the voice of the kitchen Omega, Tara. “The Alpha said you should eat.”

I didn’t answer immediately. My gaze strayed to the slight mark at the curve of my neck—faint, but there. His teeth. His claim.

He had claimed me before the entire pack, but now he was gone?

“I’ll be down soon,” I called back.

When I finally made it to the dining hall, my head turned. Whispers followed me like shadows. Some wolves gazed with unabashed envy. Others with judgment.

“She’s just a nobody.”

“Didn’t even shift yet. What’s so amazing about her?”

“He never looked at anyone like that before. Not even the council’s daughters.”

I took a seat in the farthest corner, barely touching my food. My thoughts swirled. Where was he? Why did he leave?

The day went in a haze. I tried not to let it eat at me, but by nightfall, I was pacing in the tiny room they’d given me.

Then, the scent returned.

Leather. Cedar. Something deeper, something that grabbed at the very borders of my soul.

He didn’t knock. The door opened, and there he was. Alpha Ryder.

His eyes were intense. Stormy. And he stared at me like I was the only thing in the world he needed.

“I couldn’t stay away,” he mumbled, walking toward me.

I swallowed. “Then why did you leave?”

His jaw clenched. “I had business to attend to.”

He reached out, caressing my cheek. My breath caught.

“You’re not like the others, Aura,” he whispered. “You feel it too, don’t you?”

I was unable to speak. I gave a nod.

Then he kissed me, deep and slow like he needed to memorize my flavor. That night, we bond again.

And the next night.

And the next.

He came in discreetly, always after dark. When no one could see. When the rest of the pack believed he was resting or out on patrol.

But with each visit, my heart wrenched tighter.

Because I was starting to believe. Starting to hope.

Was he my mate?

I attempted to ask him once. “Why do you only come at night?”

His answer had been a kiss, harsh and desperate. “Because I want you without the world watching.”

But that wasn’t the truth. Not really.

The reality was, he didn’t want anyone to know.

The pack continued to speak. Whispers grew louder. Some praised me. Most despised me.

“She’s not even of noble blood.”

“She’s nothing. A mistake.”

I couldn’t go into the kitchens without feeling eyes searing into my back. Couldn’t stroll past the training grounds without hearing laughs.

Still, he came. Every night. Like I was his addiction.

He never promised anything. Never said what we were. But when he hugged me, I didn’t care.

Until the night I overheard the truth.

It wasn’t meant for my ears.

I was returning from the spring, a basket of herbs pressed to my hip, my steps quiet on the stone hallway near the council room. The heavy wooden door was slightly ajar. I was going to walk by, I really was, but his voice stopped me.

Ryder.

"I don't care about your traditions," he yelled. "The girl means nothing."

The basket dropped from my fingers. The thud made no sound. My breath did.

"She's a means to an end. I needed the bond sealed before the council vote."

My heart twisted. No. He couldn’t mean me. He couldn't.

"No one will suspect anything once I’ve chosen my Luna."

Another voice responded. Male. Deep. Councilman Drey, I guessed.

"As long as Luna comes from noble blood, your position remains secure."

A long pause.

"Then it's done," Ryder remarked.

I ran.

I didn’t care if anyone saw me. The words replayed like a cruel joke, piercing through every moment we had shared. Every kiss. Every murmured moan. Every time I thought he was mine.

The girl means nothing.

I held my chest, moaning as if I could claw the pain from my ribs. My legs trembled as I staggered into the trees behind the packhouse. The chilly air seared my cheeks, but nothing hurt as much as the emptiness inside me.

He never stated I was his partner. Not once.

He never looked me in the eye when he left.

He never held me afterward. Never stayed.

Of course, it wasn’t genuine. Of course, I was simply a pawn.

I was naive to believe differently.

The world tilted beneath my feet as I slid to the earth. The night, once a shelter, now felt like a jail. A terrible joke with no punchline.

The Alpha’s secret obsession.

That’s all I was.

Everything inside me cracked.

And yet…

I didn’t cry

I waited for him to arrive while lying in the dark and listening to my breathing.

~~~~~~

I stayed away from the dining hall the following morning. The whispers weren’t simply whispers anymore—they were poison.

“She’s a phase.”

“A toy.”

“He’ll move on soon.”

I stayed by the river instead, watching the water run. Trying to quiet the fury inside me.

I had given him everything. My body. My heart.

And he had called me temporary.

The night arrived again. And so did he.

Like nothing had changed. Like he hadn’t just broken something sacred.

“Aura,” he muttered, reaching for me.

I flinched.

His brow wrinkled. “What’s wrong?”

I stared him in the eye. “Do you love me?”

He froze. Just for a second. But that was enough.

“I’m your Alpha,” he said instead.

I tightened my throat. "That doesn't answer my question."

His expression was shuttered as he stepped back. "Avoid asking questions you don't want answered."

The door shut behind him.

I shivered as I sat on the bed's side.

I did want the answer.

But I already knew it.