Chapter 2: Did You Take Me for a Fool?

Yara's POV

I pressed myself against the wall, not daring to breathe. The footsteps inside the room stopped.

"I don't hear anything," Daniel said after a moment. "You're being paranoid."

"Maybe," Judy replied, though she sounded uncertain.

I heard them move back toward the bed, their voices growing distant as they resumed their activities. 

My legs were shaking so badly I thought they might give out, but somehow I managed to back away from the door. 

Step by careful step, I retreated down the hallway until I was far enough away that they couldn't possibly hear me.

Only then did I let myself breathe.

My chest hurt. It physically hurt, like someone had reached inside and squeezed my heart with an iron fist. 

I stumbled back to my bedroom and shut the door behind me, leaning against it as hot tears streamed down my face.

"How could he?" I whispered.

"Men are liars," my wolf snarled inside my head. She was angrier than I'd ever felt her. "All of them. We should tear his throat out."

Part of me wanted to do exactly that. Storm back into that room and shift right there, let my wolf rip them both apart. 

But I forced myself to think rationally. I needed to be smart about this.

I wiped my eyes and tried to calm down. That's when my wolf spoke again, her voice quieter now.

"Yara... there's something I need to tell you."

"What?" I asked, though I wasn't sure I could handle any more revelations tonight.

"This wasn't the first time," she said softly. "I saw them. A year ago. I saw everything, but I... I couldn't tell you."

My blood ran cold. "What do you mean you saw them?"

"Remember when Judy first came to this Luna Suite? ”

I did remember. It was a year after I’d gone blind. I was on the phone with my son, listening to him talk about his day, when Daniel came home with Judy. 

She was supposed to move in two weeks later—she’d called me about it, saying she needed a place to stay for a while—but Daniel had overheard that call and told her she didn’t need to wait. 

He said she could come sooner, that it was no trouble. 

At the time, I thought he was just being helpful. I was grateful, even.

 I couldn’t see anything anymore, and having her around felt like a blessing.

"You were on the phone," my wolf continued, her voice heavy with guilt. "You couldn't see what was happening, but I could. Through your eyes, I could see everything."

A sick feeling settled in my stomach. "Tell me."

"Judy greeted you, remember? You asked her if she thought your wedding photo with Daniel looked nice."

"I remember," I whispered.

"She said yes. She said Daniel looked like he really loved you." My wolf paused. "But while she was saying that, Yara... her hand was on his crotch. She was touching him right in front of you, and you had no idea."

I felt like I was going to throw up.

"Daniel squeezed her ass," my wolf went on, the words coming faster now like she couldn't hold them in anymore. "And then he turned to you with that fake loving voice and said 'Honey, you look beautiful.' But his hand was still on her body the whole time."

"Stop," I choked out, but she didn't stop.

"Judy climbed onto his lap. She straddled him and started grinding on him while you were standing right there. She told you that you and Daniel were such a perfect match.'"

I slid down the door until I was sitting on the floor, my knees pulled up to my chest. They'd been doing this for a year. 

Maybe longer. Right under my nose, making a fool of me while I stumbled around in the dark like a helpless child.

The way my stomach churned made me want to vomit. 

I glanced at the wall where our wedding photo once hung. It was slashed—ripped down the middle.

I remembered the first week after I went blind. I had cried quietly at night because I could not see my own child’s face anymore.

I thought Daniel was asleep, but he sat up, held my shoulders, and whispered, “I’m here. I’ll guide you. You don’t need to be afraid.”

I had leaned into him then. It felt real. He said he would form a mate bond with me and take responsibility for both me and my child.

At that time, he was only a Gamma. He had no real power, no status to protect himself, yet he promised to protect us anyway.

I was moved by his sincerity. Even though the bond was not guided by the Moon God, I agreed. I chose him. I helped him rise. I stood beside him until he became Beta.

After I survived the fire, my body did not heal the way it should have. My wounds closed slowly, far slower than an ordinary werewolf’s.

My wolf stayed silent. I could not fulfill the duties of a Luna. The elders questioned my place again and again. Some openly opposed me, saying I was unfit to stand beside a Beta.

Daniel stood in front of them.

He overruled every objection. He said I was his chosen mate. He said my status would not be challenged. At the time, I believed that was love.

I gritted my teeth. “Did you two take me for a fool?” I said to the empty room, my voice shaking with rage.

My wolf let out a loud growl inside me. The sound tore through my chest.