Chapter 2

Nara Pov

I sank back into my seat, my hands trembling uncontrollably. Xander’s words faded into the background, their meaning settling like a heavy stone in my chest. The weight of it all rendered me motionless.

Elle glanced at me, her expression unreadable. For the first time in our friendship, I couldn’t see her as the girl I’d grown up with. Instead, she looked like a stranger—a beautiful, deceptive stranger.

The necklace around my neck suddenly felt like a chain, its weight unbearable. My mate—the man who had saved me, who had promised me a future—stood beside my best friend, declaring her as his Luna.

I wanted to scream, to demand an explanation, but the words lodged in my throat. All I could do was sit there, the cheers and applause ringing in my ears like a cruel symphony.

Elle smiled as though she wasn’t surprised her name had been called. I scanned the crowd, desperate for some clue to make sense of this nightmare. To my horror, the faces around me reflected no shock.

They knew.

How could they? What time could Xander and Elle have had together when she’d always been with me? Elle had helped set up the proposal when Xander asked me to be his. She helped me pick this dress. She cheered for us.

I stood abruptly, my heart ablaze with questions. I refused to believe this was real. Xander and Elle must be playing some cruel prank. They had to be. I needed to clear this up immediately.

As I walked toward the stage, the applause began to falter. My forced smile felt unnatural as I clapped along. But when I tried to climb the steps, two guards—guards who had always let me pass—crossed their swords, barring my way.

I flinched.

“Xander?” I called, my voice shaky, attempting to mask my rising dread with laughter. “Come on, you guys are terrible at pranking me!”

I tried to move past the guards again, but they held firm, their swords glinting threateningly.

Dread coiled in my stomach like a viper. The murmurs in the crowd grew louder, and I felt their judgment, their scorn, suffocating me.

“Xander,” I pleaded softly, my voice breaking. “This is a prank, right?”

He didn’t respond. He didn’t even glance my way. Instead, he leaned in closer to Elle, who whispered something in his ear, her face lit with delight.

“Xander?!” I called again, panic clawing at my chest. My legs wobbled beneath me as I struggled to stay upright.

“Xander, please!” My voice cracked, tears spilling over. “Tell me this isn’t what it looks like! Tell me you wouldn’t betray me like this!”

Finally, Elle turned toward me. The room seemed to hold its breath as she raised an eyebrow, her lips curling into a smirk.

I was confused. Why weren’t they saying anything?

“Xander, pleas—”

“Oh, shut up!” she snapped, cutting me off, her voice commanding and sharp. The air vibrated with her tone, silencing the murmurs.

My breath hitched.

I was stunned. In all our years as friends, Elle had never raised her voice at me, let alone said something so cruel.

“E-Ellie?” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “Is this real? Did you… do this to me?”

Her laugh was low and cruel, sending chills down my spine. I didn’t want to believe what was before me. I didn’t want to believe that Elle would betray me so horribly—and behind my back.

“What do you think?” she asked, tilting her head mockingly.

I stumbled back. This couldn’t be real.

The weight of her betrayal threatened to crush me. Tears blurred my vision, and my knees buckled, but I refused to fall.

“You’re ruining the evening with your unnecessary drama,” Elle said dismissively. “Maybe after the ceremony we can sit down and talk, but for now, take your seat—or better yet, leave.”

Two guards approached me, and reality dawned.

They overtook me as I tried to step back, their hands reaching to grab my arms. I managed to slap them away, anger momentarily overtaking my despair.

“No,” I said through clenched teeth, my voice gaining strength.

The hall had long since grown quiet, but this time the silence was heavy. The guards who had blocked the steps now tried to drag me away. I sidestepped them and stormed up the steps, grabbing Elle’s arm and forcing her to face me.

“How could you do this to me?!” I screamed. “We’ve been friends forever! I thought we were family! Why?!”

Elle wrenched her arm free and slapped me so hard that my vision blurred. Gasps rippled through the crowd as the sting of her blow set my face on fire.

“Get your filthy omega hands off me,” she spat. “And it’s Luna Elle now, not Ellie. Don’t think for a second that you were ever on my level. You’re delusional, Nara. I only helped you because it was fun watching you play pretend.”

Her words struck like a whip, each one slicing deeper into my heart.

“You were never his mate,” she hissed. “Just a pathetic placeholder until I took my rightful place.”

“No,” I croaked, shaking my head. “That’s not true. Everyone saw. Xander declared me his mate. He promised—”

“Promised?” Elle’s laughter was sharp and bitter. “He never promised you anything that mattered.”

I turned desperately to Xander, my last hope, clinging to the belief that he would defend me.

“Xander,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “Tell them the truth. Tell them how you accepted me as your Luna. Please…”

He finally stepped forward, but the warmth I once knew in his gaze was gone. His eyes, cold and distant, regarded me like I was nothing more than a nuisance.

“Mates?” he scoffed, the word dripping with disdain. “You’ve always been delusional, Nara. You believed in a fantasy that was never real.”

My breath caught.

“What are you saying?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

“I mean,” he said, smirking, “I was bored—and you were… convenient.”

Elle laughed beside him, the sound echoing in my ears like nails on a chalkboard.

“No,” I said, shaking my head violently. “You told me you loved me. You said I was your mate.”

“I said what I had to,” he replied coldly. “It’s not my fault you let yourself believe it.”

The crowd murmured again, their voices harsh and accusatory.

“She thought she could be a Luna?” someone whispered.

“An omega, dreaming above her station,” another sneered.

The walls closed in on me.

“I… I’m your mate,” I said weakly, my hand clutching at my chest. “You can’t do this. You can’t!”

Xander’s expression darkened, and he stepped closer, towering over me.

“I, Alpha Xander of the Moon-Waters Pack, reject you, Nara Cliff, as my mate,” he said, his voice cold and final.

Pain erupted in my chest—an unbearable agony that tore through me like fire. I screamed, collapsing to the floor as the bond between us shattered.

The crowd watched in silence, their judgment heavy in the air.

“Now get out,” Xander spat, his voice void of any emotion. “You don’t belong here.”