Chapter three

I knew something was wrong the moment I walked into the great hall and saw the decorations.

Silver decorations hung from the ceiling, catching the afternoon light and spreading it across the floor like fallen stars. Tables had been arranged along the walls, covered with food and drink—far too much for a simple pack gathering. The air felt tense with excitement. Wolves stood in small groups, whispering and smiling like they were hiding a secret.

My stomach felt tight with fear.

"Elara!" One of the younger wolves, Cassidy, ran up to me with a bright smile. "Isn't it exciting? The Alpha is making a special announcement tonight. Everyone's talking about it."

“What announcement?” I asked. My voice came out sharper than I had intended, and Cassidy's smile faded a little.

"Well, no one knows exactly, but—" She leaned in close, dropping her voice to a whisper. "—everyone thinks it has something to do with Selene. They've been spending so much time together lately, and she's been glowing. You know what that usually means."

Yes. I knew exactly what that meant.

My wolf moved restlessly inside me, feeling my distress. Through the mate bond, I could feel Kieran somewhere in the pack house. His emotions were a confusing mix of excitement and something else—guilt, maybe? It disappeared before I could understand it fully.

"Where is Selene now?" I asked, though part of me didn't want to know.

“With the Alpha,” Cassidy said. “They’ve been in his office all morning.” She looked at me closely. “Luna, are you okay? You look pale.”

"I'm fine." The lie tasted bitter. "Just tired. I think I'll rest before tonight."

I left quickly before she could ask more questions.

My feet carried me through familiar hallways without thinking. My mind was spinning, trying to put together pieces of truth I had been avoiding for months. The late nights. The closed doors. The way Kieran's eyes would look away from mine whenever I asked where he had been.

And Selene, always Selene, with her sympathetic smiles and gentle touches on my arm as she asked how I was feeling, if I had recovered from losing the baby, if Kieran and I were trying again.

I should have seen it. I should have recognized the enemy hiding behind my best friend's face.

I reached my room—our room, though Kieran had been spending fewer and fewer nights in it—was empty when I arrived. I locked the door behind me and walked to the window, pressing my forehead against the cool glass. Below, pack members continued to arrive, drawn by whatever announcement Kieran had planned.

An announcement about Selene.

The mate bond stirred again. I felt Kieran's attention turn toward me for a brief moment before sliding away again, like he couldn't bear to focus on me for too long. That hurt worse than anything—the way he'd stopped seeing me, stopped reaching for me across the bond we'd once shared so completely.

A knock on the door startled me.

“Elara?” My brother’s voice. "Are you in there?"

I thought about not answering, but my brother would only worry more. I walked to the door and opened it. Dariaus stood there in his beta uniform, looking worried.

"What's wrong?" he asked immediately.

….Everything, I wanted to say. My mate doesn't love me anymore. My best friend has stolen him from me. I'm dying a little more each day and no one seems to notice….

"Nothing," I said instead. "I'm just not feeling well. I might skip the gathering tonight."

Dariaus frowned, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. "Elara, you can't skip it. Kieran specifically asked for you to be there. Whatever he's announcing, he wants you there."

….Wants me there to watch him celebrate another woman? To stand beside him and smile while my heart breaks? But I couldn't say that, not even to my brother. Some shame is too deep to share….

"Do you know what this is about?" I asked quietly.

Dariaus hesitated. That pause told me everything. He knew. Of course he knew—he was Kieran's beta, his second-in-command. If anyone would know the Alpha's secrets, it would be him.

"Dariaus." I grabbed his arm, feeling desperate now. "Please. Tell me."

He looked at me for a long moment, something unreadable crossing his face. Then he sighed and pulled me into a hug, something he hadn't done since we were children.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly into my hair. "I'm so sorry, little sister."

Those words confirmed everything. I pulled back, fighting the tears that wanted to fall.

"How long have you known?" I asked

"A few weeks. Maybe longer." He rubbed his face tiredly. "I thought... I hoped it would stop. That Kieran would come to his senses. But when he asked me to help plan tonight's celebration—"

"Celebration," I repeated. "He's celebrating."

"Elara—"

“What is he announcing?” I asked. “Tell me.”

I needed to hear it, needed to have the truth spoken aloud even though it would destroy me.

Dariaus looked into my eyes, and I saw his own pain reflected there. Despite his strength, despite his position as beta, he was still my brother, still the boy who'd held my hand at our parents' funeral.

"Selene is pregnant," he said quietly. "She's carrying Kieran's child."

The words hit me like a punch. I stumbled back, my hand instinctively moving to my own abdomen, where my womb lay empty and broken. Where I had lost our child, lost our future, lost everything that had made me valuable in Kieran's eyes.

"No," I whispered. "No, that's not—we're mates. He can't just—he can’t do this."

"He can." Dariaus's voice was gentle but firm. "As Alpha, he has the right to take another mate if Luna can't provide an heir. It's pack law, Elara. Ancient law."

Ancient, yes, but rarely used. Most Alphas loved their Lunas enough to weather any storm together. But apparently, I wasn't worth weathering a storm for.

"He's not replacing you," Dariaus added quickly, as if that would somehow make it better. "You'll still be Luna. Selene will simply be... second Luna. The mother of his heir."

Second Luna.

The title felt like poison in my mouth.