Chapter 2

“Don’t just stand there. Let’s go.”

The Beta, Kael, stared me down, his expression and tone ice-cold.

I moved like a robot, bending down to pick up my backpack.

My phone buzzed. A message from Declan.

[Go with Kael for now. I’ll come and explain later tonight.]

I stared at the cold text, my fingers trembling as I typed back. [Why did you lie to me?]

His reply was even more impatient.

[Don’t cause a scene. This isn't the place for your drama.]

A single tear splashed onto the screen.

I followed Kael downstairs, past the pack’s elite enforcers, who stared at me with open scorn.

“That’s her? The mistress clinging to the Alpha?”

“The Luna is so generous, personally greeting her like that.”

“Generous? Hah. A true Luna doesn't lose sleep over a stray.”

A wave of laughter followed. I gritted my teeth, trying desperately to ignore their stinging words.

The car stopped in front of a tower that scraped the sky.

Kael tossed me a key card. “The Alpha’s command. You’re staying here for now.”

Without another word, he drove off.

The area was deserted. I had no way of leaving even if I wanted to.

I swiped the card and opened the door.

The scent of pure luxury hit me.

It was a penthouse suite. An entire wall was made of transparent crystal, offering a panoramic view of the Northern City’s lights. The faint scent of a woman’s perfume lingered in the air.

This was what Declan called his “humble place”?

I thought of all the nights he’d held my hand, his voice tired and guilty. “Aria, the place I’m living in now is so small. You deserve better. When I’m strong enough, I’ll build you the most beautiful den.”

I thought of how I’d saved every penny each month, draining my own life force to heal my packmates in exchange for precious energy crystals, just to send them to him through secret channels.

I thought of how I’d rejected every worthy Beta in my own pack, all because I believed in the man I’d chosen as my Fated Mate.

It was all one big, terrible joke.

I collapsed onto the plush carpet, my eyes drawn to a massive portrait on the wall.

I froze.

In the painting, Declan was dressed in black royal robes, standing beside Celeste in a white gown before a statue of the Moon Goddess. Under the watchful eyes of the Elders, they were exchanging eternal vows.

In the bottom right corner, the date of the ceremony was inscribed.

I remembered that day. It was the day I came of age.

That day, I had asked him, full of hope and excitement, “Declan, I’m an adult now. When can we complete our mating bond?”

He had replied: [Soon, Aria. Just wait for me a little longer.]

And on that very day, in the Northern City, he was pledging his life to another woman.

I burst into the bedroom like a madwoman. Their intimate photos were on the nightstand. Celeste’s silk and lace lingerie hung in the closet. The vanity was covered in expensive jewelry.

The last shred of hope I had was obliterated when I pulled open the nightstand drawer.

A photo slipped out.

It was a portrait of Celeste. And there, just above her collarbone, was the silver wolf’s head sigil—the mark of a full, permanent mating bond from Declan.

The complete marking he had promised me, he had already given to his Luna.

I crumpled to the cold floor, the sobs wracking my body.

I remembered that stormy night seven years ago, when I followed the scent of blood deep into the forest and found him. He had been wounded by silver, barely breathing.

I had felt the pull of our fated bond and used every last drop of my healing power to bring him back from the brink of death.

When he woke up, he told me his name was Declan. A low-ranking Beta, an outcast, bullied for his weak bloodline.

We spent six blissful months together before he told me he had to return to the Northern pack.

He held my hands, his gaze more serious than I’d ever seen it. “Aria, the Moon Goddess brought us together. This is fate. But right now, I have nothing. I can’t give you any promises.”

I squeezed his hands back. “I don’t care. Declan, when you’re strong enough, we’ll complete our bond. I can wait.”

After that, we made love countless times, but he only ever gave me a temporary mark. He always said that one day, we would have our ceremony and become true mates.

It turned out he was lying from the very beginning.

He wasn't a Beta; he was an Alpha.

He wasn't coming back to claim me; he was already sharing his throne.

I curled up on the floor, crying until my throat was raw, until my whole body shook with spasms.

In the portrait on the wall, Declan gazed at Celeste with a look of pure, adoring love.

The same look he once gave me when he said:

“Aria, in my heart, nothing is more important than you.”