Chapter 14: The Aftermath

I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole. Forever. I would happily live with the worms. At least they wouldn’t remember this.

“I’ll… just… go,” I mumbled, backing away.

He gave a single nod. “Probably best.”

I turned so fast I nearly collided with a marble pillar. Recovering the last scrap of my dignity, I fled up the stairs.

Halfway up, his voice stopped me cold.

“Sincerely.”

I froze, not daring to turn around. “…Yes?”

“The shelter arrangements still stand, it's late now, but first thing tomorrow morning, you're leaving.”

The fragile thread of hope I’d been clinging to snapped.

“…I understand.”

This time, I didn’t look back.

•••

One moment I was standing in the grand entrance hall, blurting out the most mortifying sentence of my life to the most terrifying Alpha on the continent.

The next, I was face-first in the luxurious bed, screaming into the pillow.

“…I’m never speaking again. Ever.”

The pillow, unfortunately, offered zero comfort or wisdom.

I groaned, the sound muffled and pathetic. “Moon Goddess… what was that? ‘I’ll marry you’? I don’t even know his favorite color! I don’t know if he likes tea or coffee! I don’t know anything except that he can rip a man’s heart out without blinking!”

The more I replayed it, the worse it got.

He probably thought I was completely unhinged.

No. He did think I was unhinged. He’d basically diagnosed me with brain damage on the spot.

“I underestimated the severity.”

I let out another long, miserable groan and rolled onto my back, staring at the ornate ceiling.

“I’m going to replay this moment every single night before I fall asleep for the rest of my miserable life. It’s going to haunt me into the afterlife.”

A soft knock at the door made me jolt upright.

“Come in,” I called, voice hoarse.

One of the maids entered with a tray holding a steaming mug of tea. The moment she saw my face, she paused.

“…Miss? Are you alright?”

I forced a smile that probably looked like I was in physical pain. “I’m fine.”

She clearly didn’t believe me. “Did something happen with the Alpha?”

I considered lying. Instead, the truth tumbled out in a mortified rush.

“I accidentally asked Alpha Ryker to marry me.”

Silence.

The maid blinked slowly. Once. Twice.

“…You what?”

“I didn’t mean to!” I waved my hands frantically. “I panicked. I was trying to make a deal to stay here and my brain just… short-circuited. My mouth betrayed me completely.”

She stared at me for another heartbeat.

Then she burst out laughing — warm, genuine, and completely unexpected.

She quickly covered her mouth. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t laugh, but… our Alpha’s face must have been priceless.”

I blinked. “He didn’t throw me out immediately. He just assumed I had severe head trauma.”

The maid laughed harder, eyes sparkling. “Oh, that sounds exactly like him. Calm, logical, and terrifying even when he’s trying to be reasonable.”

To my surprise, a tiny, broken laugh escaped me too. For a few precious seconds, the humiliation felt a little lighter but it didn’t last.

The smile faded as reality crashed back in. “I’m still leaving tomorrow.”

The maid’s laughter died. She set the tea on the bedside table with gentle care. “I heard. I wish there was something we could do.”

“So do I.”

A heavy silence settled between us.

She studied me for a long moment, eyes soft with sympathy. “Are you afraid of going back?”

Afraid.

The word felt too small for the gaping hole in my chest.

“If I go back…” My throat tightened painfully. “There won’t be anyone waiting for me. Miranda will be furious I inconvenienced everyone. Father might not even glance up from his newspaper. Bianca will smile that perfect, empty smile and remind me she’s Luna now. And I’ll go back to the storage closet. To stale bread. To being called a pig. To pretending it doesn’t break me every single day.”

Tears stung my eyes.

The maid’s expression crumpled with quiet sorrow. “You deserve so much better than that life, dear.”

I gave her a sad, tired smile. “I don’t think ‘deserving’ has ever mattered much for me.”

After she left, I drifted back to the window. Night had fully claimed Blackstone. Lights glowed warmly across the vast estate, guards patrolled the high walls with disciplined precision, and somewhere in this enormous mansion, Alpha Ryker was probably wondering how fast he could get rid of the insane, rejected wolf he’d accidentally collected.

I pressed my forehead against the cool glass.

“Just one miracle,” I whispered to the indifferent Moon Goddess. “I won’t ask for anything else. Just… one.”

Outside, the wind whispered through the pine trees.

But no answer came.