Humiliation

CHAPTER ONE

ZARA

His tie is the first thing I notice.

Green.

Not the silver one my maids prepared to match my dress for the Pack’s annual Moon Festival.

During the festival, the Alpha and Luna always wore matching colors. It was one of the oldest traditions in the Pack, a symbol of unity, stability, and harmony blessed by the Moon Goddess herself.

I stare at him from across the bedroom mirror. “You’re supposed to wear the silver tie, Alex.”

He adjusts his cufflinks without looking at me. “I misplaced it.”

“You could have told me earlier.” My fingers smooth unconsciously over the silver silk clinging to my waist. “I would’ve changed.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

The answer comes too quickly. Too sharply.

“We’re already late.”

Something feels wrong.

Alex rarely explains himself to me, but tonight there is tension in the rigid line of his shoulders, in the way he avoids my eyes as though even looking at me for too long is exhausting.

I study him quietly while my maids finish pinning the last diamonds into my hair.

The black suit fits him perfectly, sharp against his broad frame. His dark hair is still damp from his shower, curling slightly at the ends. Even after three years of marriage, my chest still betrays me whenever I look at him for too long.

Cruel men should not be allowed to look this beautiful.

Three years ago, the Moon Goddess tied us together despite everyone knowing who Alex truly wanted.

His almost-mate. The woman he loved before fate intervened and placed me beside him instead.

And in our world, divine will is law. Rejecting a fated bond is not just rebellion—it is sacrilege. Packs had fallen before under the Moon Goddess’s punishment.

So Alex accepted the bond.

Not because he wanted me.

But because he had no choice.

Because the Pack came first.

A mistake.

That was what this marriage had always felt like. One long, beautiful mistake dressed in silk and ceremony.

Still, I stayed.

Because every once in a while, Alex would look at me a little too long. His hand would brush mine accidentally. He would remember how I take my tea. Tiny things. Meaningless things.

But I collected them anyway like a starving woman gathering crumbs from the floor.

Maybe if I tried harder…

Maybe if I loved him enough for the both of us…

The guards bow the moment we step outside the estate. I force a smile onto my face and walk beside my husband while servants rush around preparing the final details for the festival.

Alex doesn’t offer me his hand.

He hasn’t in months.

The town square glows by the time we arrive. Lanterns hang above the streets like fallen stars, music echoes through the air, and children run through the crowd throwing flower petals at passing wolves.

“Luna Zara!”

“Alpha Alex!”

“Luna!”

People smile warmly as I pass. I wave back automatically, doing my best to ignore the emptiness walking beside me.

Alex walks half a step ahead like he always does these days.

Close enough to appear respectful.

Far enough to remind me I am unwanted.

The celebration begins soon after. Dancers fill the square while Pack members laugh and drink around long banquet tables overflowing with food and wine.

I try to focus on the festivities.

Then I see her.

For one horrible second, my body forgets how to breathe.

No.

Please.

Not her. Not tonight.

Selene.

She stands near the center fountain in a long green lace dress that wraps elegantly around her figure. Soft curls spill over one shoulder while wolves gather around her immediately, smiling and welcoming her home.

Green.

The exact same shade as Alex’s tie.

Slowly, I turn toward my husband.

His attention is already on her.

And the expression on his face destroys me quietly.

Warmth.

Not obvious. Not enough for anyone else to notice.

But I know this man. I know how carefully he guards every emotion, how rarely genuine softness reaches his face.

Yet he’s looking at her like seeing her again matters.

Like she matters.

“Selene’s back?” I ask softly. “When?”

Alex finally looks at me. “A few days ago.”

My stomach twists painfully.

“You didn’t mention it.”

“She’s part of the Pack,” he replies flatly. “I don’t need to report every detail to you.”

A few days.

That means they’ve already met. Probably more than once. Long enough for him to know what color she would wear tonight. Long enough to coordinate with her while standing beside me pretending nothing was happening.

I suddenly feel ridiculous in silver.

Before I can say anything else, Selene notices us and begins walking toward us gracefully.

The crowd quiets almost immediately.

Of course it does.

Everyone in the Pack knows the history between her and Alex.

The woman he loved.

The woman he wanted before the Moon Goddess chose me instead.

“Alpha.” Selene smiles softly at him first. Only then does she look at me. “Luna Zara.”

Her voice is gentle. Sweet. Perfectly respectful.

Which somehow makes it worse.

She steps forward and lightly hugs me before I can react.

“I’m so happy to see you again,” she says warmly. “I was worried things might still feel awkward between us after everything.”

My spine stiffens instantly.

“I don’t make Pack matters personal,” I reply calmly.

Selene smiles faintly. “You’ve always been more graceful than me.”

Harmless words.

Yet somehow I already sound petty if I defend myself further.

“I told Alex I didn’t want my return to upset anyone,” she continues softly. “Especially you, my Luna.”

Alex.

Not Alpha.

Like the title disappeared naturally between them long ago.

I force a small smile. “Then perhaps you should avoid creating misunderstandings now.”

The atmosphere shifts immediately.

Several nearby wolves glance at each other awkwardly.

Selene lowers her eyes at once, looking wounded. “I didn’t mean anything bad…”

“Enough, Zara.”

Alex’s cold voice slices through the tension.

“She just came back after everything she suffered,” he says sharply. “Do you really need to make things difficult for her?”

My throat tightens painfully.

Everything she suffered?

Interesting.

Because apparently he knows all about her suffering now. Enough to defend her publicly without hesitation. Enough to stand beside her while correcting his own Luna in front of the entire Pack.

Heat burns behind my eyes.

He will always choose her.

She is a constant in our lives. A constant reminder that he wanted her first.

Sometimes I feel like the other woman in my own marriage.

Isn’t that pathetic?

He is my husband, yet I feel like a mistress.

At least a mistress is wanted.

The sun finally sets, and the celebration moves toward dinner. I sit beside Alex at the high table, pushing food around my plate while conversations rise around me.

Everything tastes like ash.

“Luna Zara created a healing potion that cured three soldiers’ burns,” Zaphir announces proudly from further down the table.

Warmth spreads faintly through my chest.

“Oh yes,” Madame Hannah says immediately. “I have never seen burns heal so quickly. Not even a scar remained afterward.”

“That is our Luna,” Alex’s mother says with a proud smile. “Brilliant and exceptional.”

“And she settled the territorial dispute between the Greyworm family and Hannibal,” Kira adds. “Without bloodshed. Do you know how impossible that was?”

I blush softly beneath their praise. “The Moon Goddess deserves the credit, not me.”

Still, for one foolish moment, hope rises inside me.

Maybe this time.

Maybe if Alex hears them praising me, he will finally see me too.

I turn toward him quietly.

Wanting what?

A glance.

A smile.

Anything.

But Alex is not looking at me.

He is looking at Selene.

And somehow that hurts more than if he had ignored me entirely.

His whole face softens when he watches her. He rarely smiles, but when he does, he becomes unfairly handsome. I used to wonder what it would feel like to be the reason for that expression.

I follow his gaze.

Selene is crouched beside a small child now, examining his finger with concern. She pulls a balm from her pocket and gently rubs it over the tiny scratch while cooing softly to him. Then she kisses his forehead and sends him running back toward his mother.

I almost laugh at the performance.

Alex rises from his chair immediately.

“You’re always so kind, Selene,” he says proudly as he walks toward her. “The real blessing to us all. You healed him.”

The child had a scratch.

A scratch.

Meanwhile I have spent three years healing soldiers, treating children through fever outbreaks, tending pregnant wolves through dangerous births, and rebuilding half the infirmary after the fire last winter.

Yet somehow Selene rubs balm on a child’s finger and becomes a saint.

My jaw clenches as Alex helps her gently to her feet.

The entire table goes quiet.

And then I realize everyone is looking at me.

Not with judgment.

With pity.

His mother reaches for my hand beneath the table, but I quickly look away before the tears gathering in my eyes can fall.

I will not cry.

Not here.

Not in front of all these people.

Alex turns back toward the crowd, his voice cutting through the fading music.

“Before we end the night,” he announces, “I have one final thing to say.”