CHAPTER 2: HER SUBSTITUTE

Celina~

Clara and Logan. The strong Alpha and his gentle girlfriend, the daughter of the former Beta. They were a perfect couple. The entire pack adored them, and no one even cared that they weren't fated mates. They simply wanted Clara as their Luna. But then something unimaginable happened. It was Clara herself who pulled a stop to their fairytale ending, as I heard. 

Clara, a free spirit adored by all, was shaken by the decision to elect her as Luna. Though she loved Logan, she wasn't ready to be confined to the identity of Luna. She wanted to travel the world and experience life better. She didn't want to get stuck in a remote place like the Hawthorn pack forever, never knowing what the rest of the world even looked like. So when it came to love or ambition, she chose ambition. Much to Logan's shock, Clara broke up with him and moved out of the pack. But then right on her way out of the pack, she was attacked by rogues. She fell into a coma that day, and the doctors all said that she would never wake up again. But now, she did.

“Let's go to the hospital,” Logan said cheerfully, making me snap out of my daze.

As Logan stepped out of the study with Roberts, I mustered my courage and stepped forward, plastering a smile on my face.

“Good morning, darling,” I said, my voice sounding a bit too cheerful even to myself. But I had a feeling that if I let Logan go right now, I would lose him forever. Logan may not like me much, but I was his fated mate, his destined Luna. I will have to do everything it takes to save my marriage. I can't just wait idly and watch it all go down.

What?” Logan all but barked, his voice sounding nothing like the cheerful baritone from earlier.

I looked at him before darting my eyes to Roberts, hesitating a moment.

“If you have something to say, just say it,” Logan snapped.

Biting my lips, I nodded. 

"Well, you said you wanted to have a baby with me. I have heard that chances of conceiving are high if we try in the morning. So…”

Before I could even finish speaking, Logan threw me a glare, the same glare of disgust one would throw at a cockroach, and then simply walked away. His Beta followed him, leaving me to stand there alone, feeling shame like I had never known. I had to talk about such a matter in front of another man, and my husband didn't even bother to speak a word in response. Just walked out on me. Was this the same man who whispered sweet nothings to me the entire night?

I bit my lip, trying to keep the tears of humiliation at bay. No, I won't just cry and mope away pathetically. After three years, Logan had just started warming up to me. He had even wanted a child with me. I can't let anything ruin our marriage just like that!

Rushing back to my room, I got dressed quickly. 

Once I reached the hospital, it didn't take much effort to find Clara's room at all. In fact, everyone was gushing excitedly about the miraculous recovery of Clara Davis. The girl who doctors had declared would spend her life in a coma had finally woken up, all thanks to the meticulous care of her Alpha boyfriend. Even when doctors had given up hope, he never did. Always visiting her, taking care of her and praying for her. And his wishes were finally answered. What a story of true love!

As praise for their love story spread all around me, I stood there numbly. So where did I fit in all this? The true mate of the dedicated boyfriend? The one who took care of his pack for the last three years when he was too busy looking after his comatose girlfriend?

Following a group of nurses who were gushing about the legendary couple, I reached the most luxurious ward in the hospital. Figures. Nothing but the best for the Alpha’s girlfriend. 

I took a deep breath, steeling myself before stepping towards the room. 

As the door opened and the nurses stepped in, I saw the inside of the VIP room. Near the bed sat Logan, peeling an apple with a gentle smile in his eyes. I didn't know he could even smile like that. Turns out, it was not that he couldn’t smile. Just that he couldn't smile at me. Then my gaze fell on the fragile frame of the woman lying on the bed. She was frail, thin from years of being in a coma. 

As I stood there looking at her straight brown hair and delicate pink clothes, I felt numbness seeping into my pores. Exactly the look Logan always demanded of me before coming to my bed. Despite having grey eyes a few shades lighter than my blue ones and a button nose rather than my straight nose, the woman looked similar to me. And with a chilling clarity, I suddenly realised I was nothing but a substitute. 

***

I couldn’t remember how I got home. As I stood in front of my wardrobe filled with clothes in all shades of pink, I let out a laugh. My gaze fell on the hickeys that Logan had left all over me, and the laughter turned louder. Wasn't it funny? I was just the clown he dressed up like his beloved woman until she woke up. Now that the real one was back, what was the need for this fake?

The door opened suddenly, and Logan barged in, his face masked in fury. Before I could even utter a word, he pushed me towards the wall, choking me.

“How dare you visit the hospital?!” Logan thundered, and I flinched, staring at him in shock.

“I am your Luna. Can't I even visit your ex-girlfriend?”

"You don't have the right to even look at Clara! If you plan to get close to Clara or even touch a strand of her hair, I will make your life a living hell!”

"Does our three years of marriage even mean anything to you, Logan?” I asked, looking him straight in the eyes.

“What? You think you are the Luna just because I married you? That position is meant for Clara alone. You are just a puppet who should always beg for my mercy. Got it?”

I stared at him in disbelief as he uttered such cruel words to me. Wasn't this the same man who spoke sweet nothings to me just last night? And now he was treating me as if I were worse than the dirt beneath his feet?

“Didn’t you say you wanted to have a baby with me? If you only want Clara, why did you say that then?” I asked, my mind full of confusion.

“All I feel when I touch you is disgust. If the council hadn’t been pressuring me to have an heir soon, I would never have wanted to have a baby with you!” Logan snarled at me, his eyes full of revulsion as he stared at me.

Something inside me broke at his words, and I just stared at him blankly for a moment. Years of staying obedient and fulfilling my duties, just for him to label me a puppet? Just touching me disgusts him? Fine. I had enough of being someone else's placeholder. I was tired of just giving and giving with nothing in return.

“Alright. Then reject me.” I said, my voice steady.

Logan froze upon hearing my words, his eyes wide in disbelief. 

“What?”

"Just like you said, I’m nothing but a substitute. Now your precious Clara has woken up, and I volunteer to return this Luna title to her.”

 felt his hand clamp down harder on my throat, his eyes blazing with rage.

"You don’t get to tell me what to do. Until you give birth to my heir, you will remain my mate. Don't even dare to think of rejection. I am the only one who could decide that," he growled, throwing me onto the sofa violently. 

He stood glaring at me while I laid there coughing violently, my throat aching from his hold. Then, he simply started packing his clothes in a bag and just walked away without another glance at me. Obviously, he was going to the hospital to stay and take care of Clara. 

I just couldn't understand why he was doing this to me. I did everything I could to become his perfect Luna, to win even a sliver of his affection. But all of it turned out to be a big fat joke for him. If he didn’t love me and didn’t even like sleeping with me, why was he hellbent on having a child with me? Why was he imprisoning me here and demanding to give him an heir?

As I sat up from my sprawled position on the couch, my gaze fell on the dressing-table mirror. With straight hair, and wearing a pink dress, I looked more like Clara Davis than myself. And I hated it. I hated that I was just a substitute, and I hated that I no longer looked like myself! 

Standing up with determination, I marched over to the damn pink wardrobe. Taking all the pink dresses that suddenly looked too garish to my eyes, I tore them up before tossing them to the trash. Then I took a pair of scissors and chopped off my long black hair. There. Now, I couldn't look like Clara even if I tried! 

Suddenly, as I stood there panting heavily, I felt dizzy. The scissors fell from my hand with a clang, and then the world grew dark…