03

Terra’s POV

My fingers skimmed the screen of my phone, endlessly scrolling, my mind restless. Delton. His name lingered like an itch I couldn’t scratch, a buzzing mosquito that refused to die. A week had passed since that night—since I crossed a line I didn’t even know existed. Something reckless. Something raw. Something I couldn’t forget no matter how many times I told myself it was part of the plan.

“Bryan, you still got nothing? Just that he owns the damn bar?” My voice was sharper than intended, but I was too far gone to soften it now. He’d been useless lately, and I was running out of time.

He barely glanced up from his laptop, slouched and disinterested. “Still digging, Terra. I’m not some goddamn magician.”

Frustration bloomed hot in my chest. Every passing hour felt like a noose tightening around my plan.

“Alpha celebration’s Wednesday,” I murmured more to myself than to him, lips barely moving. “We can’t just—”

I froze.

My heart stuttered.

Alpha celebration.

That's it!!!

The words echoed in my mind like a sudden prophecy. I straightened slowly, awareness creeping in like dawn breaking through heavy fog. Delton wasn’t just anyone—he was an Alpha. The Alpha Night was sacred—an exclusive event where the strongest, most influential Alphas gathered to celebrate power, legacy, and dominance.

He had to be there.

It was the perfect setup.

He was there! Yeah! He was supposed to be there!

“That’s it.” I shot up from the sofa, electricity zapping through my limbs. My body moved before my brain caught up.

“What?” Bryan looked up, bleary-eyed and unimpressed.

“Delton’s an Alpha. He’ll be there. Alpha Night is my shot—I get close to him, I pull the strings.”

Bryan’s expression darkened. He leaned back, arms crossing, jaw clenched. “And if he doesn’t show?”

“Don’t be so negative, Bry,” I snapped, whirling to face him fully. “You’ve been acting off for days.”

His eyes locked with mine. Cold. Distant. “Just be careful, Terra. You’re not playing a game anymore. You’re playing with fire. And fire burns.”

I opened my mouth to retort, but the words caught in my throat. Something about the way he said it unsettled me. He’d been strange ever since that night. Reserved. Distant. Was it concern—or something else entirely?

He stood abruptly, threw on his jacket, and walked out without another word. The soft click of the door was louder than a scream.

I stood there alone, fists clenched, thoughts spiraling.

“Later,” I whispered to no one.

But my mind was already spinning with plans.

I needed a strategy.

Time is running… I have to get Damian back! Or else I will lose him forever.

“Damn, I need a dress for that event!”

Afternoon I decided to go for a walk near the mall here.

The mall was buzzing with life—too much life. People poured into my vision like noise, chattering, laughing, and breathing too loudly. It all felt suffocating. I’d never cared much for fashion or crowds, but tonight wasn’t about comfort. I couldn’t show up at Alpha Night looking like just another desperate Omega clinging to status.

No. I had to command attention.

My eyes scanned the boutiques until they landed on it—a dress. Seductive pink, clingy in all the right places, delicate as a trap. It called to me.

I stepped forward.

But then I stopped cold.

My breath caught.

Him.

Damian.

My Damian.

He stood at the end of the aisle like a cruel mirage—smiling, radiant… and holding another woman’s hand.

I still went.

His laughter rang out as they spoke intimately, heads tilted together like they shared secrets. The girl was beautiful—effortlessly so—and worse, she looked happy. He looked happy without me. Happy with somebody.

My stomach dropped.

How? How could he move on so easily?

I bit down on my lip until I tasted blood. Copper. Pain. My hands clenched at my sides as I forced myself to turn away, stumbling out of sight before I broke.

The walls closed in around me. The lights felt too bright. The air was too thick.

I bolted to the nearest bathroom and locked myself inside a stall. My legs trembled as I stared into the mirror, my reflection pale and raw. My eyes brimmed red—but the tears didn’t fall. I wouldn’t let them.

How could he just walk away?

How could he replace me?

Was it because I was an Omega? Because I wasn’t enough?

Self-doubt clawed at me like fangs beneath the skin. But then—I remembered.

That night.

Delton.

I fumbled through my purse and retrieved my lipstick. Fireball red. The same shade I wore that night, when I let go of who I was and became someone else. Someone powerful.

I dragged the color across my lips, slow and deliberate. Like war paint. A promise.

I’m not weak.

Not anymore.

Sunset had draped the sky in gold when I arrived at Criselda’s. Her door creaked open, revealing her surprised expression.

“Terra?” Her brows lifted. “You look… different.”

I was lost earlier to the point I didn't even get a dress at that mall because of him and that woman.

“I need a dress.” I stepped inside uninvited. Her room was chaos—fabric, heels, and makeup scattered like a hurricane had hit.

She blinked, then grinned. “You? Want a dress? Who are you and what have you done with the real Terra?”

I rolled my eyes. “Just help me. Please.”

Her smile faltered slightly, curiosity taking over. “Does this have to do with Damian?”

I didn’t answer.

She already knew.

Everyone did.

Criselda turned toward her closet and pulled out a dress that shimmered like starlight—midnight black, fitted, deadly beautiful.

“This,” she said, holding it out, “will break necks.”

I took it reverently, my fingers gliding over the smooth material.

“You think you can win him back?” she asked, softly now.

I met her gaze. “We didn’t break up. He got lost. I’m going to remind him who I am.”

She didn’t argue. Didn’t encourage either. Just let the silence sit between us.

And maybe she thought I was being foolish. Maybe I was. But love makes fools of us all.

And I refused to walk away.

Not without a fight.