Chapter 2

Sabrina's POV

For the past two years, I had been pathetically comforting myself with a single lie: Zander rejected me as his mate that day simply because I was too young.

My wolf wasn't mature enough to handle his furious alpha power.

I thought that once I turned twenty, his wolf would finally acknowledge me.

Now, clutching that terminal diagnosis in my hand, I dragged my heavy footsteps back to the Ironspike packhouse.

At this moment, the Ironspike pack was drowning in a suffocating level of noise.

Pink balloons and ribbons drifted all over the lawn.

It was my favorite color, but right now, looking at it felt like walking into an elaborately decorated, ironic funeral.

The air was thick with the stench of cheap champagne, the boisterous laughter of werewolf warriors, and a mix of scents that made my stomach churn in waves.

Still, in a fraction of a second, I locked onto the one figure that made my wolf tremble.

Alpha Zander.

He didn't even need to release his aura. Just standing casually amidst the rowdy crowd, he radiated an untouchable, absolute dominance.

His god-like face was completely void of expression, his cold, thin lips pressed into a harsh, unfeeling line.

The moment I stepped closer, an incredibly overbearing, icy alpha scent completely overwhelmed my senses.

That familiar sensation pierced through every bone in my body in an instant.

Lizzie, my weak and near-collapsing wolf, let out a piercing, greedy whimper in my mind. "Go hug him! Smell him! He is our mate!"

Clinging desperately to my sanity, I forced my trembling body under control, walked up behind him, and whispered in a voice so raspy it barely sounded human, "I need to talk to you."

Without waiting for a response, I led the way to the secluded poolside corridor.

Heavy footsteps soon followed behind me, each one feeling like it was stomping directly on my heart.

When I turned around, a flicker of mockery and impatience flashed in his eyes.

Then, he spoke. "Melinda and I are going to get mated. Next month, on the night of the full moon, we will hold the mating ceremony at the Moonlight Altar."

My brain completely shut down in that instant, and every sound around me was suddenly muted.

Lizzie let out a despairing whimper before collapsing limply in the back of my mind.

It felt as if a spiked claw had violently ripped out my heart. I dug my nails so fiercely into my palms that only the sharp, piercing pain kept me from crumpling to the floor.

When he brought Melinda back half a year ago, I had foolishly, pathetically thought he was just putting on an act to make me give up.

But now, the man who once promised to take care of me forever had personally handed down my death sentence.

I fought like hell to hold back the scalding tears pooling in my eyes, forcing out a trembling, broken sentence through my tight throat: "Did you... did you really have to announce this today, at my birthday party?"

Zander stared down at me from his towering height.

There wasn't a trace of human emotion in those deep wolf eyes, nor did he understand the absolute desolation hidden behind my words.

The corner of his mouth twitched upward. "Announcing the future luna of the Ironspike pack at your birthday party counts as a double celebration. Sabrina, stop being so stubborn like a child who refuses to grow up. Isn't this a good thing?"

Dropping those words, he refused to spare me even another second of his patience. He turned away with cold indifference, letting that icy cedar scent recede from my lungs.

A double celebration...

The extreme agony sent a spasm through my body, and I squeezed my eyes shut.

I stumbled, desperate to escape this place of utter humiliation, but before I could take more than a few steps, a sickly sweet, delicate voice called out from behind me. "Sabrina!"

My spine stiffened, and I stopped dead in my tracks right by the edge of the pool.

Melinda strutted toward me in her stilettos, wearing an overly flashy designer gown, looking every bit like a proud peacock.

She carried herself exactly like a pack luna inspecting her territory. "How do you like the decorations? Zander is so incredibly busy every day that he just dumps all these trivial tasks onto me. I had to run every omega in the pack into the ground today just to get things ready for your birthday."

My nails dug into my palms once again, the sharp pain keeping me tethered to my last shred of sanity.

I turned my head slightly and gave her a cold, unappreciative reply. "It looks terrible."

Melinda's face instantly froze, the corner of her mouth twitching unnaturally.

But she quickly plastered on that fake, plastic smile again. "Is that so? Zander specifically told me you loved this little-girl pink. Everything was arranged exactly to your taste."

A cold sneer flashed across my heart.

"Zander, you remember I like pink, but you don't realize how much this woman disgusts me?"

Melinda took a step forward, her tone suddenly shifting to one of mock earnestness. "Sabrina, you really don't need to be so hostile toward me. Once Zander and I mate, I'll be officially taking over the pack affairs for the Ironspike pack."

"I know exactly what you're so afraid of. After Alpha Isaiah passed away, your mother abandoned you for another alpha, and now you're just a low-ranking she-wolf leeching off the Ironspike pack."

She paused intentionally, a vicious gleam of absolute victory flashing in her eyes before she lowered her voice. "But don't worry. Once I become the luna here, I won't mistreat you. After all, I love Zander. If I didn't have such a generous heart, he never would have chosen me as his mate, right?"

I shot a quiet glance at the man standing not too far away.

"Zander, is this the future luna you chose?"

She spoke such pretty words, yet every syllable was a thinly veiled reminder to know my place.

In that very moment, I suddenly found myself desperate to know: in Zander's heart, who really mattered more...