Chapter 2: THE BETRAYAL UNFOLDS

Morning sunlight crept above the horizon, bathing the Shadowpeak Packhouse in pale light. It was very early, and most of the pack was still sleeping, but Selene was awake, her heart racing with anticipation. Today would be the day everything changed.

She dressed with a great deal of care, choosing a dress that radiated just the amount of power and grace she was comfortable projecting to the world as future Luna. A smirk tugged at the corners of her lips as she thought of Aria. By the time tonight's sun had set, Aria would no longer be anything but a disgraced outcast, her name accursed by the same people she had tried to protect.

Already she moved quickly, her plan set in action. She had whispered to the right pack members, telling them to meet in the grand hall under pretence of a pack meeting of urgency. She had made sure Kieran would be there, too. The moment he arrived, the final blow would be able to be dealt.

Aria awoke with a heavy heart. She had barely slept, her head teeming with thoughts of her awaited departure. She sat up, instinctively placing her hand on her belly. The babies were still, but deep inside her, their existence nagged for remembrance that she did have something worth fighting for.

The divorce papers lay on the bedside table, a painful reminder of what she would have to face. Today, she would sign them and hand them over to Kieran, after which she would leave the pack she had called home for the past two years. She didn't know where she would go, but anywhere would be better than staying here in a place where love had turned to cruelty.

She had barely risen from bed when there was a knock at her door. Aria's heart quickened as she opened to find Isla, a young pack member, standing nervously.

"Luna," the girl said, cocking her head slightly. "Alpha Kieran has called a meeting in the great hall. You are required to attend."

Aria frowned. A meeting? Why now, of all days? Still wrapped in the fogginess of her mind with the weight of her own problems, she nodded.

"I'll be there soon," Aria replied in a quiet, hushed tone, laced with exhaustion.

While the girl hurried away, Aria hastily dressed, settling for the most simple outfit. She wasn't in the mood to impress today. All she wanted was to just get this over with, sign the papers and leave. But as she turned towards the great hall, a growing sense of trepidation began churning in her stomach.

The hall was already filled with pack members when Aria came in. Their eyes shifted to her as she entered, some filled with curiosity and others with something darker, pity, perhaps. Whispers began almost at once, but she couldn't quite make out the words.

Standing in the middle of the room, Kieran was unreadable behind his mask. To her growing horror, Selene stood beside him, far too close to him, her face alight with a smile that did not quite reach her eyes.

"What is going on?" Aria asked, stepping forward, her voice taut with suspicion.

Kieran turned to her, his eyes cold. "We need to discuss something of great importance with the pack, Aria. It concerns you."

The weight in Aria's stomach churned. Something was not quite right. She could feel it in the way Selene's smile grew wider, the way Kieran was staring at her with nothing but pure disdain.

Selene stepped forward, her tone soft and sweet, but her words reeking of venom. "Aria, my dear friend, it would seem you have been keeping secrets from us."

Aria's blood ran cold. Her heart thundered in her chest as she looked between Kieran and Selene, confusion clouding her brain. "What are you talking about?"

Selene's smile spread wide as she turned to address the pack. "Our Luna, who for two years has failed to provide the Alpha with an heir, is pregnant." She paused for maximum effect, her eyes gleaming with sadistic enjoyment at the gasps of shock that moved through the crowd. "But rather than share this joyful news, she kept it locked away from her mate and the pack."

Aria's heart went to her stomach. Her mind was racing, trying to wonder: How did Selene know? How would she have found out about the pregnancy?

"I didn't hide anything," Aria told her, her voice at a shaky tone as she stepped closer to Kieran with desperation in her eyes. "I was going to tell you…"

Kieran cut her off, his tone icy with anger and hurt. "You've been lying to me, Aria. All this time, you kept this from me. Now that I want a divorce, did you think you could trap me with a pregnancy?"

Murmurs exploded within the pack; the sounds judgmental. Aria felt the floor slip from beneath her feet. She opened her mouth to defend herself, but words would not come, the pain of Kieran's accusation, venom in Selene's voice, cold eyes of the pack staring her down, it was all so much.

"I didn't… I never meant to…" Aria stuttered, but her words fell away before the rising tide of the pack's condemnation.

Seizing this moment, Selene struck out, "A Luna that betrays the trust of her pack isn't fit for her title. How will we be able to trust her when she keeps such a thing hidden from her Alpha and her people?"

The pack nodded in one mind, their faces now set hard as they stared at Aria. And in that moment, she knew that Selene had succeeded. The pack whirled against her, just as she had known they could.

Kieran stepped closer, his voice low but laced with contempt. "You're no longer my Luna, Aria. I hereby reject you, here and now. I will be marking Selene as my new Luna. Get your things and leave the packhouse by tonight."

And with that, Aria's world came crashing down. The final straw had been dealt, it seemed. She had been discarded, renounced by her mate and shamed in front of the entire pack. The pain lancinating through her body was so strong that she could hardly breathe. Her line of vision began to blur, her eyes welling up with tears, but she refused to allow them to fall.

She turned to Kieran one last time, her hopes high that in his eyes she might glimpse a flicker of that love they had once shared, but his face was cold, unforgiving. And at his side, Selene stood in triumph.

Saying nothing else, Aria turned and ran out of the hall, her heart breaking with every step she made. She did not know where she would go or how she would survive, but one thing was for sure: she could never come back. Not after this.