The Alpha's Betrayed Luna

"You're nothing but a traitor's daughter, and you always will be."

The words hit me like ice water, even though I'd heard them a thousand times before. I kept my eyes down, clutching my books tighter against my chest as Madison's perfectly manicured nails dug into my shoulder.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you, Ava."

I forced myself to meet her blue eyes. Madison Sterling—blonde, beautiful, and brutal. The future Luna of our pack, or so everyone said. Dating Michael since they were sixteen, destined to rule together.

"I said, look at—"

"That's enough."

His voice cut through the hallway like thunder. Every wolf in the corridor froze, including Madison. Michael Sterling stood at the end of the hall, his dark eyes blazing with an anger I'd never seen before.

"Michael, baby, I was just—"

"I saw what you were doing." He walked toward us, each step making my heart pound harder. "Apologize."

Madison's mouth fell open. "What? You can't be serious. She's the daughter of—"

"I don't care whose daughter she is." Michael's voice dropped to a growl that made everyone step back. "No one deserves to be treated like this. Apologize. Now."

The hallway was so quiet I could hear my own heartbeat. Madison's face turned red, then white, then red again.

"I'm sorry," she spat out, not looking at me.

"Look at her when you apologize," Michael commanded.

Madison's eyes met mine, full of hatred. "I'm sorry, Ava."

She stormed off, her friends trailing behind her like lost puppies. The crowd scattered, leaving me alone with Michael. My legs felt like jelly.

"Are you okay?" His voice was gentle now, nothing like the Alpha tone he'd just used.

I nodded, unable to speak. Michael Sterling—the boy every girl dreamed about, the future Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack—was looking at me with concern.

"Your father's mistakes aren't yours to carry," he said softly. "Don't let them make you believe otherwise."

Then he was gone, leaving me standing in the empty hallway with my heart doing things it had never done before.

That was ten years ago.

Today, I stood in front of the mirror in my wedding dress, still not believing this was real. The girl who used to hide in the library was about to become Luna. The omega everyone hated was marrying the Alpha everyone loved.

"You look beautiful," my best friend Sarah said, adjusting my veil. "I still can't believe Madison pretended to be your friend all those years just to stay close to Michael."

I smiled, though mentioning Madison still made my stomach twist. After that day in the hallway, she'd done a complete turnaround. Suddenly, she wanted to be my friend, sitting with me at lunch, inviting me to parties. I'd accepted it all—for Michael. I wanted him to be happy, to not worry about the tension between his girlfriend and me.

"That's in the past," I said. "She left him for another Alpha two years ago. And now..."

"Now you're marrying him." Sarah squeezed my hand. "After you spent months putting him back together when she broke his heart."

The memory was bittersweet. Michael had been destroyed when Madison left. He'd loved her completely, and she'd thrown it away for a richer, more powerful Alpha from the Night Shade Pack. I'd been there every day, bringing him food when he wouldn't eat, sitting with him in silence when he couldn't speak, slowly helping him remember who he was beyond her betrayal.

Six months ago, he'd taken my hand and said the words I'd dreamed of hearing.

"I love you, Ava. I think I've loved you for longer than I realized."

A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts. "Five minutes," someone called.

My hands shook as I picked up my bouquet. Five minutes until I became Michael's wife. Five minutes until—

The door burst open. Sarah gasped.

Madison stood in the doorway.

But this wasn't the Madison I remembered. Her designer clothes were torn and dirty. Bruises covered her arms. A long, angry scar ran down her left cheek. Her perfect blonde hair hung in tangled strands.

"Where is he?" she panted. "Where's Michael?"

"Madison?" I couldn't process what I was seeing. "What happened to you?"

"You happened." Her eyes blazed with fury and fear. "You did this to me."

"What are you talking about? I haven't seen you in two years—"

"Liar!" She lunged forward, but Sarah caught her. "You had me locked up. You had them torture me. But I escaped, and now Michael's going to know the truth about what you really are."

"Madison, you're not making sense. I never—"

"Save it." She pushed past us, running toward the ceremony hall.

"We have to stop her," Sarah said.

But I was frozen, my mind racing. What was she talking about? Locked up? Tortured? I'd never hurt anyone in my life.

By the time I reached the ceremony hall, it was too late.

Madison had thrown herself into Michael's arms in front of two hundred guests. She was sobbing, her whole body shaking as she clung to him.

"Please, Michael, you have to protect me. She tried to kill me. Ava tried to kill me."

Michael's eyes found mine across the room. The love I'd seen there this morning was gone, replaced by something that made my blood run cold.

Confusion. Doubt.

And worst of all—suspicion.

"Ava," he said, his voice carrying across the silent hall. "What did you do?"