Chapter 5

Sera

The news spreads like wildfire through the pack.

Aeron Nightborne is betrothed to Aspyn Vaelor. The wedding will take place in one week.

My cousins discuss it over breakfast, their voices deliberately loud.

“Finally, a proper match for him,” Aliya says, smirking in my direction. “Someone who actually belongs at his side.”

“Poor Sera,” Leah adds with mock sympathy. “Did you really think you had a chance?”

I stand up from the table without a word, my appetite gone.

The news follows me everywhere. Laughter that cuts short when I pass. Knowing looks from people who’d watched me fall for the impossible.

At work, it’s worse. The silence is deafening. Conversations die when I approach. Someone brushes past me and mutters, “Flew too close, didn’t she?”

I keep my head down and scrub counters harder than necessary.

I was so stupid. So incredibly foolish.

Just days ago, I’d been preparing to tell Aeron the good news that I’d start healer school in two weeks. And then the rumors started spreading about his betrothal, and everything changed.

I should have been clearer. Should have told him to stop with the gifts when it first started coming. Now I’m trapped in a humiliation I never asked for.

-----

It’s been three weeks since I last saw him.

Three weeks of silence.

Then one evening, as I’m finishing my shift, the atmosphere changes. The restaurant goes quiet, and I feel that familiar pull in my chest.

I glance toward the entrance.

Aeron stands there, desperation clear in his eyes. “Sera.”

He takes a step forward, but two guards appear at his sides, blocking his path.

“Alpha’s orders,” one of them says firmly. “You’re not permitted near this woman.”

“Let me go,” Aeron growls, trying to shake them off. “I just need to talk to her—”

“You’re not permitted here.”

He struggles against them, his eyes never leaving mine. “Sera, please—”

Everyone is watching now. Of course they are.

“Come with us,” the second guard says harshly. “Or we’ll be forced to remove you.”

They drag him backward and then he’s gone, pulled out the door before he can say anything else.

The Alpha has banned him from seeing me. Everyone knows it now.

-----

The wedding day arrives faster than I want it to.

My family receives their invitations sealed in gold. My aunt parades hers around like a trophy.

“Imagine being so close to greatness,” she says, looking directly at me, “and never quite touching it. I suppose pigs will always be pigs.”

Aliya and Leah laugh, their voices grating against my nerves.

The ceremony is grand and everyone must compulsorily attend. Golden decorations, hundreds of guests, everyone who matters in the pack dressed in their finest. I stay in the back, hidden among the crowd where my scent won’t offend anyone important.

Aeron stands at the front in ceremonial red and gold. He looks like he was carved from stone—perfect posture, controlled expression. But his eyes are empty.

He doesn’t look happy.

Relief and pain twist together in my chest. I don’t know what that says about me.

Then I look at Aspyn.

She’s beautiful. Golden hair cascading down her back in perfect waves, her dress a masterpiece of silk and lace that probably cost more than I’ll earn in a lifetime. Her skin is flawless, glowing under the ceremonial lights. She stands with the kind of grace that draws every eye in the room.

She’s everything I’m not. Elegant. Refined. Accepted.

Everything I could never be.

The whole scene feels surreal, like watching a dream unfold before me. Everything is happening too fast.

I close my eyes and send up a silent prayer to the Moon Goddess.

I can’t keep hoping for something that will never be mine.

The ceremony begins. The officiant steps forward, starting the traditional words.

Then a sound cuts through the hall—a terrible, choking gasp.

I watch in horror as Alpha Eldric clutches his chest, his face contorting in pain. His body shakes violently, and the terrible sounds coming from his throat bring the entire ceremony to a halt.

The light leaves his eyes.

He collapses.

Chaos erupts. Guards rush forward from all sides.

“Clear the room!”

“Get the healers!”

“Move back!”

I stand frozen as they lift the Alpha’s body. His face is gray, his eyes unfocused. Aeron rushes to his father’s side as they carry him away, leaving Aspyn standing alone at the altar.

We’re ushered out into the courtyard, confusion and fear thick in the air.

-----

We wait outside for what feels like hours.

Then we hear it—Luna Helena’s shrill scream echoing from inside.

No one needs to say what’s happened.

The Alpha is dead.

Shock ripples through the crowd. He’d been sick, yes, but no one expected it to happen so suddenly. So publicly.

One of the Elders steps forward, voice grave. “According to tradition, Aeron Nightborne will be crowned Alpha after the mourning period. The ceremony will take place before the next full moon.”

Murmurs spread through the crowd.

“What about the wedding?” someone asks.

“It was interrupted,” another voice responds. “Does that mean it’s void?”

“Do you think he’ll still marry Aspyn?”

“Maybe he’ll choose someone else now that he’s Alpha.”

I hear someone whisper nearby, “Could it be that Sera girl? How deep does her hold on him go?”

I almost laugh at the absurdity. Me? Influence Aeron?

But the whispers grow louder, spreading like poison through the crowd.

My aunt shoots me a venomous look from across the courtyard.

-----

Days pass in a blur of mourning rituals and preparations for Aeron’s coronation.

I wonder how Aeron is doing. If he’s grieving his father despite everything.

I’m finishing my shift one evening when Amy appears at my side, her expression odd.

“Sera, there’s someone here to see you.”

My heart jumps. “Who?”

“He didn’t say. Just asked for you specifically. He’s waiting outside.”

Aeron.

It has to be. The mourning period is over tomorrow.

I rush outside, hope fluttering dangerously in my chest despite everything I’ve told myself.

But when I step into the alley behind the restaurant, the person waiting isn’t Aeron.

It’s Kellan.

He looks different—thinner, haunted. His eyes are bloodshot, his usual confidence replaced with something broken.

“Sera,” he says, my name coming out like a confession.

I stare at him, too shocked to speak.

“I know you don’t want to see me,” he continues quickly. “I know I’m the last person you want to talk to. But please…just give me five minutes.”

“Why?” My voice is colder than I expected. “Why are you here, Kellan?”

He runs a hand through his hair, a gesture I once found endearing. Now it just looks desperate. “I need to explain. What happened that night…”

“You made your feelings perfectly clear that night,” I cut him off. “In front of everyone.”

“That’s just it, Sera. I—” He takes a shaky breath. “I didn’t mean any of it. I was stupid and I let fear control me. But I never stopped caring.”

A bitter laugh escapes me. “You’re unbelievable. You humiliated me. Made me look insane in front of the entire pack. And now you show up here weeks later with excuses?”

“They’re not excuses.” He steps closer, and I step back. “I made a mistake, Sera. The biggest mistake of my life. And I’ve been trying to find the courage to tell you—to beg for your forgiveness.”

“You rejected our bond, Kellan. You broke it.” My hands tremble at my sides. “You don’t get to just come back and ask for forgiveness like it’s that simple.”

“I know.” His eyes glisten. “I know I don’t deserve it. But I had to try. I had to tell you that everything I said that night was a lie.”

“Stop.” I hold up a hand, my heart pounding. “Just stop. Whatever you think is going to happen here, you’re wrong.”

“Sera, please—”

“No, Kellan.” I shake my head, tears burning my eyes. “You made your choice. Now live with it.”

I turn to walk away, but his next words freeze me in place.

“He’s using you, Sera. Aeron. Whatever he’s told you, whatever he’s made you feel, it’s all part of some game to him. You need to stay away from him.”