Chapter 3: The Pack Knows

I did not sleep that night. I could not. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw them together. Heard their words. Felt Damien’s hand around my throat.

When dawn broke, I was still sitting on my bed, staring at nothing.

Three days until the full moon gathering. Three days until my public humiliation and rejection.

I should run. Leave the pack before Damien could destroy what little remained of my dignity. But where would I go? A rejected omega with no strength, no money, no allies? I would not survive a week as a rogue.

Besides, running felt like admitting they had won.

A loud banging on my door made me jump.

“Get up, Omega!” Beta Marcus shouted. “The packhouse needs cleaning before breakfast.”

Of course. Even facing rejection in three days, I was still expected to scrub floors.

I changed into another plain dress and left my room. The hallway was full of wolves heading to the dining hall. Their conversations stopped when they saw me. They stared, then whispered, then laughed.

They all knew. Damien had not been lying about that.

“There she is,” a young female warrior said loudly. “The Luna who could not keep her own mate.”

“I heard she caught them in bed last night,” another added. “Finally figured out what everyone else has known for years.”

“So pathetic. If I were that weak, I would have left the pack in shame already.”

I kept my head down and kept walking. Their words followed me like ghosts.

In the kitchen, Omega Sarah was preparing breakfast. She was the only wolf who had ever shown me kindness, though she was careful to do it only when no one else was watching.

“Aria,” she whispered, glancing around nervously. “I heard what happened. I am so sorry.”

“Everyone heard,” I said quietly, picking up a mop.

“The Beta has been telling everyone. He says the Alpha will make an announcement at the gathering.” Sarah’s eyes were full of pity. “You should eat something. You look ready to collapse.”

She slipped me a piece of bread and some cheese. I had not eaten in two days, but my stomach was so tight with anxiety I could barely swallow.

“Thank you,” I managed.

“Sarah!” The head cook’s voice rang out. “Stop wasting time with that useless omega and finish the eggs!”

Sarah hurried away, and I was alone again.

I spent the morning cleaning, my body moving automatically while my mind churned. Three days. What would happen to me after the rejection? Would Damien let me stay in the pack as the lowest omega? Would he banish me?

Would he kill me?

At noon, I was scrubbing the entrance hall when Elena descended the grand staircase. She wore a flowing blue dress that accentuated her figure, her hair styled perfectly, a smug smile on her face.

Behind her walked Damien, dressed in his Alpha finery. They looked like royalty. Like they belonged together.

My hands stilled on the marble floor.

Elena saw me and her smile widened. She stopped directly in front of me, forcing me to look up at her.

“Good morning, sister,” she said sweetly. “I slept wonderfully. Did you?”

Damien stood beside her, his hand possessively on her lower back. He looked at me with cold indifference, as if I were a stranger. As if we had not taken vows five years ago.

“I trust you understand the situation now,” Damien said. “The next three days will proceed normally. You will continue your duties. You will not speak of what you saw. And at the gathering, you will accept the rejection with dignity. Do you understand?”

I wanted to scream. To rage. To hurt them the way they had hurt me.

Instead, I nodded.

“Good.” He turned to leave, then paused. “Oh, and Aria? Stay out of sight when the Bloodmoon Pack arrives today. I do not want them to know about my… mistake.”

They walked away together, Elena’s laughter echoing through the hall.

I returned to scrubbing, my tears falling silently onto the marble.

The Bloodmoon Pack arrived that afternoon with great ceremony. I watched from an upper window as Alpha Bloodmoon and his entourage were greeted by Damien. Elena stood at his side, playing the perfect hostess, accepting compliments and praise.

No one asked where the Luna was. Perhaps they already knew the Silver Crest Pack’s dirty secret.

I was meant to stay hidden, but I needed to fetch clean linens from the storage room near the main hall. I thought I could slip by unnoticed during the feast.

I was wrong.

As I hurried past the dining hall entrance, a voice called out.

“You there! Omega!”

I froze. Slowly, I turned to see Alpha Bloodmoon standing in the doorway, his eyes narrowed.

“Come here,” he commanded.

I had no choice but to obey. I approached with my head down, aware of every eye in the dining hall now watching me.

“Look at me,” Alpha Bloodmoon said.

I raised my eyes to his face. He was older, perhaps fifty, with grey streaked through his dark hair. His expression was curious.

“What is your name?”

“Aria, Alpha,” I whispered.

“Aria,” he repeated slowly. Then his eyes widened slightly. “Aria Moonstone? Alpha Damien’s mate?”

The hall went silent.

I saw Damien tense at the head table, saw Elena’s face flush with anger.

“Yes, Alpha,” I said quietly.

Alpha Bloodmoon studied me for a long moment. “Why are you dressed as a servant? Why are you not at your mate’s side?”

Before I could answer, Damien stood.

“Alpha Bloodmoon, I apologise for the confusion. Aria is… unwell. She prefers to keep busy rather than attend formal functions. Is that not right, Aria?”

It was not a question. It was a command.

“Yes, Alpha,” I said, the lies turning to ash in my mouth.

But Alpha Bloodmoon was not fooled. I saw understanding dawn in his eyes, then disgust as he looked at Damien.

“I see,” he said coldly. “How unfortunate that the Silver Crest Pack treats their Luna like a common servant. One wonders what other traditions of respect you have abandoned.”

The insult was clear. Damien’s face darkened with rage, but he could not afford to offend such a powerful Alpha.

“You misunderstand,” Elena interjected smoothly, rising from her seat. “Aria chooses this role. She is simply not suited for Luna duties. Some wolves are born to lead, and others…” She looked at me with false pity. “Others are born to serve.”

“How fortunate that the Silver Crest Pack has you, then,” Alpha Bloodmoon said, his tone making it clear he found nothing fortunate about it. “Though I was under the impression that packs had only one Luna. Has that tradition also changed?”

The tension in the room was thick enough to choke on.

“Perhaps we should discuss this privately,” Damien said tightly.

“Perhaps you should treat your mate with the respect she deserves,” Alpha Bloodmoon countered. “But I can see that concept is foreign to you.”

He turned to me, his expression softening slightly. “Aria Moonstone, know that the Bloodmoon Pack honours the old ways. Should you ever need sanctuary, our borders are open to you.”

The offer hung in the air like a lifeline I could not reach.

Damien’s rage poured through the mate bond, choking me. I knew I would pay for this later.

“Thank you, Alpha,” I whispered. “But I belong here.”

The words tasted like poison.

Alpha Bloodmoon nodded sadly, then returned to the dining hall.

I fled before anyone else could speak to me, clutching the linens to my chest.

I made it to the second-floor landing before Beta Marcus caught me. His hand closed around my arm like a vice.

“You stupid omega,” he hissed. “Do you have any idea what you just did? You embarrassed the Alpha in front of an ally!”

“I did nothing,” I said. “He asked my name. I answered.”

“You made him look weak!” Marcus shook me hard enough to rattle my teeth. “The Alpha wants to see you in his office. Now.”

Dread settled in my stomach like a stone.

Marcus dragged me through the packhouse to Damien’s office and threw me inside. I stumbled and fell to my knees.

Damien stood behind his desk, his face a mask of cold fury. Elena sat in the chair across from him, looking pleased.

“Close the door, Marcus,” Damien said quietly. “And make sure we are not disturbed.”

The door closed with a final click.

Damien walked around his desk slowly, like a predator circling prey.

“You cost me respect today, Aria. You made me look like a fool in front of Alpha Bloodmoon.”

“I only answered his question,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

“You should have lied!” Damien roared. His hand struck my face, splitting my lip. “You should have protected my reputation!”

I tasted blood.

“Three days was too generous,” Elena said from her chair. “Reject her now, Damien. Tonight. She does not deserve to breathe the same air as us.”

“No,” Damien said, his eyes gleaming with malice. “Three days. Let her suffer. Let her know what is coming and be helpless to stop it. That is a far better punishment.”

He crouched in front of me, gripping my chin hard enough to bruise.

“But after tonight’s performance, I think we need to ensure you do not embarrass me again. Marcus!”

The door opened.

“Lock her in her room until the gathering. No food. No visitors. If she tries to escape, break her legs. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Alpha,” Marcus said eagerly.

Horror washed over me. Three days locked away with nothing.

“Damien, please,” I whispered.

“You brought this on yourself,” he said, releasing me with a shove. “Take her away. I cannot stand to look at her anymore.”

Marcus hauled me to my feet and dragged me from the office. Elena’s laughter followed us down the hall.

He threw me into my room so hard I hit the wall. Pain exploded through my shoulder.

“Three days, Omega,” Marcus said from the doorway. “Three days to think about all your failures. Sweet dreams.”

The door slammed shut. I heard the lock click, then the scrape of something heavy being pushed against it from outside.

I was trapped.

I crawled to my bed, my whole body shaking. Blood dripped from my split lip onto my dress. My shoulder throbbed where I had hit the wall.

Three days with no food. My wolf was already too weak. Without sustenance, I might not survive until the rejection.

Maybe that was the point.

I curled into a ball on my narrow bed and finally let myself cry. Great, gulping sobs that shook my entire body. I cried for the girl I used to be. For the dreams I had lost. For the mate who had never loved me. For the sister who had betrayed me.

I cried until I had nothing left.

As darkness fell outside my small window, I felt something shift inside me. The tiniest spark, buried deep beneath years of pain and suppression.

My wolf stirred.

Not much. Barely a flicker. But it was there.

And in that moment, I realised something.

I did not want to die.

I wanted to survive.

I fell into an exhausted sleep as the moon rose, hunger already gnawing at my empty stomach.

In my dreams, I saw silver eyes watching me from shadows, and heard a voice whisper words I could not understand.

When I woke three hours later, my room was cold and my breath came out in white puffs.

The window was closed. The door was locked.

But standing in the corner, shrouded in darkness, was a figure.

And its eyes glowed silver in the dark.