Chapter two

Serena did not know how long she stood outside the manor doors.

The cold night air bit at her bare arms, but she barely felt it, her body numb, her mind numb, everything inside her gone quiet like the world had suddenly been muffled.

Behind her, through the heavy oak doors, she could still hear the music, the laughter, the clinking of glasses. They were celebrating inside, toasting to fate, toasting to the three perfect couples, and she was out here, alone, forgotten.

She forced her legs to move. The path from Alpha Manor wound through the heart of the pack village. Serena kept her head down, her arms wrapped around herself, praying that no one would see her, that no one would notice the girl in the pale blue dress stumbling home with tears on her face. But they noticed.

A group of women stood outside the village tavern, their voices carrying easily through the quiet night. Serena tried to hurry past, but their words followed her.

Did you see her face? One of them laughed. She actually thought they would choose her. A wolfless orphan as Luna. Can you imagine? She probably thought all those years of following them around meant something. How pathetic.

Serena’s steps faltered, but she could not stop. If she stopped, she would crumble. She kept walking.

More whispers followed her through the village. She passed by open windows and heard snatches of conversation, pieces of her humiliation being passed around like gossip at a dinner table.

The Alpha heirs and their fated mates. So romantic. I always knew those three would end up with someone worthy. That poor Serena girl. She must be devastated. Good. Maybe now she will learn her place.

Serena bit the inside of her cheek until she tasted blood. She had never learned her place. That was the problem. She had let herself believe she could be more than the pack’s orphan. She had let three men convince her that she mattered, that love could overcome bloodlines and wolves and everything else. She had been a fool.

She was halfway to her cottage when a voice stopped her. Serena. It was not cruel, not mocking, just cold, measured, the kind of voice that expected obedience. Serena turned slowly.

Lady Victoria stood beneath a wrought iron lamp post. She was the Alpha’s mother, the most powerful woman in Blackwood, and she was looking at Serena like she was a problem that needed to be solved.

Serena opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Lady Victoria stepped closer. Her eyes swept over Serena’s tear streaked face, her rumpled dress, her shaking hands.

There was no pity in that gaze, only something that looked like disappointment. I was hoping to speak with you, Lady Victoria said. Privately.

Serena nodded. She did not trust her voice. They walked to a small bench near the manor gardens. Lady Victoria sat down and gestured for Serena to join her. Serena sat on the edge of the bench, her hands clenched in her lap. I will not waste your time with empty comfort, Lady Victoria began. You are old enough to hear the truth.

Serena’s chest tightened. The boys have always cared for you, Lady Victoria continued. That is not a secret. I’ve watched the boys grow attached to you. It was kind of them. But kindness is not the same as commitment. Serena’s vision blurred. They promised me, she whispered. They said they would make me their Luna.

I know what they said. Lady Victoria’s voice was calm. But you must understand something, Serena.

In our world, bloodline matters more than love.

A Luna must be strong. She must carry the next generation of Alpha heirs. She must command respect from the pack. She paused. You have no wolf. No family. No lineage. Do you truly believe the pack would follow someone like you?

Serena felt the words hit her like physical blows. She wanted to argue. She wanted to scream that love should matter, that she had given them everything. But she said nothing.

Serena wanted to deny it, but deep inside she had feared those words for years. The pack would never accept her.

Lady Victoria sighed softly. Damien, Kieran, and Lucien have always known their responsibilities. They are future leaders, and leaders cannot be ruled by their hearts.

They accepted their fated mates because it is what is expected of them, what is necessary. She reached out and placed a hand on Serena’s shoulder. It was not a comforting gesture. It felt like a dismissal.

I am sorry you were hurt, Lady Victoria said. But perhaps now you can find a path that suits someone of your standing.

An orphan, a wolfless girl. Someone with no standing at all. Lady Victoria rose from the bench and walked back toward the manor without another word.

Serena stayed on the bench for a long time. She stared at the flowers, the same flowers that had bloomed in the ballroom, the same flowers that had surrounded Damien, Kieran, and Lucien while they introduced their perfect mates.

They had used her. They had taken her innocence, her trust, her future, and when fate arrived they had left her behind without looking back. She was not their Luna. She was their secret, their shame, their dirty little indulgence before they settled down with proper women.

Serena pressed her palms against her eyes and tried to hold herself together, but she could not. She had lost the three men she loved. She had lost her home. She had never truly belonged in Blackwood. She had only been pretending, and now everyone knew.

The tears came then, hot and endless. Serena let them fall. There was no one around to see, no one to care.

When she finally stood, her legs were weak, her chest ached, her heart felt like it had been hollowed out and filled with stones.

She walked home slowly, past the closed shops and dark windows. The laughter had faded, the whispers had stopped. The village was quiet now, settling into sleep while her world fell apart.

Her cottage was small and dark when she reached it. She stepped inside and closed the door behind her, leaning against it for a long moment. She was alone. She had always been alone, but before she had been able to pretend otherwise. Now she could not pretend anymore.

She moved toward her bedroom, too exhausted to undress, but when she reached for the lamp on her nightstand, her fingers brushed against something that did not belong. A letter.

Her name was written on the front in handwriting she did not recognize. Serena’s blood went cold.

She had locked her cottage before leaving, she had checked the windows. No one should have been inside…she stared at the envelope.

Who had been in her home? And what did they want?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​