06 Humiliated Under Moonlight

Nyra’s POV

Beverly appeared at the garden entrance, her dress shimmering even in the moonlight, cheeks flushed from dancing, eyes bright with victory. Charles was with her, and another girl, Gale, hovered at Beverly’s shoulder like a shadow that enjoyed being cruel.

Beverly’s gaze landed on me and her smile sharpened instantly.

“What is this freak doing here?” she said, not even bothering to lower her voice.

Charles didn’t laugh.

But Gale did.

My whole body tensed. My hands curled, not into fists, my fingers were still too weak for that, but into tight, trembling claws of stubbornness.

Kieran’s head snapped towards them. For a heartbeat, his expression was pure warning.

Then he did something that tore the last thread holding my hope together.

He pulled back.

Not from them.

From me.

A half-step. A subtle shift. A physical denial, like he hadn’t been standing close to me, like he wasn’t in the middle of a conversation that mattered.

Like I was nothing to him in front of witnesses.

Beverly’s eyes glittered. She saw it. Of course she did. Wolves like her always saw weakness. Always smelled it.

She walked closer, heels clicking against stone, and tilted her head at me.

“Where are you going, freak?” she asked, voice dripping with mock curiosity. “Weren’t you just trying to seduce Kieran just now?” Her smile widened. “You really aim high. I must say it’s a step up from your mother’s taste in men, since she doesn’t even know who your father is.”

A few words.

And suddenly I was back in the hallway, back on the floor, tasting blood while people watched.

My vision blurred again.

I looked at Kieran.

Surely,

Surely he would stop this.

Surely he would pull away from Beverly and tell everyone the truth.

Surely he would choose me once, just once, in front of someone else.

Beverly reached Kieran and looped her arm through his like she owned him.

“Just so you know,” she said sweetly to me, “Kieran is already taken. So go dig your claws elsewhere.”

My breath stopped.

I stared at the way her hand rested on his arm.

I stared at the way he didn’t immediately shake her off.

Kieran’s eyes were on me now, worried, tense, almost pleading.

But he still didn’t speak.

He still didn’t say my name.

He still didn’t say, She’s mine.

The silence between us screamed louder than anything Beverly could have thrown.

“Is that so?” I heard myself say.

My voice didn’t sound like me.

It sounded like someone who had finally stepped outside her own body because the pain inside it had become unbearable.

Beverly laughed and nodded. “Very.”

My heart made a small, strangled sound in my chest, like an animal dying quietly so no one would hear.

I turned to leave because if I didn’t, I would break right there. Not neatly. Not silently. I would crack open in front of them and they would feast on it.

But Beverly moved to block me.

Gale grabbed my arm with sharp nails, her grip bruising instantly.

Pain shot up my shoulder.

“I guess the beating you got yesterday wasn’t enough,” Gale said, voice delighted.

My stomach lurched.

Kieran’s voice cut through. “Stop.”

Gale didn’t listen.

Kieran stepped forward, anger flaring. “Let her go.”

Beverly lifted her brows at him. “Why? Someone has to put the freak in her place. If not, she’ll start believing she can aim for just anyone.”

She leaned closer to him, as if they were sharing a joke.

Then she looked at me, eyes narrowing.

“She should be grateful,” Beverly continued, voice rising, carrying the cruelty like a banner. “Grateful for being allowed to exist. To live in the outskirts. To have access to our markets and facilities. That is charity enough.” Her smile turned vicious. “She doesn’t get to aim for a mate in this pack. She doesn’t get to lay roots here. She is nothing. And the earlier she knows that, the better.”

My throat burned.

I didn’t even have enough breath left to be angry.

I just wanted to leave.

I tried to pull away, but Gale’s claws dug deeper into my skin.

A sharp sting.

Warmth.

I felt the first bead of blood.

My body tensed, instinctively bracing for impact.

Kieran’s voice sharpened. “I said stop!”

Still Gale held on, drunk on power.

And then,

Charles stepped in.

He yanked Gale’s hand away from me with a swift, controlled movement, his eyes cold.

“That’s enough,” he said.

The words snapped through the night like a whip.

Gale stumbled back, surprised.

Charles glanced at Beverly. “She’s got the message. She won’t bother anyone anymore. Let her go.”

Beverly’s eyes flicked to Kieran, studying him. Testing.

Kieran’s jaw was clenched so tightly it looked like it hurt.

“I told you to let her go,” he said again, sounding annoyed now, like this was about discipline, not about me.

Beverly’s lips pursed.

“If I didn’t know better,” she said slowly, “I’d say you have a soft spot for her.” Her eyes gleamed. “Do you like her? Is that it?”

The garden went very quiet.

Even the wind seemed to pause.

My heart thudded once, hard.

This was it.

This was the moment.

The moment where he would say no more lies.

The moment where he would choose daylight.

I stared at him so intensely it hurt. My body trembled with hope I didn’t want but couldn’t kill fast enough.

Kieran didn’t answer.

Not immediately.

His silence struck me like a slap.

Then he spoke, but not the way my soul needed.

“An Alpha cares for everyone and does not discriminate,” he said, voice smooth, controlled, public. “I won’t tolerate you bullying Nyra Moonchild.”

The words made sense.

They were even… honourable.

And they shattered me anyway.

Because he wasn’t protecting me because he loved me.

He wasn’t defending me because I was his.

He was defending me because it was the correct thing for an Alpha-to-be to do.

Duty.

Not devotion.

Principle.

Not claim.

It broke something final inside me.

I swallowed hard, forcing my lungs to work.

“Don’t worry about me, Beverly,” I said, voice shaking but steady enough to survive. “I won’t be showing my face around here anymore.”

Then I walked away.

Tears streamed down my cheeks, and I hated that they did, but I refused to let out a sob. I refused to give them the sound of me breaking.

My steps were quick, uneven, my body aching, my heart worse.

The party was mandatory. I had come. That was it.

It was time to accept things the way they were.

What I had with Kieran was a joke, nothing more. A lofty dream that was unattainable.

Accepting the truth was the only way I would survive this.