Chapter 2

Elena

I cried until I had no tears left. My body shook with sobs as I lay on the cold dining room floor, feeling like my soul had been ripped from my chest. The pain was so deep, so crushing, that I wondered if I would ever be able to breathe normally again.

Towards evening, I forced myself to stand. My legs felt like jelly, but I somehow made it upstairs. Each step reminded me of all the times Marcus had carried me up these same stairs, laughing and kissing me. Those memories felt like poison now.

As I reached the top of the stairs, something caught my eye. One of the doors at the end of the hallway was slightly open. My heart skipped a beat.

It was the room Marcus had forbidden me from ever entering.

"Promise me you will never step foot in there, Elena," he had said on our wedding night, his voice serious. "That room is off-limits. I go there when I am stressed or need to think alone."

And like the obedient wife I was, I had promised. For three whole years, I had walked past that door every single day and never once tried to open it. Even when I heard him in there sometimes, talking quietly to himself during his bad moods, I had respected his wishes.

But now, with my heart already shattered into pieces, curiosity pulled at me. What could be so important there? What was he hiding from me?

My hand trembled as I pushed the door open wider and stepped inside.

What I saw made me collapse to my knees.

The entire room was covered with pictures of Lydia. Hundreds and hundreds of them. They were everywhere, on the walls, covering the desk, scattered on the floor. Pictures of her smiling, laughing, posing. And in every single one, she was wearing red. Bright red dresses that hugged her curves. Short red skirts that showed off her long legs. Low-cut red tops that revealed her perfect figure.

My stomach lurched as the truth hit me like a sledgehammer.

The red dresses. The short, revealing clothes. The outfits Marcus had been asking me to wear for three years.

"I love seeing you in red, Elena," he had always said. "These shorter dresses look so beautiful on you. Can you wear this for me?"

I hated every single one of those outfits. I was naturally modest, preferring soft colors and longer hemlines that made me feel comfortable and confident. But Marcus had asked, and I loved him, so I worn them. I forced myself into those tight, revealing clothes because I thought it made him happy. I thought it meant he found me attractive.

But he hadn't been looking at me at all. He has been seeing her.

My heart was breaking all over again as I stared at picture after picture of the woman my husband truly loved. I had been nothing but a dress-up doll, a poor substitute trying to look like his real love.

So this was why he had asked me never to come here? This was his secret shrine to her?

"What the HELL are you doing in here?"

I spun around, gasping. Marcus stood in the doorway, his face twisted with a rage I had never seen before. His eyes were blazing with fury, and his hands were clenched into fists.

"I told you NEVER to come in this room!" he shouted, his voice echoing off the walls. "How dare you disobey me!"

"Now I know why," I whispered, my voice broken. I gestured weakly at all the pictures around us. "You have been living with her memory this whole time. You made me dress like her because you were pretending I was her."

His face went red with anger. "GET OUT! GET OUT NOW!"

Before I could move, the sound of running footsteps filled the hallway. Two pack guards appeared behind Marcus, both out of breath.

"Alpha!" one of them called urgently. "Everyone is waiting for you at the pack house. The Harvest Moon celebration is about to begin. The elders are asking where you are."

Of course. Today was our pack's most important celebration of the year. The Harvest Moon festival, where we celebrated our successful year and honored the Moon Goddess. As Alpha and Luna, we were supposed to lead the ceremonies together.

Marcus straightened his shirt and ran a hand through his hair, instantly switching from furious husband to composed Alpha.

"Tell them I will be there in ten minutes," he said coldly. Then he turned his burning gaze back to me. "And so will Luna."

"No," I said quietly, still kneeling on the floor surrounded by pictures of his true love. "I won't pretend anymore."

His eyes flashed gold as his wolf surfaced. "Elena, go get dressed. You are still my Luna until tomorrow, and you will fulfill your duties."

"I said no, Marcus."

"Go. Get. Dressed. Now." He roared, using his alpha tone on me.

The Alpha command hit me like a physical blow. The power rolled off him in waves, pressing down on me until I couldn't breathe. My wolf whimpered and immediately submitted, my body moving against my will.

I found myself standing up and walking toward our bedroom, my legs moving without my permission. I hated him for using his power on me like this, but I couldn't fight it.

In our walk-in closet, I stared at all the red dresses hanging there. The dresses I had worn to make him happy, never knowing I was just playing dress-up as another woman. With shaking hands, I pulled out a tight red cocktail dress, one of his favorites, and put it on.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I didn't recognize the woman staring back at me. Three years of trying to be someone else had completely erased who I really was.

When I came back downstairs, Marcus was already gone.

"Where is the Alpha?" I asked Sarah, one of our house staff, trying to keep my voice steady.

"He left for the pack house about five minutes ago, Luna," she said gently. "The celebration has already started."

Just then, my phone buzzed with a text from Marcus: "Come to the pack house. The pack is expecting their Luna."

I drove there with trembling hands, practicing my fake smile in the rearview mirror. I just had to get through this one last night. Tomorrow, I will be free from this nightmare.

The pack house was beautifully decorated with orange and gold streamers, pumpkins, and autumn leaves. The sound of laughter and music filled the air. I could smell the feast being prepared, roasted meats, fresh bread, and pumpkin pie. Under normal circumstances, this would have been one of my favorite nights of the year.

I forced a bright smile onto my face and walked through the crowd, nodding and greeting pack members. Everyone seemed happy and festive, completely unaware that Luna's world had just collapsed.

I looked around for Marcus, wondering where he could be, when I saw him near the main stage.

And my heart stopped beating.

Marcus was walking through the crowd with Lydia's hand firmly clasped in his. She looked exactly like her pictures, absolutely stunning, confident, and glowing. She was wearing a gorgeous red dress that hugged her perfect figure, and her long dark hair cascaded down her back like silk. She was laughing at something Marcus was saying, and the way he was looking at her...

Goddess, it was the way he always looked at me before now. Like I was his entire world. Like I was the most precious thing he had ever seen.

The pack members around them were smiling and welcoming her back like she had never left. Like she belonged here more than I ever had. I could hear whispers of "She's back!" and "They look so perfect together!"

"Well, well, well," a familiar voice said behind me, dripping with fake sweetness. "Look what crawled out of the woodwork."

I turned around to see Miranda, Marcus's cousin who had hated me from the very beginning. She had never thought I was good enough for their precious Alpha, and she had never hesitated to let me know it.

"Hello, Miranda," I said quietly, trying to keep my voice steady.

"I heard the wonderful news," she said, her eyes gleaming with malicious joy. "About Lydia finally coming back home where she belongs. Everyone is so excited. Finally, Marcus can be with his real mate instead of... well, you know." She looked me up and down with disgust.

"I am his mate," I said, though the words felt like ash in my mouth.

Miranda threw back her head and laughed loudly. "Oh honey, you were never his mate. You were just a cheap replacement. A placeholder keeping his bed warm until the real Luna returned."

Other pack members had started gathering around us, drawn by Miranda's loud voice. I could see the agreement in their eyes, and my heart sank even further.

"She never really belonged here anyway," someone whispered.

"Poor alpha, having to settle for second best all this time."

"Lydia was born to be Luna. She has royal blood."

"At least now our Alpha can be truly happy."

Each word was like a dagger to my already bleeding heart. The words cut deep, each one a knife in my already bleeding heart.

I couldn't believe these words were coming from the very people I risked my life to save from rogues last year. The people I asked Marcus to give their children scholarships. The people who I had served faithfully for three years, who I had cared for and protected, were dismissing me like I meant nothing.

"That's enough," I said, my voice starting to shake with a mixture of pain and anger.

"Oh, the fake Luna wants to speak?" Miranda taunted, raising her voice so more people could hear. "Tell us, Elena, how does it feel knowing you were never anything more than a consolation prize? That every time Marcus touched you, he was wishing you were someone else?"

Something inside me finally snapped. Three years of trying to be perfect, trying to fit in, trying to be worthy of their respect - and this is how they really saw me?

"I have been a good Luna to this pack!" I shouted, my voice carrying over the music and conversations. "I have given everything to serve all of you!"

The entire celebration went silent. Hundreds of pairs of eyes turned to stare at us. I could feel my face burning with humiliation, but I was too hurt and angry to stop.

Miranda smirked triumphantly. "And now your time is up. The real Luna is here, and we don't need your cheap imitation anymore."

I raised my hand to slap her lying face, my wolf howling with rage and pain.

But before my hand could connect, iron fingers wrapped around my wrist in a crushing grip.

"That's ENOUGH, Elena."

Marcus's voice was like ice, filled with disappointment and anger. He was looking at me like I was some wild animal that had embarrassed him in front of important guests. Behind him, Lydia was watching with a satisfied smile, her hand still possessively on his arm.

"She started it!" I protested, tears starting to blur my vision again. "She was insulting me, humiliating me!"

"I don't care who started it," Marcus said coldly, his grip on my wrist tightening painfully. "You are making a scene at our most sacred celebration. You are embarrassing yourself and this pack."

The final humiliation was complete. My own husband, the man who had made love to me just hours ago, was choosing to shame me in front of everyone rather than defend me.

"Marcus, please," I whispered desperately. "You know I would never..."

"Go home, Elena," he said, cutting me off. His voice was final, dismissive. "Go home and think about your behavior tonight. We will discuss this later."

He released my wrist and turned his back on me, pulling Lydia closer to his side. She looked over her shoulder at me with a victorious smile as they walked away.

I stood there in the middle of the silent crowd, tears streaming down my face, completely alone and humiliated. The whispers started again, but this time they were about my "outburst" and "unstable behavior."

I ran from the pack house as fast as my legs could carry me, the sound of returning laughter and celebration following me into the darkness.