The Secret She Never Knew

The hall was still as Xavier's voice thundered same word.

"Mate"

I saw his eyes changing at the same time his voice rumbled in the room, quietly though. My claws were digging hard into my clasped fingers as my whole body shook at the bond. I wished the room had silenced his words. I wouldn't have minded if my wolf was the only one that admitted the mate bond.

As I stood, surrounded by the people who wouldn't think twice about hurting or berating me, my gaze locked on Alpha Xavier and I saw something strange.

His expression, though cold, didn't hold pity or disgust. It never held the bored dismissal Alec perfected each time we are together. Alpha Xavier was different.

I marked recognition in those eyes as soon a the words were uttered by us at same time.

His was old and deep. The kind that hit under bone and marrow. This mate-bond was undeniable and it flared between us for half a second before both of us slammed the door on it.

But half a second was enough, even if my heart was burning and my feet was about to give way to the pain of ignoring the bond.

The people in the room were caught off guard, too. The clinks of cutlery stilled while the fire popped. But the most interesting, or rather satisfying sight I saw was Liora’s laughter which had died mid-breath. Her killer gaze swept around me for that same half a second before her shrill voice pierced the room.

" What the fuck did you do to my fiance, Aria!"

Her outburst was expected. Her smile tightened into something brittle as her nails dug into Xavier’s sleeve. I could tell she was trying to keep her perfect image even when she was obviously filled with rage. The kind that want to walk up straight to me and punch my fatty ass.

I muttered to myself, wishing I could just walk back to my abode." I am not the Moon Goddess, am I?"

I slumped back to my chair, wishing the shadows could shield me from the torrential wave making its way towards me.

Alpha Xavier hadn't moved since he uttered that word, neither did he even try to explain to Liora. His face gave nothing away, even if the whole room just heard him say those words with me. He just smiled faintly, that rumored smile that had destroyed packs and alphas.

How could someone who obviously felt a mate pull act so composed? I guess it just be Alpha training. But his pupils blew wide, just for a moment. Enough for me to see it.

Or maybe, Liora too.

The whole room turned. My deadbeat father’s jaw locked. My mother’s cup froze halfway to her red lips. Whispers started at the far end of the table and crawled forward like fire.

“Her?” someone hissed. “The feral?”

I wanted to vanish. Wanted the floor to open. But my wolf stood up inside my chest for the first time in months. Her energy seeped through me, urging the howling inside of me.

But I pressed her down. " Easy, Vin. Let's not forget how we just got betrayed."

She whimpered, still fighting even if it was a little weak now." He is our mate. You can't let her have him."

The mate of my sister’s fiancé was me and I could do nothing about it.

Fate had a cruel sense of humor.

Xavier finally broke eye contact. He set his cup down, voice level as stone. “The venison is good.”

Liora forced a laugh that didn’t reach her eyes. “Of course it is. Blackthorn hunts the best game.”

The dinner continued as Liora laughed at everything Xavier said. Xavier smiled like an alpha should — controlled, distant, polite. He hadn’t looked at me again. It was as if whatever happened never truly happened.

He was smart, but it was safer that way for me.

Then the servers brought the main course. The whole table shifted. Xavier reached for his cup at the same time I looked up to breathe. He downed everything before standing up from his seat. He made a gesture to Liora, his golden eyes cold and distant.

My sister stood up too, her white silk dress glowing with smug victory. Her wolf was already half-shifted in her eyes.

My chest burned. The silver thread of the bond tugged painfully. He felt it too. I saw his jaw clench as he passed me with my sister clinging to him like a vine.

He didn’t look down.

“Pack of Blackwood,” his Alpha voice rolled through the hall, shaking the windows. “Tonight I announce my chosen Luna.”

Liora stepped forward, head high. She glanced at me and smiled. It was slow and cruel as always. It was that victorious smile she had every time she was praised and I was trashed.

“Liora Hawthorne,” Xavier said. “Daughter of Alpha Hawthorne. Pureblood. Shifted at 16. She will stand beside me as Luna in three moons from now.”

The hall erupted in howls. Approval. Celebration.

No one noticed the girl in the back who stopped breathing. They never did. It was always Liora who was the rightful daughter. She was the pride of the Pack, not some rounded dough like me.

Xavier took Liora’s hand and lifted it. A servant brought the customary thread for chosen Luna. It was the thread meant to announce a female engagement union.

After he carefully tied it to Liora, his voice thundered across the room.

“Kneel,” he commanded.

Three hundred wolves dropped to their knees, all showing obesiance to the future Luna of Blackthorn Territory.

Everyone paid their obesiance except me. I couldn’t move. The bond between Xavier and me pulsed like a knife in my ribs. He was claiming her while his mate sat twenty feet away.

Like fire erupting from a volcano, I stood up with my gaze fixed on him.

“Alpha Xavier, you are claiming a Hawthorne wolf after discarding one. Tell me… didn't you feel anything when the mate bond called?”

The hall was filled with gasps and whispers. It was as if they just realized I was the true mate of Xavier. As if they didn't hear the bond declaration a while ago.

Xavier’s gold eyes finally flicked to me. For one second. His mask cracked as guilt, pain and regret flashed through. Then he smoothed it away.

“Aria Hawthorne is just my Luna's sister,” he said, voice flat. “Nothing more. The Moon Goddess chose Liora.”

Lie.

We both knew it was a lie.

The bond screamed. My wolf whined once, broken, then went dead silent.

Liora knelt before him. He pricked his claw, drew blood, pressed it to her forehead. Marking her. Claiming her as the future Luna in front of everyone.

Every wolf howled while I tasted blood I had bitten through my lip to stay quiet. Alec voice rang in my head, as if he had been present in this room so he could mock me.

“Told you, Aria. Alphas don’t keep defective toys. Even their mates.”

I sat there until the drums stopped. Until the silver thread in my chest felt like barbed wire.

Xavier knew I was his mate.

He knew and he chose her anyway.

And the worst part? Part of me still wanted him to choose me.

When it was over, Xavier turned to leave.

But he paused at the far end corner of the room, the place where shadows dwell during dinner. He stopped right where I was sitting trying to calm my distraught heart.

And without saying anything, he held my hand and dragged me out of the room. Even when Liora's enraged voice questioned no one in particular, Xavier was already dragging me towards the balcony.

What the hell does he want from me?