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I stood a hundred yards away from the altar under the moonlight, watching the marking ceremony that should have been for me.

Chad Gibson, my fiance and an Alpha heir, slipped the moonstone ring onto the expecting Yelena Lockhart's finger.

The ring was a symbol of the Luna and had been passed down through generations of our pack's Lunas. It was said to carry the Moon Goddess' blessing.

Since I was young, I had been taught to nurture it with my mind force, so that on the day of the marking ceremony, I could resonate with it perfectly.

But now, it was being given to someone else.

Shy and touched, Yelena looked up at Chad with tears glistening in her eyes. Before she could even speak, he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.

Amid the thunderous cheers of the pack, he buried his face against her neck. A muffled whimper escaped Yelena's lips, her body trembling before going completely limp in his embrace.

When Chad finally lifted his head, everyone saw the mark glowing on Yelena's neck, radiating Alpha energy.

The night wind stirred and lifted the white curtains that draped the sacred altar.

Slowly, I raised my head and swept my gaze across the faces gathered below.

The pack's elders, my family, and my friends were all present. And there, dressed in formal attire, was my younger brother, Maddox Sutton.

He was standing beside Chad, his eyes brimming with heartfelt blessings for Yelena.

"Congratulations to our Alpha heir and future Luna on sealing the mate bond. May the Moon Goddess protect you, and may your hearts remain forever as one," Maddox said, his tone loud and impassioned.

As his words fell, the elders lit the fire of blessing, and the flames roared skyward.

In the dazzling glow of the flames, Chad scooped Yelena into his arms. On his face was a look I had never seen before—a gentle smile of release, as though a heavy burden had finally lifted.

At the sight, Maddox's excitement peaked.

"The bond is sealed!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

Loneliness so suffocating it bordered on despair isolated me from the surrounding clamor, as if I stood in a vacuum.

I still couldn't comprehend it.

Why?

Why did I give up my entire youth, endure the harshest training, shape every word and action into flawless perfection just to become the most fitting Luna, only to be branded as a fraud who had stolen that place?

My heart clenched with each beat, and the pain left me unable to breathe.

My gaze fell on Maddox's face. He was smiling and cheering wholeheartedly for Yelena and Chad. His joy was sincere and fervent, showing not the slightest trace of worry or pity for me.

He seemed to have completely forgotten who it was that shielded him with her own back from a fatal blow three years ago in the pack conflict.

It was all too absurd, like a nightmare I couldn't wake from.

The proclamation that reduced me to nothing but a maid still echoed cold and distant, and I could no longer reconcile the cold-blooded Alpha heir standing on the altar with the young man who once made me countless promises.

Reason told me I should turn and leave at once, yet my wolf still writhed in restless defiance. She demanded an answer, one spoken from his own lips.

I called Chad.

On the altar, his handsome features iced over the instant my name appeared on his screen.

He was about to reject the call outright, but at Yelena's gentle murmur, he chose to answer instead.

"Chad, you once swore that today, under the witness of the Moon Goddess, you would make me your future Luna," I said, my voice trembling slightly from the cold inside me.

The call had been put on speaker. Everyone at the altar fell silent at once, their gazes fixed on Chad.

"Tessa, why are you still hung up on this? That false prophecy allowed you to steal the future Luna's place for 15 years. You took every privilege that wasn't yours, so what more do you want?"

He tightened his hold on Yelena's arm as he continued, each word cutting into me like a blade, "I will take responsibility for my mistakes. It was my fault for trusting the prophecy and letting you steal Yelena's life.

"It was also I who, during the hunt, accidentally bred Yelena. So now, I'm only making things right." His voice turned cold as he spoke the next part. "And you should begin atoning for what you stole.

"But as I've said—so long as you accept your place as Yelena's maid, you may still remain by my side."

His cruel words washed over me like a tide of ice, drowning me in shame.

And yet, the last fragile thread of longing in my heart forced me to choke out one final question.

"We grew up together. Were those 15 years between us nothing but a lie?"

He once promised me that no matter what happened, he would always believe me and protect me.

So even when, three days before the marking ceremony, everyone began looking at me with suspicion, or when the soldiers inexplicably locked me away in my room, I still chose to trust him.

I even spent the very last of my strength breaking through the barrier the elders had set, just to see him.

Yet, when I finally arrived at the altar, I found him holding Yelena in his arms, ready to begin the marking ceremony that should have been ours.