Elena

I didn't remember how I left the ancestral hall.

Only that the cold air outside hit my face like a slap, sharp, and merciless, and suddenly I could breathe again-though each breath felt like it was tearing something open inside my chest.

I was expecting for this to happen given that no matter what I would do, he won't look at me-but I wasn't expecting for him to do this at grandma's funeral and much more, in front of the high ranking wolves as if I were nothing but someone worth to be humiliated by.

When they both left earlier-the moonlight panted them in silver.

They looked.right.

Like something the pack would approve of.

I hate that my eyes would always follow him.

I hate that I noticed the way he leaned closer when she spoke.

For noticing how his scent wrapped instinctively around hers, protective and familiar.

Indeed. She was like a diamond that brighten their world-while I, just a pebble on the road.

I let out a bitter chuckle, trying to contain all the emotions inside me.

Three years. Everything is just contractual in his eyes, but my feelings weren't.

I was hoping. I was waiting for his eyes to fall in my direction-yet it fall on another woman's instead.

I snapped from my thoughts when a sudden hug nearly broke my ribs when she hugged me.

When I looked down, it was none other than Mara Whitlock.

Despite the murmurs, mockery, and gossips, she stayed with me, protecting me, and even defended me in front of everyone.

She was my best of friend. Someone I completely trust.

"Are you okay? I heard what happened!" her voice raised. "What kind of Alpha does that? At a funeral? Really? He might as well have ripped your throat out in front of everyone!"

I paused, watching as she pace the length of my living room, gritting her teeth as her whole body exudes with killing inten.

"It seems that rumours spread faster," I softly answered as I sat on the couch. "I already expected for this to happen."

"That doesn't make it better!"

Mara spun toward me. "You gave him three years, Lyra. Three. Years. You rebuilt yourself for hm. You endured everything for him. And he didn't even have the decency to do this privately!"

I pursed my lips.

"I was the one who agreed to grandma." I let out a bitter chuckle. "...I shouldn't expect something from him knowing that everything was just contractual and this bound to end like what happen now."

It's my fault.

Fault for falling in love with someone I couldn't have.

"Idiot!"

I paused, raising my head at Mara. "That doesn't give him the right to humiliate you in front of everyone! You are the one who saved their reputation, helped his pack rise, and remained loyal to him in those three years and that's how he would repay you? Humiliation?!"

I didn't comment.

I hung my shoulder lower.

I felt her let out helpless sigh, her anger softening as her hand reached out, gently patting my head.

"Cry," she said gently. "You are safe. No one is watching aside from me. Don't suppress yourself."

That did it.

The tears came without warning even when I didn't want to. I pressed my lips together, but it was useless. They spilled over anyway, blurring my vision.

"I wasn't enough," I whispered.

Mara knelt in front of me instantly. "It's not true."

"I tried so hard," I continued hoarsely. "I learned to cook what he liked. I adjusted my schedule to match his. I exercised everyday, thinking that he might prefer skinny Lunas. I devout myself into training despite it being harsh just to be his perfect Luna. I thought. I thought that maybe one day, he will choose-"

"Stop," Mara said fiercely. "You didn't lose him. He never chose you."

Those words slashed through my heart, cutting me to pieces.

Yet I couldn't retort it.

Because they were true.

I wiped my face, forcing myself to breath. "He looked at her. the way way he never looked at me."

Mara swore under her breath. "He brought that woman too?"

I nodded.

"They.They looked good together," I pressed my lips. "Strong and beautiful."

Mara scoffed. "She's just a two-faced bitch, clinging to the Alpha right after her mate died."

I managed a weak smile, closing my eyes as I leaned on the sofa.

"She's the Alpha's first love."

Right. What right do I have to intervene between the two of them? I'm just nothing but a Luna in name only.

And how could I fight and win the position in his heart when it was already occupied with another woman?

I was too foolish.

"Come with me tomorrow," Mara continued suddenly. "We'll go out. Get you something new and sow to everyone that you weren't affected by today's event."

I hesitate.

"I don't have the spark to go out."

However, she doesn't accept my refusal. "I'll come back tomorrow morning so make sure to have plenty of rest."

The next morning, I found myself standing beside Mara who chatters endlessly along with the crowd while from time to time, she would bared her fangs and glared at those who looked at me and gossips in front of my face.

I let out a helpless chuckle and followed her along.

For some reason, my heart weren't as heavy last night.

I allowed myself to enjoy as Mara dragged me into a high-end boutique.

"Let's buy everything!" she declared.

I chuckled. "That will be too much."

When we stepped inside the store, my gaze wandered around while taking a deep breath, trying to ignore the faint stinging on my chest while raising my dopamine to look excited-like I forgot everything.

However, the smile on my face froze wen I felt such a familiar pressure.

That unmistakable Alpha presence.

My steps slowed.

Mara noticed immediately. "Lyra?"

I lifted my head.

Across the store, near the display of limited edition bags, Alaric stood with Hydra.

Again.

She was clinging to his arms, her fingers curled possessively against his sleeve. She laughed at something he said, her body angled toward him intimately.

The sales associate hovered nearby, nervous and eager, waiting for their decision.

"I want that one,"I heard Hydra said, pointing to a deep red bag. "It suits me, don't you think?"

Alaric barely glanced at it.

"Wrap it," he said.

Just like tha. There was no hesitation.

My chest tightened.

Before I could look away and took Mara to another shop, I saw her clenched her fist.

"Oh, absolutely not," I heard her mutted, already marching forward.

"Mara-"

Too late.

I helplessly watched as she slammed her black card onto the counter beside the red bag. "We'll take that one too."

The sales associate blinked. "Excuse me?"

"The same bag," Mara said sweetly. "Unless there's a rule about mistresses shopping first."

I watched as Hydra's smile faltered, the corner of her eyes reddened as she tightened the hold on Alaric's sleeve.

This action made Alaric's head snapped up, his eyes precisely fell on me.

Cold and disgusted.

So this was all it takes for him to look at me?

Only her could make him look at me.

I let out a laugh in mockery.

What do I expect?

"Elena," his brows furrowed and the way he pronounce my name was filled with warning that made my breath hitch.

I pursed my lips, stepping forward as I paced a hand on Mara's arm. "We're leaving."

Mara looked ready to argue but when I gave her a look, she sighed helplessly and nodded.

However, before we could leave, Hydra stepped forward.

"We meet again," she said lightly. "It seems fate keeps arranging these encounters."

I paused, meeting her gaze before falling onto Alaric's.

"No," I said. "Fate has better taste."

Her smile faltered.

My gaze fell onto Alaric, and despite everything, there was no turmoil in those eyes as if none worth his time.

Especially when he looked at me as if I were just a mere stranger in his eyes.

I pursed my lips, hiding the stinging sensation of my heart, forcing myself to remain polite in front of them.

"I apologize for disrupting your quality time with your woman. It won't happen again."

Without hesitation, I turned around and was about to leave when something inside me rose. A sudden warmth bloomed in my chest, spreading outward, unfamiliar and overwhelming. My heartbeat quickened at the process. My wolf stirred, pressing against the surface of my control that made me pause.

"What-" I heard Alaric's voice that made me turn to look at him.

When I saw him reach to me, I took a step back, startled by my own reaction.

The sensation vanished as quickly as it came, but the damage was done.

He was staring at me now.

The way I had long for him to do so.

"I'm sorry. I won't disrupt you any longer."

This time, I hurriedly took Mara and left the store.

"What was that?" she asked.

I shook my head, pressing my palm against my chest.

I don't know either.

Elena

I stood under the shower far longer than necessary, letting the hot water beat against my back until my skin turned pink, until the steam blurred the mirror and erased my reflection.

Still, my heart wouldn't calm down.

That moment-that surge from earlier.

It hadn't been imagination.

My wolf had moved.

For the first time in years. I picked up its scent, its move.even for a brief second.

Wrapped in a towel, I stepped out and caught my reflection in the fogged glass. My face was pale-still padded with the remnants of fat in my cheeks. Yet compared to three years ago, when my reflection seemed to consume the entire mirror, there were changes.

A bitter laugh replaced my restless heart.

For whom did I work hard trying to get the body that I once thought the Alpha would like? I once believed if I could just fix myself-fix my appearance, fix my body, fix the parts that embarrassed him-then maybe. maybe he would see me.

So, I worked harder than anyone knew.

I followed doctors' instructions like it was laws. I endured hunger, endured exhaustion, endured the harsh training of the matriatch just to become the worthy Luna in his eyes, endured endless ridicule from the others, constantly comparing me with Hydra who was a goddess in their eyes-who was sought by countless of high ranking Alphas, while at the same time, I remained with my duty as his Luna.

For three years, I remained consistent. Because his company headquarters sat across the city, I would wake up early, cook quietly, pack everything neatly, then sit in the passenger seat as Julian-his beta, drove me there.

Every day, I brought him hot meals.

Every day, I watched his assistants accept them with a polite nod.

And every day, I watched those containers returned to me-untouched.

I believed he disliked me before of how I looked.

How my body had once been heavy, my aura suppressed, my presence was dull and forgettable-clearly unsuited to be his Luna.

Someone who doesn't deserve to stand right next to the Alpha.

So, I decided to change everything about myself just for him to notice me.

And now I realize how foolish I was.

He was already emotionally involved with someone else.

I had never been the problem-because in his world, I had never existed at all

I looked away, taking a deep breath as I walked to the living room, watching as Mara arrived, holding the takeout she ordered.

"Okay," she announced, kicking her shoes. "We need to talk."

I sat cross-legged on the couch, pulling a blanket around myself while she took out the food she ordered and sat across from me.

"About what?"

"About earlier," she answered.

Before I could open my mouth, she squinted her eyes on me. "I felt the stir in you."

I pressed my lips. "I don't know why either and why it happened earlier in front of the Alpha."

Mara studied me for a moment, her usual sharpnes dulled by concern before she let out a heavy sigh.

"There's something," she said slowly. "I didn't want to bring these memories of yours. But now that everything's becoming connected.I think I should let you know what I think about this."

My fingers stilled around my cup. "What is it?"

She raised her head, looking at me in the eyes. "Do you remember a month ago when you said you just escaped and said that the Alpha were not in the right mind?"

Huh? Did I say that?

I don't remember.

"What about it?" I asked.

"He was drugged," she suddenly dropped the bomb that made me pause as I looked at her in the eyes.

Drugged?

How did.

A month ago.

I paused, the memory clawing its way back. Chaos had swallowed that night whole-shouts in the halls, the heavy scent of unrest thick in the air. Before I could even grasp what was happening, my grandmother's hands were on my shoulders, shoving me into the Alpha's room.

"It's time," she whispered, her voice trembling with urgency. "Time for you to act as his Luna. Time to fulfill your responsibilities."

I wanted to protest, to ask why the Alpha's eyes looked clouded, why his wolf aura felt unstable, why he seemed. not himself. But my grandmother didn't answer. Instead, she closed the door and locked us up in the room.

"It seems you remembered it," Mara walked towards me, sighing helplessly as her hand reached out, hugging me while patting my back.

"What.What about it?" I found my voice shaking.

"Did you sleep with him that night?" Her hand gently caress my hair. "I saw the heavy marks all over your body that morning."

"You knew."

Silence briefly passed between us before she sat beside me. "You didn't even tell him about it?"

I paused. Alaric's face briefly passed in my mind before I let out a bitter chuckle, shaking my head.

"What's the use? He wouldn't care about it and if he does, he would've just added extra money to the divorce settlement."

I looked at her. "Or worse, he might think it was me who jumped onto his bed."

Marah briefly stilled for a second, before letting out a heavy curse. "Damn it! That scum! Wait."

Her eyes fell on me. "Did you-"

Before she could finish her words, a sharp sound cut through the room like a blade.

I glanced at my phone on the table.

Unknown number?

I frowned and was about to reach for it when it died down and a notification pop up, showing one missed call.

"Who was that?" I muttered under my breath, shrugging my shoulder before turning my gaze back at Mara whose eyes were wide as coins as if she saw ghosts.

"What's with you?" I waved my hands in front of her.

She grabbed my wrist. "Answer me, Elena."

I frowned, unsettled by the sharp edge in her voice. "What's going on?"

Her gaze didn't waver. "Did you take emergency contraception?"

I froze.

I was about to open my mouth to answer when my phone rang again-the same unknown number who called me earlier.

Elena

The call had interrupted my conversation with Mara who seemed to have something she wants to ask.

"Elena," a familiar, aged voice said the moment I answered. "Come to the mansion tonight. We're having dinner."

I paused. My fingers tightened instinctively.

"Grandpa Rowan," I replied carefully. "I-"

"No excuses," he cut in, though his tone was warm. "You're still part of this family. Come early."

Before I could open my mouth for further refusal, the line had already went dead as if he knows that I would refuse with his invitation.

I mean, why would I, the Luna his grandson had severed his ties with, would further go back to their residence? For what? For further humiliation?

However, knowing Grandpa, I couldn't refuse his invitation. He's the stubborn type where he won't stop until he would get what he wants and if I won't go, he would pester me or even send his men to fetch me right away.

I sighed helplessly as I went directly to my room for a quick change, disregarding Mara's frown. Afterwards, I took my purse and went down.

"Where are you going?" she asked, he brows furrowed while her mouth were chewing the noddles while her gaze never left me.

I sighed helplessly as I put my heels on. "Grandpa wants me to go back to his residence."

"What for?" she frowned. "Didn't the Alpha of the Ashbourne had announced the dissolution of your bond?"

I shrugged my shoulder. "I don't know either."

Before she could further think about it, I stood up, patting her head. "I'll get going."

~

The Ashbourne estate hasn't changed.

Same iron gates. Same towering pines lining the driveway. Same oppressive silence that pressed down on my chest the moment the car passed the boundary stones.

It was still the same in my memory-after all, it hasn't been weeks ever since grandma had died and Alaric had announced to everyone the dissolution of our bond while bringing a woman with him-parading her and as if he was telling everyone that she's more important than the mate he has.

I shook my head, forcing myself to stop thinking about it-forcing those thoughts to hide that even I, couldn't access to those thoughts.

I stepped out of the car just as the driver's seat opened. A servant bowed stiffly, eyes flicking to my face before dropping quickly, as if startled.

"Luna Ashbourne," she greeted.

I paused.

Then corrected calmly, "Elena Frost."

Her lips parted slightly. "Y-yes. Miss Frost."

I nodded my head in satisfaction and walked inside despite the turmoil in my chest.

The familiar scent of aged wood, incense, and Alpha territory wrapped around me. It used to suffocate me but tonight, it feels different. Maybe it was because I no longer part of this place the moment Alaric had dissolve our bond that made the intimidation of this place.lessened a bit.

And the moment I entered the main hall, my eyes fell to the wolf that had called me earlier and invited me here.

Rowan Ashbourne.

The Alpha's grandfather.

The elder Alpha sar upright in his chair, his silver hair neatly combed, eyes keen despite his age. When he saw me, something like relief crossed his stern features.

"You're here, Luna," he said.

"You summoned me," I replied respectfully as I took the seat across from him just as the sound of footsteps echoed behind me.

I didn't need to turn to know who it was.

Alpha Alaric Asbourne entered the hall that made the air shifted instantly.

My heartbeat stuttered, my wolf stirring restlessly beneath my ribs. He wore a dark shirt, sleeves rolled to his forearms, as if he'd come straight from a meeting. His eyes landed on me-and stayed there a second too long.

Something unreadable flickered across his face then he looked away.

"Grandfather," he said.

Rowan studied him carefully. "You're late."

"I was delayed."

By what? His mistress?

Oh, not mistress anymore. His new Luna.

Rowan clicked his tongue. "Sit."

Alaric obeyed, taking the seat beside me.

Too close.

Heat radiated from him, familiar and unfamiliar at all once. I hate how my senses betrayed me, tracking every shift of his posture, every controlled breath.

Rowan cleared his throat. "I received a gift today."

His words snapped me from my thoughts as my gaze landed onto the omega who had stepped forward, presenting a carved wooden box etched with lunar symbols that made my brows raised.

"It's from the Elder of the North Ridge Pack," he continued before we could raise questions. "A fertility charm that had been blessed by their Moon Priestess. I assured you that it's effective."

A what?

Fertility charm?

My fingers tightened in my lap, the same as I could feel him stiffened.

"This is unnecessary," I heard him said coolly and I couldn't help but nod my head in agreement.

However, Rowan ignored him. "The bloodline cannot remain unstable."

I inhaled slowly.

"Grandfather," I said carefully. "Alaric and I are no longer-"

Rowan suddenly coughed that his face turned red.

The sound echoed through the all, sharp, and alarming. I was on my feet instantly, moving to his side.

"Get water," I ordered to the omegas standby.

They hurriedly rushed forward but Rowan waved them away weakly.

Seeing that his face had returned its color, I breathe a sigh in relief and was about to went back to my seat when he gripped my wrist.

"Stay," he rasped.

Before I could ask him what he meant by that, he leaned back, exhaustion etched into his face as his gaze landed on us.

"Tonight," he said firmly, "you will stay."

Alari frowned. "Grandfather-"

"You will both stay," Rowan snapped. "In the east wing together and test whether the gift I received really works."

I paused.

Before I could retort, Alaric beats me to it.

"That's inappropriate," he said, his jaw tightened.

Rowan's gaze sharpened. "What's inappropriate is severing your bond with your Luna at your grandmother's funeral."

Seeing that Alaric went silent, Rowan turned to me.

"Elena, I won't force you to reconcile. But tonight, I want you both to remain under this roof whether you like it or not."

I hesitated.

When I looked at his eyes, I let out a heavy sigh before nodding my head. "Very well."

Patriarch Rowan was more stubborn than Alaric.

I ignored Alaric's gaze, feigning ignorance and monitored Grandpa's well-being especially that despite he had faked his cough earlier, the exhaustion in his eyes couldn't be faked which made me worry.

"Let's go to the kitchen and eat. I'm hungry," he said, waving his hands as the servants followed him, ready to assist if something goes wrong.

In the end, both Alaric and I were currently in the kitchen, same with grandfather who were watching every of our movements.

I ate little, while Alaric barely touched his food.

I could hear Grandpa sighed as he clapped his hands once.

"Elena," he said, "would you prepare the soup?"

My head lifted. "Soup?"

"The pigeon soup," he said. "The one you used to make."

My chest tightened.

"Yes," I answered.

In the kitchen, I worked automatically-washing, chopping, simmering. The rhythm steadied my breathing, and I was too focused on preparing the food to notice that someone had already appeared behind my back.

After I finished preparing the soup and was about to bring it to grandpa, when a towering figure suddenly appeared behind me, souping the soup using the spoon as I watched him bring it to his mouth and taste it.

I nearly dropped the soup, if it weren't for him who hurriedly put his hand below my hand to support the bowl of soup.

"So, this is how you made it," he said quietly. "I remembered this taste-the same scent of the lunchbox I used to receive at the company every day."

He paused; his eyes gaze fell on me. "You sent it?"

How long had he been watching me prepare the soup?

Was he here all the time? I didn't even scent him nor feel his presence.

And what did he say?

Did he eat what I brought to him back then? Otherwise, he won't say those words-the words that made my heart falter. The words that I was eager to hear back then.

Is he playing with me? I could clearly remember how he tossed the food I brought to him on the trashcan.

Every. Single. Day.

The hammering sensation of my heart instantly died down as soon as I remembered the past-especially when he had humiliated me in front of everyone and announced the dissolution of our bond at grandma's funeral while bringing his mistress.

"It didn't matter," I said coldly, taking the bowl from his hand as I sat back down, unbothered-while the silence between us grew sharp enough to cut.