The Harvest Moon hung heavy and silver over the Moonstone Pack's ceremonial grounds, casting long shadows across the feast tables. Eight years. Eight years since Davis had marked me under this same moon, promised me forever in front of the Moon Goddess herself. Tonight should have been a celebration of our bond, but as I watched my mate laugh at something Ivory whispered in his ear, I felt nothing but the hollow ache where our connection used to pulse with warmth.

The ceremonial feast had been magnificent—roasted venison glazed with honey and herbs, fresh-baked bread still steaming from the ovens, platters of autumn vegetables arranged like art. I'd helped the pack omegas prepare it all morning, my hands trembling from the weakness that never quite left me anymore. Three years since that ritual. Three years of feeling like my life force was slowly draining away, and still no one asked if I was well.

Davis moved through the crowd with Ivory at his side, his hand hovering at the small of her back in a gesture that once belonged only to me. She wore a dress the color of moonlight, her dark hair cascading over bare shoulders. Beautiful. Submissive. Everything a proper omega should be. The former Luna Richardson had complimented her appearance three times already, each word a small knife between my ribs.

"Luna Eliana." Davis's voice startled me from my thoughts. He stood before me now, Ivory still attached to his side like a shadow. In his hands, he carried a plate.

My stomach tightened as I looked at what he offered. The venison had been picked over, leaving only gristle and fat. The bread was the heel of the loaf, dense and hard. Wilted greens that someone else had pushed aside.

"I brought you some food," Davis said, his tone flat, perfunctory. The same voice he used to dismiss pack business he found tedious. "You should eat something."

Behind him, I could see the main feast table where the finest portions remained—tender meat, golden-crusted bread, the ceremonial first fruits. Ivory's plate, I noticed, had been filled with those choice selections. By Davis's own hand.

"Thank you, Alpha." The words tasted like ash. I took the plate, felt its weight settle in my lap like judgment. Around us, pack members watched with carefully neutral expressions, but I saw the pity in some eyes, the satisfaction in others. The former Luna Richardson smiled across the clearing, her arm linked with Ivory's as she laughed at some shared joke.

Davis had already turned away before I could say anything more. He guided Ivory toward the ceremonial fire, where the elders waited to bless this year's harvest. Where he should have been standing with me, his marked mate, on our anniversary. Instead, I sat alone on the edge of celebration, holding a plate of scraps like a beggar at the feast.

The weakness hit without warning. One moment I was breathing normally, the next my vision swam and my chest constricted as if an invisible hand had reached inside and squeezed. My wolf whimpered in the back of my mind, too weak to even surface anymore. The plate slipped from my numb fingers, clattering against stone.

I needed the healer. Dr. Cross would know what to do, could give me something to ease this crushing pressure. I stood on unsteady legs, my hand finding the rough bark of a nearby oak for support.

"Davis." My voice came out barely above a whisper, but his Alpha hearing should have caught it. He was only twenty feet away. "Davis, please."

He turned, his expression impatient. Ivory clung to his arm, her face buried against his shoulder in what appeared to be distress. "What is it?"

"I need..." I swallowed hard, pride warring with desperation. "I need to see Dr. Cross. I don't feel well."

For a moment, something flickered in his eyes. Concern? Guilt? It vanished so quickly I might have imagined it. Ivory made a small sound, and his attention snapped back to her immediately.

"The ceremonial energy is overwhelming Ivory," he said, his voice taking on that protective tone he'd once used only for me. "She's sensitive to lunar forces. I need to help her through this."

"Davis, I'm not—" The clearing tilted. I gripped the tree harder, bark biting into my palm.

"You'll be fine, Eliana." He was already guiding Ivory away, toward the pack house where she could rest in comfort. "It's just the excitement of the ceremony. It will pass."

They disappeared into the crowd, leaving me standing alone in the shadows. The Harvest Moon ceremony continued around me—music, laughter, the scent of feast food I hadn't been worthy to taste. My legs gave out and I slid down the tree trunk, the rough bark catching at my ceremonial dress. The dress I'd chosen so carefully this morning, hoping Davis might remember what tonight meant.

But he hadn't remembered. Or he had, and simply didn't care.

I closed my eyes and let the darkness at the edges of my vision creep closer, my hand pressed to my chest where Davis's mark burned cold instead of warm. Eight years of this bond, and I was still drowning in it, still gasping for air he refused to give me. In the distance, I heard the former Alpha's voice raised in toast, praising Ivory's grace and dedication to the pack.

Not once did anyone mention the Luna who sat forgotten in the shadows, holding onto consciousness by a thread while her mate celebrated with another woman on their anniversary.

The morning training session should have been routine. Alpha commands, warrior formations, the familiar rhythm of bodies moving in synchronized combat. But as I stood in the center of the training grounds, watching Davis demonstrate defensive techniques with Ivory as his partner instead of me, the world began to tilt.

My wolf stirred weakly in my mind, a ghost of what she used to be. *Something's wrong,* she whispered, her voice barely audible anymore. The life force transfer had damaged more than just my human form—it had nearly severed my connection to her entirely.

"Luna, you're up next," Beta Marcus called, gesturing toward the sparring circle. His voice carried the respect my title demanded, but I caught the worry in his eyes as he took in my pale complexion.

I stepped forward, my legs unsteady beneath me. The autumn air felt thick, pressing against my chest like a weight. Around me, pack members moved through their drills, their movements sharp and powerful. I used to be like that—strong, graceful, worthy of standing beside an Alpha. Now I felt like a shadow of myself, growing fainter each day.

The collapse came without warning.

One moment I was raising my hands in a defensive position, the next my knees buckled and I hit the ground hard. Pain exploded through my chest, radiating outward like cracks in ice. My vision blurred as pack members rushed toward me, their voices a distant buzz.

"Luna Eliana!" Dr. Cross's voice cut through the chaos. She knelt beside me, her hands already moving to check my pulse. "Someone help me get her to the medical wing."

"No." Davis's voice cracked like a whip across the training grounds. All movement stopped. "Don't touch her."

I tried to lift my head, to see his face, but the effort sent another wave of agony through my weakened body. Through the haze, I watched as Davis rushed not toward me, but toward Ivory, who had pressed herself against the fence, one hand to her forehead.

"The Alpha energy," Ivory whispered, her voice carrying perfectly across the silent grounds. "It's so intense. I can barely... I feel so dizzy."

Davis reached her in three strides, his hands gentle as he steadied her against his chest. "I've got you. You're safe."

The pack members around me shifted uncomfortably, their eyes darting between their collapsed Luna and their Alpha cradling another woman. Dr. Cross's jaw tightened, but she didn't move to help me without Davis's permission.

"Alpha," Marcus said carefully, "the Luna needs medical attention."

Davis didn't even look at me. His entire focus remained on Ivory, whose breathing had become deliberately shallow and rapid. "Ivory is having a reaction to the training energy. She's sensitive to Alpha dominance displays." His voice took on that protective edge I remembered from our early days together. "I need to get her somewhere quiet."

Without another word, he swept Ivory into his arms, carrying her toward the pack house like she was made of spun glass. She tucked her face against his neck, and I caught the small smile that curved her lips before she hid it from view.

"Dr. Cross," Davis called over his shoulder, "examine Ivory thoroughly. Make sure she's not seriously affected. And I don't want anyone disturbing her rest."

The pack doctor's hands clenched into fists at her sides. "What about the Luna?"

"Eliana is fine." Davis paused at the pack house steps, Ivory still cradled against him. "She's just seeking attention. She does this sometimes when she feels neglected."

The words hit harder than my fall had. Around me, pack members exchanged glances, some nodding as if this explanation made perfect sense. Others looked away, unable to meet my eyes.

As Davis disappeared into the pack house with Ivory, Dr. Cross finally knelt beside me again. "Luna, can you hear me?"

I managed a weak nod, though the simple movement made my head spin. "I'm... I'm okay."

But I wasn't okay. Nothing about this was okay. My mate had just publicly dismissed my collapse as attention-seeking while rushing to comfort another woman. The pack had watched it happen, and most of them seemed to accept his explanation without question.

Dr. Cross helped me to my feet, her support steady and warm. "Let me at least check you over in the medical wing."

"No." I straightened as much as I could manage, drawing on reserves of strength I didn't know I still possessed. "I need to... I have cleaning duties in the Alpha's study."

It was a lie, but I needed to be alone. Needed to think. Needed to understand how my life had become this nightmare where my own mate treated me like a burden while elevating another woman to a position that should have been mine.

As I walked away from the training grounds on unsteady legs, I heard the pack members resuming their drills, the incident already forgotten. But the image of Davis carrying Ivory burned in my mind, along with the terrible certainty that something fundamental had shifted in the balance of power within our pack.

And I was no longer sure where I fit in any of it.

Three days had passed since my collapse at training, and the weakness hadn't lifted. If anything, it had settled deeper into my bones, a constant reminder that something was fundamentally wrong with me. The pack house felt suffocating as I made my way to Davis's study, my steps echoing in the empty corridor.

I found him there, reviewing territory maps with the casual indifference of someone who hadn't watched his mate crumble to the ground days ago. The afternoon light streaming through the windows caught the gold in his hair—hair I used to run my fingers through when he actually wanted my touch.

"Davis." My voice came out steadier than I felt. "We need to talk."

He didn't look up from his papers. "If this is about the other day, I already told you—"

"Stop." The word cracked like a whip, surprising us both. "Stop lying to me. Stop treating me like I'm stupid." I stepped closer to his desk, my hands trembling not from weakness this time, but from rage. "I know about the ritual three years ago. I know it wasn't for your father."

Finally, his eyes met mine. For a split second, I saw something flicker there—guilt, maybe fear—before his expression hardened into the mask of Alpha authority he wore like armor.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Eliana." His voice carried that dismissive tone that had become so familiar. "You're confused. The stress of your... condition is affecting your memory."

"My condition?" A bitter laugh escaped my throat. "You mean the condition caused by having my life force drained to save someone who wasn't even pack? Someone whose existence you've been hiding from me for three years?"

Davis stood slowly, his chair scraping against the floor. The Alpha aura he projected was meant to make me submit, to back down like a good little Luna. Instead, it only fueled the fire building in my chest.

"You misunderstood the situation," he said, each word carefully measured. "The ritual was necessary for pack relations. For diplomatic purposes. You should be grateful that your sacrifice served the greater good."

"Grateful?" The word tasted like poison. "I should be grateful that you lied to me? That you let me believe I was saving your father's life when really I was being used to heal some rogue?"

His jaw clenched, and I knew I'd hit the mark. "It wasn't just any rogue, Eliana. It was strategic. Important."

"Important how?" I stepped around his desk, closing the distance between us. "Tell me the truth, Davis. For once in our eight years together, tell me the goddamn truth."

The silence stretched between us like a chasm. Outside, I could hear pack members going about their daily routines, blissfully unaware that their Luna was finally demanding answers from their Alpha.

"Ivory's brother," Davis said finally, the words falling like stones into still water. "It was Ivory's brother, Cade. He was dying from silver poisoning after a failed raid on the Crescent Moon Pack's territory."

The admission hit me like a physical blow. I gripped the edge of his desk to keep from swaying. "Ivory's brother. A rogue who attacked another pack."

"He was desperate," Davis said quickly, as if that justified everything. "Ivory begged me to help him. She had no one else to turn to. The ritual was the only way to save him."

"So you used me." The pieces fell into place with sickening clarity. "You used our mate bond, used my loyalty to this pack, to trick me into giving my life force to save the brother of the woman you—" I couldn't finish the sentence. Couldn't voice what I'd known in my heart for months.

"It wasn't like that," Davis said, but his voice lacked conviction. "You're making this more complicated than it needs to be. Ivory needed help. I provided it. That's what leaders do."

"What leaders do?" I stared at him, this man I'd loved for eight years, and saw a stranger. "Leaders don't lie to their mates. They don't sacrifice their Luna's health for another woman's family."

Before he could respond, footsteps echoed in the corridor. Ivory appeared in the doorway, and the submissive omega mask she usually wore was nowhere to be seen. Her spine was straight, her chin raised, and her eyes held a coldness that made my blood freeze.

"Oh good," she said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "You're finally having the conversation I've been waiting for."

Davis turned toward her, his expression shifting to that protective concern he reserved only for her. "Ivory, you shouldn't—"

"Shouldn't what?" She stepped into the study like she owned it, like she belonged here more than I did. "Shouldn't tell your pathetic excuse for a mate the truth? That her precious life force went to save my brother? That she's been slowly dying for three years while I've been getting stronger?"

The casual cruelty in her voice stole my breath. This wasn't the gentle, submissive omega the pack knew. This was someone else entirely.

"You're weak, Eliana," Ivory continued, circling me like a predator. "You always have been. Davis deserves better than a Luna who can barely stand upright. He deserves someone who can actually contribute to this pack's strength."

"Ivory," Davis warned, but there was no real authority in his voice.

She ignored him, her attention fixed on me with laser focus. "I'm going to be his chosen mate. His real partner. And you?" Her smile was sharp as a blade. "You should step aside gracefully. Before you embarrass yourself further."

The study fell silent except for the sound of my ragged breathing. Eight years of marriage, of loyalty, of believing in the sacred bond between mates—all of it crumbling around me like ash.