By sunset, the entire pack knew.
They didn't say it to my face.
They didn't need to.
The whispers followed me like shadows.
"The Alpha has chosen."
"Lady Selene will be Luna."
"The rejected girl is still here?"
Every word chipped away at something inside me until the pain became dull and numb, like a wound that had stopped bleeding because there was nothing left to lose.
I kept my head down as I carried baskets from the kitchens to the main hall, pretending not to hear the laughter drifting through the open doors. Tonight, the pack celebrated their new Alpha.
Celebrated him.
Celebrated his future Luna.
Celebrated a future that no longer had a place for me.
The bond pulsed faintly in my chest, a cruel reminder that my heart hadn't received the message yet.
He was inside that hall.
Laughing. Talking. Breathing.
So close that every inhale felt like it carried his scent straight into my lungs.
Cedar. Smoke. Storm.
My steps faltered.
My wolf stirred weakly, drawn to him despite everything. She didn't understand pride or humiliation or broken promises. She only understood the bond.
Mate.
The word scraped painfully through my mind.
I tightened my grip on the basket and forced myself forward.
Servants entered through the side door, invisible and silent as always. The celebration unfolded in the grand hall beyond golden chandeliers glowing overhead, long tables filled with food and wine, warriors and nobles raising their glasses in honor of the Bloodmoon Alpha.
And at the center of it all…
Him.
Kael stood beside the high table, his presence commanding the room without effort. Laughter surrounded him, but his posture was rigid, shoulders tense as if the weight of the crown pressed heavier than expected.
Lady Selene stood at his side.
Beautiful. Elegant. Perfect.
Her hand rested lightly on his arm as though it already belonged there.
My chest tightened, the bond reacting instantly. A sharp, jealous ache spread through me, hot and humiliating.
I turned away quickly, focusing on placing the basket of bread onto the servants' table.
Invisible. That was what I needed to be.
Invisible meant safe.
Invisible meant I could survive this.
"Stay."
The single word shattered the fragile wall I'd built around myself.
My breath stopped.
I knew that voice.
I would know it in death.
Slowly, unwillingly, I turned.
Kael stood only a few steps away.
Too close.
Far too close.
The bond erupted, fierce and overwhelming, crashing through every barrier I had tried to build. Heat rushed through my veins, my heart pounding wildly as my wolf surged forward with desperate hope.
Mate.
His eyes darkened as the bond flared between us, raw and undeniable.
For a moment, the world faded. The hall, the laughter, the music everything disappeared until there was only the space between us and the invisible thread pulling us together.
His jaw tightened.
"You should not be here," he said quietly.
The words landed like ice.
I forced my voice to stay steady. "I work here, Alpha."
The title tasted bitter on my tongue.
Something flickered in his gaze at the distance in my voice. Hurt? Regret? I couldn't tell. Maybe I didn't want to.
"This hall is no place for you tonight," he continued.
Of course it wasn't.
This hall belonged to his future.
And I was the ghost of his past.
"I understand," I whispered.
I moved to step around him, desperate to escape before the tears burning behind my eyes betrayed me.
His hand caught my wrist.
The world stopped.
Electricity shot up my arm at the contact, the mate bond roaring to life like a storm unleashed. My breath hitched as warmth spread through me, traitorous and overwhelming.
His grip tightened just slightly, as if he felt it too.
We both froze.
Because this this simple touch felt like everything we had lost.
His voice dropped, rough and unsteady.
"Why do you still smell like my mate?"
The question shattered what little strength I had left.
Because the bond had never died.