Weeks bled into a blur of back-breaking labor. I adjusted as best I could, though the transition from Luna to servant was a jagged pill to swallow. Occasionally, I would cross paths with Dante. He never spared me a glance, walking past as if I were a ghost haunting his halls. Yet, my traitorous heart still leaped at the sight of him. He was as captivating as ever, and I found myself yearning for the very touch that had ultimately ruined me. Every time I gathered the courage to speak, my sister would materialize out of thin air, anchoring herself to his side.
One afternoon, while I was scrubbing linens near the washing arena, Dante appeared. My heart hammered against my ribs. I stood frozen, waiting for him to speak. He scanned my body from head to toe, his expression a cryptic mask. I searched for a hint of concern, a spark of the man I loved, but I found nothing.
"Come with me," he ordered, his voice cold.
I didn't hesitate. I followed him, hope warring with dread, until we reached the Alpha's suite, the room that should have been mine. I hesitated at the threshold, fearing my sister's wrath, but I pushed the thought away. He was the Alpha, if he wanted me here, she couldn't stop him.
But as I stepped inside, my sister was already there.
The venom in her stare sent a chill down my spine. Regret washed over me for following him so blindly. Something was horribly wrong. In the corner, the pack doctor and his assistant stood like shadows, their faces grim.
"Who served Luna her daily herbs yesterday?" Dante's voice was like a whip.
I scoffed internally. I could see the play before it even started, she was framing me. Was stealing my mate and my title not enough? Now she wanted me dead. I glanced at her stomach, noting the lack of a swell. If she was truly pregnant, shouldn't she be showing by now?
"I did," I replied, my voice steady. I refused to look weak when I had done nothing wrong.
"Do you want to harm my child?" Dante stepped toward me, his eyes darkening. "Were you trying to kill the baby just to get my attention back?"
I shook my head in disbelief. "That's absurd."
"I have…" I started, but before I could finish, he lunged. He grabbed my arm, his grip so tight I knew it would leave a bruise. He pulled me flush against him. Despite the pain, the familiar scent of misty wood enveloped me, a cruel reminder of the comfort he used to provide.
For a fleeting second, I saw a flicker of something…was it concern? In his eyes? But it vanished as quickly as a breath in the wind.
"Are you truly that desperate, Clarissa?" He hissed, his frustration boiling over. "Shouldn't you be grateful I even let you live after what you have done?"
"If I truly intended to poison her, why would I be foolish enough to get caught?" I retorted, narrowing my eyes at my sister. Her face went pale. One thing my sister lacked was intelligence and being hot-tempered and sloppy made life hard for her. She definitely didn't plan well but will Dante believe her over her sister? "And perhaps you should ask your 'Luna' why she looks so perfectly healthy after being supposedly poisoned."
I looked toward the pack doctor, expecting the truth. He immediately averted his eyes, staring intently at the floor. My heart sank. Even the doctor was in on it.
"I didn't finish the tea! There was blood on my lips the moment the doctor arrived!" My sister shrieked, her voice frantic.
I couldn't help it, a dry, bitter chuckle escaped me. The excuse was flimsy. A child could have woven a more convincing lie. She was clearly desperate to scrub my existence from Dante's life.
I felt Dante's grip on my arm slacken slightly, a small mercy that suggested he didn't entirely buy her performance. I waited for him to shove me away, but instead, he wrapped his hand firmly around my wrist and hauled me out of the room. He dragged me down the hall to his private study, slamming the door and turning the lock with a definitive click.
The silence in the room was heavy. He eased his grip, his eyes searching mine. "Did you really do it, Clarissa?"
I shook my head slowly, meeting his gaze. "I am already drowning, Dante. Why would I pull more misfortune onto my own head?"
"She was poisoned," he revealed, his voice low. "But it wasn't a lethal dose."
I wasn't surprised. My sister was many things, but she wasn't entirely a fool. She was willing to bleed a little if it meant winning the war.
"If it makes you both happy, just give me enough money to get away," I proposed. The words tasted like ash. I wasn't truly ready to let him go, but if I was nothing but a thorn in his side, I wanted out. "Let me leave the pack."
The air in the room shifted instantly. Dante's expression darkened, his eyes igniting with a predatory, menacing rage that made my breath hitch. Had I said something wrong? Why did the idea of my absence infuriate him?
Before I could ask, he lunged.
He silenced me by crashing his lips against mine, his hands bruising my waist as he crushed me against him. I could barely breathe, but I didn't pull away. I was starving for him. I wrapped my arms around his neck, savoring the familiar heat even as a strange, hollow coldness settled in my chest. For a moment, the world disappeared.
Then, as quickly as the fire had started, he doused it. He shoved me away with such force that I stumbled back, hitting the floor hard. My heart shattered. It hadn't been a kiss of love, it was a kiss of pure, unadulterated frustration.
"I despise you, Clarissa," he spat, his fist colliding with the wood paneling beside my head with a deafening crack.
"Then let me go!" I yelled back, tears stinging my eyes. I refused to be treated like a piece of property he hated yet refused to discard.
"You don't dictate a damn thing to me!" He snapped. He turned on his heel and stormed out, leaving the door swinging in his wake.
I stayed on the floor of the study for a long time, letting the tears fall in the silence. I mourned the man he used to be, or perhaps the man I had imagined him to be. Finally, I wiped my face and stood up, bracing myself for the walk back to the Omega quarters.
The whispers started the moment I hit the hallway. My sister had been busy. The news of the "poisoning" had spread like wildfire.
"Shameless," one maid hissed loud enough for me to hear. "To think she was once our Luna."
I kept my head down, staring at the stone steps as I began my descent. I just wanted to reach my cubicle and hide. Suddenly, a violent shove caught me between the shoulder blades. My feet left the stone, and the world began to spin.
"Ahhh!"