Chapter 2

The sting of humiliation lingered in the air, sharp and unrelenting, as I watched Milana’s face pale under the weight of my indifference. She deserved it, after all. She had dared to entertain the idea of another male, as if I, Leon Jackson, Alpha of the Blackmoon Pack, wasn’t enough for her. The mere thought of her considering another’s number made my wolf bristle with irritation, though I kept my expression cool, detached, as befitting my rank.

Three days earlier, we had been at a pack gathering, the kind where alliances were subtly tested and hierarchies reinforced. Keegan, my Beta and confidant, had approached Milana with his usual meddlesome concern. I had been nearby, engaging in idle conversation with the Gamma of a neighboring pack, though my attention was never far from her.

“Milana, are you still unmated?” Keegan’s voice carried across the room, loud enough to draw my attention but not so loud as to be improper.

Milana, ever the poised Beta, managed a tight smile. “Why? Planning on setting me up?”

Her tone was light, but I could see the tension in her shoulders, the way her fingers tightened around her glass. Keegan, oblivious or perhaps deliberately ignoring her discomfort, nodded eagerly. “I know someone great. He’s an alumnus of our pack’s training program, a Delta in the Silverfang Pack. I mentioned you to him recently, and he’s very interested.”

My jaw tightened, but I kept my expression neutral, my Alpha mask firmly in place. Milana, however, didn’t look at me. Instead, she shook her head politely. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

Keegan persisted, his voice carrying a note of exasperation. “Milana, you were the star of the research division back in the day, and yet you haven’t had a mate for years. Doesn’t your family pressure you?”

Pressure? I knew the answer to that. Her family, like every werewolf family, expected her to find her mate, to solidify her place in the pack. But she hadn’t, because I hadn’t allowed it. For three years, I had kept her close, my secret, my hidden treasure. And yet, here she was, entertaining the idea of another male, as if I hadn’t claimed her in every way that mattered.

Milana’s eyes flicked toward me briefly, and I saw the flicker of hope, the unspoken plea for me to intervene. But I remained silent, my gaze cold and unyielding. She bit her lip, her voice soft but firm. “At the moment, I’m not looking to start a relationship or bond with anyone.”

Keegan sighed, shaking his head. “Milana, you’re in your prime, tirelessly working as the Alpha’s assistant. A man should settle down, and a woman should wed; shouldn’t you let her go?”

That last sentence was directed at me, and I felt the weight of it settle on my shoulders. I turned slightly, my eyes narrowing as I regarded Keegan with a cool, dismissive gaze. “What’s that got to do with me?”

Keegan didn’t flinch, though his tone softened. “Milana talks about you all the time at work, Alpha. Because you’ve been quiet, we’ve been hesitant to introduce anyone.”

I shrugged, my voice indifferent, though the words tasted bitter on my tongue. “Go ahead. If you succeed in setting her up, I’ll definitely give a generous gift.”

The room fell silent for a moment, the tension palpable. Milana’s face flushed, and I saw the hurt in her eyes, though she quickly masked it. She nodded reluctantly, adding the contact on her phone, her movements stiff and mechanical.

From that day on, I made it clear that her actions had consequences. I treated her with cold indifference, my Alpha tone sharp and cutting whenever we interacted. She had dared to entertain the idea of another male, and for that, she would pay.

Today, she had seen me with Nova, my publicly recognized mate, her arm linked with mine as we walked into the pack hall. Nova was everything Milana wasn’t—confident, ambitious, and unapologetically mine. I had made sure Milana saw us, saw the matching mate bracelets that marked Nova as mine in the eyes of the pack. The look on Milana’s face had been worth it—pain, humiliation, and something else I couldn’t quite place.

But as I stood there, watching her shrink under the weight of my indifference, I felt a flicker of something I hadn’t expected—doubt. My wolf growled softly in the back of my mind, a reminder of the bond we had shared, the one I had never officially acknowledged. I pushed the thought aside, burying it deep. She had chosen this path, and now she would live with the consequences.

The pack hall buzzed with whispered conversations, the weight of my presence keeping them subdued but curious. I turned away from Milana, my focus shifting to Nova, who stood at my side, her smile triumphant. She was everything a Luna should be—strong, confident, and unyielding. Milana, with her quiet strength and hidden pain, was a reminder of a weakness I couldn’t afford.

But as I walked away, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had made a mistake. My wolf stirred again, restless and unsettled. I silenced it, my Alpha tone sharp and commanding. She had made her choice, and so had I. And yet, as the doors of the pack hall closed behind me, I couldn’t help but wonder if I had lost something I hadn’t even realized I had.