Chapter 1

They say a shadow follows every person. Mine was made of whispers and disgust.

"Look at her. How can someone like her even show their face?"

"Her family was traitors. Why does she think she’s still part of this pack?"

I kept my head down, pushing through the pain. I tried to ignore their words, but it wasn’t easy. They were everywhere, in every corner and every glance. People didn’t look at me with sympathy. They looked at me with contempt, like I was poison they couldn’t get rid of.

I remembered my family, once proud and full of life. My father and my mother had once held a place of respect in this pack. That was before they were framed for treason. They were executed in front of me, my father’s death especially still haunted me. The accusation was false, but no one cared. I was left to pick up the pieces of a shattered life.

I had learned early on that the pack would never see me as anything more than my family's legacy. It was hard to walk through these grounds without the sting of their words following me. But there was one thing that kept me going. One person who made it bearable: Damon.

The Alpha-to-be. My mate.

Damon was different. He had always been there for me even when the pack turned their backs. I’d never known a love like his. We have been secretly mating for months now. It wasn’t ideal hiding what we had, but Damon promised that once the right time came, we would be free to show the world our bond. I held onto that hope that one day he would make it official. One day, he would stand by me and claim me as his. I believed in him.

I reached the door to his quarters and hesitated. I should knock. But Damon always told me not to. “Come in when you’re ready,” he’d said with a smile that made me flutter.

I opened the door expecting to see him standing there, maybe even smiling or waiting to hold me.

But the scene that greeted me was not what I expected.

Damon was in bed, but he wasn’t alone. Celia, my best friend, the one I’d trusted with everything was there too. Their bodies were tangled in the sheets, and the sight of them together, of them mating stole the breath from my lungs.

My heart shattered into a thousand pieces. It was as if the world around me froze, and in that moment, I felt every ounce of pain and betrayal slam into me all at once.

Celia looked at me with wide eyes, but Damon didn’t even glance my way. He just kept kissing her, his hands were on her as if I didn’t exist.

“Damon…” I whispered, But he didn’t hear me or maybe he didn’t care.

My body trembled as I tried to process what I was seeing. I took a step forward, and still Damon didn’t look at me.

“Damon!” I said louder this time. Finally, he pulled away from Celia, but his expression was all wrong. Instead of looking guilty, his eyes held irritation like I was the inconvenience.

“What do you want, Aria?” he snapped coldly. “I’m busy.”

I staggered back. “Busy? You’re busy cheating on me? After everything?”

Damon smiled cruelly and his eyes narrowed into me. “You were never worthy of me. You were a burden from the start. I should have never been tied to you.”

My heart broke into a million pieces. The man I had loved, the one I had thought was my mate had just torn me apart with his words. I turned to Celia, desperate for some explanation or some remorse from her, but there was none. She stood there, smirking, her arms crossed over her chest as if she was proud of what she’d done.

“I honestly didn’t want to hurt you, but you were never good enough for him. You were clinging onto some fantasy while the rest of us moved on.”

“You were my best friend, Celia. How could you even think of doing this?”

“Because I could. And because he deserves better than a broken little traitor’s daughter.” She shrugged.

“You’re worse than I thought, Celia.”

She stepped closer until her face inches from mine. “And you’re weaker than I thought. No wonder your family fell so easily.”

My whole body shook. I wanted to scream, to claw at her, to do something to make this nightmare end. But I turned back to Damon. “Then why didn't you rejected me then? Why drag this out?”

“I didn’t reject you because I didn’t have to. You were never anything to me. Just a way to pass the time,” he spat.

“You’re a monster,”I whispered.“You’re nothing but a monster, Damon.”

He stepped closer. “You think I care about your opinion? You’re pathetic. You always have been.”

His words cut deeper than I could ever imagine. My heart felt like it was being crushed, slowly and painfully. I was nothing to him, just someone who had outlived her use. He took a step back and straightened his shoulders.

“I, Alpha Damon, reject you, Aria Jared, as my mate and future Luna.”

The moment the words left his mouth, It felt as though a part of me had been ripped away leaving a gaping and well bleeding wound behind. My wolf howled in agony and I held my stomach, gasping for air.

I could barely see through the pain, but I had to end this nightmare so I forced the words out. “ I… I, Aria Jared accept your rejection,” I choked out.

It was as though the pain multiplied, it felt so intense I thought I would die.

“Aria?” I could hear Celia voice but I couldn't focus on it.

I tried to hold on, but it was too much. My vision went black, and the last thing I saw was Damon and Celia confused faces. Then there was nothing, only darkness.

I let it.