When I wake again, sunlight pours through the tall windows, painting the room in gold and shadow.For a moment, I forget where I am except for the softness beneath me, the faint scent of pine and cedar, the distant hum of voices below. Then it hits me like a wave.I, the girl who didn't belong here was in the Alpha's quarters.Xavier's room.I sit up, my fingers twisting in the sheets. The events of last night crash through me. The coronation, his eyes locking with mine, that impossible word: Mate.A soft knock breaks my thoughts. The door opens before I can answer.Xavier steps in.He's dressed in a dark tunic today, his hair slightly tousled, silver-gray eyes unreadable as they land on me."You're awake," he says simply.I nod, my voice small. "For now."He looks at me a moment longer before saying, "You need to eat."He doesn't wait for me to argue, just turns and gestures for me to follow.My feet feel heavy as I rise, clutching my hands together as if that might hold me together too.The hallways are alive with sound. Murmurs, whispers, the kind that stop the moment we step into earshot.Every eye turns to us as we pass.And even before I try to, I hear their voices, the sharp hiss of gossip, the quiet laughter behind hands."That's her… the wolfless one.""The Goddess must be playing some cruel joke.""How can the Alpha's mate not even shift?""She'll ruin him."Each word slices clean through me, leaving no place to hide.I keep my gaze low, wishing I could vanish into the stone floor. Xavier walks ahead, back straight, pretending not to hear, but I can see the stiffness in his shoulders.When we reach the dining hall, the noise falters. Dozens of wolves rise to their feet, heads bowing slightly in respect for him, not me.The long tables glimmer under morning light, silverware shining, food steaming.Xavier pulls out a chair near the head of the table, his tone clipped. "Sit."I obey. My hands tremble as I reach for a cup of water. No one else sits. Their stares burn hotter than the sun through the windows.Then Elder Rowan clears his throat from across the room."Alpha," he says, voice heavy with restrained disapproval, "the council requests a meeting. Immediately."Xavier's jaw tightens. "Now?""Yes," Rowan says. "It concerns… your announcement last night."The word announcement drips with disdain.Xavier's eyes flick toward me, just briefly, then back to the Elder. "Fine. Assemble them."He turns to me quietly. "Stay here and eat something."My stomach twists. "Xavier—"But he's already walking away, his expression carved from stone.The council chamber is just beyond the hall, but their voices carry through the walls like thunder.I shouldn't listen.I can't not."…she's wolfless, Xavier. You're risking everything for a cursed girl!""She will never lead. The pack will never accept her.""Do you think the Goddess blessed this bond? Or is this her punishment?"And then his voice comes out calm, firm, threaded with steel."She is my mate. The bond is real. I will not reject her."A pause. Then someone scoffs. "You sound like a fool in love."He answers evenly. "Or a man who trusts the Goddess."The chamber door slams open a few moments later. Xavier steps out, his expression dark, his jaw tight.When he sees me lingering nearby, his voice drops low. "You shouldn't be here.""I was waiting," I whisper. "I wanted to make sure—""That they didn't tear me apart?" His tone softens, almost amused, but it doesn't reach his eyes. "They tried.""What did you tell them?""The truth."Then, quieter, "But truth doesn't change minds that have already decided what they want to believe."Something flickers in his expression — doubt, pain, maybe both.And for the first time, I see it clearly:He's torn between me and them.The rest of the day is a blur of shadows and whispers. Wherever we go, conversations stop mid-sentence.I follow a few steps behind him, silent, invisible, my heart aching with every glance, every sneer.That's when I see her.Ashlyn Verse.The Beta of the pack. Tall, radiant, her golden hair falling in waves, her eyes the color of honey catching sunlight. She stands at the training field, confidence in every line of her body.When she smiles at Xavier, the world seems to tilt.She's beautiful in the way I'll never be.The kind of beautiful that belongs beside an Alpha."Ashlyn," Xavier greets, his voice losing some of its edge. "I need the patrol reports by sundown.""Already handled," she says smoothly, her gaze flicking over me once before settling back on him. "Always one step ahead."Her voice is soft, melodic and completely void of acknowledgment toward me.Xavier doesn't introduce us, he doesn't even try.It shouldn't hurt, but it does.They speak for a while about border patrols, new recruits, neighboring packs. I stand a few feet behind, watching, feeling smaller by the second.Together, they look perfect, like they belong to the same world, one I'll never fit into.When she laughs at something he says, the sound feels like a blade pressed against my chest.I look down at my hands, at the faint bruises still marking my wrists from years of labor.And I know exactly how this looks to everyone watching: The cursed girl standing behind the Alpha.When Xavier finally turns away to address a guard, Ashlyn's eyes find mine. She steps closer, her lips curling in a smile that doesn't reach her eyes.Her voice is low, honey-sweet with venom."If the Moon Goddess truly made you Luna," she murmurs, "then maybe She's not as perfect as we thought."My throat closes.For a moment, I can't move, can't breathe. The words hit harder than any slap.I meet her gaze, forcing my voice to stay steady. "If She didn't want me here, She wouldn't have chosen me."Ashlyn's smile sharpens. "Or maybe She's testing him to see how long before he realizes his mistake."She turns away, graceful, effortless, leaving me frozen in her wake.I stand there, heart pounding, the sting of her words echoing inside my skull.When Xavier turns back, his eyes find mine. "Everything alright?"I swallow hard, forcing a small nod. "Yes, Alpha."The title slips out before I can stop it. His expression flickers, something unreadable but he doesn't correct me.He just nods once and walks ahead, unaware of the cracks forming inside me.That night, when the corridors fall quiet and the moonlight pools across the stone floors, I sit by the window in his room.Outside, laughter rises from the courtyard, Ashlyn's among them, bright and sure.I press a hand to my chest, to the strange warmth that hums beneath my skin whenever I think of him.Mate.The bond whispers through me, relentless, alive.But bonds don't erase whispers. They don't erase wounds.And right now, the pack's hatred burns louder than the Goddess's voice, louder than hope, even louder than me.
