Aria's POV
The spit landed on my cheek before I even saw her coming.
"You missed a spot, Omega." Miranda's laugh was sharp like broken glass. She ground her expensive heel into the floor I had just scrubbed clean, leaving a black streak across the white tiles.
I didn't look up. I never looked up.
My knees ached against the cold stone floor of Blackwood Manor. My hands were raw and red from the cleaning chemicals. But I kept scrubbing, kept my head down, kept breathing.
Three more hours. Just three more hours until the Luna Ceremony.
"What's wrong?" Miranda crouched down, her perfect blonde hair falling over her shoulder. "Cat got your tongue? Oh wait, you're not even worth a cat. You're just a dirty little wolf with no rank and no family."
The other girls behind her giggled. I recognized their voices. Bethany. Rose. Jade. The same girls who had made my life miserable for seven years, ever since I was brought to this pack as an orphan.
Miranda grabbed my chin and forced me to look at her. Her eyes were cruel and cold.
"You know what tonight is, don't you?" she whispered. "The Luna Ceremony. When Alpha Damien finally chooses his mate." She smiled, slow and mean. "Everyone knows it's going to be me. My father is the Beta. I'm beautiful. I'm powerful. And you?" She shoved my face away. "You're nothing."
I bit my tongue so hard I tasted blood.
*If only you knew*, I thought. *If only you knew about the secret meetings. The stolen kisses. The promises he made me under the moonlight.*
For four years, Damien and I had hidden our love. He said it was to protect me. An Alpha loving an Omega? The pack would never accept it. They would hurt me even more than they already did.
But tonight, everything would change.
Tonight, Damien would announce me as his chosen mate in front of everyone. He promised. He swore on the Moon Goddess herself.
Miranda stood up and kicked over my bucket of dirty water. It splashed across the floor and soaked through my worn dress.
"Clean it up," she said, walking away with her friends. Their laughter echoed down the hallway.
I waited until they were gone. Then I pressed my hand against my stomach.
My flat stomach that held the biggest secret of all.
I had found out this morning. I had felt sick for days, and when I finally worked up the courage to take the test, two pink lines stared back at me.
I was pregnant with the Alpha's baby.
For the first time in my miserable life, I felt something I had forgotten existed.
Hope.
I finished cleaning the floor with shaking hands. My mind was spinning with dreams. Damien would claim me tonight. We would tell the pack about the baby. I would finally have a family. A real family. People who loved me.
No more scrubbing floors. No more spit on my face. No more being called worthless.
I would be Luna.
As the sun began to set, I snuck away to my tiny room in the servants' quarters. It was barely bigger than a closet, with a small bed and a cracked mirror. But tonight, I didn't care.
I washed my face and brushed my long dark hair. I didn't have a nice dress, so I wore my cleanest one—a simple blue thing with patches on the sleeves. It didn't matter. Damien always said he loved me no matter what I wore.
The ceremony was held in the great hall. By the time I arrived, hundreds of pack members had already gathered. Candles flickered on every surface. The smell of roses filled the air.
I stayed in the back, hidden in the shadows. My heart was beating so fast I thought it might burst.
Then I saw him.
Damien walked onto the stage, and my breath caught in my throat. He was so handsome in his black suit, his dark hair swept back, his jaw sharp and strong. His eyes—those beautiful blue eyes that had looked at me with so much love—scanned the crowd.
I smiled, waiting for him to find me.
But he didn't look my way.
"Pack members," Damien's voice boomed across the hall. "Tonight, I announce my chosen mate. The woman who will rule beside me as Luna."
My heart soared. This was it. The moment I had waited four years for.
Damien smiled—that smile that used to be only for me.
"Miranda Stone, please come forward."
The world stopped.
No.
No, no, no.
Miranda walked up the stairs, her white dress flowing behind her like she was already a queen. She was grinning so wide it looked like her face might split in half.
Damien took her hand.
I couldn't breathe. My chest felt like someone had ripped it open.
This had to be a mistake. A trick. Part of some plan I didn't understand.
I pushed through the crowd, ignoring the angry shouts. I had to reach him. I had to hear him explain.
"Damien!" My voice cracked.
The whole hall went silent. Every single eye turned to look at me—the dirty Omega who dared to interrupt.
Damien's face went pale. Then it went cold. So cold I didn't recognize him.
"What are you doing?" he hissed.
"You promised me," I whispered, tears streaming down my face. "You said you would choose me. You said you loved me."
Miranda laughed. "Oh my God, is she serious right now?"
Damien's jaw tightened. He looked at me like I was dirt. Like I was less than dirt.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he said loudly, so everyone could hear. "I would never love an Omega."
My whole body started to shake.
"But I'm pregnant," I choked out. "With your—"
"Guards!" Damien's voice was like thunder. "Remove this crazy girl. She's clearly lost her mind."
Strong hands grabbed my arms. I screamed. I kicked. I fought.
But the last thing I saw before they dragged me away was Miranda pressing her lips against Damien's.
And Damien kissing her back.
Then the doors slammed shut, and everything went black.
But in that darkness, I felt something else inside me stir. Something that had been sleeping for twenty-one years.
Something powerful.
Something that was about to wake up.