AFTER THE BETRAYAL; A SECOND CHANCE WITH THE ALPHA

"Have you seen Lucien?" Selene Ashcroft's voice cut through the laughter echoing down the castle corridor, but the passing omega merely shook her head and hurried away. The Moon Blessing Festival was in full swing—silver lanterns drifting toward the Blood Moon Forest, warriors singing in the courtyard, and the scent of honeyed wine thick as magic in the air. But her destined mate had been missing for hours. Selene smoothed the front of her pale blue gown, the one Lucien had once said made her eyes look like twilight violets. Tonight was supposed to be their night. The night he would finally announce their official bonding before the entire Silver Crescent Pack. The night she stopped being just the healer's daughter and became the future Luna. Instead, she was wandering empty corridors like a lost pup. He's probably with the warriors. Preparing some surprise. Stop worrying. Her wolf whimpered softly—a low, uneasy vibration beneath her ribs. Selene ignored it. She'd spent twenty-four years trusting Lucien. One strange evening wouldn't shatter that. Then she heard it. A muffled gasp. A woman's laugh. Soft and breathy and achingly familiar. Selene's feet carried her before her mind could stop them. Past the tapestry of the ancient Moon Goddess. Past the portrait of the first Alpha. Toward the eastern wing where no one ever went during festivals. The door to the storage chamber stood ajar. Candlelight flickered from within. "Lucien, stop—someone might hear—" "Let them hear. I'm tired of hiding." Her sister's voice. Mia's voice. Selene's hand pressed against the cold stone wall. Her heart slammed against her ribs so violently she thought it might c***k through the bone. No. No, no, no— She pushed the door open. And the world ended. Lucien—her Lucien, her fated mate, the man the Moon Goddess had chosen for her—had her younger sister pinned against the ancient wooden shelves. Mia's golden hair spilled over her bare shoulders like molten sunlight. Lucien's hands gripped her waist like she was the only anchor in a storm. Their mouths were fused together. Hungry. Desperate. Familiar. The candlelight caught the glisten of saliva on their lips. Selene made a sound. A small, broken thing—half whimper, half scream—that tore from her throat without permission. Both of them froze. Mia's hazel eyes snapped open first. Wide. Guilty. Then, impossibly, triumphant. "Selene." Lucien pulled away slowly. His shirt was unbuttoned to his navel. His chest gleamed with sweat. He didn't look ashamed. He looked annoyed. "This isn't what you think." "Don't." The word scraped out of Selene's throat like broken glass. "Don't you dare lie to me." Mia stepped forward, adjusting her gown with theatrical calm. "Sister, please. Let me explain—" "You were moaning his name!" "Because he's mine now." Mia's voice hardened. The mask of sweet little sister crumbled into something sharp and venomous. "He chose me, Selene. The Moon Goddess made a mistake with you. Lucien and I—we're the true bond." Selene's wolf howled inside her chest. A piercing, primal shriek of agony that sent tremors through her entire body. The mate bond—that sacred, unbreakable tether—screamed. And then it snapped. A white-hot blade of pure devastation carved through her ribcage. Selene crumpled against the door frame, gasping, clutching her chest as invisible claws shredded the golden threads that had bound her soul to Lucien's since birth. He didn't flinch. He didn't reach for her. He just stood there, watching her suffer, with something close to relief in his cold blue eyes. "The bond was never strong," he said flatly. "You were always too soft. Too gentle. A healer playing at being Luna. Mia understands what I need." "Understanding?" Selene choked on her own tears. "You—you've been sleeping with my sister—" "For three months," Mia replied cheerfully. "In your bed, actually. While you were treating wounded warriors until dawn. Did you ever wonder why the sheets smelled different?" The corridor spun. The candle flames blurred into molten gold. Selene's knees buckled, and she hit the stone floor with a c***k that sent pain shooting up her palms. "Please," she whispered. Not for herself. For the shred of dignity she had left. "Please don't do this publicly. Just... let me leave quietly. I'll go to the border villages. I'll never—" "Oh, but everyone must know." Mia's smile was beautiful and monstrous. "The future Alpha chose me. The pack deserves to see who truly deserves to stand beside him." Lucien straightened his shirt. "She's right. It's time for honesty." Selene looked up at him—the man she'd loved since she was sixteen. The man she'd saved from death three times. The man who had whispered forever into her hair on every full moon. His eyes held nothing. No guilt. No sorrow. Only impatience. "Lucien," she breathed, "I healed you. When the rogues nearly tore your throat out, I stayed awake for three days—" "And you never let me forget it." He rolled his shoulders. "That's the problem, Selene. You think love is a debt. Mia loves me without conditions." "Without conditions?" Selene laughed—a broken, jagged sound that echoed down the empty corridor. "She's using you to destroy me. Can't you see?" "I see a woman who can't accept rejection," Lucien turned toward the door. "The announcement will be made tonight. At the festival. Where everyone can witness the truth." He walked past her. Mia followed, pausing just long enough to whisper: "The healer always heals others, doesn't she? Too bad no one's left to heal you." And then they were gone. Selene remained crumpled on the cold stone, her fingers clawing at the floor where her mate's footprints still marked the dust. The bond was gone. Hollowed out. Ripped away like a limb she hadn't known she needed until it was severed. Her wolf whimpered once. Then fell silent. Three months. In her own bed. While she bled for this pack. While she saved lives. And now they would announce it. Publicly. Before every warrior, elder, and omega who had ever called her "future Luna." The humiliation would be absolute. Selene pressed her forehead onto the freezing stone and let the tears fall. She cried for her lost future. She cried for her shattered heart. She cried for the sister who had never loved her, and the mate who had never truly seen her. But somewhere beneath the wreckage of her soul—beneath the grief and the rage and the searing betrayal—something else stirred. Cold. Sharp. Hungry. Her wolf lifted its head. Revenge. Selene's violet eyes snapped open. And in the darkness of that empty corridor, the healer made a decision that would change the Silver Crescent Pack forever.