Rise of a Luna

Chapter 2

“Mika…

The name slipped from my lips like a fragile breath, barely sound at all. My voice cracked, the syllable breaking apart before it could fully form. Still, it was enough. Both of them turned toward me, and in that instant, the room seemed to shrink walls pressing in, air growing thick, my lungs struggling to pull in breath.

Time slowed.

Ace stood there, bare‑chested and unbothered, as if I were nothing more than an interruption. Mika was beside him, sheets clutched loosely around her, her face flushed—not with guilt, but with something far worse. Comfort. Familiarity.

“What the f**k?” Ace snapped. “Don’t you know how to knock?”

His tone was sharp, irritated. Not a trace of shame. Not a flicker of remorse. It was as though I hadn’t just caught them together, as though I weren’t standing there watching my world collapse in real time.

I felt something tear inside my chest.

I struggled to breathe past the tightness in my throat, my hands curling into fists at my sides. “So all this time…” I began, my voice trembling despite my effort to steady it. “You’ve been cheating on me.”

Neither of them spoke.

“You lied to everyone,” I continued, the words spilling out now, fueled by pain and disbelief. “My father. The pack. Everyone at the engagement party. You stood there, holding me, embracing me—while telling them I was a slut.” My voice broke. “You knew it wasn’t true. You knew.”

Ace only smirked.

He bent down, calmly picking up his clothes from the floor as though I were ranting about something meaningless. His eyes never met mine. “Get dressed, Mika,” he said casually. “We’re late. We have somewhere to be.”

Late.

The word echoed in my head.

I stood there, rooted to the spot, as if I had stopped existing. As if my pain was invisible. As if I was nothing more than background noise in their lives.

My chest tightened, my heart splintering into sharp, jagged pieces. The betrayal cut deeper than anything I had ever known. This was the man I loved. The man I had trusted with every part of me. And he didn’t care. Not even enough to pretend.

And Mika—my best friend. My confidante. The one who knew every fear, every insecurity, every scar I carried stood beside him.

Smiling.

“Yes, baby,” she purred, her voice smooth and intimate, dragging my attention back to her like a cruel hook.

The sound of it shattered something final inside me.

“I trusted you,” I whispered. My voice barely sounded like my own. “I trusted you with my life.”

This was the girl who had held me while I cried. Who had sworn loyalty. Who had promised—over and over—that she would never betray me.

“Oh please,” Mika scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Don’t be so dramatic.”

Dramatic.

“The world doesn’t revolve around you,” she continued coolly. “And Ace has always been mine to begin with.”

Her words were poison, sinking deep into my veins.

I turned to Ace, desperation clawing at my chest. “Did you ever love me?” I asked softly. “Or was it all a lie?”

For a heartbeat, I hoped.

He didn’t even hesitate.

“No, Annie,” he said flatly. “I never did.”

The world tilted.

“I was with you because my father liked your goody‑two‑shoes image,” he went on, shrugging as if discussing business. “You were convenient.”

Each word landed like a blow, knocking the breath from my lungs.

“But now,” he added, pulling Mika closer, his arm settling around her waist with practiced ease, “he’s fine with it. I can finally be with the woman I love.”

He kissed her forehead gently.

She smiled—soft, smug, victorious.

I felt myself disappear.

“Oh, babe,” Mika said brightly, as if nothing had happened, “we’re almost late for antenatal.”

The words hit me harder than any slap ever could.

I froze.

My chest constricted, my legs trembling beneath me. Antenatal. The meaning sank in slowly, painfully.

“What…?” I whispered.

Mika laughed lightly, eyes sparkling with cruel delight. “Surprised? Oh, sorry, dearest. We’re expecting a pup.”

A pup.

They were having a baby.

My best friend. The man I was supposed to marry. A future that had never included me at all.

I watched them—watched the way Ace’s hand rested protectively on her, the way she leaned into him, glowing with joy. Every smile, every touch was a blade slicing deeper into my heart.

All this time.

All this time, there had been something going on behind my back. The lies. The whispers. The public humiliation. It hadn’t been an accident. It had been planned.

I was never meant to win.

I was a pawn. A mask. Something to discard once they were done using me.

My chest ached, tears burning my eyes, and with terrifying clarity, I understood that everything I believed in—love, trust, friendship—had betrayed me.

Something inside me snapped.

My wolf stirred violently beneath my skin, restless and furious, reacting to my pain, my rage, my humiliation. The pressure built, wild and uncontrollable, threatening to tear its way free.

“I curse you both,” I cried, my voice breaking apart. “You will never find happiness.”

Ace laughed.

Mika laughed.

Their mockery followed me as I turned and ran.

Tears blurred my vision as I stumbled into the hallway, the sound of their laughter echoing in my ears like a cruel chant. I wasn’t watching where I was going, bumping into people, barely registering the insults hurled my way.

None of it mattered.

Three years.

Three years I had loved Ace. Believed every word. Trusted every promise. I never knew he was using me. Never knew he had never loved me at all.

And Mika—my best friend—had been a snake the entire time.

I ran without direction, my chest burning, breath coming in ragged gasps. The city rushed past me in a blur. Warning horns blared as I crossed the road carelessly, my mind fractured, my body moving on instinct alone.

I didn’t see it coming.

Bam.

Pain exploded through me as I hit the ground hard. The impact knocked the air from my lungs, stars bursting behind my eyes. The sky above blurred, sounds fading, the world slipping away from my grasp.

My strength drained rapidly, limbs heavy, unresponsive.

Darkness crept in.

As my eyes closed, the noise of the world dissolved into silence—leaving me broken, betrayed, and unconscious on the cold pavement, with nothing left of the girl I had once been.