Ruby's POV
I was losing myself.
Piece by piece.
Day by day.
I barely recognized the girl who stared back at me in the mirror anymore.
She had my face.
My eyes.
But she wasn’t me.
She was the Beta's Luna of Shadowridge.
Jake's mate.
Jake's possession.
And no matter how many times I told myself I was still me, still in control
The truth was suffocating.
I was trapped.
And Jake was making sure I stayed that way.
It started with the whispers.
"She doesn’t seem happy, does she?"
"A Luna should be more involved."
"Why doesn’t she smile more?"
I heard them everywhere.
At meals.
During meetings.
Whenever I passed the pack members in the halls.
At first, I thought I was imagining it.
But then
I saw the way Jake would sigh whenever someone commented on my silence.
Saw the
