Bound to the Ruthless Lycan king

Yara’S POV The first time I realized I didn’t exist in my own home was the night my mate forgot I was his Luna. It wasn’t something loud, no screaming, no fight, just the kind of silence that slowly eats you alive. I stood at the top of the grand staircase, while my fingers gripping the cold railing as laughter echoed from below. The entire hall was glowing with warm golden lights, servants rushing around, preparing for the evening gathering. But none of it was for me, rather, it was for her, Seraphine, my dead brother-in-law’s widow, the woman who had somehow become everything I was supposed to be. “Careful, don’t wrinkle that,” one of the maids whispered below. I leaned slightly forward, my heart tightening. They were fixing her white silk, elegant and flowing dress. The kind of dress only a Luna should wear. My chest ached, that dress was meant for me. I swallowed hard and forced myself to move one step then another. Each step down the stairs felt heavier than the last, like I was walking into a life that didn’t belong to me anymore. No one noticed when I reached the bottom, not the servants, nor the guards, not even my mate Alpha Rowan Vale, my husband, my everything. He stood in the center of the hall, tall and proud, dressed in black. His posture was perfect. His presence is powerful. The Alpha everyone respected, the man I once believed would love me and beside him was her Seraphine. She stood close to him, so close that her hand lightly rested on his arm like she belonged there and had always been there. And Rowan didn’t move it away, my throat tightened, I waited and I glanced again, so that he could look at me or something but he didn’t. It felt like someone reached inside my chest and squeezed my heart. “Beautiful, isn’t she?” The voice beside me made me flinch, I turned slowly, Lady Merith, one of the elders, smiled at me but it wasn’t kind. It was the kind of smile people give when they pity you. “Yes…” I whispered, even though my voice almost broke. “She is.” Because what else was I supposed to say?. That I was the Luna, or that I was the one who should be standing there, or that I was his mate? No. That truth didn’t matter anymore, not here, not in this house. “Alpha Rowan made the right choice,” she added softly, “The pack needs strength.” Her words were gentle but they cut deeper than any blade. Strength. That’s what I lacked, and that’s why I was being replaced. I lowered my eyes, hiding the tears threatening to fall because I had learned how to do that, to hide, stay quiet and disappear. Because every time I tried to speak, I was reminded that I wasn’t enough. “Yara.” My name. Immediately, my head snapped up and my heart jumped. For a moment I thought, but it wasn’t Rowan, it was Seraphine. She portrays a soft, sweet and perfect smile at me, “I’m so glad you came down,” she said, walking toward me like we were friends. “You’ve been resting so much lately.” Resting, that’s what they called it when they didn’t want me around. “I’m fine,” I said quietly. She tilted her head, studying me and said, “You look pale.” Because I barely eat or sleep, infact, I cry myself to sleep most nights. But I just nodded. “I’m okay.” Her smile widened, “You’re always so strong, Yara, I admire that.” Strong, if only she knew how close I was to breaking. A sudden movement behind her made my breath catch. Rowan was walking toward us and my heart started pounding. This was it, he would talk to me, he had to because I was his mate and his only Luna. “Yara.” He called with a low, calm and distant voice. I stepped forward quickly. “Rowan” “Make sure the guests are welcomed properly,” he said and didn't even look at me properly. I froze, “What?” I whispered. “Seraphine will be by my side tonight,” he continued. “Handle the rest.” Handle the rest like I was a servant, like I wasn’t his Luna, like I didn’t matter. My chest felt tight. “I… I thought” “This isn’t the time, Yara,” he cut in, his voice sharper now, I flinched. Seraphine gently touched his arm, “Rowan, she’s trying.” Trying what? To exist? “It’s fine,” he said, his tone softening but not for me. “Come,” he told Seraphine and just like that, they walked away together while holding hands leaving me behind again. I stood there still, silent and invisible. Around me, the hall came alive. Music started playing, guests arrived and laughter filled the air but I felt nothing. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to hold together the pieces of me that were falling apart. When did this happen? When did I lose him? When did I lose… everything? I turned slowly and walked toward the side hallway, no one stopped me, and no one called my name because no one noticed. The further I walked, the quieter it became until all I could hear was my own shaky and uneven breathing. I pushed open the small door leading outside, immediately, cold air hit my face and I gasped softly, it felt good and undiluted. Unlike everything inside that house. I stepped into the garden, the moonlight washing over me and for a moment, I just stood there, staring at the sky. “Why?” I whispered, my voice trembled. “I did everything right.” I was loyal and quiet, I followed every time and I tried to be enough. So why, Why was I still not chosen? Tears slipped down my cheeks, I didn’t wipe them because there was no point since no one was here to see. “I’m tired,” I whispered, so tired of fighting for a place that was never mine, so tired of loving someone who didn’t love me back and so tired of being nothing. Suddenly, I heard the sound of slow and heavy footsteps right behind me, not from the house but from the forest and that scared me. My heart started racing and I turned slowly. The shadows between the trees shifted and someone was there. A broad, dark and tall figure stepped forward and power rolled off him like a storm and my breath caught. Instantly, I knew he wasn't from this pack because no one here felt like that. His sharp and hungry eyes locked onto mine and then everything inside me froze when I felt a deep, ancient and terrifying pull from the eyes and my heart slammed against my chest. No… No, that’s not possible, my lips parted. “M… mate?” The word came out as a whisper. His gaze darkened and something dangerous flickered in his eyes. He stepped closer, one step then another. I couldn’t move or breathe, Every instinct inside me screamed, Run. but my body refused “You smell like him,” he said, his voice low and rough and my stomach twisted. “I… I’m married,” I whispered but his expression didn’t change, rather, it got worse. “Not anymore,” he said and my heart skipped. “What?” He stopped right in front of me, so close I could feel the heat from his body, so close I could also see the darkness and the real danger in his eyes. “You’ve been abandoned,” he said calmly and the words hit harder than a slap. “I haven’t,” I said quickly, even though my voice shook and he tilted his head slightly. Studying me like he could see through every lie I told myself. “Then why are you here?” he asked. I opened my mouth but no words came out because I didn’t have an answer. His gaze softened just a little, not gentle but something intense and consuming. “You’re wasted there,” he said and my heart pounded. “You don’t know me.” “I don’t need to,” he slowly and deliberately lifted his hand. I should have stepped back or run but I didn’t and his fingers brushed against my cheek. A spark exploded through my body and I gasped. My knees nearly gave out my wolf. I didn’t even have a wolf so why did it feel like something inside me just woke up? His eyes darkened even more. “There it is,” he murmured and my breathing became uneven. “What… what are you?” A small smirk touched his lips. “Your escape,” and my heart skipped again. “I don’t need” “You do.” His voice was firm and certain like he already decided. “I’m not yours,” I said, even though my voice betrayed me. His eyes burned into mine, then he clearly said it, slowly and unavoidably, “You are mine.”. And for the first time in a very long time, I felt seen and not ignored nor forgotten and it terrified me because something deep inside me whispered, this man will change everything.