The Rejected Substitute Luna

Chapter 2

Jasmine's Pov

I didn't sleep at all the night. I just sat in our bedroom, staring at the walls, feeling empty and numb.

Morning came, and I heard the front door open, looked out the window, and saw Garrett carefully guiding Jenny inside, treating her like she was made of glass.

​A part of me was waiting for him to come and explain everything to me, but he didn't, and the little bit of hope that was shattered as well, because that's the only thing I had left.

​Hope.

I tried to tell myself that maybe Jenny was just his ex-girlfriend. I desperately wanted to believe that they just had a past, and that Garrett’s shock was only because he thought she was dead.

I couldn't blame him though, because I knew our marriage was a contract marriage, but I just had to fall in love.

I was stupid for even thinking that an Omega like me could deserve this kind of life.

I didn't want to admit the scary truth yet, even though the heavy doubt was already creeping into my mind. I was just trying to protect my heart from breaking.

Later in the afternoon, I finally decided to leave the room and was walking down the hallway when I noticed something that made my heart stop.

At the very end of the hall, there was a forbidden room. For the last three years, Garrett has kept it strictly locked. He told me never to go inside, and he's never let anyone else enter either.

But right now, the door was wide open.

I hurried over there and pushed the door open, only to be met with another surprise, but nothing shocks me anymore.

Jenny was standing inside, looking through the drawers.

I looked around the room for the first time and everything clicked.

The beautiful dresses in the closet, the jewelry on the vanity, the perfume in the air—it all belonged to her. Garrett didn't lock this room to hide a dark secret. He locked it to keep everything untouched, waiting for her return.

Jenny turned around and looked at me.

The weak, crying woman from last night was gone. Instead, she looked at me with a cruel, mocking smile. It's like that vulnerable victim that I saw last night was just a figment of my imagination.

She looked down at the dress I was wearing and laughed.

"Look at you," she sneered, walking closer to me. "No matter how similarly you dress, you're merely a substitute. Did you really think Garrett loved your style? He bought you those clothes because they are my favorite fashion. Everything he gave you was just an attempt to recreate me."

Her words felt like another knife driving deep into my already dying heart, and I gasped, the truth hitting me so hard I could barely stand.

All the times Garrett bought me beautiful clothes and expensive jewelry, even though none of it was ever really my style. I've always preferred simpler things, but I forced myself to wear them happily because I believed those gifts showed that Garrett truly valued and cared for me.

I thought he was finally seeing me. But he wasn't. He was just using me to recreate his lost mate, and I mistakenly took his selfish nostalgia for love.

My three years of love and devotion were a sham.

A cold numbness spread from my chest all the way to my whole body, making me feel weak and lightheaded.

I felt like the floor was disappearing beneath my feet, leaving me hanging over a dark, endless empty space.

Every beautiful memory I had with Garrett over the last three years, every word exchanged between us, every embrace, and every smile, everything felt like a cruel joke.

I wanted to scream, to cry, to break something, but the shock was so heavy that my throat felt blocked.

I couldn't even blink as the painful reality crushed my soul. I wasn't his beloved. I was just a physical mannequin he dressed up to pretend his true love never left.

​"No, I'm his legal wife. I won't just give it all up," I said, finally finding my voice and blinking back my tears.

​Jenny’s face twisted with pure anger, a nasty sneer crossing her lips.

"His legal wife?" She laughed, the sound sharp and mocking. "You're nothing but a stray he picked up from the gutters of the Moonfall Pack, Jasmine. You're a nameless, worthless Omega. Do you really think a powerful Alpha like Garrett could ever love someone like you? You were just a warm body to keep his bed full while I was gone. The moment I walked back through that front door, your time was officially up."

​"I'm the Luna of this pack. Know your place!" I argued back, my voice shaking with rage as I stood my ground. "I built a life here for three years while you were nowhere to be found. "

​"You built a life in my house, wearing my clothes, looking like me," She hissed, stepping right into my personal space. "You're just a cheap imitation. A fake. And Garrett will throw you out the second I ask him to."

​​"You can't do that. Garrett won't let you.​" I looked at her contorted face and said, "Why are you doing this to me?​"

I get that she loves him, but why do I deserve all this hate from her because I did nothing wrong, and she was gone? Does she think I stole her marriage? But I wasn’t the one who proposed.

“Because you took everything from me, and now I'm going to take it all away unless, of course, you decide to give it to me willingly!” Jenny growled.

"No! I won't! Garrett is mine now, and I won't let you take him from me." I said firmly.

​Jenny's eyes flared with absolute rage at my words.

"How dare you!" She screamed. Suddenly, she raised her sharp claws and lunged straight at my face to attack me, but my instinct took over, and I moved quickly, grabbing her wrist and swinging my arms to push her back.

I retaliated to protect myself, and my grip ended up scratching and injuring her arm, and she fell back against the vanity, crying out in pain.

Before I could even process what was happening, the door flew open, and Garrett rushed in, and his face was furious.

"Garrett," Jenny sobbed instantly, shrinking back and feigning vulnerability with tears streaming down her face.

She definitely has to be named actress of the year because if I hadn't seen her drama, I would have believed her, but I could see through her lies, her tears, and her fakeness.

"She... she wants to drive me away. She assaulted me out of nowhere, Garrett. If you don't want me here, just tell me. I won't cling on if you decide my fate, but please don't let her hurt me."

"Garrett, no! That’s not what happened. I was trying-" I desperately tried to make him understand because he knows me and he knows I wouldn't do anything like that. "She attacked me first. I was only defending myself."

I tried to explain, moving closer to him, but he held his hand up, making me stop in my tracks.

"Enough, Jasmine," He barked, his loud Alpha voice vibrating through the small room, and looked at me with disappointment and anger, ignoring my explanation. He didn't even look at the scratches on my hands from defending myself instead he stepped past me and knelt next to Jenny, checking her injury with panicked eyes.

I was starting to be numb to the pain of seeing him with her until he looked up at me with a stare that shattered everything between us.

"Even if you leave the Bloodstain Pack, Jenny will stay, so fucken get used to it, or you know where the door is." He said coldly.

The words echoed in my ears, making it hard to breathe. The 3 years of my life with him flashed through my eyes like a movie because that's what they felt like right now, because I couldn't recognize him, but without waiting for me to say another word, Garrett gently scooped the crying Jenny up into his arms and carried her away, leaving me all alone in the room built for the woman he truly loved.