Moonbound Mistake

Act I: Chapter Five - The Beta

The first day of school at Silver Moon should have been just another routine in my life, but it felt like walking onto a battlefield where I was the only soldier without armor.

The academy itself had grand—arched ceilings carved from mountain stone, banners stitched with silver thread, and polished floors that gleamed beneath the cold morning sun. Students filled the hallways, their voices weaving together in a chorus of laughter, gossip, and pride. Wolves who had already shifted walked taller, stronger, their confidence shining like armor.

And then there was me.

The moment I stepped through the door, the noise dimmed.

Heads turned. Conversations faltered. Dozens of eyes landed on me—some wide with curiosity, others narrowing with disdain. I wanted to shrink into myself, to disappear, but the guards who had escorted me remained at the entrance. Inside, I was alone.

"That's her," a boy whispered.

"The rejected Luna," a girl sneered.

"She hasn't even shifted. She's useless."

Their words slid under my skin like knives. I kept walking, my boots clicking softly against the floor, my arms wrapped tightly around my books. My gaze stayed low, on the marble beneath me, but even then I felt their stares burning holes into me.

By midday, the whispers turned to cruelty.

When I sat down at my desk, I found cruel scrawls carved into the wood: Mistake. Weak. Cursed.

At lunch, someone spilled water across my tray and laughed as I stumbled away, cheeks burning.

In the courtyard, a group of girls blocked my path. Their perfumes mixed too sweetly in the air, their eyes glittering with mockery.

"You think you're Luna?" one asked, her lips curling.

"The Alpha doesn't even want you. You're nothing but a charity case."

My throat tightened. I kept my eyes down, but they stepped closer, crowding me in.

Another girl shoved my shoulder, sending my books tumbling to the ground. The pages of my notes fluttered across the stone like broken wings. Laughter erupted around me.

"Pick them up, little mistake," the first girl mocked.

My knees hit the ground, fingers trembling as I scrambled to gather the papers. The edges blurred through the tears I fought to hold back. Every sound, every giggle, every cruel whisper sliced into me.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to fight back. But my body betrayed me, curling smaller instead.

Then—

"Enough."

The voice was sharp, commanding, and the courtyard hushed.

I froze. My hands stilled on the pages.

Elizer stood only a few steps away, tall and imposing, his presence shifting the air itself. The sun caught the strands of his dark hair, and his Beta aura radiated strength and control. His eyes—deep, serious, unwavering—swept over the girls.

"She is under the Alpha's protection," he said coolly, his tone cutting through their mockery like a blade.

"You disrespect her, you disrespect him. Do you want to be responsible for that?"

The girls faltered, their bravado crumbling. One by one, they backed away, muttering under their breath as they scattered.

I sat frozen, clutching the last of my papers against my chest.

Elizer bent slightly, crouching until his gaze met mine. His eyes weren't kind, not exactly, but neither were they cruel. They were curious, as though he was studying a puzzle that didn't quite make sense.

"You're not what I expected," he murmured, his voice low, meant only for me.

My breath caught. Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I could only nod faintly, my words lost in my throat.

"Thank you," I whispered, so softly I wasn't sure he heard.

His brow furrowed, but he straightened before I could say more, his tall frame casting a shadow over me as he turned to leave. His shoulder brushed mine in the smallest of gestures, but the contact lit a spark that rushed through me, sharp and undeniable.

It wasn't the wild, consuming fire of the bond. It wasn't the pull I felt with Lucien.

It was gentler. Steadier. Something I wished—desperately—that I could have instead.

But I couldn't.

The truth crashed into me, sharp and cruel. Elizer would never be mine. My chest tightened, and the bond in my neck burned faintly, as though mocking me for daring to imagine.

And then I saw him.

Lucien.

He stood at the far edge of the courtyard, framed by the archway, his posture rigid and cold. His eyes—those storm-dark eyes—were locked on me.

The bond pulsed violently, like a heartbeat skipping. My skin prickled under his stare, and my wolf—if I even had one—whimpered in recognition.

But his face was carved from ice.

No warmth. No softness. Just unyielding, unreadable stone.

Elizer left, his footsteps fading. But Lucien remained. He didn't move, didn't speak—only watched.

And I hated myself because some foolish part of me ached for him to step forward. To claim me, to shield me the way Elizer had.

But he didn't.

By the time I returned to the pack house, exhaustion pressed down on me like chains. My hands still shook as I carried my books into the cold room of the west wing, the place I was supposed to call mine.

I curled into the corner, my back pressed to the wall, and let the tears fall silently.

Not because of the bullies.

Not even because of my father or Seraphina.

But because for the briefest of moments, when Elizer had shielded me, I had imagined what it would be like if he were mine. If he were the one fate had chosen for me.

And that tiny flicker of hope hurt more than any cruelty.

Because I already knew the truth.

I wasn't his.

I was Lucien's.

And Lucien didn't want me.

I buried my face against my knees and sobbed quietly, the bond throbbing painfully in my neck like a cruel reminder that no matter what I wished... I would never escape.