A Heart in Pieces
681 Words
Chapter 3:
The cold night wind whipped through Aria's hair as she stumbled away from the Moonfang Pack Hall.
Behind her, the celebration continued.
Music played.
People laughed.
Glasses clinked together in celebration of Damon and Selene's union.
As if her entire world had not just been destroyed.
Aria wrapped her arms around herself and kept walking.
She didn't know where she was going.
She only knew she couldn't stay there.
Not another second.
Not after the humiliation she had suffered.
Tears blurred her vision as memories flooded her mind.
Damon teaching her how to ride through the forest when they were children.
Damon protecting her from rogue wolves.
Damon promising that no matter what happened, they would always face the future together.
Every promise felt like a cruel joke now.
Her chest tightened painfully.
"Why?" she whispered.
The question echoed into the darkness.
Why had he chosen Selene?
Why had he thrown away everything they shared?
Why had he looked at her as if she meant nothing?
The pain became unbearable.
A sob escaped her lips.
Then another.
Soon she was crying openly.
For the first time in years, Aria allowed herself to break.
Hours later, she found herself standing before a small cottage at the edge of the pack territory.
Her grandmother's cottage.
The woman who had raised her after her parents died.
Aria hesitated before knocking.
A few moments later, the door opened.
Grandmother Elara stood there holding a lantern.
The elderly woman took one look at Aria's tear-stained face and immediately understood that something terrible had happened.
"Child..."
That single word shattered Aria's remaining strength.
She threw herself into her grandmother's arms.
Elara held her tightly.
"It's alright."
"No," Aria cried. "It's not."
The old woman led her inside.
The cottage smelled of herbs and lavender.
Normally it made Aria feel safe.
Tonight nothing could comfort her.
They sat beside the fireplace.
For several minutes neither spoke.
Finally Elara sighed.
"He chose Selene."
It wasn't a question.
Aria nodded silently.
The older woman's face darkened.
"I always feared this day might come."
Aria looked up.
"You knew?"
Elara nodded sadly.
"Power changes people, Aria. Sometimes even good men lose themselves."
The words hurt because they felt true.
Damon had changed.
The boy she loved would never have humiliated her publicly.
The boy she loved would never have abandoned her.
But the Alpha?
The Alpha had.
A long silence followed.
Then Elara gently took Aria's hand.
"What will you do now?"
Aria stared into the fire.
For the first time since the ceremony, she thought seriously about her future.
The future she had planned no longer existed.
There would be no Luna ceremony.
No wedding.
No life beside Damon.
Everything was gone.
Slowly, a new thought formed.
"I'll leave."
Elara blinked.
"Leave?"
Aria nodded.
"There is nothing left for me here."
The words hurt.
Moonfang had been her home her entire life.
But how could she stay?
Every corner of the pack territory held memories of Damon.
Every day she would be forced to watch him and Selene together.
She couldn't survive that.
Elara studied her carefully.
Then she nodded.
"Perhaps leaving is exactly what you need."
Aria looked surprised.
"You agree?"
"I do."
The old woman squeezed her hand.
"Sometimes the Moon Goddess closes one door because another is waiting to open."
Aria wasn't sure she believed that.
At this moment, all she felt was heartbreak.
Still, her grandmother's words planted a small seed of hope inside her.
Perhaps there was life beyond Moonfang.
Perhaps there was a future she couldn't yet see.
The next morning, Aria woke with swollen eyes and a heavy heart.
She helped her grandmother prepare breakfast.
For a brief moment things felt almost normal.
Then a familiar scent drifted through the open window.
Pine.
Rain.
Wolf.
Damon.
Aria froze.
A knock sounded at the door.
Both women looked toward it.
Another knock followed.
Stronger this time.
Aria's heart began pounding.
She already knew who it was.
Outside stood the man who had broken her heart.
And she wasn't ready to face him.
- Writer
