The Luna He Betrayed, The Queen He Claimed

Chapter 2

Annelise's Pov

Kayden laughed, a dry, cruel sound that sliced through my chest. "Do you think your lies throughout these years won't come to light?”

“What?” If there was any emotion I felt right now, it was confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“Sera told me that all these years, the both of you had changed your identity. All these years, you told me that Sera was an Omega, and you were a rare Female Alpha, but it was a lie. You told me that you were the one who saved me and I believed you but it was a lie. The truth is that Sera is the female Alpha and you're nothing more than a filthy omega. Sera was the one who saved me that night, it wasn't you. It was never you.”

“W… What?” The words came out, I was dumbfounded. Years ago, on the night Kayden became Alpha, he had been attacked by a rival clan. He was deeply injured, I was the one who saved him. I was the one who used my heart blood to make medicine for him and afterwards, I fell sick for four days and nights. My wolf even became weaker to the point that we could no longer communicate, even till now, and yet, he's telling me this bullshit?!

“I think you're crazy, Kayden. Seriously crazy. I was the one who saved you, me! How dare you think otherwise?!”

“Stop lying, Anne. Just tell the truth. I can't help you keep the lies anymore. I love Kayden and as it turns out, his true mate is me. As you can see…” Seraphina turned her neck to the other side, showing the mating mark on her neck. “He has already formed a bond with me. I am his mate now and you're nothing but a discarded wolf.”

The air in the room turned to ice. My lungs, already struggling against the decay of the disease, seemed to seize up entirely. My wolf, silent for years since the night I bled for him, didn't even whimper. She was already dead; I was just catching up. I stumbled, my legs giving out as a physical weight pressed down on my chest. It wasn't just the betrayal, it was the agonizing, jagged pain of the pack bond being forcibly redirected. I felt the phantom sensation of a thread snapping in my soul, replaced by the suffocating stench of their union.

I fell to the ground, clutching my chest, my breath coming in shallow, broken hitches. The brown envelope lay just inches away, a silent witness to my dual execution. Kayden finally moved. He didn't come to help me. He climbed out of bed with a slow, predatory grace, his naked body a testament to the strength I had helped him build. He walked toward me, each footfall sounding like a gavel. He crouched down, reaching out to grip my cheeks in a hold so tight it bruised.

"Look at me, Annelise," he commanded, his voice a low, terrifying rumble.

I looked. I looked into the eyes I had adored, searching for a glimmer of the man who once promised to shield me from the world. There was nothing but cold, hard obsidian.

"Kayden..." I gasped, tears finally spilling over. "All these years... What did you see me as? Was I just a ghost to you? We built a life. We have children. How can one word from her, one lie, be enough for you to doubt everything we’ve been through?"

Kayden let out a sharp, bark-like laugh that echoed off the vaulted ceiling. He leaned in closer, his minty breath ghosting over my skin, smelling of the tea he made me every morning.

"Doubt you?" he whispered, his eyes dancing with a cruel light. "Annelise, I never believed in you. From the very beginning, to this pathetic end, the only woman I have ever loved, ever wanted, was Seraphina. You were a means to an end. A bitter pill I had to swallow to get the power I deserved."

He tightened his grip on my jaw, forcing my head back. "I married you because I thought I owed a debt to the woman who saved my life. I endured your touch, your presence, and your 'noble' arrogance because I thought you were my savior. But now that I know the truth, that you stole Sera’s glory while she languished in the shadows, I feel nothing but disgust when I look at you."

"I didn't steal anything!" I screamed, the sound tearing at my raw throat. "I bled for you! My wolf is silent because of what I gave you! She's lying to you, Kayden! Please!"

"Enough!" he roared, shoving my head back so hard my skull cracked against the floorboards. "It doesn't matter anymore. None of your lies matter. You're an Omega, a fraud, and a burden."

He leaned down again, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial, icy whisper. "And besides, you're looking a bit peaked, Annelise. You've been so tired lately, haven't you? So thin. So... fragile."

My heart skipped a beat. A cold dread, sharper than the cancer, washed over me. "How... how do you know that?"

Kayden’s lips curled into a smirk that didn't reach his eyes. "Because you're going to die, Annelise. In a few months, maybe weeks if you're lucky, you'll be nothing but a memory. So why not make it easier for everyone? Don't make a scene. Don't go to the elders. Just quietly crawl away to some hole and take your last breath. It would be the first honorable thing you've done."

I stared at him, my peripheral vision blurring. "How do you know?" I breathed, the realization chilling my blood. "I just got the results today. I haven't told a soul. How do you know I'm dying?"

Kayden leaned even closer, his lips brushing against my ear as Seraphina watched from the bed with a look of pure, ecstatic triumph.

"Why? Because I'm the one who poisoned you, Annie. Your sickness is because of me.”