Brutal Betrayal
Astrid
“I officially take Astrid Wood of the Night Aim pack as my luna.”
The hall erupted into cheers as Derek took my hand in his with care. I feel on top of the world. My dreams have finally come true.
I pulled back a stray hair from my face as I smiled sweetly. He had told me to wear my hair up because it brought out my heart shaped face. And I had made sure the stylist spent hours just to put up my hair the way he likes it.
Three years. Three years of humiliation.
Three years of proving that a wolfless omega could still be worthy of becoming a Luna was finally over.
Derek claimed me as his own and the years I spent to be the prim and proper Luna for him finally paid off. I can finally hold my head high beside him.
Derek stood tall beside me looking all handsome in his fitted tuxedo, his clear blue eyes as captivating as the day I fell in love with him. Since childhood, there has never been another man for me.
I smiled up at my mate, but…
He didn't smile back.
A strange chill crawled down my spine.
But I quickly waved it off because I must have been imagining it.
“Thank you all for coming.” His voice boomed across the hall with ease, earning him more applause from the audience, who were all Alphas and Lunas of power.
We sat back down and I tried to ignore the fact that he was checking his phone many times in the space of five minutes.
But I did because it could be a business that has to do with the growth of the pack.
“Astrid, I'll be right back.” He gave me a quick peck on my cheeks and left hurriedly without waiting for me to reply to him.
My brows furrowed in worry of what could have been so important to abandon our ceremony right in the middle.
My eyes went to his seat and his phone is still sitting right there. “He would surely need his phone.” I mumbled to myself.
Without thinking twice I picked it up and went after him. But he had disappeared before I could catch up with him.
“Have you seen Alpha Derek?” I stopped a maid walking past me.
“Yes. He must be in his study.” She bowed and left.
I smiled to myself, Derek has always been a workaholic. So adorable.
The study door was opened a bit and I decided to sneak in so I could give him a jump scare.
I slipped in carefully before turning around to give out the loudest shout, but what I saw made me freeze.
I couldn't move.
I stayed rooted to the spot as my eyes glued unblinkingly at the scene in front of me. My smile and excitement died right there.
The phone slipped from my fingers.
No.
No, no, no.
Derek's mouth was on Laila's. My best friend.
His hands were tangled in her hair while she sat on the edge of his desk as though she belonged there.
My eyes burned.Tears blurred my vision.
My chest tightened and my hands trembled.
I stood rooted to the spot and watched as
Derek's mouth crashed against Laila's while his hands wandered possessively over her body. They were so lost in each other that neither noticed me standing there.
“Oh, Derek. I want more. I want you more.” She moaned out loud as her hips moved and her head swung back. Derek's hands were all over her; his lips were planting kisses on her exposed upper body. They were so immersed that they couldn't care less about getting caught.
About me catching them.
He doesn't even give a damn that it was my Luna coronation ceremony with me today. Why today of all days. Why couldn't he have the decency of knowing today was important to me. To us.
I kept myself pure so I would not taint him and my family more after the fact that I'm a wolfless Omega made them ashamed and hate me.
The moans kept hammering on my brain till all I could feel was rage surging through me in a high intensity.
“Derek? Laila?” My words were loud as I tried not to choke on my words with tears.
Derek didn't bother looking up but my best friend did and she gave me a purely evil smirk. She deliberately pulled Derek into her the more while her moans increased in a high pitch.
“Derek, do you love me?” Laila moaned out aloud for me to hear.
“Yes I do.” He growled and he dropped kissing down her neck.
“More than your mate?”
“Of course. And she's not my mate. Just collateral damage.” He growled.
“What the hell. Stop it. Please stop.” I shouted, fighting the urge of punching them both in the face.
“Don't you know how to knock?” Derek snarled, not even bothering to hide. They had both separated and were looking at me like a disturbance.
“Derek, you are cheating on me with Laila at a ceremony where I'm appointed as your Luna and the first words you would say to me is about me not knocking?”
“If you had knocked then you would have saved yourself the stress of seeing what you can't unsee.”
“What?” My voice had dropped to a bare whisper. The tears were now falling down my cheeks and I swiped at them with the angry motion of my palm.
Laila rolled her eyes and inspected her nails, nonchalant to how I felt.
“I see you finally have eyes to see what's been happening in front of you after all these years.”
Years? Since when have they been fooling around while I played loyal mate to Derek.
I swallowed hard and ignored Laila while I faced him squarely,
“Since when?”
“Since forever.” Laila spoke up instead.
“He was never meant to be with you. I'm his one and only true love. His rightful mate and Luna. The mother of the future heir of Nightaim pack.” She caressed her tummy.
My mouth hung open in shock. I looked at Derek's face for confirmation and he looked pleased.
Pleased?
Pleased!
“You are my best friend.” I shouted and she scoffed.
“Why did you make me your Luna tonight then?” I turned to Derek. “What about our vows? What about us being together as Alpha and Luna?” The fear course through me I trembled.
“That?” His hands swiped the air in dismissal as if chasing the mate bond away.
“It was for me to secure the rights of being the alpha of this pack. In exchange for me being your mate, I'll become the alpha of your pack. Sweet deal. We took it.”
“So, luna,” Laila scorned, “ You were a pawn. To be used and discarded.”
The revelations were too much for me. I couldn't breathe properly, the necklace around my neck which Derek had gifted me as our mate bond gift felt too tight. I ripped it off my neck before I sank down to the floor in despair.
A year ago, I had been overjoyed to be mated to Derek. I'd waited two years after failing to awaken my wolf on my eighteenth birthday. Now, a year later, I was finally his Luna, and this was the reward for spending most of my life as his faithful betrothed.
“ Did you really think I would allow an ordinary wolfless omega to sit beside me while I rule?” Derek scoffed. “I advise you to continue being a smiley doll and I would consider you being part of my maids.”
“You can't do that. My father is the alpha of this pack.” I screamed.
“Not since I mated you. I'm the alpha now. You were never the goal, Astrid."
Derek's once captivating blue eyes were cold. "Your pack was."
“By tomorrow Derek will reject you and be with me. We will finally get rid of you. Isn't that right, baby?” Laila rested her hands possessively on his chest. He didn't deny it, he gave her a warm smile in return. A smile I had thought was only mine to see.
The mate bond inside me shattered.
And for the first time in my life, I wished I had never loved him.