The Luna he chose

The Dress I couldn't stop smiling every time I turned away from the mirror, my eyes found their way back again, as though I was afraid the image would disappear if I looked away for too long. The midnight blue dress hugged my body perfectly, tiny silver beads shimmered across the fabric. Whenever I move, catching the afternoon light spilling through my bedroom window. I ran my fingers over the fabric, hardly able to believe it was real, it was mine, six months of extra shifts at the pack offices. Six months of tutoring younger wolves after training. Six months of saying no to myself so I could finally say yes to something that belonged only to me. A sharp knock sounded at my door. Before I could answer, it swung open and Maya, my best friend, stepped inside. The moment she saw me, she stopped dead in her tracks. My goodness, she said, You look so good. Maya pointed at me as though she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Already crossing the room, she circled me slowly, studying the dress from every angle. "Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?" A laugh escaped me, you are being dramatic. She stopped in front of me and smiled. "You look beautiful." The smile on my face faltered. Beautiful? The word always seemed to belong to someone else, to Lyra, my sister, the girl who walked into a room and somehow became the center of it without even trying. Never me, Maya noticed immediately, “There it is, i sighed, "There, what is?" "That look." "What look?" "The one you make whenever someone compliments you, "and you immediately start looking for reasons not to believe them." I looked away. "I don't do that." "Serena." The gentle warning in her voice made me swallow because she was right. I always waited for reality to return, and reality usually looked a lot like Lyra, beautiful Lyra, perfect Lyra, the daughter everyone noticed first. Maya stepped closer and softened her voice, “You need to stop shrinking yourself. Before I could answer, a loud voice echoed from downstairs. "Mother!" Maya groaned,” Of course.” Another shout followed immediately. "Mother! Where are you?" Maya rolled her eyes. "She hasn't even left for the gathering, and she's already acting like the world revolves around her." I tried not to smile. "That's just Lyra." "That's exactly the problem, Maya replied.” A few minutes later, Maya left to help with preparations, leaving me alone again. I turned back towards the mirror just for a moment, and let myself believe tonight might be different, that maybe, for once, I wouldn't be standing in someone else's shadow. Carefully, I removed the dress and hung it inside my wardrobe and locked it. Not because I thought someone would take it, but because I already knew who would. Three hours later, the house felt strangely quiet. Most of the pack had already left for the Black Moon Gathering. Eleanor was downstairs preparing for guests, and Lyra was supposed to be in the salon. Everything felt normal, so normal that unease followed me up the stairs. When I pushed open my bedroom door, I froze. For a moment, my mind refused to process what I was seeing. No, that wasn't possible. Lyra stood in front of my mirror, slowly turning from side to side as she admired her reflection, wearing my dress, the midnight blue dress I had spent six months saving for, hiding, and locking away. "Oh," she said casually when she noticed me. "You are back." My pulse hammered against my ribs. “What are you doing?” Lyra glanced at her reflection again, “What does it look like I'm doing? "My hands started to shake. “Take it off.” She turned toward me. "Excuse me?" "Take it off I said“ A brief silence stretched between us before she laughed. "Oh, Serena." Something inside me tightened. I knew that tone, the one that made every feeling sound unreasonable. "The dress is mine," I said carefully, "I bought it, I paid for it, take it off." Her eyes rolled. “Don't be ridiculous." “I'm not being ridiculous. "It's just a dress." My fingers curled into my palms, "It's not just a dress." Before Lyra could respond, another voice cut through the room. "What's going on here?" I didn't need to turn around to know who it was. My mother stepped into the room and paused just inside the doorway, her gaze moved from Lyra to me, taking in the scene in a single glance. The outcome was as predictable as it always was. Lyra stood in the middle of the room wearing my dress. I stood there hurt and angry and somehow, I already knew which one of us Is to blame. "Mother," Lyra said immediately, "Serena is overreacting." A short laugh escaped me. Of course, I was. Eleanor sighed as though a headache had just arrived. "Serena." Just my name, no concern, no questions, no attempt to understand what had happened, only the expectation that i would make things easier. "She's wearing my dress." My mother barely looked at it before dismissing the entire situation. "It's only a dress." The words settled heavily in my chest, not because they were new, because they weren't. I had heard them my entire life. "It's only a room. “It's only a birthday. "It's only a disappointment." Every hurt came with the same explanation, as though reducing something to a simple object somehow erased what it meant to me. "It's not just a dress," I said quietly. Eleanor finally looked at me properly. "Serena", "No." The word slipped out before I could stop it. Both of them stared at me. For years i had swallowed every disappointment, every unfair decision, every moment I was expected to step aside because keeping the peace mattered more than how I felt. Tonight, I couldn't do it." Do you hear yourselves?" I asked. My voice trembled, but I didn't look away. "It's always the same thing." Lyra frowned. "What are you talking about?" I laughed softly, though there wasn't anything funny about it. "It's only a dress," I said. Neither of them spoke. "It's only a room." My throat tightened. "It's only a feeling." Then I met their eyes. "It's only Serena." The room fell silent. For the first time, neither of them had an answer. "It's always Serena," I whispered. The one who should understand, the one who should give in, the one who should step aside without making things difficult. My gaze drifted back to the dress, six months of extra shifts, six months of tutoring younger wolves after training, six months of putting myself last so I could afford something that was mine. Just once. "And you still took it," I said, "You didn't even hesitate." For a moment, something flickered across Lyra's face, but it disappeared so quickly I couldn't be sure it had been there at all. Eleanor sighed, not at Lyra, but at me, as though my hurt was the inconvenience. "Serena, you are making a scene over nothing. " Something inside me went still. Not because I agreed, not because the pain disappeared, but because I finally understood that nothing I said would matter. I nodded once. "Okay." I looked at Lyra, then at my mother. A small smile touched my lips, though it felt nothing like happiness. Without another word, I walked past them and out of the room. Neither of them stopped me or called me back, and that silence followed me all the way out of the house, which somehow hurt more than anything else. The Black Moon Gathering was already underway when I arrived, music drifted through the grand hall while laughter and conversation filled the air. Crystal chandeliers hung overhead, casting warm golden light across polished marble floors. Everywhere I looked, people seemed completely at ease. They laughed easily, moved confidently through the crowd, and carried themselves as though they belonged in places like this. I wrapped my fingers around a glass of sparkling cider and stood near the refreshments table, pretending my heart wasn't still back in my bedroom. Pretending I couldn't still see Lyra standing in front of my mirror, pretending my mother's words weren't still echoing inside my head. It's only a dress. I swallowed hard and forced myself to look away, just get through the night, Serena. That was all I had to do one night, then everything could go back to normal. A group of guests passed by, their voices blending into the music. I stepped aside to give them space, my attention drifting without direction. I wasn't looking at where I was going, i wasn't really looking at anything at all. I turned and collided with something solid. The impact knocked the air from my lungs, my glass slipped from my fingers. "No." It fell too fast. I reached instinctively, but before it could hit the floor, a strong hand caught my wrist. Another steadied me before I lost my balance completely. Everything froze, the hall, the noise, even my thoughts. "Easy." The voice was deep, calm, and steady. Like I was the one who had been shaken, not the world around me. Slowly, I lifted my gaze and the air changed, golden eyes met mine, and was focused on me. For a second, I forgot how to breathe. He didn't let go immediately. His grip was firm but not harsh, as though he was making sure I was steady before releasing me. "Are you alright?" he asked. I opened my mouth but nothing came out. For all the moments I lose my ability to speak. A faint smile touched his mouth, as though he found my silence amusing. "Are you alright?" he asked again. I nodded a little too quickly. Something that looked suspiciously like amusement flickered in his eyes. Then, before I could embarrass myself any further, a voice suddenly cut through the noise of the hall. "Alpha Ronan Blackthorne." The name rippled through the crowd, conversations softened, heads turned. And suddenly I felt a tightening in my stomach. Slowly, I looked back at the man standing in front of me. The man whose hand was still wrapped around my wrist. The man with the golden eyes, the man who suddenly didn't seem like a stranger anymore. Alpha Ronan Blackthorne.