Episode 4: The Night the Rival Alpha Found Me
1239 Words
Aria’s POV
I used to believe that the worst pain a person could feel was losing someone they loved.
I was wrong.
The worst pain was standing beside someone you loved and realizing you had already lost them.
For weeks, I lived inside a home that no longer felt like mine.
Every corner carried memories.
Every hallway reminded me of the woman I used to be.
The woman who laughed easily.
The woman who believed in forever.
The woman who thought being a Luna meant being cherished.
Now, I was simply Aria.
A healer.
A servant.
A forgotten mate.
And perhaps that was the cruelest part.
Nobody had taken my title away.
Nobody had announced that I was no longer Luna.
They simply stopped treating me like I was one.
The morning everything changed began like any other day.
I woke up before sunrise.
I prepared breakfast.
I checked the medical supplies for the warriors.
I did everything I had always done.
Because even when my heart was breaking, my responsibilities remained.
That was the curse of being the person who always cared.
You could be falling apart inside...
and still be expected to hold everyone else together.
I entered the dining hall carrying a tray of food.
Then I stopped.
Kael was already there.
But he wasn't alone.
Seraphina sat beside him.
Her son rested in Kael's arms.
The scene looked like a family.
A beautiful one.
A complete one.
One that I was no longer part of.
"Good morning, Aria."
Seraphina smiled.
I forced myself to smile back.
"Good morning."
Kael looked at me.
For a moment, I thought he would say something.
Anything.
Maybe ask how I was.
Maybe apologize.
Maybe remember that I was his mate.
Instead, he simply said,
"Seraphina and the pup will be staying with us permanently."
The words hit me harder than I expected.
Permanently.
I looked at him.
"Staying?"
He nodded.
"She has nowhere else to go."
I swallowed.
"She has family."
"Not like we do."
We.
That word again.
But somehow...
I was no longer included.
"You already decided?"
Kael looked uncomfortable.
"I thought you would understand."
I almost laughed.
Understand?
How many times could a heart break before it stopped feeling?
"I always understand, Kael."
My voice was quiet.
"That's my problem."
His expression changed.
But before he could respond, Seraphina spoke.
"Aria, please don't misunderstand. I don't want to cause problems between you and Kael."
I looked at her.
And for the first time...
I wondered if she truly didn't.
Or if she simply enjoyed watching me lose.
"I never said you did."
But my wolf, Lyra, growled softly.
"She knows."
I ignored her.
Because accusing another woman without proof would only make me look bitter.
And I refused to become that person.
That afternoon, I left the pack territory.
I told everyone I was gathering rare herbs.
Nobody questioned me.
Nobody asked why I needed to leave alone.
Nobody noticed that I needed to breathe.
The forest became quieter as I walked deeper.
The familiar sounds of my pack faded.
The voices.
The expectations.
The pain.
For the first time in months...
I could hear myself.
I reached a small waterfall hidden beyond the mountains.
It was a place Kael and I used to visit.
A place where we dreamed about our future.
I sat beside the water.
And finally...
I allowed myself to cry.
Not the silent tears I cried at night.
Not the tears I quickly wiped away before anyone noticed.
Real tears.
The kind that came from a soul that was exhausted.
"I loved you."
My voice broke.
"I loved you more than myself."
The wind moved through the trees.
My wolf whimpered.
"Aria..."
"I know."
"We cannot stay here forever."
I closed my eyes.
"I know."
And for the first time...
I admitted something I had been too afraid to accept.
Maybe I wasn't losing Kael.
Maybe I had already lost him.
Lucian Vareth’s POV
I felt her pain before I saw her.
That was impossible.
No one could reach me.
No one could touch the darkness that surrounded my soul.
For centuries, I had lived with a curse that turned my heart into stone.
Every wolf feared my name.
Every kingdom whispered stories about the monster sitting on the Lycan throne.
They called me ruthless.
They called me cruel.
They called me a beast.
Perhaps they were right.
The darkness inside me had consumed everything.
Until that night.
Until I heard her.
A broken voice beneath the moon.
"I loved you."
Three words.
Three words carrying more pain than a thousand screams.
I followed the sound.
Not because I wanted to.
Because my wolf did.
"Mate."
I froze.
No.
Impossible.
My wolf had been silent for decades.
The curse had taken away my ability to feel the mate bond.
But now...
it was awake.
I stepped through the trees.
And I saw her.
A woman sitting beside the waterfall.
Her silver hair moved with the wind.
Her face was wet with tears.
But she wasn't weak.
That was the first thing I noticed.
She was broken...
but still standing.
Most wolves would have begged the world to save them.
She simply sat there, carrying her pain alone.
Interesting.
My eyes narrowed.
Who had hurt someone like this?
Who had made my mate cry?
The thought sent anger through my veins.
Dangerous anger.
Aria’s POV
I felt him before I saw him.
The entire forest changed.
The air became heavier.
The temperature dropped.
Every instinct inside me screamed.
Run.
I slowly turned.
And my breath stopped.
A man stood between the trees.
No.
Not a man.
A king.
Even without knowing his identity, I knew.
The power surrounding him was ancient.
Terrifying.
His black hair moved with the wind.
His eyes...
His eyes were unlike anything I had ever seen.
Dark.
Cold.
And filled with a pain I recognized.
"Who are you?"
My voice trembled.
He stepped closer.
The wolves inside me became restless.
Lyra whispered.
"Danger."
But then she added something I never expected.
"And... ours."
My heart stopped.
Impossible.
The stranger looked at me like he had been searching for me his entire life.
"I am Lucian Vareth."
The name made my blood run cold.
The Lycan King.
The cursed ruler.
The monster every pack feared.
I stepped backward.
"You should not be here."
His eyes remained locked on mine.
"Neither should you."
I frowned.
"What does that mean?"
His expression softened.
Only slightly.
"You are carrying a wound no healer can fix."
My breath caught.
How did he know?
"I don't need your pity."
A strange emotion crossed his face.
Not anger.
Not offense.
Something else.
Respect.
"I did not offer pity."
He stepped closer.
"I offered understanding."
The words affected me more than they should have.
Because nobody had understood me in a long time.
Not Kael.
Not my pack.
Not even myself.
Lucian looked at me with a frightening intensity.
Then he said the words that would change my entire destiny.
"Tell me the name of the person who made you feel worthless."
I stared at him.
The world went silent.
Because for the first time...
someone didn't ask what I could give.
Someone asked who had hurt me.
And I didn't know it yet...
but the most feared creature in the world...
would become the only person who saw the woman hidden beneath my broken heart.
- Writer
