Crowned By Betrayal

Chapter 2

I tried so hard to hold back the tears as I went about my chores, but they kept leaking out like a cracked dam — silent, unstoppable. My eyes burned, but I didn’t dare stop. Not even for a second.

Every movement felt like dragging a weight behind me. My arms were sore from scrubbing the wooden floors, my knees aching from the cold stone. My hands shook as I stirred the giant pot of stew bubbling over the fire, my mind spinning with fear and doubt.

I was broken. Alone. Invisible in this pack.

Kael’s cold glare haunted me, even though he hadn’t said a word all morning. It was almost worse that way — the silence. The way his eyes followed me like I was something foul, stuck to the bottom of his boot.

I wasn’t sure if I was more afraid of his anger… or his silence.

The Blood Moon Festival was coming. The feast had to be perfect. The decorations are flawless. And I… I had to survive the night.

As the other omegas whispered and moved around me, I kept my head low. I had learned that drawing attention — even by accident — was dangerous. It was how you got slapped, mocked, or worse.

When I finally finished the last of my chores, I ran to the small washroom behind the storage shed and quickly changed. My dress was plain, but it was clean. I stared into the cracked mirror on the wall. My face looked pale and drained, my eyes sunken from lack of sleep. The bruises on my arms peeked out from the sleeves.

I pulled my hair forward, trying to hide the purple mark near my collarbone.

Deep breaths, Aria.

But the moment I stood outside the hall, my chest tightened like someone had wrapped their fingers around my throat.

I gasped for breath, my heart pounding wildly. I couldn’t move. My hands trembled as I tried to wipe them down my dress, to look composed, but there was no hiding the terror.

The doors to the ballroom loomed before me, massive and dark like they would swallow me whole. I had no idea what awaited me on the other side.

Would Kael humiliate me in front of the pack? Would I be punished for being late?

Or worse… was this the night I would be rejected?

The Blood Moon Festival was sacred — a time when wolves celebrated unity, strength, and most importantly, mates. First bonds were often discovered under its glow.

But how could there be a mate for me?

I was nothing.

Swallowing my fear, I reached for the door handle.

And then… I pushed it open.

Warm light spilled into the hallway, music and laughter echoing from within.

But that’s not what made my blood run cold.

No.

It was the scene right in front of me.

Kael. Standing against the wall with a she-wolf I didn’t recognize — her dress too tight, her lips too red, her fingers tangled in his hair.

And they weren’t just kissing.

He was devouring her. His mouth on hers like he needed her to breathe, his hands gripping her waist like he was claiming her.

They pressed together so tightly it looked like they might melt into one. It was raw. Animalistic. Disgusting.

And he didn’t care who saw.

A noise caught in my throat. I took a step back, but the floor creaked beneath my feet.

Kael turned.

Our eyes met.

He didn’t flinch. Didn’t pull away. Didn’t look the least bit ashamed.

He stared at me with those cold, soulless eyes — the same ones that had haunted my nightmares for years.

Then, slowly, he pulled away from the girl.

His voice was calm. Too calm.

“Don’t even think about telling anyone what you just saw,” he said, stepping toward me. Each footstep echoed louder than the last.

I froze. My legs wouldn’t move.

“Because if you do,” he continued, voice a low whisper now, “something might just happen to Liora.”

My heart dropped into my stomach.

Liora. My best friend. My only light.

The girl who had snuck me scraps of bread when I was starving.

The one who held my hand under the table when I was trembling with fear.

And now she was being used as a weapon.

I felt the blood drain from my face.

“You wouldn’t,” I whispered.

Kael tilted his head, a smile playing on his lips. “Wouldn’t I?”

His tone was playful. But his eyes were deadly serious.

And like the coward I was, terrified for Liora’s life, I turned and ran.

My feet pounded against the stone floor. I didn’t look back.

The hallway spun around me as tears blurred my vision. The music from the ballroom grew louder, clashing violently with the storm in my head.

My body trembled uncontrollably as I reached the grand entrance. The ballroom glowed with gold lanterns and silver streamers. Laughter echoed through the air. It all felt so… wrong.

How could the world keep spinning when mine was falling apart?

Then I saw her.

Liora. Standing near the drink table, laughing with another omega.

She was safe.For now.

I pushed through the crowd, bumping into dancers and servers.

When I reached her, I grabbed her hand.

“Aria?” she blinked, startled. “What’s wrong?”

I couldn’t speak. My throat was too tight.

“I… I just needed to see you,” I whispered, voice trembling. “Just needed to make sure you were okay.”

She frowned, searching my face. “What happened?”

But I couldn’t tell her. Not yet. Not here. Kael’s threat rang in my ears like a curse.

“I just needed you,” I repeated.

Liora wrapped her arms around me without question. Held me close.

And for a moment, I let myself breathe.

But deep down, I knew this wasn’t over. Kael didn’t make empty threats.

And I had seen too much.

As the moon rose higher in the sky, its crimson glow bathed the ballroom in eerie light.

A shiver ran down my spine.

Tonight wasn’t just the festival. It was something else.

Something darker.

Something that would change everything.