Chapter 3
1537 Words
Vicky~
I capped my pen and kept my face still.
"It's nothing," I said. "Our mating anniversary is next month. I was just marking the days."
I reached up and straightened his collar, eyes down, my gaze remained lowered, hiding the chill in my eyes.
"When the day comes," I murmured, “don't forget to open my gift.”
The tension in Rowan's face melted away almost instantly. A smile spread across his features as he caught my hand and pressed a gentle kiss against my knuckles.
"Relax, Vicky. I've marked the date on my own calendar." His voice was warm with affection. "I've been thinking about your gift every single day. I'm practically counting the days."
Counting the days? I thought as a bitter smile tugged at my lips.
Before I could respond, a familiar fragrance of honey and cinnamon drifted toward me.
My eyes instinctively fell to the small parchment bag tucked beneath Rowan's arm.
"Moon's Bakery?" I asked while he chuckled softly.
“I knew you'd recognize it immediately."
Holding the bag out to me, he smiled. "Freshly baked. Your favorite honey pastries."
For a brief moment, memories surfaced. When we had first become mates, he used to cross three territories before sunrise for these. He'd come home exhausted and grin like a boy while he watched me eat them.
"You're far too easy to make happy," he used to tease.
And I would always answer.
"Because as long as it's from you, everything tastes sweeter."
Back then, I truly believed that. With a sigh, I accepted the bag. Somehow, the pastry looked exactly the same.
I took a small bite. It should have tasted sweet. It tasted bland, almost bitter.
Rowan watched me expectantly before clearing his throat.
"About the ceremonial Luna gown." He began while my chewing slowed. "The white one you picked for the festival."
"What about it?"
"There was. an unfortunate mistake."
Instead, I looked at him without speaking.
"The tailor accidentally sold it to someone else before our order was finalized."
Someone else. I thought and scoffed inwardly because I didn't need to ask who. It was Selena of course.
Pure white belonged to Luna alone at the Moon Festival, the same way every wolf in Silver Ridge knew not to bare their throat to a stranger. Everyone else wore cream, champagne, ivory. Colors that deferred.
"I'll commission an even finer gown," Rowan hurriedly added. "Something worthy of Silver Ridge's Luna."
I swallowed the last bite. However, there was no sweetness left but only disappointment.
"It doesn't matter," I replied quietly.
Because I already knew that the gown had never truly been meant for me.
Relief crossed his face so plainly it embarrassed me for him.
"Thank you," he said. "I knew you'd understand."
I understood plenty. Just not the parts he wanted me to.
The following morning.
Chaos greeted me before I had even stepped inside the Luna Wing.
“Vicky!”
Mara rushed toward me, nearly tripping over her own feet. Her usually composed face had turned deathly pale.
"What happened?" I asked, immediately sensing something was wrong.
"It's. it's the Moon Festival."
The moment those words left her mouth, my heart sank.
The Moon Festival was the most sacred celebration in Silver Ridge. Every ceremony, ritual and the Moon Maiden fell under Luna's authority.
I had spent months preparing every detail myself.
"What about it?" I asked while Mara swallowed nervously.
"Alpha Rowan replaced the Moon Maiden you personally selected."
For a second, I thought I had misheard.
Then every ounce of frustration I had buried since discovering Rowan's betrayal surged violently to the surface.
Without another word, I stormed toward the Alpha Wing.
The guards barely had time to react before I threw open Rowan's office doors while the loud bang echoed throughout the chamber.
Rowan immediately looked up from the stack of parchments covering his desk.
"Vicky?"
I strode forward and slammed the festival records onto his desk as the impact sent several scrolls rolling onto the floor.
"Since when," I demanded, "do you make decisions regarding Luna affairs without informing me?"
For a while, the room seemed to freeze as Rowan quickly rose to his feet.
"Listen first."
"No." My voice cut him off. "The Moon Festival belongs to Luna."
Every elder and wolf in Silver Ridge knew that.
Yet, Rowan had ignored tradition and even ignored me without even asking.
"The Council of Elders requested the change."
At that moment, humorless laughter escaped me.
"The Elders?" I asked, bewildered. How convincing of him!
"They're concerned about the original candidate," Rowan continued carefully. "Rumors surrounding her family have begun spreading through neighboring packs. The festival cannot risk controversy."
Then, he slid another parchment toward me and said,
"I've already approved the replacement."
My fingers tightened around the document. One glance was enough to see Selena Ashford.
"The elders believe she's the stronger choice," Rowan continued. "Her reputation will attract greater support during the festival."
Support? I thought and almost laughed bitterly.
Months of preparations were discarded because Rowan had already chosen someone else without me.
"What if I refuse?" My voice became frighteningly calm. "What if I reject this decision as Luna?"
For the first time, Rowan hesitated as jaw tightened and his eyes flickered with uncertainty.
He was actually thinking about it. Once, there was a man who wouldn't weigh my feelings because there would have been no hesitation. He would have chosen me before anyone else.
Now, I wasn't so certain anymore. A cold laugh escaped my lips as I nodded coldly.
"Fine. Do whatever you want." I said and paused deliberately. “Alpha Rowan."
His expression froze. As long as he could remember, since our mating ceremony, I had never called him that because he had always insisted I call him Rowan.
Those two words created a distance neither of us could ignore.
"You've already made your choice."
I turned and walked toward the door.
"Vicky!"
He called out almost immediately but this time, I didn't stop as the office door closed behind me.
I had barely taken a few steps into the corridor when another familiar scent of moon orchids drifted from inside.
Instinctively, I looked back through the doorway that hadn't fully shut as the young she-wolf had slipped into Rowan's office without hesitation.
She wrapped both arms around his waist from behind.
"I missed you." She said in a soft voice while Rowan immediately stiffened.
"Selena." He said and gently removed her hands. "You shouldn't be here."
She lowered her eyes obediently.
"I'm sorry. I simply wanted to see you."
"I have work to finish," Rowan replied with a weary sigh. "Go home. We'll talk another time."
"Alright."
She nodded meekly.
Yet, just before she turned away, she smiled as though she had already won something.
***
That evening, Silver Ridge's main lodge glittered beneath countless moon crystals as servants moved gracefully between long banquet tables while musicians filled the air with soft melodies.
Tonight was the welcoming feast for the newly appointed Moon Maiden.
As Luna, tradition required my attendance and no matter how much I wanted to avoid it.
I entered the hall wearing a sapphire-blue ceremonial gown embroidered with silver threads.
Almost immediately, every conversation faded and respectfully, wolves bowed their heads.
"Greetings, Luna."
I acknowledged them with a graceful nod before lifting my eyes toward the center of the hall.
Then I saw her.
Selena, surrounded by admirers, in white from throat to floor.
The room went quiet in a way that had nothing to do with beauty. I watched three elders exchange a look. Wolves knew what that color meant the way they knew a scent. Instantly, without needing it explained.
"The embroidery is breathtaking."
“Your man must truly cherish you.”
Selena laughed softly, lowering her eyes in practiced shyness.
Someone else, quieter, uncertain: "Isn't that... Luna's color?"
Selena lowered her eyes, shy and practiced, and didn't answer that question at all.
"He insisted I wear it," she said instead.
Someone gasped. “How romantic.”
Another she-wolf giggled.
"He must spoil you terribly."
Selena's gaze slowly lifted until it locked onto mine across the crowded hall. Then she smiled.
"He does. He always brings me little gifts."
Her voice remained gentle.
"Yesterday he even brought me honey pastries from Moon's Bakery."
Everything inside me froze when I remembered the pastries Rowan handed to me as his fingers tightened around my wine glass.
So, they had never been bought for me.
I had simply received what remained after he had already visited her. The sweetness I tasted that morning hadn't been bitter because of the pastries. It had been because they carried another woman's place in his heart.
My wolf growled deep inside my soul as every admiring glance directed toward Selena became another blade twisting inside my chest.
She watched me carefully with a smirk, waiting for tears and for me to lose control before the entire pack.
Instead, I laughed quietly while Selena's confident smile faltered as I looked at her coldly enough to make a shiver run down her spine.
Twenty-eight days, Lyra reminded me, low and steady, like she knew exactly what I needed to hear.
- Writer
