NOT HER
1107 Words
Ryker stood next to a woman dressed in Luna silver. For a second, Nyra wondered if she was seeing things — like her mind was playing tricks on her.
Everything around her blurred: lanterns flickering, marble floors gleaming, faces crowding every corner of the ceremonial hall. The scent of flowers hung thick in the air, so strong it almost choked her. Hundreds of wolves gathered, buzzing with anticipation. It was supposed to be her night. The biggest night of her life.
Tonight, she was supposed to become Luna. Alpha Ryker Ashford would finally claim her. She’d dreamed of this moment since she was sixteen. She’d survived sneers, endured the gossip, put up with the laughter — all for this ceremony. She kept telling herself: once she became Luna, everything would change.
She believed it. She almost believed it.
Now she stood frozen, staring at the woman beside Ryker. The woman wore silver — not just any silver, but Luna silver. The ceremonial gown meant for the future Luna of the Ashford Pack. Nyra’s gown. Nyra’s ceremony. Nyra’s place.
Her hands clenched her dress. There had to be some mistake. Something got mixed up. Maybe a backup gown, maybe someone helping out — but even as the excuses tumbled through her head, Nyra heard how flimsy they sounded.
The woman wasn’t with the servants. She wasn't in the crowd of guests. She wasn’t standing quietly with the elders. She stood beside Ryker, right where a Luna should be.
That realization felt like ice water flooding Nyra’s chest. Her heartbeat thudded so loud she wondered if everyone else could hear it.
All around, conversations kept going: smiling, laughing, whispering. Yet the air felt weirdly still, as though everyone waited for something — her, maybe. The stares made sense now. The awkward silence all morning, the pity in their eyes.
They knew. Every single one. They knew something she didn’t.
She forced herself to move. One step, then another. People shifted out of her way. No one greeted her, no one smiled, no one congratulated her. With every step, the silence deepened. It pressed on her ears, heavy and cruel.
No. No. No. This couldn’t be real.
Ryker loved her. Didn’t he? They grew up side by side. Trained together. She’d stood by him through everything: triumphs, pain, defeat. She believed in him before the title, before anyone called him Alpha, before he gained the power that made everyone bend and bow.
So why was another woman at his side?
The answer stood in front of her. Beautiful. Tall, poised, curls perfectly blonde, green eyes sharp and smug. Exactly everything Nyra wasn’t. When the woman saw her coming, her smile grew. It wasn’t a friendly smile, or even a polite one — it was pure victory.
Nyra’s throat closed up, but she kept moving. She searched Ryker’s face for something — warmth, understanding, anything at all.
Instead, his eyes were empty. Not angry, not even guilty. Just calm, as if nothing was out of place. Like he expected her confusion.
She stopped a few feet from him, her hands shaking. “Ryker.” The word slipped out, softer than she meant.
For a moment, she thought she glimpsed something in his eyes — a flicker of regret, doubt, maybe. Then it vanished.
“Nyra.” His voice sounded colder than the stone floor beneath her feet.
She swallowed. “What is this?”
The blonde woman let out a gentle laugh, sweet but sharp. Ryker stayed quiet. The silence stretched, stabbing deeper every second. The crowd watched, soaking it all in, waiting for the drama.
Nyra hated every second. Hated being the spectacle. Hated the fear swallowing her whole. Because even now, buried under panic and denial, she sensed the truth.
“Who is she?” Nyra asked, desperate.
The blonde answered before Ryker could. “I’m Selene,” she said, her smile stretching wider. “The future Luna.”
The words hit harder than anything physical. Nyra actually stumbled. Somewhere in the room, someone gasped.
No. No. No. This couldn’t be happening.
She looked at Ryker, begging him with her eyes to say something, to laugh and clear it up, to let her off the hook. But he said nothing.
That silence said everything.
Her world tilted beneath her feet. For years, she’d pictured Ryker claiming her beside the pack, promising her forever. And now, someone else stood in her place. Ryker let it happen.
Something broke inside her.
“Tell her she’s wrong.” Nyra’s voice barely reached a whisper.
Ryker’s jaw tightened. Hope flared for a second.
Then he destroyed it. “She’s not wrong.”
The world screeched to a halt. Nyra couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Couldn’t move. She stared at Ryker, hoping she’d misheard.
But suddenly he turned to Selene. Before Nyra could make sense of it, he wrapped an arm around the woman’s waist.
The crowd erupted in cheers. Nyra felt herself sinking, her stomach hollowed out.
Time seemed to slow. Even as her instincts screamed to look away, she watched. Ryker pulled Selene close, and Selene draped her arms around his neck. Both of them looked comfortable, as if this was normal, as if it’d happened many times before.
Then Ryker kissed Selene. Right there, in front of everyone. The elders, the pack, Nyra.
Applause roared from every corner. Nyra heard it like she was underwater. Her vision clouded over.
The pain wasn’t physical — physical pain would’ve been easier. What she felt was worse: humiliation, betrayal, every dream she’d ever carried shattered with everyone watching.
The kiss lasted only seconds, but felt endless. When Selene pulled back, she looked smug. The crowd kept cheering. A few laughed.
Nyra stayed frozen. Numb. The girl she’d been — the hopeful Luna-to-be — was gone. Buried under the weight of this night.
Nobody cared. Nobody spoke up. Nobody looked sorry. Not Ryker. Especially not Ryker.
Slowly, Ryker looked at her. For a heartbeat, the noise faded — it was just him. The man she loved, the man she would’ve done anything for, standing beside someone else.
Their eyes met. Nyra searched his face for anything: mercy, guilt, pain. She found nothing but ice.
Ryker smiled. Not kindly, not with pity, not with sadness. He smiled like he’d been waiting for this, like her suffering was the point.
That’s when Nyra realized — it wasn’t just that he picked another woman. He wanted her to watch, to hurt, to know exactly how little she mattered.
His smile grew. Then Ryker opened his mouth. And finally, he started saying the words that would break her life forever.
- Writer
