Chapter 3
The morning after my confrontation with Axl and Megan, I awoke to a pack announcement that made my blood run cold.
"The annual Luna's Ball will proceed as scheduled," Axl's voice boomed through the pack house speakers. "All ranking members are expected to attend."
I pressed my palm against my mouth to stifle a gasp. The Luna's Ball was traditionally hosted by—and named for—the Luna of the pack. For five years, I'd been excluded, but the announcement continued.
"Additionally," Axl's voice hardened, "to ensure our visiting Alphas receive proper service, Flora will assist as staff."
Tessa burst into my room, her eyes gleaming with malicious delight. "You heard? You're going to be a servant at your own ball." She tossed a package onto my bed. "Your uniform."
Inside lay a black dress so short it barely qualified as clothing—a maid's outfit straight from a bad movie. The kind designed to humiliate.
"Axl wants you to wear this," Tessa said, her voice dripping with satisfaction. "No shoes. No jewelry. Just this."
My fingers trembled as I touched the cheap fabric. This wasn't just service—it was deliberate degradation.
---
The night of the ball arrived with cruel inevitability. I stood at the entrance of the grand hall, the ridiculous uniform clinging to my body, my feet bare against the cold marble floor.
"Remember your place," Marcus muttered as he passed. "Don't embarrass the pack."
I nodded mechanically, my throat constricting around words I couldn't say.
The hall glittered with chandeliers and polished wood. Pack members wore their finest formal attire, mingling with visiting Alphas from neighboring territories. And there, at the center of it all, stood Axl in his ceremonial Alpha attire—with Megan draped across his arm like a trophy.
My breath caught as I saw what hung around her neck: the Luna's ancestral moonstone necklace. The sacred artifact passed down through generations of true Lunas, the symbol of the Moon Goddess's blessing.
It should have been mine.
"Ah, Alpha Jensen," Axl's voice carried across the room as he guided Megan toward a group of visiting Alphas. "Allow me to introduce my future Luna."
Future Luna. The words sliced through me like silver blades.
Megan's fingers caressed the moonstone as she smiled. "It's an honor to wear the ancestral stone. Axl says it suits me better than it ever suited... well."
Their laughter followed me as I moved through the crowd with a tray of champagne flutes, invisible except when someone needed a drink.
---
"Psst, little Omega."
I turned to find Alpha Donovan of the Riverside Pack blocking my path near the kitchen entrance. His eyes raked over my body, lingering in places that made my skin crawl.
"You're the one they call the Silent Luna, aren't you?" He stepped closer, his breath reeking of alcohol and entitlement. "I've heard about you. The Alpha's little pet."
I tried to step around him, but he grabbed my wrist.
"No wolf scent," he murmured, leaning in to sniff my neck. "Just as they said. A broken toy."
His hand slid up my arm, then down to my waist, pulling me against him. "Does your Alpha share his toys, I wonder?"
Panic surged through me. I twisted away, but his grip tightened.
"Let go," I tried to scream, but only silence emerged.
His hand slid lower.
A crash shattered the moment as I dropped my tray. Glass shattered across the floor, drawing attention.
Axl appeared in the doorway, his eyes narrowing at the scene.
"Alpha Donovan," he said coolly. "Is there a problem?"
"She's feisty," Donovan chuckled, not releasing me. "I like that."
Axl's expression didn't change. Instead, he laughed—a cold, hollow sound that cut deeper than any blade.
"She's just a clumsy Omega," he said dismissively. "Do what you want, just don't break the furniture."
---
I escaped to the gardens, gasping for air that wouldn't come. The moon hung heavy and full in the sky, bathing everything in silver light.
My hands shook as I gripped the stone balustrade. Inside, Megan wore my necklace and claimed my title while I was handed from one predator to another like property.
I looked up at the moon, feeling something stir within me—not just Serafina, but something deeper. A resolve.
I couldn't leave quietly. I couldn't just run.
The mate bond gave Axl power over me—the power to command my silence, to control my body, to destroy my spirit piece by piece.
But there was one way to break that power.
One way to sever the tie that bound us.
The pack meeting was scheduled for tomorrow morning. All members would be present. Including me.
Including the Alpha who thought he owned me.
I straightened my spine, feeling something cold and determined settle in my chest.
"I, Flora Gibson," I whispered silently to the moon, "reject you, Alpha Axl Morrison..."
The words felt like power on my tongue, even if no sound emerged.
Tomorrow, I would find my voice. Or die trying.
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