Olivia
For years, I had been a laughingstock. Five years of engagement, and yet no marriage. The Crescent Pack whispered behind my back, their voices thick with mockery and scorn.
Then, one drunken night after the Full Moon Festival changed everything. I had woken up in Alpha Sean’s bed, my body aching, my mind clouded with confusion. And when our parents found us tangled in silk sheets, their horrified gasps sealed my fate.
The wedding was rushed. The ceremony was cold. Sean’s hatred burned hotter than any mate bond. He despised me for it, for trapping him in a union he never wanted. I had spent my past life trying to win his love, trying to prove that I was worthy of the title of his Luna. But no matter what I did, his heart had already belonged to another.
This time, I would not make the same mistakes.
That was why I stood here now, in a grand auction house filled with wealthy wolves, nobles, and Alphas, my gaze fixed on a single item on display.
A delicate bracelet, crafted from silver and embedded with a single glowing moonstone. My mother’s bracelet.
Two years before my death, my mother had passed away. Her possessions had been taken, stolen, scattered. This bracelet was all that remained of her. And I would have it back.
I stepped forward, prepared to make my bid—when a familiar scent curled through the air.
Sean.
My body stiffened, instinct screaming at me to leave before he saw me, but it was too late. He was already standing near the front, his eyes scanning the room, his posture effortlessly commanding.
And she was with him. Isabelle.
She clung to his side, her soft, innocent gaze flickering with excitement as she looked around, as if this entire auction was a grand adventure she had been blessed to witness. As if she had not spent years pretending to be helpless while stealing everything that was meant to be mine.
I clenched my fists and walked forward. “Alpha,” I called, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me.
He turned, a flicker of surprise in his gaze before it disappeared beneath his usual cold indifference. “Olivia.”
I didn’t waste time. “That bracelet belongs to my mother. Let me have it.”
His lips curved into something that might have been amusement if it wasn’t so cruel. “Isabelle wants it.”
The words hit me harder than they should have.
Of course. Of course, she did. Because Isabelle wanted everything I had. And Sean, blind and willing, would always give it to her.
“You can bid on something else,” he added, his tone dismissive. “There are plenty of other items here.”
“I don’t want anything else.” My voice was sharper now. “That bracelet isn’t just some trinket. It belonged to my mother. It’s—”
“Isabelle wants to experience things like this,” he interrupted, his tone gentle when he spoke of her, his golden eyes softening as he glanced down at the omega beside him. “She deserves it.”
I felt something inside me snap. I turned away, swallowing my fury, my hurt, my grief. If he wanted a fight, I would give him one.
The bidding began, and I raised my paddle immediately, my voice firm as I made my offer. For a moment, I thought it would be easy. No one else in the room seemed particularly interested. But then—
Sean placed his bid.
My stomach twisted.
I raised mine again.
Sean did the same.
Back and forth we went, my heart pounding, my breath coming short and fast as the price climbed higher, as the crowd murmured in interest.
But in the end, I lost. Sean had bid an amount I could not match.
And he won.
The bracelet was handed to him, and for a moment, hope flickered inside me. Maybe he would give it to me. Maybe, despite everything, despite the way he looked at me with such disdain, he would recognize what this meant to me.
But then he turned to Isabelle. And placed the bracelet in her hands.
The omega’s face lit up with joy as she eagerly slipped it onto her wrist, her delicate fingers playing with the smooth silver. But she was careless. She wasn’t gentle with it, wasn’t careful.
A snap echoed in the air. The moonstone cracked. The bracelet broke apart, the delicate silver chain snapping, the pieces clattering to the floor.
I stared.
The room blurred around me.
Isabelle gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. “Oh no… Olivia, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to—”
I didn’t stay to listen. I gathered the broken fragments in trembling hands, clutching them to my chest, and walked away.
I did not cry. Not when I left the auction house. Not when I returned to the packhouse. Not even when Isabelle, guilt-ridden and teary-eyed, fell to her knees on the cold marble floor, begging for forgiveness.
“I didn’t mean to break it,” she whispered. “I swear, Olivia, I—I’ll make it up to you.”
I ignored her.
And when she, in a desperate attempt to prove her remorse, knelt in salt, letting the grains bite into her skin as she begged for my forgiveness—I still ignored her.
The rain came. A storm rolled in, heavy and relentless, drenching her small form as she remained kneeling in the courtyard, shivering from the cold.
I did not care.
I slept soundly that night. And when I woke to the sound of commotion—when I stepped outside and saw the frantic pack members gathered around Isabelle’s collapsed form—I did not feel a single ounce of pity.
But Sean did.
He stormed toward me, his eyes burning with fury. “Are you satisfied now?” His voice was sharp, biting. “Are you happy, Olivia? You let her kneel there all night until she collapsed!”
I stared at him, at the way he looked at me with such disgust, as if I was the cruelest being in existence.
And I thought of my past life.
A slow smile curled my lips.
“Who,” I murmured, stepping closer until our faces were inches apart, “do you think is more cruel, Alpha?”
