Melissa’s POV
When Cyrus finally remembered who he was, I thought it was a blessing. I thought the Moon Goddess was giving him back his life, the one he had lost in the woods that night I found him half-dead and bleeding. I didn’t realize it was the start of the end for me.
The day his memories returned, the air itself felt different. I remember waking up to the sound of his heavy breathing beside me, his chest rising and falling fast, his wolf restless beneath his skin. I reached for him, but he pulled away. His eyes, usually soft and silver when he looked at me, were sharp, glowing with that unmistakable Alpha fire.
“Melissa,” he said, voice deep and unfamiliar. “I remember now.”
My heart had leapt then. “That’s good, Cyrus. That’s—”
“I’m not Cyrus Wallace,” he interrupted, almost as if saying his name insulted him. “I’m Cyrus Redmoon. The heir of the Redmoon Pack.”
The words hit me like cold rain. I blinked, confused. “Redmoon…? You mean the Redmoon Pack, the one with the estate beyond the riverlands?”
He nodded, his expression unreadable. “My father was Alpha Roderick Redmoon. My mother, Elder Francine. I… I was attacked three years ago by wolves from the rival pack. A woman saved me before I lost consciousness.”
A woman. My wolf whimpered at the edge of my mind, sensing what my heart refused to.
He turned to me then, his gaze softening slightly. “You saved me too, Melissa. I owe you my life. But I can’t stay here anymore. I have a duty. My pack needs me.”
I swallowed hard. “And me?”
He hesitated. “You and your mother will come with me. You’ll be safe there.”
I should have known that safe didn’t mean belonging.
The Redmoon Pack mansion was enormous, almost suffocatingly so. Wolves roamed the halls in fine clothes, servants bowed when Cyrus passed, and every corner smelled of dominance, power, and wealth. My mother and I, two omegas who had lived in a small bungalow surrounded by pine trees, were out of place from the moment we arrived.
I remember how the pack members looked at me. Like I was filth clinging to their Alpha’s boots. The whispers never stopped.
“An omega? He brought her here?”
“She must have tricked him when he was injured.”
“I heard her mother was a mere omega too.”
I tried to ignore them. I told myself that once they saw how much Cyrus and I loved each other, they’d understand. But Cyrus… he was changing too.
Every day, more of the Alpha returned, and less of the man who used to hold me close at night.
And then she came. Alicia.
The moment I saw her, I understood everything. She was beautiful in a way that made my stomach twist, long hair, bright eyes that shimmered like morning light, and a confidence that only highborn wolves carried. The first time she saw Cyrus, she ran into his arms, tears streaming down her face.
“You remember me,” she said, clutching him tightly.
Cyrus smiled, a real, warm smile I hadn’t seen in weeks. “Of course. You’re the woman who saved me.”
And just like that, I ceased to exist in the room.
Since then, Cyrus gave her everything. Gifts. Time. Attention. When she walked in, he forgot I was even there. And though I tried to keep quiet, my wolf howled in my chest, begging me to fight. But how could I fight the woman who saved his life?
When Alicia claimed she wasn’t feeling well, Cyrus grew frantic. “She risked her life for me, Melissa,” he told me, voice hard and commanding. “You’ll look after her personally. She’s under my protection, and now under yours. Do I make myself clear?”
I nodded. “Yes, Alpha.”
He handed me a list, an actual list written in his own hand. No spicy food. No late-night tea. She’s sensitive to certain herbs. Keep her warm at all times.
I bit back my pride and did everything he said.
For days, I attended to her needs, fetching her soup, folding her blankets, listening to her fake coughs and dramatic sighs.
Alicia had demanded soup. “Hot,” she said, her tone sharp as a whip. “Not lukewarm like last time. The Alpha said I need warmth.”
I cooked it myself, careful with every ingredient, afraid of giving her a single reason to complain. When I brought it up to her room, she was sitting by the fire, wrapped in furs like a queen.
“I brought your soup, Miss Alicia,” I said quietly.
She turned, eyes gleaming with malice. “About time.”
I placed the bowl on her bedside table, but as I turned to leave, she suddenly gasped—too loud, too dramatic—and knocked the bowl over, spilling it across her lap.
She screamed as if I’d poured boiling oil on her.
“Alpha Cyrus!” she cried out. “She burned me! Melissa burned me!”
My heart stopped. “No! I didn’t! Alicia, that’s not what happened!” I reached out to help, but she shoved me away, clutching her leg in mock pain.
The door burst open. Cyrus stood there, his aura flaring with rage, his wolf close to the surface. “What happened here?”
Alicia pointed at me, tears streaking her perfect face. “She did it! She poured it on me on purpose!”
“That’s not true!” I said desperately. “She—she spilled it herself—”
“Silence!” His roar shook the walls. My wolf whimpered. I fell to my knees, trembling.
Cyrus’s eyes glowed bright silver, his dominance heavy like chains around my throat. “I told you to take care of her, Melissa. And this is what you do?”
“Cyrus, please,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “You have to believe me. I would never—”
“Enough.” He turned to the guards. “Lock her in the north chamber. I’ll deal with her in the morning.”
I couldn’t breathe. “Alpha—”
But his back was already turned to me.
They dragged me away, my wrists bruising beneath their grip. The north chamber was cold, the scent of mildew thick in the air. I heard the lock click, and then silence.
I sat in the dark for hours, sobbing, my wolf pressing against my skin, desperate to escape.
---
The same night that I was locked in the north chamber, my mother died. They said she accidentally slipped down the stairs.
“No…” My voice broke. “No, no, no…”
I cradled her body, sobbing into her cold skin. My wolf howled, the sound raw and hollow.
That night, something inside me died with her. The girl who once believed in love, in the Alpha who promised forever, was gone.
From that night on, I swore to the Moon Goddess—I would never bow to the Redmoon Pack again.
