Aria’s POV
A bitter taste coated my mouth as I made my way up the stairs, each step feeling heavier than the one before. At the top, the place that was once meant to be ours waited for me, and all that was left to do was gather the last of my things.
This house carried both our names. It was supposed to be filled with laughter, the tiny footsteps of pups, and the warmth of a mated bond.
The moment I pushed open the bedroom door, the smell hit me first—long before my eyes could take in the scene.
My wolf recoiled at once. The air was thick with the sharp scent of sweat and musk, unmistakably tainted by the aftermath of sex. My heart froze, then lurched violently, as if something inside me had been clawed open.
No.
I forced myself to step further inside, my gaze sweeping across the room. And there—carelessly tossed at the edge of the bed—was a piece of women’s underwear.
My hand shot out to grip the doorframe, my nails digging into the wood until it splintered beneath them. My wolf snarled, fur bristling in rage. So this was how far they had gone.
I squeezed my eyes shut, a hollow plea echoing in my mind. Goddess, was this truly necessary? This was the room I had designed, the sheets I had chosen, the place where I imagined Kael and I would start our life as Alpha and Luna. Now it reeked of betrayal, tainted by the omega who had wormed her way into his arms.
From downstairs, their laughter drifted up—light, carefree, as though nothing was wrong. As though they weren’t destroying me piece by piece. I bit down hard on my lip until the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. My wolf whimpered softly, wounded and humiliated.
Memories surged without mercy.
From the moment Livia stepped into his life, Kael had given in to her every whim. Always the same justification: a debt he needed to repay.
I remembered the time she craved dragon fruit, complaining about how hard it was to find. Kael had turned to me—his fiancée, his future Luna—and asked me to go fetch it for her.
“Aria,” he had said, his voice carrying quiet authority despite the gentle curve of his smile, “Livia’s been wanting dragon fruit. You can ride to the next town and get some, can’t you?”
It was far, but I went anyway. For him. For us. Because I believed that helping him repay her would bring him back to me sooner.
When I returned, exhausted and carrying everything she asked for, Livia only wrinkled her nose in dissatisfaction.
“It’s not fresh,” she complained, tossing one aside. “I want fruit straight from the farm. Not something bought at the market.”
My jaw tightened as I waited for Kael to correct her, to defend me. Instead, he laughed lightly.
“Then we’ll go to the farm,” he said easily, glancing at me as if it were obvious. “Come on, Aria. Let’s all go together.”
That drive was the longest I had ever endured. I sat in the back seat, silent and simmering, while Livia sat beside him in front, laughing at everything he said, basking in his attention. That seat should have been mine. I was the one bound to him. Yet she sat there as if she already held the title of Luna.
And then, as if fate wasn’t satisfied, it twisted the knife even deeper.
Rogues attacked us on the forest road—snarling, vicious creatures driven by bloodlust.
Kael’s first instinct wasn’t to shield me. He didn’t reach for his fiancée, the woman who had stood beside him all his life. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Livia, protecting her like she was the most precious thing in the world.
I was left on my own.
My wolf fought with everything she had, claws tearing through flesh, fangs sinking deep, while Kael called for backup and Livia clung to him, screaming. By the time help arrived, my body was covered in wounds, blood soaking through my clothes.
I spent a month in the infirmary, wrapped in bandages, my wolf struggling to knit me back together. And not once—not once—did Kael come to see me.
Livia did.
She visited me with soft smiles that never reached her eyes. “Kael’s busy taking care of me,” she said sweetly. “You understand, don’t you?”
Understand? She had barely a scratch on her arm, while I carried deep gashes across my body. And still, he chose to stay by her side.
That was the moment something inside me began to die. Even when I was barely clinging to life, I was never his first choice.
The memory burned even sharper now as I stood in that room, staring at the proof of what they had done in the bed meant for us.
My chest rose and fell unevenly, my vision blurring as tears streamed down my cheeks. My wolf howled in grief, but I had no strength left to fight anymore.
I crouched down and grabbed my luggage, stuffing my belongings inside with trembling hands. I didn’t want to breathe the same air as them any longer. Every inch of this room screamed betrayal. Every object reminded me of how naive I had been to believe in his promises.
Under my breath, I made a vow—not for him, but for myself this time.
“I will never cross paths with you again, Alpha Kael Dravenwood,” I whispered. “You’ve lost me… completely.”
