Chapter one
Chapter 1
Serena
“Love comes when you least expect it with the least expected person,”
My father would always say.
Those were words he made me believe as I grew up, holding onto the ultimate power of love until I found Luke Hall, my mate.
The one man I thought I was made for.
Scrambling through this crowd just to get to the front of the hall only made me realize how delusional I’ve been for years now.
Luke’s voice echoed through the hall, piercing my heart with every word that left his mouth. A night that was supposed to be full of laughter and joy…a night marking my freedom from having served as his maid turned to a night of more pain.
“Who says the moon goddess doesn’t grant second chances?” His voice rang through the silence that filled the air.
For a second, I thought about turning around and walking away. But a part of me still wanted to see his face—to confirm if he could actually hurt me this much while looking at me. So I kept going, slowly making my way through the crowd of dignitaries in the hall.
The same people who stood and celebrated the night Luke and I tied the knot, same faces, same smiles.
But one question thrummed in my head—who was Luke claiming?
“Serena, you can’t be here.” Flora, Luke’s elder sister, stood in my way just as I was about to step to the front line.
“I need to see Luke,” I tried to evade her, but her hands grabbed my shoulders, sending chills down my spine. Her eyes bored deep into mine, making every nerve spike with fear.
“Leave this moment. You’re not worthy to be…”
Other days, I could stand to take Flora’s insults. But not today.
Without warning, I pushed her off my path, sending her crashing into the table of tumblers at the center of the podium.
The glasses shattered, drawing every attention towards us.
But while they stared at me, my eyes were fixed on her—Luke’s new mate.
“Maliya?” I muttered, unable to hold the tears that welled up in my eyes. My blood ran cold, my legs fixing me on a spot that left me feeling numb for minutes. “How….how could…” I tried again.
But despite how hard I tried to voice my pain, tears came in the way, sending me a few steps back. My palms shielded my lips as I still tried to take in the sight of my best friend for eight years getting mated to my mate…a man I’ve loved and sacrificed a lot for.
“Elrond!” Luke snapped, leaving his position where his hands were tangled in hers. Beta Elrond was standing between us in a second. “I was specific about who should and who shouldn’t be at this ceremony. Wasn’t I?”
Elrond delayed, and when he answered, I heard the fear in his voice. “You did.”
“Then explain this,” his eyes finally looked into mine. But he wasn’t able to hold for long, so he turned back to Elrond. “Send her out,”
“Why, Luke? Why have you chosen to bring shame upon me?”
“You did that yourself after losing our child. You’re too weak to carry the child in your womb, let alone the child of an alpha. My pack needs a Luna worthy of that title. Not some….”
He dragged his last words, but those were what I wanted to hear. My desperation to hear him insult me one last time before I dropped the bomb grew with every passing second that he spent just staring into the void.
Maliya moved to his side, wrapping her hands around his shoulder while looking at me.
“You heard him. Leave,” she said, sounding as polite as ever.
I hesitated, feeling pain and anger surge through my nerves. I turned on my heel, ready to walk away with the last shreds of dignity I had left. I’d only taken a few steps away from both of them…but it felt like I’d gone a thousand miles away from the man I loved.
Just as I reached the steps with my head lowered in shame, Maliyah’s voice rang out, clear and sharp with a command.
Serena,” she called, feigning warmth but laced with cruel amusement. “Since you’re already here, could you be useful for once? We’re short on drinks.”
The words hit harder than a slap. I stopped mid-step, heart thudding. My ears strained for Luke’s voice, some kind of denial—anything. But the only sound that followed was silence.
He said nothing.
Not a single word.
The laughter of a few pack members echoed from behind me, low and mocking, as if they fed off my humiliation.
“Did you not hear me?” Maliya’s voice came again, this time colder, sharper. “Go fetch more drinks. We can’t let the Alpha’s celebration be marred by your sulking.”
My fists clenched at my sides. My teeth dug into my lower lip so hard, I tasted blood. I turned slowly, facing them again. Luke stood there, unmoving, his eyes distant. Like I meant nothing. Like I never had.
“Go on,” she added with a small smile, her voice sweet and poisonous. “Be useful. One last time.”
Beta Elrond looked between us, jaw tightening, but even he stepped aside.
Shame prickled across my skin. I wanted to scream, to run, to disappear. But my feet were numb.
“Bring it now!”
“Do you not understand simple instructions?”
“Serena!”
I couldn’t take it anymore.
“I heard you,” I choked out, breathless and broken. My voice wavered, but I forced the words past the lump in my throat. “I’ll get the drinks.”
The weight of embarrassment that fell on my shoulder was heavier than any one I’d faced in the past. A taxi was waiting at the hall’s entrance, and I boarded it immediately and left for the closest bar, about a mile away from the pack house.
Everything around me was hazy, a blur in some kind of manner that made my head spin.
My stomach thrummed as hard as my brain did against my skull, muting the voices in the background as I walked into the bar.
The jingle of the doorbell did a good job of bringing my consciousness back, but it was too late. I bumped into a man, spilling his drink on both of our bodies.
Before I could look up to say a word, hands grabbed me off my feet and hurled me to the ground.
“She’s one of them!” Someone voiced.
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