Chapter 12
“Who wouldn’t want a perfect Luna like Aurora?” Kane casually remarked. Then, turning to me, he added with that infuriating. smirk, “Once you become Luna, our packs will have plenty of business to discuss.”
I watched as Giana’s face crumpled, tears welling in her eyes before she burst into sobs. Without a word, she turned and ran off, her blonde hair streaming behind her.
Raymond’s expression darkened instantly. He shot Kane a furious glance before immediately chasing after her, not even sparing me a backward glance. The way he prioritized her over everything else brought a familiar ache to my chest.
I shot Kane a lethal glare. “You’re just adding fuel to the fire–you love watching chaos, don’t you?”
Kane’s lips curved into that infuriating smirk I’d grown to detest. Standing there with his perfectly tailored suit and calculating. eyes, he looked every bit the predator he was
‘And you love playing the saint,” he countered, his voice silky with amusement. “But let’s be real–Raymond will never appreciate your kindness. I actually helped you, and you don’t even see it.”
The worst part was that deep down, I knew he was right. No matter what I did for Raymond, he would always choose Giana. Still, I wasn’t about to give Kane the satisfaction of knowing he’d struck a nerve.
“This is between me and Raymond,” I said, my voice sharp enough to cut glass. “I don’t need you interfering.”
“Is that so?” Kane stepped closer, invading my personal space in that way he always did. “Because from where I’m standing, you could use someone in your corner.”
“And that someone is you?” I scoffed, taking a step back. “Please.”
Our argument escalated, tension crackling between us like electricity before a storm. I could feel the eyes of passing pack members on us, but I was too angry to care about appearances.
“At least I’m honest about who I am,” Kane said, his eyes suddenly serious. “Can you say the same about your precious Raymond? Or yourself, for that matter?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I demanded, hating how his words seemed to cut straight through my defenses.
“It means you’re living in a fantasy, Aurora. Playing the perfect fiancée to a man who runs after another woman right in front of you. At least I don’t pretend to be something I’m not.”
I opened my mouth to retort when Kane’s phone rang. He broke eye contact to check the screen, his entire demeanor shifting in an instant. When he answered, his voice dropped into that easy, flirtatious tone I’d heard him use countless times.
“Hey, beautiful,” he purred into the phone, turning slightly away from me. “Tonight? I was hoping you’d call.”
I turned away in disgust, my impression of Kane as nothing but a shallow playboy solidified. To him, relationships were mere games, women interchangeable pieces on his chessboard. I couldn’t imagine a worse person to be entangled with.
+15 Bonus
Yet even as I walked away, part of me couldn’t help but wonde
that would never be mine?
if he was right, Was I just living in a fantasy, clinging to a future.
I shook my head to clear the unwelcome thoughts. I needed to get to Raymond’s for dinner with his parents. I needed to focus on
what was ahead, not worry about Kane’s accusations. Tonight was important–I couldn’t let his words distract me from
maintaining the facade that was keeping my mother’s treatment secure.
The dining room of the Alpha’s house felt suffocating that evening. Crystal glasses glinted under the chandelier light, fine china plates sat before us, and tension hung thick in the air.
Raymond had returned just minutes before dinner began, looking disheveled and tense.
He’d avoided my questioning gaze, taking his seat without a word. Now he remained cold and distant throughout the meal, barely touching his food. His expression was dark, eyes fixed on some invisible point beyond the table. On either side of him, his parents exchanged increasingly frustrated glances,
I pushed food around my plate, appetite long gone. The weight of pretending in front of Raymond’s parents grew heavier with each passing minute. This charade was becoming more difficult to maintain with each passing day, but I had no choice but to
continue.
My thoughts drifted to my mother, lying in her hospital bed, dependent on the medication that my father threatened to withhold.
For her, I would endure this. For her, I would marry a man whose heart belonged to another.
Finally, Alpha Marcus set down his fork with a definitive clink. “Since the wedding date has been officially announced, we need to.
start preparing for the ceremony.”
The silence from Raymond was deafening.
“Don’t you h
“Don’t you have anything to say?” Luna Elena prompted, her patience visibly wearing thin.
Raymond gave no reaction, not even a flinch.
Alpha Marcus’s knuckles went white around his wine glass. “Raymond, your behavior is unacceptable. You’re about to become Alpha–act like it.”
“There’s nothing to discuss,” Raymond finally muttered, his voice flat.
“Nothing to discuss?” Luna Elena echoed incredulously. “Your wedding is in three weeks!”
The temperature in the room seemed to drop. I could sense the storms brewing, feel it in the way Alpha Marcus straightened his shoulders and how Luna Elena’s eyes narrowed.
“I’ve chosen the venue already,” I interjected quickly, trying to diffuse the situation. “The lakeside clearing with the old willow tree. It’s beautiful in autumn-”
“Aurora,” Luna Elena cut me off, her tone gentler but firm. “Stop making excuses for him.”
+15 Bonus
I fell silent, heat rising to my cheeks. In that moment, I felt like a child being scolded, not the future Luna of the pack.
Her attention snapped back to Raymond, all gentleness evaporating. “We won’t tolerate this any longer. Every Alpha needs a Luna. You are engaged–this marriage cannot be postponed.”
Raymond’s jaw tightened, a muscle twitching visibly.
“You’ve known Aurora your entire life,” Alpha Marcus continued, his tone slightly softer but no less resolute. “She’s been trained to be Luna since childhood. The pack respects her. She’s the perfect match for you.”
“Perfect,” Raymond repeated, the word hollow and bitter. His eyes briefly met mine across the table, and I saw something there that looked almost like regret.
Alpha Marcus leaned forward, his Alpha authority bleeding into his voice. “If you keep resisting, don’t blame us for reconsidering your right to inherit.”
The threat hung in the air, heavy and absolute.
Raymond stiffened, his hands clenching into fists on the table. Even with Giana as his fated mate, I knew how much becoming Alpha meant to him. It was his birthright, his identity, the position he’d been groomed for since birth. Just as I had been groomed
to be his Luna.
Something in Raymond finally snapped. His chair scraped against the hardwood floor as he stood abruptly, the sound harsh and jarring in the elegant dining room.
“This is ridiculous!” His voice cracked with frustration, hands balled into fists at his sides. “I can’t keep pretending anymore!”
“Raymond,” I whispered urgently, panic rising in my chest. What was he doing?
He ignored me completely, his eyes fixed on his parents. “Aurora isn’t my fated mate!” he shouted, the words echoing off the walls. “My fated mate is-”
