Chapter 1 Luna No More

“This is Cerelia. She’s my second chance mate. I am going to make her my Luna tomorrow.​​” My mate Alpha Soren said in a cold voice.

His words made his promise before we went to battle together feel like a cruel joke, “When we return alive, I’ll make you my Luna.”

***

“When we return alive, I’ll make you my Luna.”

This promise is my only lifeline when an arrow struck me, and I fell into a pool of darkness.

When I struggled to open my eyes again, Soren entered my blurry sight to my absolute delight.

The smell of an assortment of herbal remedies and a sharp, persistent pain that felt like needles pricking every muscle assault my senses, telling me that I ended up in the pack hospital again.

I was not surprised. That battle was gruesome even for a well-trained Beta like me. It was one of the biggest our pack has ever seen.

Soren and I had fought side by side. His promise was the only beacon of hope sustaining me in the fight.

Now that I survived the blood and the screams of the dying, I could finally be his Luna and start our life together.

I couldn't help but beam at the sight of him despite the pain. Just the sight of him made my heart leap. Soren and I grew up together, training side by side, sharing our dreams and ambitions. I am his mate, his Beta, his equal. He had always been my rock, my strength. 

We loved each other.

“Hi baby.” I reached out and grabbed his hands and kissed them. But he didn’t smile like he always did and was looking at me with a weird expression. Half sadness and half embarrassment. His eyes, usually so full of warmth and love, were cold and distant.

He pulled his hand out of mine and stood up. His hair seemed to grow to his shoulders overnight.

“I think someone needs a haircut!” I try to joke and lighten his mood.

“Hilda,” Soren said, his voice devoid of emotion. “We need to talk.”

My smile faltered, confusion replacing the joy I had felt moments ago. “Soren what’s going on?”

“You have been in a coma for a year now.”

I stared at him, my mind struggling to process his words. A year? I had been unconscious for a year now? The room seemed to spin, and I clutched the sheets, trying to ground myself.

After the initial shock, I regained my composure and said calmly, “Well, that’s already over. I am awake now. I want to be your Luna immediately!”

“That’s the other thing. When you were injured and fell into a coma, our mate bond was severed and…”

“What!?”

My heart felt like it was being torn apart, and my head pounded with a fresh wave of pain. But deep down, I knew he was telling the truth. I couldn’t feel the mate bond between us anymore.

“Well…that doesn’t matter… We still love each other; we can make it work, right?” I looked at him with pleading eyes.

Soren kept his weird expression and looked behind him.

The room was dimly lit, the curtains drawn to shield me from the harsh daylight. As my eyes adjusted I saw a beautiful young woman standing by the door. 

She met Soren’s gaze and came in the door and held his hand with love in her eyes, it was so natural it seems they had done it a thousand times. 

And this time he didn’t pull his hand out.

“Soren? What’s going on? Who is she?”

He glanced lovingly back at the woman beside him before returning his gaze to me. “This is Cerelia. She’s my second chance mate.”

His words hit me like a physical blow. I felt the air leave my lungs, and my vision darkened at the edges.

“What do you mean, second chance mate? What about us? You promised…”

“Hilda,” he interrupted, his tone icy. “During this year after the war, I… found Cerelia.”  

“But… how?”

He sighed, looking almost impatient. “After the battle, we suffered heavy losses. I went to her pack to secure a ceasefire. We met there and… the bond formed.”

My Soren has a second chance mate. My head just refuses to process this information.

Cerelia stepped forward, her eyes filled with a mixture of sympathy and determination. “Hilda, I know this is difficult. We delayed the Luna coronation because I wanted to do this right. I didn’t want you to hate me.”

Her words were a jumble in my mind. Sure, I don’t want to hate her, but I don’t even know her! All I knew was that my mate, my Soren, was standing before me with another woman, declaring her as his new mate.

I looked at Soren, hoping to see some flicker of the man I loved, but his eyes remained cold.

“We’re going to make her Luna tomorrow,” he said, his voice firm. “I wanted to explain everything to you first, so you would understand my decision.”

Understand? How could I understand this betrayal? I looked at Cerelia, who was watching me carefully. She seemed sincere, but that didn’t lessen the pain. 

I wanted to hate her. Hate him for doing this to me. But I couldn’t. It wasn’t his fault, it wasn’t anyones. He had simply moved on. 

I hate this situation where I have no one to hate, only this cruel universe.

I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. “So, that’s it? You found a new mate, and I’m just… forgotten?”

Soren’s expression softened slightly but his eyes remained distant. “I’m sorry, Hilda. I really am. But this is how things are now. I hope you can find it in your heart to accept this and move on.”

I can’t believe this is happening. The pain in my body was nothing compared to the ache in my heart. How could he say such a thing? Move on from our love?

I thought love was supposed to survive anything. I thought it could even survive death. But maybe that’s what he thought. That I was gone. I couldn’t blame him for that. 

I looked down at my hands, my mind numb. A year had passed, and everything had changed. I had been dreaming of a future with Soren, but now that dream was shattered. I didn’t know what to feel, what to think. All I knew was that I was alone.

I wondered if any of my friends survived. I wondered if I had any life left here, with his pack. 

Cerelia reached out, her hand resting on my arm, pulling out of my contemplation. “Hilda, please. I don’t want there to be animosity between us. We can find a way to coexist.”

I looked up at her, seeing the genuine concern in her eyes. She wasn’t the enemy, even if it felt that way. She was just as much a part of this strange new reality as I was. I took another deep breath, nodding slowly.

Soren seemed to relax slightly at my gesture, and Cerelia smiled. 

“Thank you, Hilda. I appreciate it,” but his tone devoid of the warmth it once held for me. “You can still be a warrior, live a quiet life if you don’t cause any trouble regarding the Luna situation.” 

Soren’s voice droned on, but my mind was too numb to form a coherent response as I stared at them. 

My mind is too numb to form a coherent response. He was offering me a life of obscurity, a way to fade into the background while he moved forward with Cerelia. The thought made my heart ache, but I couldn't muster the strength to argue. 

The cold reality of his betrayal was finally sinking in, and I felt like I was trapped in a nightmare.

Soren, my mate, my Alpha, my everything, stood beside another woman, promising her the life he once promised me. 

And there is nothing I could do.

I had to find a way to heal, to move forward. Soren had made his choice, and now I had to make mine. I had to accept this new reality, no matter how much it hurt.

I could move forward. I just needed somewhere to go. And time. Time to heal, and hopefully forget the pain I was feeling.