Chapter 2 Her Day

(Briana POV)

Seeing everyone rushing around makes me feel ill. They’re working their butts off to make this the perfect day for Valerie’s Luna coronation, as if they didn’t fully expect me to fulfill that role a measly year ago. I should be the one bound and promised to Raul today.

Nobody so much as glances my way when I slowly make my way through the courtyard. I’m weak from lying still for so long, but I’m determined to rebuild my strength. I also won’t hide away in my room while this travesty takes place.

Maybe seeing me will bring Raul to his senses. Or at least remind our pack of my existence. The latter seems less and less likely as I walk along, ignored by everyone. One of the bustling maids even knocks me over and doesn’t bother to apologize or help me struggle back to my feet.

Everyone is in a festive mood. Faces shiny with joy, as if this was what they’d wanted all along. Betrayal bubbles acidically in my stomach.

It’s always been me and Raul. Inseparable since childhood. Long before the mating bond snapped into place it was me and him against the world.

How am I supposed to continue being his Beta, fighting side by side with him, when my heart tells me he betrayed everything we are to each other by choosing another to be his Luna?

Every step I take hurts. My head is still throbbing endlessly, my muscles are screaming at the unfamiliar movement, and my crushed heart makes everything feel like an uphill struggle.

I’m looking for my best friend, Alec. Surely he will understand how I feel and offer me some comfort. Nobody else has. They feel no qualms about discussing Valerie’s dainty beauty and how good this match is for our pack, right in front of me.

If I wasn’t in such constant agony, I could almost believe this is a nightmare.

“Well, well, well,” a snide voice proclaims from the side. “If it isn’t the prodigal Beta, returned from her long slumber.” I vaguely recognize the young man, Vesper.

He isn’t part of our pack. I recall taking him down during the battle and nearly crushing his leg completely.

He sneers at my mildly inquisitive gaze. “It seems your brain’s been addled by being shut down for so long. I’m the Alpha of the Stormwind pack,” he snaps at me. Of course. If I wasn’t so focused on Raul I would have recognized him.

“The Alpha?” I ask, realizing his father must have died while I was in a coma. “That’s right. It’s my very good fortune to be here today to give my blessing to the union between my lovely sister and your Alpha.”

His voice softens when speaking of his sister, but sharpens at the mention of Raul. Curious.

“It must break your little heart to see your former mate so happy,” he croons at me. I understand his animosity. I’d be sore too if someone half my size handed my ass to me. I want to shake off his barbed comment, but his aim is true and a cruel smile appears on his face when mine crumples in grief.

“Oh dear, I seem to have hit a nerve. There-there, it’s all for the best. Raul has a mate worthy of him and their union will prevent further fighting. Everyone wins. Except you of course, but the needs of the many are more important than the happiness of the one, solitary, heart-broken little Beta.”

The urge to rip his throat out is overwhelming. He clearly loves the sound of his own voice and I have to wonder whether even that will shut him up.

My heart lifts when I finally catch sight of Alec’s auburn hair. He’s taller than most of the others surrounding him and making a beeline for me, his expression grim.

It’s sweet of him to worry about me, but even while heartbroken I’m more than a match for a bully like Vesper. All style and no substance, I don’t doubt that I can cut him down to size without too much effort.

“I suppose you have to get your shots in while you can,” I tell Vesper sympathetically. “I mean, you’re no match for me on the battlefield, but at least you can twist the knife that’s already been plunged into my heart by someone stronger and more worthy.”

Alec’s eyes widen when he hears my words and I’m nearly knocked off my feet by his response. “Briana! You shouldn’t be here, you’re making a scene. Come with me,” he snaps, grabbing hold of my elbow.

Now I’m sure I’m in some kind of upside-down reality, where Raul no longer loves me and my best friend takes the enemy’s side in an argument. “What?” I ask bemusedly. Too stunned to struggle as he leads me away.

I would never have believed that sleeping for a single year could change the world around me so indelibly.

My heart sinks further when I see Raul and Valerie, hand in hand again, pushing through the crowd. Is he worried she’ll get lost, or run away if he lets go of her sometimes? I wonder bitterly. 

Before I can say a word to anyone, Vesper yells loudly. “Men, seize her! She poses an imminent danger to Luna Valerie!”

Several large males descend on me, grabbing my arms and pinning them behind my back. I’m clearly too weak to pose a danger to anyone but myself, but the fury on Raul’s face tells me that I’m in a world of trouble.