Chapter 2
Serena moved into the pack house that same night.
Not into a guest room. Into the east wing—the suite directly adjacent to the Alpha's quarters. The one separated from Kael's bedroom by a single connecting door.
Our bedroom—mine and Kael's—was on the west side.
He didn't come to bed that night. Or the next.
On the third morning, I found them at the breakfast table together. Kael sat at the head, and Serena perched beside him in *my* chair, wearing a silk robe that looked like it had been chosen specifically to match the décor.
"Good morning, Nora." Serena's voice was honey poured over broken glass. "I hope you don't mind—I made breakfast. Kael told me your cooking has been... adequate, but I thought he deserved something special after all these years apart."
I looked at the table. Eggs, fresh bread, bacon—plated with the precision of a magazine spread. Kael was eating. He didn't look up.
"Nora." His voice was flat, controlled. "Sit down. We need to talk."
I sat at the far end of the table. The distance between us felt like an ocean.
"The elders want a formal Luna ceremony for Serena," he said, still not meeting my eyes. "It'll take a few weeks to prepare. In the meantime, I need you to help her transition. Show her the pack duties, introduce her to the families—"
"You want me to train my replacement."
Silence.
Kael finally looked up. His jaw tightened.
"It's not like that."
"Then what is it like?"
Serena reached over and placed her hand on Kael's forearm—possessive, deliberate. Her eyes found mine, glittering with something cruel beneath the sweetness.
"Nora, I know this is hard. But Kael and I are fated mates. Surely you've always known this day would come? Your mother certainly did."
The mention of my mother made something snap inside me. White-hot rage flooded my veins—but I held it. Swallowed it down like poison.
"My mother is dead," I said quietly. "Don't speak about her."
Serena's lower lip trembled. She turned to Kael with glistening eyes.
"I'm sorry—I didn't mean to upset her. I just thought... since the contract clearly states—"
"That's enough." Kael's voice cut through the room. He was looking at me now, and his expression was—complicated. "Nora. No one is throwing you out. You'll still have a place here. I'll make sure you're taken care of."
*Taken care of.*
Like a retired servant. Like a dog that had outgrown its usefulness.
"How generous," I whispered.
I stood and left the table. Neither of them called me back.
That afternoon, I was in the garden pulling weeds—a mindless task to keep my hands busy—when Serena appeared behind me. Alone.
Her sweetness evaporated like morning dew in a furnace.
"Let me be clear," she said, her voice low and cold. "You have one week to leave this pack. After that, I won't be so polite."
I straightened, turning to face her. Up close, I noticed something—her scent was wrong. Faint. Almost manufactured.
"And if I don't?"
She smiled. It didn't reach her eyes.
"Then I'll make sure every wolf in this pack knows exactly what you are—a contractual placeholder. A charity case. A woman so pathetic, her own dying mother had to *pay* an Alpha to take her."
The words hit like claws across my face.
"Kael would never allow—"
"Kael," she interrupted, stepping closer, "has waited three years for me to open my eyes. Do you really think he'll choose *you?* A wolfless, powerless nobody over his fated mate?"
Wolfless.
That word sank deepest. Because she was right. I had never shifted. My wolf had never surfaced. In a world where your wolf was your identity, your power, your worth—I was empty.
A hollow Luna. A fraud.
Serena turned on her heel and walked away, leaving me kneeling in the dirt with soil under my fingernails and tears burning behind my eyes.
That night, I made my decision.
---
Not into a guest room. Into the east wing—the suite directly adjacent to the Alpha's quarters. The one separated from Kael's bedroom by a single connecting door.
Our bedroom—mine and Kael's—was on the west side.
He didn't come to bed that night. Or the next.
On the third morning, I found them at the breakfast table together. Kael sat at the head, and Serena perched beside him in *my* chair, wearing a silk robe that looked like it had been chosen specifically to match the décor.
"Good morning, Nora." Serena's voice was honey poured over broken glass. "I hope you don't mind—I made breakfast. Kael told me your cooking has been... adequate, but I thought he deserved something special after all these years apart."
I looked at the table. Eggs, fresh bread, bacon—plated with the precision of a magazine spread. Kael was eating. He didn't look up.
"Nora." His voice was flat, controlled. "Sit down. We need to talk."
I sat at the far end of the table. The distance between us felt like an ocean.
"The elders want a formal Luna ceremony for Serena," he said, still not meeting my eyes. "It'll take a few weeks to prepare. In the meantime, I need you to help her transition. Show her the pack duties, introduce her to the families—"
"You want me to train my replacement."
Silence.
Kael finally looked up. His jaw tightened.
"It's not like that."
"Then what is it like?"
Serena reached over and placed her hand on Kael's forearm—possessive, deliberate. Her eyes found mine, glittering with something cruel beneath the sweetness.
"Nora, I know this is hard. But Kael and I are fated mates. Surely you've always known this day would come? Your mother certainly did."
The mention of my mother made something snap inside me. White-hot rage flooded my veins—but I held it. Swallowed it down like poison.
"My mother is dead," I said quietly. "Don't speak about her."
Serena's lower lip trembled. She turned to Kael with glistening eyes.
"I'm sorry—I didn't mean to upset her. I just thought... since the contract clearly states—"
"That's enough." Kael's voice cut through the room. He was looking at me now, and his expression was—complicated. "Nora. No one is throwing you out. You'll still have a place here. I'll make sure you're taken care of."
*Taken care of.*
Like a retired servant. Like a dog that had outgrown its usefulness.
"How generous," I whispered.
I stood and left the table. Neither of them called me back.
That afternoon, I was in the garden pulling weeds—a mindless task to keep my hands busy—when Serena appeared behind me. Alone.
Her sweetness evaporated like morning dew in a furnace.
"Let me be clear," she said, her voice low and cold. "You have one week to leave this pack. After that, I won't be so polite."
I straightened, turning to face her. Up close, I noticed something—her scent was wrong. Faint. Almost manufactured.
"And if I don't?"
She smiled. It didn't reach her eyes.
"Then I'll make sure every wolf in this pack knows exactly what you are—a contractual placeholder. A charity case. A woman so pathetic, her own dying mother had to *pay* an Alpha to take her."
The words hit like claws across my face.
"Kael would never allow—"
"Kael," she interrupted, stepping closer, "has waited three years for me to open my eyes. Do you really think he'll choose *you?* A wolfless, powerless nobody over his fated mate?"
Wolfless.
That word sank deepest. Because she was right. I had never shifted. My wolf had never surfaced. In a world where your wolf was your identity, your power, your worth—I was empty.
A hollow Luna. A fraud.
Serena turned on her heel and walked away, leaving me kneeling in the dirt with soil under my fingernails and tears burning behind my eyes.
That night, I made my decision.
---