MIRA'S POV
The ballroom smells like roses and expensive perfume. Mira stands in a corner watching her husband across the room, and she already knows something is wrong.
Kael has not looked at her all night. Not once.
He moves through the crowd with that easy confidence that made her fall for him five years ago. Warriors part to let him pass. Other Alphas nod with respect. Women watch him with hungry eyes. Everything about him screams power and control.
Everything about him screams he does not belong to her anymore.
Mira pulls at the edges of her Luna dress. The fabric is expensive silver silk that cost more than her family made in a year. Ironic. She wears the mark of a powerful Alpha's mate, but everyone here knows the truth. She is weak. She is a mistake. She is the Luna who should have never been chosen.
Her wolf barely shifts. Her strength is almost nonexistent. In a pack where everything is measured by power, she measures to nothing.
Tonight is the Spring Gathering, the most important night of the year. All the packs send their best warriors and leaders. This is where alliances are made and pack status is decided. This is where Mira usually stands beside Kael and pretends that everything is fine, that she belongs at his side, that she does not hear the whispers.
Tonight something feels different.
Kael steps toward the platform at the center of the ballroom. The crowd naturally moves to create space for him. A hush falls like someone just dropped a stone in still water.
Mira's stomach clenches.
He is going to make an announcement. She can feel it the way a wolf feels a storm coming. This is not going to be good.
Kael reaches the platform and turns to face the crowd. His eyes sweep across the room, and for one second they land on Mira. She sees it there in his gaze. Something cold. Something final.
She cannot breathe.
"Silverwood pack," Kael's voice carries across the entire ballroom. Everyone stops moving. Everyone stops talking. "We stand at a crucial moment for our strength."
Mira's hands shake. She pulls them into fists and hides them in her dress.
"Our pack needs leadership that reflects power. Leadership that shows we are unstoppable." He pauses, and the silence stretches like a living thing. "Tonight I announce that I am taking a second Luna."
The words hit Mira like a physical blow.
For a moment the ballroom is completely silent. Then it explodes. Warriors whooping. Females applauding. Alphas nodding with understanding and approval.
Second Luna. The words repeat in Mira's mind like an echo. Second Luna. Second. As in she is no longer first. As in she is replaceable.
Kael continues speaking but she cannot hear him anymore. Her ears are ringing. The room is spinning slightly and she reaches out to grab the wall behind her.
Then Lyssa Hart walks forward.
Of course it is Lyssa. Beautiful, powerful Lyssa from the prestigious Hart family. Lyssa with her dark eyes and confident smile. Lyssa who has whispered cruel things to Mira's face while smiling sweetly. Lyssa who has been publicly befriending her for the past six months, learning her routines, her weaknesses, her fears.
The whole thing was a setup. Mira realizes it now with a clarity that feels like drowning.
Lyssa stands beside Kael on the platform and the crowd roars. She places her hand on his arm like she owns him. Like she already knew this was coming.
Everyone is clapping now. Alphas are raising their glasses. Warriors are shouting approval.
And Mira stands alone in her expensive dress watching her entire life collapse in real time.
This is not just about a second Luna. That would be bad enough. But a second Luna is a public statement. It means Kael does not believe she can give him what he needs. It means he has lost faith in her. It means in front of everyone who matters, he has announced that she is not enough.
She is not enough.
The words she has been thinking for five years are now official. Undeniable. Public knowledge confirmed by the most powerful Alpha in the region.
Mira turns and tries to slip through the crowd. She needs air. She needs to get out of this ballroom before she breaks completely. She takes three steps toward the exit when a hand grabs her arm.
Her father.
Marcus Thorne's face is red. Not with anger at Kael, but with embarrassment. He is ashamed of her. He actually pulls her into a corner where her mother is waiting, her face twisted with cold disapproval.
"What did you do to make him do this," her mother hisses. It is not a question.
"Nothing," Mira whispers. "I did not do anything."
"You must have done something," her mother continues, her voice sharp as broken glass. "You must have failed him somehow. Kael is not the kind of man to take a second Luna if his first is satisfactory."
Mira stares at her mother. At her own parent standing in front of her, in this moment of crushing public humiliation, and choosing to blame her. Choosing to judge her. Choosing to step away from her.
"People are talking about us," her father says quietly. His voice is somehow worse than her mother's cruelty because it is so reasonable. So calm. "About our family. About what it means that you cannot hold your own mate's attention."
Mira's eyes burn with tears she will not shed. Not here. Not where everyone can see.
"We gave you everything," her mother continues. "And this is how you repay us. By embarrassing our family. By making us look weak."
Mira tries to speak but nothing comes out. Her throat is closed up. Her chest is tight. She is drowning in this ballroom full of thousands of people and no one is trying to save her.
Her parents look at each other. Some silent communication passes between them.
Then her father releases her arm.
"Do not come home," he says flatly. "I cannot have people thinking we support this disgrace."
He turns and walks away. Her mother follows without looking back.
Mira stands alone. Completely alone. Her husband has just publicly rejected her. Her parents have just publicly disowned her. And everyone in this ballroom is watching to see what she will do.
She stands frozen, unable to move, unable to feel anything except the slow, terrible understanding that her entire world has just ended.
That is when she hears it.
A voice from across the ballroom. Low and dangerous and completely unfamiliar.
"You will not stand alone tonight, Luna."
Mira turns sharply. A stranger stands in the shadows near the entrance. He is tall and dark and has eyes that seem to glow silver in the dim light. Everything about him radiates danger and power. He wears the mark of no pack she recognizes.
He is watching her with an intensity that makes her skin prickle.
And he is walking toward her.