Chapter 2

My eyes moved to the wall clock as I impatiently waited for night to fall, but unfortunately, it's still too early... 2:27pm. I laid on the bed to sleep away some time but sleeping seemed to be far from my schedule. My mind could only wander about as I laid on the bed, and I suddenly revisited the event that happened a year ago. It happened one year ago, but the memory was still sharp, like a knife freshly pressed against a wound. Flashback “Lia.” I turned. There he was—Alpha Damien. Tall, proud, and wearing that familiar confident smile. Back then, just seeing him made my heart flutter. I thought I was the luckiest to be loved by him. Now I know better. He walked through the garden and stood in front of me. Then, right there among the flowers, he got down on one knee. My breath stopped. “Marry me,” he said. “Be my Luna.” For a moment, I was speechless. Not because I wanted to say no—but because I had dreamed of this moment a thousand times. We had history, after all. I remembered it well—the night five years ago. I had been running for my life. Hunters were closing in. I was hopeless, just a powerless girl with no wolf to defend herself. But then Alpha Damien appeared from the shadows like a warrior from legend. He faced those men alone, fought them off, and rescued me. He carried me home in his arms. After that day, he never stopped chasing me. He would wait outside my door every morning just to walk me to school. He sent gifts. Love letters had filled my drawer. He made me feel chosen. That’s why I said yes. But the moment I touched the ring… something shifted inside me. A rush. A heat. A voice. Finally. My wolf woke up. I gasped and staggered back, dropping the ring. Damien reached out to steady me, but I wasn’t focused on him anymore. My senses exploded. I could hear everything. And what I heard… shattered me. Voices. Thoughts. Secrets whispered behind doors. And one voice stood out—Vanessa’s. Laughing. Teasing. She and her friends were waiting outside the garden, while they were waiting, they were gossiping about me. "You're a very kind person, Vanessa. I can't believe you'd allow the alpha marry that worthless Omega," one of her friends said. "Yes, Vanessa, what if she uses black magic on the Alpha and he refuses to marry you afterwards?" Another one asked, sounding worried. Vanessa released an unbelievable laughter. "I'd worry if it were someone else, girls. She is not worth being my love rival," she said. "Really? Haven't you wondered why the Alpha is proposing to her right now and not you?" the first girl asked. Vanessa scoffed. "Damien is only marrying her for one reason, breeding." My world stopped. He doesn't love me, he only wants me to give him an heir. "Damien loves me too much, he doesn't want me to lose my beautiful shape all in the name of giving birth, so he chose her to be our surrogate." she explained to her friends. He doesn't even want my children. He simply wants me to carry theirs in my womb. How can anyone be this selfish? I stared at Damien, I waited for him to reprimand them or reassure me that what they're saying isn't true but he didn't... He thought I wouldn't hear or understand them. My wolf growled disapprovingly inside me, she warned me not to accept the ring but I didn't listen. I thought with time he'll get to see my worth and love me, but that was only a lie I've been forcing myself to believe. End of flashback I looked up at him then—really looked. And suddenly… the man I thought was my hero felt like a stranger. That was the moment something inside me died. And something new was born.