THE ALPHA BROTHERS OBSESSION

Octavia’s POV

I moved slowly through the crowd at the Red Moon Pack ceremony— for a moment, they didn’t recognize me.

Not until I stepped fully into the ballroom, my heels echoing against the marble like the clock striking midnight, my long dark hair following the movement of my slandering body.

Then the silence fell—swift and delicious just as I expected. The laughter, the clinking glasses, the music—all of it died the moment their eyes landed on me but I didn't flinch one bit. Let them stare.Let them choke on the ghost they buried. The long lost Beta's ill treated daughter, Octavia.

I tightened my grip around Ryker’s arm, not for support, but to send a message: I belonged here now. No longer in the shadows, nor at the bottom of a cliff but here—among them and obviously above them.

My eyes scanned the crowd as I lifted my head up holding my head up like a queen.There they were.

My sister, Zora, her painted smile faltering as she blinked hard like her mind couldn’t process what it was seeing.

My father—Beta Orion—his jaw clenched, his drink trembling slightly in his hand.

The pack members who used to call me nothing. Worthless. An omega. A burden. I quickly snapped back,I wouldn't want memories of the past to hunt me,not today.

And then I saw him, Darius. The cold, handsome Alpha of the Red Moon Pack, my mate, my curse.

His eyes widened in an expected shock,flickering gold for just a second as his wolf stirred. That told me everything.

The bond still lived but it's such a pity, I want him no more. My heart didn’t so much as twitch.

He looked like someone had knocked the air out of him. The mighty Alpha, undone by the sight of a woman he thought had died years ago. Good. Let him drown in the shock. I had drowned for real.

“Are you okay?” Ryker asked more like a whisper, a bit concerned if I was handling the stares well. I nodded sweetly with a smile.

Ryker’s voice cut through the air like a blade dipped in poison.

“Allow me to introduce my future Luna,” he said calmly, his lips curled in amusement. “Octavia.”

The room exploded. Gasps. Murmurs. Confused growls. Zora looked like she’d swallowed broken glass. My father seemed like someone who would strangle me if he got the chance.

I didn’t even blink. I love the expressions on their faces, my heart leaped for joy, not because I was going to be Ryker’s Luna but I was rubbing it on the faces of people that once treated me as trash.

I was no longer the girl who cried behind closed doors or prayed for mercy that never came. That girl had jumped into the sea and she never made it out.

“I'll be right back,” Ryker said, brushing my fingers before making his way to where the elders were.

I tilted my chin higher, my eyes landed on Darius who seemed like he hadn't taken his eyes off me since I got here. I instantly locked eyes with him. I could feel the bond pulsing between us like a broken tether trying to stitch itself back together.

But I wasn’t here to be stitched. I was here to rip.

I turned before he could say a word and slipped out of the ballroom, my heart beating so fast. The bathroom was empty, it was white, pristine, and cold like it used to. I leaned on the sink catching my breath and stared at myself in the mirror.

“You’re doing this for her. For Lena.” I told myself.

The door creaked open, he followed me here.

I didn’t need to look. I already knew who it was.Darius.

Aside from seeing his reflection behind mine, his scent is still the same. pine and thunder with something darker. Darius is still very much handsome like he doesn't age.

“You’re alive,” he said softly, like saying it too loud might break the moment.

“I was wondering how long it would take you to follow me.” I said pretending to wash my hands

“You disappeared. I searched everywhere for you. I—I thought you were dead, Octavia.”

“You didn’t look hard enough.” I turned to face him, drying my hands. “But you know what’s funny, Darius? I paused. I preferred being dead to being yours.”

He flinched, just the impact I wanted my words to make.

“You were my mate,” he said tightly.

“And you were my cage.” I fired back as memories of the past with him flashed back.

His hand twitched at his side. “You think I didn’t love you?”

“No,” I said, stepping closer. “I think you don’t know what love is.”

He stared at me like he didn’t recognize the woman standing in front of him. That was the point, I am no longer the woman he once knew.

“You’ve changed,” he whispered looking straight into my eyes. Maybe he's trying to see if the weak girl he once knew was still there.

“You haven’t,” I said. “Still thinking you can control everything. Still thinking you own me.”

“I never wanted to lose you—” he said, closing the gap between us.

“But you did.”I stepped past him, brushing his shoulder lightly—like brushing off dust. I knew I had to leave instantly cause the air between us was starting to feel hot and small.

He turned. “Why are you really here?”

I paused in the doorway and looked back, just once.

“To ruin you. To rip you and everything you've built apart” I said softly. “Piece by piece.” I added.

And then I left him standing there—confused, heartbroken, and finally, powerless.

Exactly where he left me years ago.