Claiming His Forsaken Luna

Lyra’s POV

I should have known something was wrong the moment I stepped inside and smelled her perfume in our room.

But I didn’t. I was too tired from the council meeting, too touched on the stack of reports I still needed to review.

I pushed open the door. But the moment I stepped inside, the report slipped from my hands, scattering across the floor. I stood frozen in the doorway, my wolf howling inside me, clawing to get out.

My husband, my mate is tangled in our bed with another woman.

Not just another woman, with Isla? My best friend.

“Rylan?” My voice came out broken, barely a whisper, taking a step closer.

I expected him to feel remorseful, at least try to be apologetic, or even push Isla away but he didn’t even flinch. He didn’t pull away. His eyes met mine, cold and empty, like I was nothing. Like I meant nothing.

Isla turned her head toward me, her hair spilling across my pillow. Our eyes locked and I waited for shame, for guilt, for something but I saw nothing, Instead, she smiled, a mocking smile that struck a chord in my nerves.

“Close the door, Lyra,” she said, her voice smooth as honey. “You wouldn’t understand what’s happening here.”

“Wouldn’t understand?” The words tasted like ash. “You’re in my bed. With my husband. What’s there to understand?”

I looked at Rylan with nothing but desperation. Five years, five damn years I’d given him. Five years of trying to be enough, to make him see me, to earn a fraction of his love, but this is all I got?

“Tell me this isn’t real,” I whispered. “Deny it. Please, Rylan.”

Rylan sat up slowly, pulling the sheet across his lap. That cold smirk, the one I’d seen a thousand times before, menacingly curved his lips.

“Why would I deny the truth?” His voice was as sharp as ice. “Isla gives me what you never could. She knows how to please an Alpha. You?” He laughed, the sound was sharp and cruel. “You’re nothing but a title I was forced to accept.”

The floor tilted beneath me. My legs trembled, threatening to give out, and I supported my hand on the wall, tears staining my lashes as I stared at the scene in front of me. Neither of them was remorseful.

“I gave you everything,” I choked out tears. “I gave you a son. I’ve stood beside you through everything……”

“Yes, you gave me a son, but…..” Rylan’s voice dragged on, his eyes narrowed. “You think spreading your legs once makes you worthy? You think nursing my pup makes you a Luna?”

Each of his words felt like a knife, twisting into my already wounded heart.

“I tried so hard…” My voice cracked. “Every single day, I tried to be what you needed….”

“Then you failed,” he said simply. “Isla succeeded in a single night.”

Isla stretched like a cat, completely naked and shameless in my bed. “Oh, Lyra. You always were too soft. Too weak.” She examined her nails, bored. “Did you really think you could keep an Alpha like Rylan satisfied with your pathetic attempts at being Luna?”

“You were my friend,” I breathed, tears burning hot trails down my cheeks. “I trusted you.”

“And that’s why you’re weak.” Isla’s eyes glittered with something dark. “The strong take what they want. The weak watch and cry.”

My chest felt crushed, like my heart was being squeezed in a vice. The bond that sacred mate bond throbbed with pain, but there was no answering warmth from Rylan’s side.

“Five years,” I said, my voice barely audible. “Five years since our mating ceremony. That was the only night you ever touched me. The only night you didn’t look at me with hatred.” I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to hold the pieces together. “I thought… I thought maybe if I was patient, if I proved myself, you’d eventually….”

“Love you?” Rylan stood up, pulling on his pants. “You’re more delusional than I thought.”

He crossed the room in three strides, stopping so close I could feel his breath on my face. My wolf whimpered, begging for her mate’s affection. But there was only disgust in his eyes.

“I have loathed you since the moment the council forced this marriage,” he said, his voice low and vicious. “I’ve loathed you every day since. And I will loathe you every day until one of us dies.”

The words shattered something inside me. Something that could never be repaired and I staggered, feeling a strange heat enlighten my body, sweat was forced out of my forehead.

Did Rylan just say he loathes me, five years of marriage, he proved to me every single day how much he despised me, but he had never mentioned the words loathing.

More tears slide down my cheeks, my eyes turning wide.

I can’t take this anymore, I slide on the floor and sat down, my tears soaking my clothes.

“Get out,” the words barely escaped my lips.

“What?” Rylan raised an eyebrow.

“GET OUT!” The scream ripped from my throat, raw and primal. “Get out of my sight!”

Rylan’s knelt to my level and his hand shot out, gripping my chin hard enough to leave a bruise. “This is my room, in my pack house. You don’t give me orders.”

He shoved me backward.

Isla laughed, a tinkling sound that made my skin crawl. “Poor little Luna. So broken already.” She slid out of bed, pulling on her dress without a hint of shame. “You really should learn your place, Lyra. Actually…” She paused at Rylan’s side, her hand sliding possessively across his chest. “You should stop pretending you have a place at all.”

I watched as Rylan smiled and pecked her forehead, a gesture I have never received from him.

Now I realize what I am to him. A worthless wolf he just claimed to shut the council up. I was nothing more than that.

“Close the door on your way out, Lyra,” Isla purred, her lips curving into a cruel smile. “Try not to embarrass yourself further.“