Mira’s POV

The dining hall smelled of roasted venison and fresh bread, but my stomach turned the moment I entered. The long oak table stretched across the room, laden with platters of food, but to me it was nothing more than a battlefield. I walked quietly to my usual seat at the far end—silent, invisible—while Gabriel and Karina sat close together at the head.

Three years I had been his Luna. Three years of empty smiles, of nodding when spoken to, of carrying out every duty expected of me. Yet tonight, I was nothing more than a ghost, watching the man who was my mate, my husband, laugh like a boy with the woman who had abandoned him once before—my twin.

Karina leaned forward, eyes sparkling, and picked up a morsel of venison with her fork. “Gabriel, try this. It’s delicious.”

I froze as she lifted the fork to his lips. He didn’t hesitate. He opened his mouth and let her feed him, like I didn’t exist two seats away. My heart cracked at the sound of his soft chuckle—chuckle I had never heard directed at me.

I forced myself to keep my eyes on my plate. My hands trembled as I broke my bread into pieces, my appetite gone. But no matter how I tried to pretend, my wolf whimpered inside me, the bond tugging, reminding me painfully that he was mine… but I was never his.

I swallowed hard. “Gabriel…” My voice came out smaller than I intended. “Could you… could you accompany me to the healer tomorrow? I haven’t been well lately.”

For the first time that evening, his gaze slid to me. But instead of concern, I saw irritation cloud his expression. “I don’t have time for trivial things. Send one of the guards with you.”

Trivial. My health was trivial. I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood.

Karina, ever the actress, placed a delicate hand on his arm. “Oh, Gabriel, don’t say that. Tomorrow, I was hoping you could come with me to the mall. I’ve been dying to look at the new boutiques. You wouldn’t let me go alone, would you?”

His expression softened instantly. “Of course, Karina. I’ll clear my schedule.”

My vision blurred. I looked down, blinking back tears before they could betray me. My wolf whimpered again, clawing at my chest. How could he? How could he so easily dismiss me, his Luna, for her whims?

Karina’s lips curved into a smile that wasn’t sweet at all. It was victorious. She glanced at me from across the table, her eyes gleaming with cruel satisfaction.

When the meal ended and the pack filtered out, she lingered behind. I rose to leave, desperate to escape the suffocating air, but her voice stopped me.

“Mira,” she said sweetly, “a word?”

I turned, hesitant. “What is it?”

She walked closer, her steps graceful, confident. “You’ve done well these past three years. Truly, I admire your patience. Living in my shadow, pretending to be me… it must have been exhausting.”

Her words sliced deep. “I never pretended,” I whispered, voice shaking. “I was forced into this. You left. I stayed.”

“And yet,” Karina said, tilting her head with mock sympathy, “look at you now. A Luna no one respects. A wife no one loves. Gabriel only kept you because he thought you were me, and even after discovering the truth, you’re still nothing but a placeholder.”

My hands clenched at my sides. “I know I was a substitute,” I said, my voice breaking, “but you—you’re the worse sister. You abandoned your family, abandoned him, and now you come back to take everything from me.”

Her smile widened, cruel and sharp. “Everything was mine to begin with. Gabriel, the pack, the title of Luna. You were only ever keeping my seat warm.”

The tears I’d been holding back burned my eyes. “You don’t love him. You only want him because your ex cast you aside. You’re using him.”

Her eyes flared. With a swift motion, she slapped me across the face. The sting echoed in the empty hall.

“Did you see his eyes, Mira?” she purred. “That light in them when he looks at me? That’s love. Something you’ll never have from him, no matter how long you pretend to wear my crown.”

I forced my trembling hands to still. “You don’t get to come back after abandoning him and act like you’re the victim.” My voice was sharp, sharper than I meant, but my heart was already breaking. “You ran away, Karina. You left me to clean up your mess. And now you waltz back, expecting everything to fall into your lap again?”

Her laugh was low, mocking. “Oh, Mira… you always were the obedient one. So desperate to please, so desperate to be seen. Do you really think an Alpha like Gabriel could ever want you?”

The words cut deeper than claws. My wolf whined inside me, aching, humiliated. “At least I stayed. At least I tried. What did you ever do but run away and break everyone around you?”

Her eyes narrowed, and suddenly she lunged forward. Her nails raked across my arm, sharp enough to sting but not to bleed. “Don’t you dare think you’re better than me. You’re nothing but my shadow.”

My hand flew on instinct, shoving her back. She staggered, her smug expression twisting into fury.

“You dare lay hands on me?” she hissed.

“I dare,” I shot back, my chest heaving. “Because I may be your shadow, but at least I don’t destroy everyone I touch!”

Karina’s eyes flashed, her wolf flickering in them. She slapped me hard across the cheek, the sting blooming fire against my skin.

“You’ll pay for stealing my life!” she shrieked. “I’ll take it back—all of it. Gabriel, the pack, the title—you were only keeping my seat warm!”

My cheek throbbed, tears burning my eyes, but anger surged through me. For once, I didn’t cower. “Take it, then!” I shouted. “But know this—you may be his first choice, Karina, but you will never be the better Luna. You’ll never love him like I—”

Her hand struck me again before I could finish, harder this time, knocking me sideways. My vision blurred as the room tilted.

“Shut your mouth, substitute!” she screamed, raising her hand again.

That’s when the door burst open.

“Enough!”

Alpha Gabriel’s roar shook the air like thunder, his presence drowning the room with dominance. His golden eyes blazed as he seized both of us, ripping us apart as though we were unruly pups.

Gabriel’s grip on my arm was like iron, his fury rolling off him in waves. “What in the hell were you doing?” he snarled, his glare fixed on me.

I swallowed hard, my cheek throbbing from Karina’s slap. “She—she provoked me, Gabriel. She’s the one—”

“Silence!” His roar rattled the walls. My body flinched instinctively, shrinking under his wrath. “Don’t you dare drag Karina into your lies. I saw you raise your hand against her. I don’t care what excuse you have. I’ve had enough of your pathetic excuses!”

He hadn’t seen her strike me twice, hadn’t heard her venom. To him, I was the aggressor. Always the villain.

Tears welled in my eyes. “I’m not lying—”

But his hand came faster than my words.

SLAP. The force of it sent me stumbling to the side, my ears ringing. My chest heaved, the pain not just on my skin, but deep in my heart.

“Gabriel…” I whispered brokenly, holding my cheek.

His glare sliced me in two. “You shame this house with your jealousy. You shame me!”

My voice cracked. “I’m your Luna—”

“No!” he snapped, venom in every word. “You’re nothing compared to her!”

Karina, ever the actress, let out a soft sob, pressing a hand to her lips. “Gabriel, please… don’t be angry. She’s just upset.”

He turned to her immediately, his fury melting into something softer. He took her hand gently, examining the faint mark on her wrist where he had grabbed her.

“You’re hurt,” his tone dropped to a tenderness that broke me. He cradled her wrist in his large hand, examining the faint red mark from when he had grabbed her too roughly during the commotion. “I’m sorry, Karina. I didn’t mean to cause you pain.”

He lifted her wrist, pressing a gentle kiss against the skin. She leaned into him, her lips curling into a secret smile meant only for me—smug, triumphant.

My heart twisted violently in my chest. That should have been me. Just once, I had wanted to hear his voice soften for me, to feel his touch soothe rather than punish. Instead, I stood invisible while my sister basked in the tenderness I had ached for all these years.

Karina sighed dramatically, resting her head against his shoulder. “Let’s leave, Gabriel. I hate this place. Take me somewhere better. I want to forget this ugliness.”

And without hesitation, he nodded, guiding her away, leaving me bruised, broken, and invisible in the ruins of my own marriage.

I bit my lip until I tasted blood, my body shaking with grief.

Karina glanced at me over his shoulder, her lips curving into a sly, secret smile meant only for me. Triumph glimmered in her eyes as if she had already won.