Aria’s POV

“What was that display outside there?” Damon’s voice echoed through the room the moment we entered. His tone was sharp, his jaw tight.

I sat on the bed, folded my arms, and tried to hold myself together. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t act dumb, Aria,” he snapped. “You were rude to my guest, and you know it.”

My heart twisted. “Damon, how exactly was I rude?” I asked softly, trying hard to stop the tremble in my voice.

He scoffed and turned to face me fully. “Look, I never forced you into this marriage. If you’re tired of it, just say it. Of course, you won’t, unless you want to end up sleeping on the street where you belong.”

That cut deep. The words hit harder than a slap.

“Is that all that matters to you?” I whispered. “What about my heart?”

He gave a cold laugh, lit a cigarette, and blew the first puff in my face. “Your heart? What business do I have with that? The only thing that matters is how your body responds to my touch.”

His hand slid to my breast.

I flinched and pushed it away. I once craved that touch, every bit of it. But not anymore, not from a man who doesn’t see me, doesn’t love me, doesn’t even respect me.

His eyes darkened. “Don’t you dare remove my hand again,” he growled, gripping my neck.

I gasped, struggling to breathe as smoke brushed against my face again. My mind screamed for air, but he didn’t care. Damon loved control, loved the way fear danced in my eyes.

He pressed his lips against mine, rough, possessive, trying to remind me who held the power. I turned my head, but he forced the kiss harder. My chest tightened.

And then I bit his lip, hard.

He cursed, stepping back in anger. “You dare…”

But before he could finish, a voice came from the door.

“Dam, I have something to tell you,” Selene’s voice floated in.

Damon shot me a deadly glare. He wiped the blood from his lip, straightened his shirt, and hissed, “You’ve grown wings, Aria. Don’t worry, I’ll show you why I’m called Alpha Damon.”

He stormed out before I could reply.

The door slammed.

My knees gave way, and I sat on the edge of the bed, trembling.

“I’ve been telling you to leave him,” Elly, my wolf, growled inside me. “He doesn’t love us at all.”

“I know,” I whispered, my throat tight. “I thought he would change. I thought after everything, after all my sacrifices, maybe he’d see me differently.”

Elly hissed in anger. “He never will. We should have left the moment he made us his Luna only by name.”

She was right. Damon never saw me as his Luna. I was just a shadow in his life, a bed he visited when his ego needed warmth.

From now on, I promised myself, I’d stop caring. I’d focus on my duties, not my heart.

My phone rang, breaking the silence.

“Hello?” I answered, forcing my voice steady.

“Luna, sorry to disturb you,” Beta Liam’s calm voice came through. “There’s an emergency in the office.”

“I’ll be there in a jiff,” I replied and hung up.

I walked to the mirror. My eyes were red, but my face had to look strong. A Luna should never show weakness. I changed into a soft lavender dress that gave me a little confidence, brushed my hair, and left the room.

The late afternoon sun burned gently against my skin as I walked through the hallway toward the office. The golden light fell through the windows, to but nothing could warm the coldness inside me.

Then, I heard laughter behind me.

“Omega will always be omega,” Ruth’s voice rang out. “No matter how she tries to act high and mighty.”

Her friends laughed along.

I clenched my jaw and kept walking. Their voices didn’t sting like they used to. I had grown used to the mockery.

“Her reign as Luna is almost over,” another girl sneered. “The real Luna is already here to take what’s hers.”

I didn’t turn around. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction.

I reached the office entrance and stood quietly, waiting for Liam. My phone buzzed again,a message from him.

Wait for me at the hallway entrance. On my way.

Their laughter continued, louder this time.

“She’s nothing but a bed warmer,” Ruth said.

That one stung.

Elly stirred within me, restless. “Let me out, Aria. Just once. Let me show them who we really are.”

“No,” I whispered in my mind. “Not here. Not now.”

Ever since I joined this pack, I’d never shifted in front of anyone. When the pain of rejection became too heavy, I ran deep into the woods and shifted alone. There, I could breathe without judgment.

“Enough!” Liam’s voice boomed behind me. “All of you, out. Now!”

The girls froze, then scurried away, mumbling under their breaths.

Liam approached, giving me a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry about that, Luna.”

I nodded, pretending not to care. “What’s the emergency?”

He cleared his throat. “There are rogues spotted at the northern border.”

My eyes widened slightly. “And what did the Alpha say?”

“He said we can handle it,” Liam replied, hesitation in his voice. “He has… something important to discuss with Selene.”

I swallowed my bitterness. “Of course he does.”

Liam tried to avoid my eyes. “I’ve already gathered a few warriors. We’re ready to move.”

“Good,” I said, my tone clipped.

We walked down the corridor toward the training field where the warriors waited. I could feel Liam’s gaze on me.

“By the way,” he said lightly, “you look stunning today. You should dress like this more often. It fits your Luna title.”

I gave a small, humorless smile. “Thank you, Liam. But titles don’t mean much if no one respects them.”

He sighed, looking at me with something like pity, or maybe admiration. I couldn’t tell.

Within minutes, we reached the field. The warriors were ready, weapons in hand, tension thick in the air. The late afternoon light was dimming now, streaks of orange brushing the clouds.

“Let’s move,” I commanded. My voice was firm, the voice of a Luna, even if my heart was breaking inside.

We began the journey toward the border. The air grew colder, and the forest ahead was strangely silent.

“Elly, you feel that?” I whispered in my mind.

“Yes,” she growled. “Something’s off. The scent isn’t just rogues. It’s stronger… darker.”

Then came the growls. Low, deep, spreading from the shadows.

“Positions!” I ordered.

The rogues lunged out, fast and wild. I ducked, grabbed a fallen branch, and swung hard, straight to the ribs of the first attacker. It dropped, whining.

Another came from the left. I turned sharply, kicked it hard in the jaw, then used my momentum to strike another from behind. My body moved on instinct.

Liam fought beside me, his claws out, while the warriors formed a tight circle.

It wasn’t easy, but I never once let my wolf out. I didn’t need her strength to win. Every strike, every move, was mine.

By the time the last rogue fell, my hands were bloodied, my breath heavy.

The woods fell silent again.

Liam wiped his arm. “That was too organized to be random.”

“Yeah,” I said slowly. “They weren’t here to kill. They were testing us.”

“Testing us for what?”

I looked toward the thick forest beyond the clearing. “I don’t know.”

The air grew strangely still. Not a leaf moved. The kind of silence that comes only when something, or someone, is watching.

Elly’s voice came quietly in my mind. “We’re not alone.”

A chill crawled up my spine.

I turned slowly, scanning the shadows. The forest was dark now, the last of the sunlight dying behind the hills.

“Let’s move out,” I said quietly. “No one stays behind.”

Liam nodded, signaling the warriors to pull back.

We walked away from the border, but I could still feel it, eyes on me, watching from the darkness.

I didn’t look back.

I didn’t need to.

Whatever was out there, it wasn’t done with me yet.