A hand suddenly grabbed her wrist. Ayesha flinched until she looked up and saw him. Ronan.
Her heart leapt. Hope flared. "Ronan-"
His eyes, once warm, were now flat. Distant.
"What are you doing here?" he asked coldly.
Her lips parted. "You said-"
"That was before," he snapped. "You shouldn't have come."
The words landed like a slap.
"But… you told me I'd be-"
He laughed. Cruel. Mocking. "I told a lot of women things in bed. Don't mistake lust for love."
Ayesha froze.
She felt everyone's eyes. Felt her shame choking her. Then, louder, he added, "Do yourself a favor and leave. You're embarrassing yourself."
Humiliation burned through her veins. She wanted to scream. To hit him. To cry. But she stood still. Head high. Eyes blazing.
"Congratulations, Alpha," she whispered. "May the Almighty bless your union."
Then she turned and walked awaybefore more of her tears could fall.
Ayesha returned to her brother's house, where she'd been staying whenever the Alpha didn't summon her.
The moment she stepped inside, a small body pounced into her.
"Aunt Ayesha! I'm glad you're back!" Lyra cried, wrapping her little arms tightly around her waist.
Ayesha quickly bent down, hugging her close. "Hmm, but we were just together this morning," she teased softly. "Aren't you becoming clingy?"
Lyra didn't smile.
"I already lost Dad… I'm scared I'll lose you too," the girl murmured.
Ayesha's heart clenched, the pressure in her chest unbearable.
It had only been a week since her brother, Levi, was killed, one of the warriors who'd died during the Alpha King's visit to their territory.
Ronan had told her what happened. How he'd personally witnessed it.
"Your brother died protecting our borders," he had said. "The Alpha King accused him of leaking information to rogues. Levi tried to explain, but Alaric didn't listen. He killed him without mercy."
Since that day, she vowed to take revenge on the Alpha King, once she had the power, once she became Ronan's Luna.
And yet…
She was still nothing. Just a powerless omega clinging to a promise that was never real.
*****
Despite everything - despite the Luna ceremony, the whispers, the shame - Ronan still called for her at night.
Always late. Always in secret.
The guards never questioned her when she entered the Alpha's wing. They looked away. Everyone knew what she was.
Not his mate.
Not his Luna.
Just the woman he couldn't stop touching.
Ayesha stood at the edge of his bed that night, arms crossed tightly over her chest.
"I don't want this anymore," she said quietly. "You made your choice. You married her."
Ronan rose from the bed, shirtless, powerful and unbothered.
"I didn't choose her over you," he said, stepping closer. His voice was low, dangerous. "The elders did. The council. They wanted a political match."
Ayesha stared at him. "And you just obeyed?"
His lips twitched. "Don't be naive, Ayesha. I'm still Alpha. I take what I want. And I still want you."
He reached out, cupping her jaw, fingers brushing against her skin with maddening familiarity.
"You're still mine," he whispered. "I don't care about the Luna title. I'll give you everything else, status, wealth, comfort. Just not that."
She swallowed hard, pain rising like bile. "You want me to be your mistress," she said.
"You're more than that," he growled. "You're the only one I can't let go of. You know that. I need you." He leaned in, mouth grazing her ear. "You'll stay, Ayesha. Because you're mine. Because no one else will ever touch you the way I do."
She pulled away.
"And what about your child growing inside me?" she asked. "Will that be hidden too?"
Ronan went still. Then he smirked, unbothered. "I'll take care of it. Of you. Just be smart, Ayesha. Don't ask for what I can't give."
And that night, Ayesha let the Alpha do what he wanted with her.
Why not?
She loved him.
He had promised her everything… everything except the Luna title. And for Ayesha, that had been enough. She didn't want her baby to grow up without a father. She wasn't confident she could protect Lyra alone. Staying under Ronan's protection seemed like the safest choice - for all of them.
So she stayed. Even when it broke her. Even when every touch felt like a reminder of what she could never truly have. But there was one thing Ayesha failed to calculate.
One thing she didn't prepare for.
The Luna.
Luciana Gray.
The name alone made Ayesha's stomach twist.
The pack called her gracious. Elegant. Worthy of the Luna crown.
But Ayesha knew better.
Beneath the silks and smiles, Luciana was poison wrapped in gold.
It started small - barely noticeable things.
Ayesha's usual sleeping quarters in the Alpha's residence were reassigned to a cold, drafty room near the servants' quarters. The fireplace hadn't been lit in weeks. Her meals were forgotten more often than not, and when they did arrive, they were barely warm.
Ronan never questioned it. Never asked why the woman he called for at night had bruises under her eyes or cold in her bones.
Luciana, however, noticed everything.
At first, it was just words. Spoken sweetly, laced with venom.
"Still here, dear?" Luciana said one morning, her voice syrupy as she passed Ayesha in the corridor. "I was sure you'd have the sense to leave by now."
Ayesha didn't respond. She bowed her head and kept walking, clutching Lyra's hand tighter.
But Luciana wasn't done.
"Children like her don't last long in packhouses. Especially ones born to traitors."
Ayesha froze. Her grip on Lyra tightened. She wanted to turn around. Wanted to scream. But her voice caught in her throat.
She had no power. No status. No protection.
Only Ronan's silent approval in the dead of night and even that felt like an illusion.
It got worse.
One evening, during a formal dinner, Ayesha was ordered to serve wine to the high-ranking guests. As she passed Luciana's seat, the Luna "accidentally" knocked the goblet from her hand, spilling crimson liquid all over Ayesha's chest.
"Oh no," Luciana gasped, standing. "She's so clumsy. I suppose omegas don't learn manners with all that floor-scrubbing."
The hall fell silent. No one dared to laugh. But no one came to her defense, either.
Ronan didn't even look her way. Ayesha stood trembling, drenched in wine and shame, her jaw clenched so tight it ached.
Still, she endured. For Lyra. For the unborn child growing inside her. But the final blow came days later.
Ayesha returned to her small room and found Lyra crying, her favorite stuffed rabbit torn to pieces on the floor.
"The Luna was here," the servant whispered behind her. "Said the child doesn't belong here. Said she'd get rid of her next time."