Aria’s POV
"How dare you, you pathetic fool? Who do you think you are, talking trash about the soon-to-be Alpha like that?"
Before I could react, a sharp slap landed across my cheek, the sting burning through my skin like fire. My head jerked to the side, my vision blurring for a moment from the impact. I tasted blood—she must have caught the corner of my lip too.
I swallowed the pain, slowly turning my face back to meet the furious gaze of the woman standing before me.
She wasn’t from our pack. I would have known if she was. The Blood Moon Pack was a tight-knit family, even if I was only a servant within it. We all knew each other.
But this girl?
She was a stranger, and yet she carried herself as if she owned this place.
I clenched my fists, forcing my voice to stay calm. “Who are you?”
She tilted her chin up, looking down at me with disgust. Her full lips curled into a mocking smile, and she took a slow, deliberate step toward me.
“Who am I?” she repeated, her voice dripping with amusement. “I’m Danielle, the woman your future Alpha belongs to. And you—” she sneered, her eyes raking over me with distaste— “are nothing.”
Lila growled beside me. “You don’t even belong here,” she snapped. “You’re an outsider. You think you can just waltz in and claim Kian?”
Daniella turned sharply, her eyes flashing with fury. “Say that again,” she dared, stepping closer to Lila.
Lila didn’t even flinch. “I said—”
But before she could finish, the doors burst open, and two guards stormed in.
“What the hell?” I gasped as their rough hands grabbed both of us, yanking us away from Daniella.
“Take them outside,” Daniella ordered with a smirk.
Lila struggled against the grip of one of the guards. “You can’t order them around! You’re not the Luna of this pack!”
“Not yet,” Daniella corrected smugly.
My stomach twisted. Not yet.
The guards shoved us through the doors and into the courtyard outside. The cool night air hit my face, but it did nothing to ease the burning humiliation in my chest.
“Kneel before me,” Daniella commanded, stepping out after us with an air of superiority.
I hesitated for only a second before I lowered myself to my knees. Lila, however, stayed standing, arms crossed defiantly over her chest.
“Lila—” I hissed, trying to warn her.
“No,” Lila said firmly. “I don’t bow to arrogant brats who think they own this pack just because they slept with the Alpha-to-be.”
Daniella’s face darkened with rage. She stormed forward, hand raised to slap Lila, but before she could strike, I lunged between them.
“Hit me instead,” I said, bracing myself.
Daniella froze, surprised for a moment before letting out a delighted chuckle. “So noble,” she whispered, leaning close to my ear. “But it won’t change anything. Kian is mine and mine alone. I will be Luna as soon as he becomes Alpha. So kneel before me.”
I swallowed hard. I had seen them together, and I knew what it meant. She was right—Kian had chosen her.
Gritting my teeth, I lowered my head in submission.
Lila’s sharp intake of breath told me she was seething, but I gave her hand a squeeze, silently pleading with her not to fight back. The last thing we needed was to make this worse.
Daniella laughed again, clearly pleased.
But then a deep, commanding voice cut through the night air.
“What’s going on here?”
Every muscle in my body locked up at the sound of him.
Kian.
Even now, after everything, the mere sound of his voice sent a shiver down my spine.
I slowly lifted my head, my heart hammering.
Kian stood at the entrance of the courtyard, his dark eyes scanning the scene before him.
His gaze flicked from me, kneeling in the dirt, to Daniella, and then to Lila, who was still standing, her jaw clenched.
Daniella’s expression shifted instantly—gone was the cruel smirk, replaced with an innocent pout as she turned to him.
I kept my head down, hoping—praying—that Kian wouldn’t press further. That he wouldn’t even acknowledge me. It would be better than another rejection.
But then he called my name.
“Aria, what’s going on here?” Kian said, his tone unreadable.
I squeezed my eyes shut for half a second before slowly obeying. The moment our gazes met, my heart twisted painfully. There was nothing in his eyes. No warmth, no concern—just cold indifference. I was nothing to him.
I knew it. I had always known it.
And yet, somehow, it still hurt like hell.