We were in the mountains. The air was thin, each breath filling me with hope. The sky stretched endlessly above us, a dark canvas dotted with stars so bright you felt like you could reach up and grab one. He had looked so handsome that night.
But it wasn’t me he was thinking about.
His eyes sparkled like moonlight dancing on the surface of the lake, and when he declared to everyone in our pack that he had chosen me as his mate and the future Luna, it felt like pure bliss.
In that brief moment, he seemed to believe in our fate as mates. I had never felt such certainty before. Looking into his eyes, his lips found mine under the stars, and for an instant, it felt like we were the only two in the world. It was the kind of memory you hold onto when facing the storms ahead. But now, that memory—a vision of us together—had turned bitter.
Every time he chose her over me, every moment he made me feel small, it chipped away at the bond we once had.
My phone buzzed endlessly in my hand, that perfect night felt like a cruel joke.