Mated by the Moon, Betrayed by the Heart

It felt as if the room had gone silent, save for the sound of my heart breaking.

I looked at him unbelievably, until my body trembled with a mixture of pain and fury.

How could the man I had devoted myself to for years, the Alpha who was supposed to protect me, demanded me to apologize to that lowly Omega?

In stark contrast to the humiliation and rage I felt deep inside, Ashlee wore a triumphant expression on her face.

She looked at me as though I had no more self-respect, no pride left, and maybe she was right.

At that moment, I realized the bitter truth I had been avoiding for so long.

For two years, I had tried to believe that my bond with Alexander was real, that I mattered to him as his Luna.

But I was nothing more than a substitute for Ashlee. A shadow of the woman he truly loved.

I forced out a bitter, hollow "Sorry" as I turned to leave the room, my pride in tatters.

But before I could take more than a few steps, Alexander’s voice rang out, sharp and commanding, stopping me in my tracks. “Richard, take her to the guest room I asked you to prepare.”

Richard hesitated. I could see it in his eyes.

Perhaps when he had been told to prepare the room, he had thought it was meant for Ashlee, never imagining that it would be me who would be sent to occupy the room.

But when he saw the pain etched on my face and the way I could barely hold myself upright, he nodded.

“Yes, sir,” he said, his voice low.

As Richard gently helped me walk out of the room, Roger suddenly stood up, stretching as if the whole scene had been nothing more than entertainment to him.

“Well, I am off to rest too,” he said with a smirk. “See you later, brother, Ashlee.”

As he passed me in the hallway, Roger made sure to nudge me roughly, his words dripping with mockery. “Can you walk faster? You are blocking my way, you know.”

I bit my lip, swallowing the retort that threatened to escape.

My presence no longer mattered there. But with the wound in my stomach throbbing, there was nowhere else for me to go. I had no choice but to let Richard guide me to the guest room.

Once we arrived, Richard carefully helped me lie down on the bed.

“Call me if you need anything, Luna Ruby,” he said softly, his voice full of the respect that Alexander and Roger had so easily stripped from me.

I nodded slowly; my throat tight with unshed tears.

The moment Richard left and the door closed behind him, the dam broke.

Tears I had been holding back from the very beginning poured down my face uncontrollably, wracking my body with sobs so strong I could barely breathe.

I had held it together as long as I could, but in the end, it was too much. The weight of betrayal, the shattering of the life I thought I had, crushed me.

That was when Poppy, my wolf, stirred in the back of my mind. Her presence was a warm, soothing comfort, but even she could not hide the pain we both felt.

"That must have hurt you so much," she whispered, her voice laced with sadness. "Let me help you heal your wound. You need to rest, Ruby."

I shook my head, my sobs making it difficult to speak.

"How could I sleep, Poppy?" I asked through the tears. “The ache in my heart was worse than the pain in my body.”

Poppy sighed; her voice filled with the same sorrow I carried. "It hurts me too, Ruby. I do not know why he’s been so cruel to us. I cannot even feel his wolf anymore."

Her words sent a chill down my spine. Alexander’s wolf had gone? That was impossible.

But deep down, I knew Poppy was right. Something between us had been severed, and I could not deny it any longer.

My thoughts drifted back to the day we first met, the day our fates were sealed by the mate bond.

Before our bond, I never imagined I would be tied to someone as cruel as Alexander. But on that day, he had been different.

On his 16th birthday, surrounded by powerful pack members and influential allies, I had chosen to distance myself from the crowd, finding comfort near the banquet table stacked with cupcakes.

The sweetness was my escape from the overwhelming chaos of the event.

Then, out of nowhere, Alexander appeared behind me. I still remember the gentle way he had patted my shoulder, startling me.

His voice had been warm back then, so unlike the cold, emotionless tone he used with me these days.

"Do you like cupcakes that much?" he had asked, with a hint of amusement.

When I turned around, Alexander seemed surprised. His eyes widened, and he quickly apologized.

"Ah, sorry. I thought you were someone I knew." Alexander had apologized again, and back then, I had not understood what he meant by that at all.

But then, after meeting Ashlee, it all made sense.

The golden blonde hair she and I shared, the love for cupcakes, and the similar silhouette. If someone watched us from behind, we looked the same.

At that moment, Alexander had not seen me. He had seen her.

"Could that be the reason why he married me?" I whispered bitterly, the thought gnawing at me as I sobbed harder. "What if… all this time he thought I was Ashlee, not his true mate?"

Poppy shook her head, desperate to reassure me. "No, Ruby. You are his fated mate. You two married because of the mate bond, not because you reminded him of Ashlee."

But her words felt hollow. "What if it’s true, Poppy?" I asked through my tears.

"What if I was never his Luna in his heart? What if all this time, I have been living in Ashlee’s shadow?"

The weight of the thought pressed down on me.

I had always felt the distance between Alexander and me, even after two years of marriage.

There had always been secrets he kept, walls he never let me breach. Like the room he forbade me from entering in the manor, the one I was never allowed to see.

But one day, Roger kicked my puppy to death.

The pup was the gift my parents gave me, hoping it would keep me company as I adjusted to life in the Graycrest Pack.

So, I furiously confronted him, threatening to tell Alexander about what he had done.

But Roger just laughed and his sneer cut me down like a blade.

"Do you really think he loves you?" he had asked, his voice dripping with venom.

Confused, I had demanded answers. "What do you mean by that, Roger?"

By then, he grabbed my collar and dragged me down the hall, stopping in front of the room, the one Alexander had always forbidden me to enter.

It stood as a silent, locked secret at the far end of the manor, one I had never dared to cross.

"No," I protested weakly, trying to pull myself free. "Alex told me not to enter the room."

Roger’s smirk was sharp and taunting as he leaned in closer. "Are you sure? We are already here, Ruby. Don't you wonder what he has been hiding from you? Are you sure you are not the slightest bit curious about what is behind this door?"

His words sliced through my defenses like a blade.

The doubt I had buried deep inside me began to surface, and before I could stop myself, I followed him.

My curiosity betrayed me. My need to understand the truth led me into the very room Alexander had warned me about.

The door creaked open, and the sight before me stole the breath from my lungs.

The room was like something out of a fairy tale, lavish, delicate, and adorned with feminine elegance. A dreamlike princess rooms.

The walls were a soft pastel, draped in rich fabric and glowing in the dim light. But what caught my attention was the wall covered in photographs.

I approached the photos slowly, my heart pounding in my chest. A girl.

In every photo, there was a girl. The same girl, from childhood to adulthood. Her smile bright, her eyes filled with joy, and always, always beside her was Alexander.

They looked happy, so happy until it was painful to look at.

Each photo captured a moment, a memory between them.

What was more, the way Alexander smiled at her was a smile I had never seen him give to me.

In the end, the photos were overwhelming, making my head spin with the realization.

Just then, Roger snorted, his voice cold and dripping with disdain. "Take a good look, Ruby. This is the woman my brother truly loves. You are standing here because my parents took Ashlee away. If it were not for them, you’d never be in this house."

I turned to him; my brow furrowed in disbelief.

My lips trembled as I tried to form words, but Roger was not finished.

With a cruel smile, he continued. "You have no idea, do you? Ashlee was sent to the same academy as me because my parents wanted her gone, but they could never erase the bond she shared with Alexander.

“We have stayed in touch all these years. She’s more beautiful than you could ever be, and many men want her, but she’s always stayed loyal to my brother."

I swallowed hard, trying to force down the growing lump in my throat. Each word felt like a dagger, stabbing deeper into my heart.

"So do not ever consider yourself as my sister-in-law," Roger sneered. "You are not worthy. Ashlee was always meant to be by his side. She’s the one who belongs here, not you. You would be smart to move away and know your place."

His words were filled with venom, each insult hitting harder than the last.

Since that moment, I had begun to distance myself from Alexander, not because I wanted to, but because the truth had become unbearable.

Alexander must have noticed my growing coldness, but he said nothing. He did not need to explain anything to me.

After all, why would he need to explain to someone he did not love?

From that moment, the thought of breaking our mate bond lingered in my mind, tempting me to free myself from the emotional chains that bound me to a man who did not care for me.

But Poppy, my wolf, stopped me every time, her voice of reason pulling me back from the edge. "You cannot, Ruby. It will only hurt you more."

So, I decided to stay, hoping and praying that one day, Alexander would turn his love towards me.

I thought if I gave him my all, my little acts of care and attention would eventually make him fall in love with me.

But over time, I began to realize that the hope was futile. His heart would never be mine. His heart still belonged to Ashlee.

*

I must have cried myself to exhaustion because, without realizing it, I had fallen into a fitful sleep. When I woke up, it was dark and my body was drenched in sweat.

My stomach also throbbed painfully and the wound from earlier burning like fire.

In a daze, I instinctively mind-linked Alexander, just to be cut off cruelly by him.

"Stop calling me all the time. You are an adult. Can't you solve your own problems?"