Mated by the Moon, Betrayed by the Heart

Alexander’s impatient voice echoed through the mind-link, sharp and cold as soon as it connected.

His indifference was nothing new to me, it had become the norm. There was a time when I might have been hurt by it, but that time, I was too exhausted to care.

I did not have the energy to argue or plead, not when I felt like I was drowning in invisible waters, struggling to breathe as if my lungs were filling with water.

"Alex," I whispered weakly, my voice trembling, "I... I feel really uncomfortable. Can you...."

Before I could finish, another voice invaded our mind-link, pushing me out of the connection like I did not matter.

Her sly, fox-like tone dripped with mockery as Ashlee spoke, "Ruby, do not bother him anymore. He has been taking care of me all day, and he is already tired. As his current Luna, you should understand him."

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. The coldness in her voice felt like icy waters engulfing me, dragging me deeper into despair.

If I had been drowning before, now it felt like I was sinking into a frozen sea. My entire body felt paralyzed, the cold seeping into my bones until I could not even fight to save myself.

Before I could muster a response, the mind-link was cut off abruptly, severing the connection as if I no longer existed.

It was in that moment that the final thread of hope snapped. There was no point in asking Alexander for help anymore.

He no longer cared. He had chosen Ashlee, and in doing so, he had abandoned me.

I was nothing but a shadow to him, someone who had outlived her purpose.

Gathering what little strength I had left, I reached for the one person I could still trust. It was Richard.

He arrived in a rush, as he always did, loyal and devoted.

The door to my room swung open, and his eyes immediately widened with shock when he saw me.

My body was drenched in sweat, the bed beneath me soaked as though I had been pulled from the depths of the ocean.

"What happened, Luna?" he asked, his voice filled with concern as he knelt beside the bed, his hands hovering over me as if afraid to touch.

I was too weak to answer, my breath shallow and labored.

He took one look at me and reached for his phone, ready to call Alexander. But I stopped him, shaking my head, my voice barely above a whisper. "No, Richard. I already told him."

His face twisted with confusion, as if he could not comprehend why Alexander had not come. "But, Luna…."

"It’s fine," I said, though my voice was far from convincing. "Can you... bring a healer for me? Please."

Without hesitation, Richard nodded. "Of course, Luna. I will bring the family healer immediately."

"No," I gasped, summoning every ounce of strength I had left. "Not the family healer. I... I do not trust them anymore. Take me... somewhere else."

His eyes softened with understanding, and he nodded again.

The Munoz family had hurt me too deeply. I could not trust any of them anymore, not even the healers who might have been loyal to Alexander’s cold command.

I feared that if I allowed them to treat me, they’d finish what Roger had started. They would let me die.

"Sure. I will prepare a car to take you to the nearest clinic. We will leave immediately," Richard promised, his voice steady and sure.

It was not long before we were at the clinic, and a healer arrived to assess my condition.

When he saw the wound on my stomach, his face paled in shock.

"Luna," he breathed, his voice trembling. "With a wound like this, why didn't you come to the clinic immediately? Why were you treated at home?"

I was too exhausted to answer, so Richard stepped in. "The wound had appeared to improve earlier, so Luna Ruby decided to stay at home," he explained.

The healer’s frown deepened as he carefully examined the wound. "This is not an ordinary injury," he said gravely. "It was caused by silver equipment. Wounds from silver are slow to heal and dangerous to werewolves."

He sighed; his voice heavy with concern. "And the wound closure is far from optimal. If it is not treated properly, the infection will spread, and it will attack your organs, Luna. You were very close to irreversible damage."

His words sent a shiver through me. If I had waited even a few more hours, it would have been too late.

So, it seemed Roger had known exactly what he was doing. He wanted to kill me.

Richard, sensing the gravity of the situation, turned to the healer, his voice filled with urgency. "Please, save her. You can do it, right?"

The healer nodded; his expression determined. "I will do my best."

Moments later, I felt the sting of anesthesia as it was injected into my bloodstream. My body grew numb, but my mind remained alert, replaying the events that had led me to that point.

Roger cut me open with no care, no hesitation. All for a pearl. The memory made my skin crawl, and I closed my eyes, willing myself not to relive it.

As the healer worked to reopen the wound, I let the darkness take me. Sleep was a welcome escape, and when I finally awoke, morning light filtered through the window.

Poppy’s soft voice was the first thing I heard. "Hi, Ruby. How are you feeling? Last night, I thought we were on the verge of death."

I managed a weak smile, both for her and for myself. "I feel better, Poppy. Much better."

Her voice was gentle but tinged with frustration. "We should have gone to the healer sooner. We underestimated what Roger did to us."

I could sense her anger simmering beneath the surface, an anger I shared.

Before I could respond, a nurse entered the room, carrying a tray of food and drink.

She greeted me warmly, her eyes kind and filled with sympathy. "Good morning, Luna. How are you feeling?"

"Good," I rasped, and she immediately helped me drink from the glass she had brought.

"Does the wound still hurt?" she asked gently, concern evident in her tone.

I shook my head slowly. "No, it is... much better now. Thank you."

The nurse nodded with a smile, placing the food on the table beside me. "I will leave this here. Please, call me if you need anything."

As she left the room, I sighed deeply, allowing myself a moment of peace. The pain had dulled, and though my heart still ached with the weight of betrayal, my body was healing.

But Poppy was right. We had underestimated Roger’s cruelty, and we had been far too trusting of the family that had nearly destroyed us.

I had given so much to them, but all I had received in return was pain. So, starting from that day I had to stand on my own.

A few days passed, and it seemed that Alexander finally remembered I still existed within his house.

His sudden presence in my room, however, was not one of concern but confusion, because I was gone.

I imagined his face twisting in frustration, his temper flaring as he yelled at Richard, demanding to know why he had not been informed of my whereabouts.

In the end, Richard could only bow his head and apologize. He explained that I had been taken to the clinic because my surgical wound had worsened.

But I knew the truth. Richard had not forgotten to tell Alexander about my condition, he had kept it from him deliberately.

After all, Alexander had not cared about me since Ashlee’s return. Perhaps, even if I had died that night, he would have been indifferent.

Richard’s mind-link came just moments before Alexander and Ashlee entered my room.

Actually, it was my last day and I had already decided to return to my Pack the next morning.

I was ready to be free from Alexander’s grasp once and for all.

But fate had a cruel sense of humor, it was not ready to release me yet.

"Ruby," Alexander said, his voice unusually soft as he approached me. "I did not know you were here."

There was a flicker of worry in his eyes, but I was not fooled.

Why was he worried? He should be happy with how things turned out, right?

After all, he had been the one to order Roger to dissect me like I was nothing more than an object, all for that damned pearl.

With indifference, I replied, "What’s the matter? We have nothing to do with each other anymore. I do not think I need to report to you wherever I am."

A brief flicker of guilt crossed his eyes, rare and fleeting, but I caught it.

Perhaps, just perhaps, a part of him regretted rejecting my mind-link that night. Maybe he realized how close I had come to death because of his indifference.

But before he could say another word, Ashlee, who had been clutching his arm the entire time, smiled at me with that sickening sweetness that only masked her true nature.

"I am sorry, Ruby," she cooed softly, her voice dripping with false sincerity. "Lex has been taking care of me these past few days, so he did not have time to check on you."

She tightened her grip on Alexander’s arm, pressing it into her chest as she continued. "But you know, we grew up together. Our bond is so strong.

“Of course, his attention was on me when I returned. If only you had let us know how you were, we would have come to see you right away. Is everything okay now?"

Her act was nauseating. She was no longer the sly fox she had been in our mind-link but played the role of the innocent, harmless white cat.

But I was not fooled, not for a second. Ashlee knew exactly what she was doing, and I refused to be taken in by her little game.

I forced a casual smile, one that did not reach my eyes. "It’s fine. From the very beginning, Alexander never loved me, and neither did I. Our marriage was simply a political arrangement between our parents."

I could feel Ashlee’s grip tighten around Alexander’s arm as I spoke, but I did not stop. I had to push her buttons, and had to remind her of her place.

"Even though Alex’s parents grew to like me and treated me like a daughter, I never really felt like part of the Munoz family. I imagine you know that feeling well, right? You must have felt like the stepchild they never acknowledged."

The words should streak her like a knife. Because right after I finished, I saw the flicker of pain in Ashlee’s eyes, and I knew I had hit a sore spot.

She had always been the outsider, the one who was never truly accepted by Alexander’s family. And then, after years of absence, she had returned, conveniently after her parents’ tragic accident.

Had they not died in that terrible crash, would Ashlee even be there, clinging to Alexander as if nothing had changed?

Ashlee’s eyes filled with fake tears as she turned to Alexander, her voice trembling with feigned sadness.

"Lex, I think Ruby is still upset about the pearl, so she’s bringing up your parents to attack me. I could not even come to their funeral because the academy would not allow me to leave before graduation."

I watched as Alexander’s face darkened, his features twisting into an expression of anger I had never seen him direct at me before.

He gently stroked Ashlee’s head with his free hand, comforting her while glaring at me with a mixture of disappointment and rage.

Facing his anger, I chose to ignore it.

When I turned around to leave, he quickly stood in front of me.