Chapter 2 The pain resurfaced

Elara drove home in yesterday's dress with mascara dried on her cheeks and her hair tangled from sleep she couldn't remember, the morning sun was too bright and her hangover making every stoplight feel more weird.

She parked outside her apartment building and walked past Mrs. Kim watering plants on the first floor, but the older woman's friendly smile disappeared the moment she recognized Elara and she turned away quickly, whispering something to Mr. Rodriguez through his open door.

"That's the rejected omega," someone said from the second-floor balcony and Elara kept her head down as she climbed the stairs, but the whispers followed her up—pathetic, desperate, Alpha Kai made the right choice.

Her apartment felt too small and too quiet and she stripped off the white dress, shoving it into the trash before standing under scalding water for twenty minutes trying to wash away the stranger's touch and the hotel room and the entire nightmare her life had become.

Her phone buzzed constantly on the bathroom counter—fifty-three messages in the pack group chat, all of them discussing her humiliation with photos of Kai and Maya leaving the ceremony together attached, Maya's red dress vivid against Kai's black suit.

One message from her supervisor at the pack administration office**

Don't come in Monday, we'll discuss your position later.

Elara threw the phone across the room and it cracked against the wall but didn't break, just kept buzzing with more notifications she couldn't bear to read.

She needed answers and the only person who had them was Maya, so she dressed in jeans and a sweater and drove to the Thornwood estate on the north side of pack territory where massive gates opened automatically because she'd been added to the approved visitors list years ago.

The mansion rose three stories with white columns and manicured gardens and Elara had spent countless afternoons here, thinking Maya was her real friend and not just a spy Kai had planted to keep tabs on his fated mate.

She rang the bell and a housekeeper answered, frowning when she saw Elara but stepping aside to let her enter the marble foyer where everything cost more than Elara would earn in five years.

"Maya's in the sitting room," the housekeeper said coldly and disappeared down a hallway.

Elara found her there, lounging on a cream sofa in designer clothes with her phone in hand, probably reading the same pack gossip everyone else was enjoying.

"Why?" Elara demanded and her voice came out loud. "We've been friends since we were ten, Maya, how could you do this?"

Maya looked up slowly and smiled, the expression nothing like the warmth Elara had trusted for eight years. "Friends? Is that what you thought we were?"

"We were everything to each other, you said I was like your sister.mm"

"Kai asked me to get close to you when we were kids," Maya interrupted, setting her phone aside. "He needed someone to watch his fated mate, keep her distracted and report back on what she was doing, and I did it because he promised me this—Luna of Silvercrest, status, everything you could never give him."

The words pained her more than the rejection had and Elara took a step forward. "You used me for eight years?"

"Don't act surprised, you were always beneath us both," Maya said, standing now. "Low-ranking omega with no family, no money, no real value except a bond Kai never wanted anyway."

"You're a snake," Elara spat and moved closer, anger burning through her.

Maya's hand cracked across her face so fast Elara didn't see it coming, the slap echoing in the quiet room as pain bloomed across her cheek and tears sprung to her eyes.

"How dare you come to my home and insult me," Maya started but footsteps sounded from the hallway and her expression changed instantly, Maya's hands immediately moved to her own cheek as tears filled her eyes.

Kai walked through the doorway in athletic clothes like he'd just finished training and his gaze swept the room, landing on Maya's tear-streaked face before moving to Elara with pure disgust.

"She attacked me," Maya sobbed, pointing at Elara. "Broke into our house and hit me because she's jealous and can't accept that you chose me."

"That's not…" Elara started but Kai cut her off.

"You're pathetic," he said and pulled out his phone. "I'm calling security to have you arrested for assault."

"She's lying, she hit me…"

"Why would my Luna lie?" Kai's finger hovered over the screen. "You're unstable, Elara, the rejection broke something in you and now you're dangerous."

His phone rang before he could dial and he answered it with an irritated, "What?"

Whatever the person said made his jaw tighten. "I'm on my way," he snapped and ended the call, looking at Elara one more time.

"Get out before I change my mind about the arrest, and if you come near Maya again I'll make sure you're permanently removed from pack territory."

He left without waiting for a response and Maya's tears dried instantly, that cold smile returning as she crossed her arms.

"This is your life now," she said softly. "Everyone believes me, nobody believes you, and you're nothing but a rejected omega everyone will forget about in a week."

The housekeepers appeared with two security guards who escorted Elara through the mansion and out the front gates, their hands firm on her arms like she was a criminal instead of a victim.

She sat in her car for ten minutes trying to breathe through the panic crushing her chest, Maya's words echoing in her head—you're nothing, you're nothing, you're nothing.