Aria's POV
The tray crashed to the floor before I even felt my fingers let go.
Glass shattered everywhere. Wine spread across the marble like blood. Every head in the ceremony hall turned toward the noise—toward me—and I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't do anything but stare at the stage where Daemon held her.
"I choose Celeste Thorne as my Luna."
The words kept repeating in my head, getting louder each time. The mate bond in my chest twisted like a knife, cutting deeper with every breath.
This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening.
"Clumsy omega!" someone hissed near me. "Clean that up!"
But I didn't move. On stage, Celeste threw her arms around Daemon's neck, kissing him while the crowd exploded with cheers. Her auburn hair caught the light. Her perfect dress sparkled. She looked like everything a Luna should be.
And I looked like exactly what I was—a servant who'd dropped her tray.
"Aria." Old Healer Meredith appeared beside me, her wrinkled hand gripping my arm. "Child, come away from here."
"He promised," I whispered. My voice sounded broken, like it belonged to someone else. "He said tonight. He said he'd announce me. He promised."
Meredith's eyes were full of pity. "I know, dear. I know."
On stage, former Alpha Crest clapped his son on the back, grinning like a proud father. "A perfect choice! Celeste will make a strong Luna for Silvercrest!"
The crowd agreed loudly. Wolves from neighboring packs nodded approval. Beta families congratulated each other. Everyone looked so happy.
Everyone except me.
My hand pressed against my stomach, where our baby grew. The baby Daemon didn't know about. The baby whose father just chose another woman.
"Come." Meredith tugged harder. "Before someone notices—"
"Let me go." I pulled free, my legs somehow working again. I had to get out. Had to leave before I started screaming or crying or both.
I pushed through the crowd, keeping my head down. No one looked at me. Why would they? I was invisible—always had been, always would be.
The hallway outside the ceremony hall felt freezing after the packed warmth inside. My whole body shook, but not from cold. From rage. From heartbreak. From the mate bond tearing itself apart in my chest.
"Aria."
I spun around. Daemon stood ten feet away, his new Alpha power making the air around him shimmer. His emerald eyes found mine, and for one second—one tiny second—I saw guilt flash across his face.
"Don't," I said, my voice stronger than I expected. "Don't say anything."
"I had no choice." He stepped closer, and I backed away. "You know I couldn't—the pack would never accept—"
"You promised me." The words came out like a growl. "Three years, Daemon. Three years of sneaking around. Three years of you using me in the dark and ignoring me in the light. You said tonight would be different. You swore to me."
His jaw tightened. "Be reasonable. You're an omega. The pack needs—"
"A strong Luna," I finished bitterly. "I heard you the first time. So did everyone else."
Behind him, laughter echoed from the ceremony hall. Celeste's voice rang out above the others, bright and victorious. The sound made my stomach turn.
Daemon ran a hand through his golden hair, looking frustrated. "This doesn't change anything between us. We can still—"
"Still what?" I demanded. "Still sneak around? Still let you use my body while she wears your mark and carries your title?" My hand pressed harder against my stomach. "Is that what you think I'll accept?"
"What choice do you have?" His eyes flashed with Alpha power—the new kind, the stronger kind. "You're omega trash, Aria. You always have been. I gave you more than you deserved by even touching you. Be grateful for what you got."
The words hit like physical blows. For three years, I'd heard versions of them, but always softened with fake promises and gentle lies. Now, with his Alpha power secure and his perfect Luna chosen, he didn't bother hiding the truth.
I was nothing to him. I'd always been nothing.
"You're right," I said quietly, and something in my voice made him pause. "I am omega trash. Too weak. Too worthless. Too stupid to see what you really were."
His expression shifted, like he sensed danger but couldn't identify it. "Aria—"
"But at least I'm not a coward." I met his eyes directly, ignoring how the mate bond screamed at me to submit, to forgive, to accept anything he offered. "At least I know what loyalty means. What love means. You just threw away the only person who actually cared about you for a crown and a pretty face."
"Watch your mouth," he growled, Alpha power pressing down on me. "I'm your Alpha now."
"You were never my Alpha." I turned away before he could see the tears starting. "Congratulations on your Luna. I hope she's worth it."
I ran before he could respond, my feet carrying me through familiar hallways toward my tiny room. Sobs built in my chest, fighting to escape. My hand never left my stomach, protecting the secret life growing there.
Behind me, footsteps echoed. Not Daemon's heavy stride—these were lighter, faster.
Female.
I spun around just as Celeste emerged from the shadows, her Luna ceremony dress catching the dim hallway light. Her amber eyes glittered with something that made my blood run cold.
"Hello, Aria." She smiled, and it was the cruelest thing I'd ever seen. "We need to talk."
"I have nothing to say to you."
"Oh, but I have so much to say to you." She moved closer, blocking my escape route. "Especially about that little secret you're keeping."
My heart stopped. "What?"
Celeste's smile widened. "Did you really think I wouldn't notice? I've been watching you for weeks. The sickness. The exhaustion. The way you keep touching your stomach like something precious is there." She tilted her head. "You're pregnant with his baby, aren't you?"
The hallway seemed to tilt sideways. "How did you—"
"Does he know?" She laughed, harsh and bright. "Of course he doesn't. You were going to tell him tonight, weren't you? After he announced you as his Luna?" Her expression turned vicious. "Except that's not what happened, is it?"
"Stay away from me." I tried to move past her, but she grabbed my arm—hard enough to bruise.
"That baby," she hissed, her perfect face twisting with rage, "is a threat to everything I've worked for. Do you understand? If Daemon finds out you're carrying his heir, he might actually choose you over me. The pack might accept it. And I've worked too hard, waited too long, to let some omega whore steal my position."
"Let me go—"
"No." Her grip tightened, and I saw madness dancing in her amber eyes. "This ends tonight. You, that bastard baby, all of it. Daemon is mine. He was always meant to be mine. And I won't let you ruin it."
She shoved me hard.
I stumbled backward, my foot catching on my servant dress. The world tilted. Behind me, the servant staircase yawned like an open mouth—steep stone steps leading down to the basement levels.
Celeste's face was the last thing I saw before I fell.
Then there was nothing but pain, darkness, and the sickening knowledge that my baby—our baby—wasn't going to survive the fall.