Chapter 2 My wolf is gone

Zenobia didn’t look back as she left.Something inside her had shifted—and she knew it.But what she didn’t know, what she couldn’t yet see, was just how much this night would change everything.

Because right now, something far more urgent consumed her:

She couldn’t feel her wolf.

The hallway stretched endlessly before her, warehouse walls blurring into shadow, but Zenobia barely registered any of it.Panic clawed its way up her chest, wrapping around her like a suffocating fog.Was this the Moon Goddess’s punishment?

She had wanted to run—to shift and let the forest cradle her aching soul.But her feet refused.Instead, she turned stiffly on her heel and returned to her bedroom, each step heavier than the last.

In the mirror, her reflection stared back: hair sleek and perfect, every strand in place, as always.She let out a bitter laugh.So this was justice?

The guilty walk free, and the devoted… lose themselves.

A wolf without her wolf.That’s what she was now.A Luna with half a soul. Half a life. Half of everything she used to be.

This was her reward for all the years she’d sacrificed, all the battles she’d fought in silence.

With a frustrated breath, she tore off the dress that hugged her waist like a chain.For the first time, she didn’t care about poise, grace, or the image she’d been taught to uphold.She sank onto the bed, broken and unguarded.

A knock at the door.

“Luna?”Amber’s voice, soft and hesitant, followed by another knock.Concern woven into every syllable.

Zenobia hesitated before unlocking the door. Amber stepped in, her dark eyes scanning Zenobia’s face. “What happened?”

Zenobia let out a bitter laugh. “What happened? My mate brought home another woman and expects me to just accept it.”

Amber’s eyes widened. “You’re joking.”

“I wish I was.”

Amber crossed her arms, her expression darkening. “And the pack?”

Zenobia shook her head. “They don’t know everything yet. But they will soon.”

Amber sat on the edge of the bed. “What are you going to do?”

Zenobia swallowed hard. “I already did something.”

Amber’s brow furrowed.

“I rejected the union,” Zenobia said, forcing the words out.

Amber’s lips parted slightly, surprise flashing in her eyes before she nodded. “Good. You shouldn’t have to accept this.”

Zenobia wanted to believe that. But a small voice in her head whispered that Maxwell wouldn’t let things go so easily.

As if summoned by her thoughts, the bedroom door swung open, and Maxwell strode in. His face was set in a hard expression, but there was something unreadable in his eyes.

“Leave us,” he said to Amber.

Amber didn’t move.

“It’s fine,” Zenobia murmured.

Amber gave her a long look before stepping out, closing the door behind her.

Zenobia turned to Maxwell. “You have something to say?”

He exhaled sharply. “You didn’t have to make a scene, Zeno.”

She laughed, but there was no humor in it. “A scene? I stated my stance as Luna. You made your decision, and I made mine.”

Maxwell’s hands clenched at his sides. “You’re being stubborn.”

“And you’re betraying me.”

His jaw tightened. “It’s not betrayal.”

“Then what is it?”

Maxwell hesitated for a fraction of a second.

Zenobia shook her head. “You don’t even have an answer, do you?”

“I’m still your mate,” he said, his voice lowering.

Zenobia met his gaze without flinching. “Not for much longer.”

A flicker of something—panic, maybe—crossed Maxwell’s face, but he masked it quickly.

“Think carefully before you act,” he warned. “This isn’t just about us. The pack—”

“The pack needs stability,” she cut in. “And you’re the one tearing it apart.”

Maxwell took a step forward. “I don’t want to fight with you, Zeno.”

“Then don’t.”

Silence stretched between them.

Finally, Maxwell exhaled and took a step closer, lowering his voice. “Zeno, I never wanted to hurt you.”

Zenobia’s laughter was bitter. “Then what do you call this?”

Maxwell ran a hand through his hair. “I know this is hard for you to understand, but Rebecca—”

“Don’t say her name,” Zenobia cut in.

"I know what you're going to say," Zenobia said, her voice low and sharp as flint."You want to remind me that we’re allowed to have more than one mate. But do you remember what you promised me? Do you remember the words you spoke so easily—words that became the foundation of everything I built my life around?"

She took a shaky breath, then laughed—a bitter, hollow sound filled with something darker than pain."You stood there and gave me your vow. And while you reaped the comfort and loyalty those empty words earned you… did you ever stop to think what they meant to me? I don’t believe the Moon Goddess turns a blind eye to broken oaths."

Her voice cracked, not with weakness, but with the weight of fury carefully restrained.It was anger, yes—but laced with something colder.Disbelief. Disgust.And heartbreak buried so deep it had turned to steel.

Maxwell hadn’t expected her to speak to him that way.The color drained from his face, replaced by a flush of rage.

Without warning, he seized her wrist, yanking her toward him until they were inches apart.His grip was iron, his breath hot with fury.Fire burned in his eyes—

“As your mate, I respect your feelings,” he rasped, voice low and strained.

Zenobia let out a cold, humorless laugh.

“But as Alpha,” he continued, standing taller, letting his authority seep into the room like a rising tide, “I claim what I want.”

His next words struck like a thunderclap.“As Alpha, I hereby name Rebecca as my mate.”

The light in Zenobia’s eyes dimmed, the emerald green now iced over, cold and unyielding.Even without her wolf—stripped of the primal strength that once lived in her blood—she held her ground beneath the crushing weight of his dominance.

Her voice, though trembling at the edges, was steady.

“So do it,” she said through gritted teeth.“I am no longer your only mate... and you are no longer mine.”