(03
The Xavier I knew back then would’ve never let me leave the pack gathering alone. He would’ve been the one
pushing my wheelchair, whispering reassurances into my ear.
But that man was gone.
Ever since Celeste came back, it was like I had disappeared.
She had been gone for ten years, off studying medicine abroad, and when she returned, she was… perfect.
Beautiful, accomplished, and full of charm.
Xavier had been polite at first, but then his focus shifted. Slowly, subtly, but enough for me to notice.
“Celeste is so thoughtful,” he’d said one night after dinner. “Did you know she’s planning to open a free clinic for
the pack? Incredible.”
I’d smiled tightly, pretending it didn’t bother me. But it was always Celeste this, Celeste that.
And then the excuses started. He was too busy to have dinner with me, but he had time to take Celeste on a tour of the territory. He was too tired to talk to me, but he stayed up late helping Celeste with her late night “projects.”
The shift was slow, but it was undeniable. I wasn’t his priority anymore.
Now, sitting alone in my room, I felt like a fool. How had I not seen it coming?
“Lyra,” I whispered to myself, my voice trembling. “You’re nothing to him now. Just a burden.”
The tears wouldn’t stop. My chest ached, my head throbbed, but the pain in my heart was the worst.
I had given him everything–my love, my trust, my future. And he had given it all to Celeste.
Celeste moved into the mansion not long after the pack gathering. The house that used to be a place of comfort for me now felt suffocating, like a cage I couldn’t escape from. Every room, every hallway, was a reminder of how things had changed, how everything I thought was mine was slipping away.
At first, I tried to ignore it, tried to pretend that everything was fine. I put on a brave face, smiling through my discomfort whenever Xavier or Celeste would come near. But deep down, I was breaking. I could feel it with every
breath.
The worst part? Xavier was all about Celeste now. He couldn’t look at me without that cold indifference, but whenever he saw her, his eyes lit up. And it wasn’t just the way he looked at her. It was how he acted around her, the way he made her the center of attention.
And then, just a few weeks after Celeste moved in, the news came that shattered whatever small semblance of hope I had left.
Celeste was pregnant.
The pack was ecstatic.
There were celebrations, toasts, and congratulations. Everyone cheered for Xavier and Celeste, and I was expected to smile and clap along. I wanted to scream. I wanted to throw the glass of wine they’d handed me i their faces, but instead, I just stood there, a fake smile plastered on my face, feeling the weight of my failure like a thousand pounds on my chest.
“Isn’t it just amazing?” Celeste said, her voice dripping with sweetness as she placed her hand on her stomach. “Xavier and I are going to give the pack the future it deserves.”
I could barely swallow the bile that rose in my throat. The future they deserved? What about the future I was promised? What about the dreams I’d built with Xavier? The ones that didn’t include my sister taking everything from me?
I forced myself to stay calm, but as the days passed, it became harder and harder: Celeste would flaunt her
belly, constantly touching it and reminding everyone, including me, of what I’d lost.
“How’s your therapy going, Lyra?” she’d ask, her tone feigned concern, but her eyes full of smug satisfaction. “I
hope you’re getting better. Wouldn’t want you to miss the baby shower.”
I gritted my teeth and smiled through the pain. “It’s going fine, thank you.”
But the truth was, it wasn’t going fine. I was pushing myself harder than I ever had before, in secret. I’d started physical therapy, working on my legs every day when no one was around. The pain was unbearable, but I couldn’t stop. I had to get better, I had to walk again, if only for myself.
I wasn’t going to let Celeste have everything. She could have Xavier’s attention, she could have his child, but I
was going to prove that I wasn’t just some broken woman in a wheelchair. I wasn’t useless.
But it was hard. Every time I looked at Xavier, I saw the man who used to be mine–who used to love me–and I knew deep down that those days were gone.
One evening, after dinner, when the house was quiet and I was alone in the living room, I overheard Xavier and
Celeste talking in the hallway. Their voices were muffled, but I could still hear the conversation clearly.
“Xavier, I know you’re doing this for the pack, but I want more,” Celeste’s voice was low, but it had that determined edge to it I had heard too many times before.
“I know,” Xavier’s voice came back, distant, almost bored. “We’ve been through this, Celeste.”
“I want to be Luna. I want to be your true mate,” she said, and my heart stopped. “It’s not just about the heir,
Xavier. It’s about us, about what we can build together. You need to make me your permanent mate. I’ll be the one standing beside you, leading the pack.”
I felt the blood drain from my face. Was she really asking him that? To make her Luna, to replace me completely?
But then again, why was I surprised? I was just the broken wife in a wheelchair.
But then, as if he knew my thoughts, I heard Xavier’s response. “Celeste… Once the baby is born, we’ll announce
- it. You’ll be the new Luna. I’ll make you my official mate.”
I froze.
The words hit me harder than anything had before. Official mate. He was planning on marrying her.
