Celeste’s POV

It began the moment I found myself powerless against the tide of accusations. It was her word against mine, and no one would spare a moment to hear my side. All around me, eyes narrowed with disdain, voices rose in condemnation.

They showered me with curses and whispered venomously, “How could she be so desperate as to use devil’s dust and force him to mate with her?”—never pausing to grant me even a breath of defense.

I wanted to scream back: How on earth could I have procured such a rare, exorbitantly expensive substance? No one asked about that. They did not care that devil’s dust is a lethal concoction, a powder that floods the mind with unrelenting lust and erases every shred of reason.

Once consumed, the only cure is sex. Surely I could never have bought it myself. The only plausible explanation was that Lira had slipped it into my food. Yet how she managed to bend Leon’s will to her whim remained a mystery I could not solve. Even Leon himself refused to believe me.

According to him, he had no memory of meeting Lira that day. The last thing he could recall—before waking hours later—was the sound of my voice, calling out his name. That admission plunged the dagger deeper: I was now branded a greedy, wretched woman, desperate for the title of Luna. And guess what? It was working perfectly.

Overnight, the hate I endured tripled. Everywhere I turned, people spat at me, shunned me, whispered behind my back. Because Leon had marked me as his mate, there was no escape. Even if I fled, he would track me down—unless I severed our bond by rejecting him. But as you already know, I’m weak. I cannot bear that kind of pain.

In truth, Leon didn’t want me anymore. He no longer regarded me as his mate but treated me like everyone else did: with chilly indifference, avoiding my presence like one would shun a venomous serpent.

A week later, I stood on the outskirts of the pack house—my ex–best friend glowing with happiness as she prepared to marry my mate. The hall was alive with celebration: bright lanterns, laughter, applause. Every face mirrored joy, save mine. I lay curled in the darkness of my small chamber, knees drawn to my chest, forced to listen to the cheers and clinking of cups through the closed door.

All I had ever wanted was a quiet, simple life. Yet I discovered, far too late, that my fate had been cursed from birth. Even the one person I’d sworn would always stand by my side betrayed me. My fated mate had sided with my enemy. There was no place left for me in this house of revelry, yet I had no choice but to remain—to witness my own ruin.

My heart felt shredded, as if cold steel claws tore through my ribs. I pressed trembling fingers against my chest, struggling for air as searing pain consumed me. Overcome by exhaustion and agony, I drifted into a fitful sleep, praying I would not wake again.

***

A splash of frigid water across my face jolted me back to consciousness. Droplets slid down my cheeks, chasing away the haze of sleep. I blinked and found Lira standing over me, arms crossed, her brow furrowed in displeasure. “Didn’t you get enough sleep?” she asked, her tone as sharp as broken glass. The scent of Leon clung to her—his spicy musk layered atop her own perfume. That realization fractured my heart all over again.

“You have him now, Lira,” I whispered, voice quivering. “What more could you want?”

Without warning, her palm connected with my cheek in a vicious slap. The sting flared across my skin as my head snapped to the side. The resounding crack of her hand against my face reverberated in the cramped room. “It’s Luna to you, girl,” she snarled. “Don’t forget your place.”

I stared at her, dazed, wondering how the friend I once trusted had become this cruel stranger.

“I’ve known you for years,” I said, forcing my voice to remain steady despite the ache blossoming on my cheek. “You don’t scare me, Lira.”

Her lips curved into a cruel smile. “Oh, how brave,” she mocked. “Yet for speaking out of turn, you’ll be punished. You will clean this entire pack house by yourself—each table, every window, the floors, the stables. From dawn to dusk, under my strict supervision.”

She stepped forward, one foot resting on the edge of my narrow bed, looming over me. “Remember, I once gave you the choice to reject him. You proved you were never truly my friend the moment you opted not to.”

I blinked, disbelief and shame coiling in my throat. “We both know I’ve always had a weak heart. To reject him… I would have died.”

Lira snorted, flipping her dark hair over her shoulder. “And what of it? You couldn’t even die for me? Don’t forget, I saved your life once.”

She was right. Once upon a time, I had depended on her entirely—even for survival. But to hear her now speak of that mercy as though it were a transaction… It cut deeper than any slap.

Straightening to her full height, Lira sneered. “You brought this on yourself. Now get to work, bitch.”

I swallowed hard, chest tightening with dread, yet I forced myself to nod. “Yes, Luna.”

When I reached the living room, I found a bucket of soapy water and a stack of rags waiting. As I knelt to scrub the low coffee table, a familiar scent drifted in on the air: Leon. My heart lurched. I rose to my feet, turning slowly, and our eyes met for the briefest moment before he looked away, as though ashamed.

“Leon.” The single word slipped out softly, but it halted him in his tracks. He ran a hand through his dark hair, his posture rigid—yet I thought I saw the slightest tremor of conflict in his gaze. He hadn’t looked at me in days.

“Won’t you at least hear me out?” I asked, voice thick with hope.

He paused, then glanced at me coolly. “What’s there to hear?” he replied. “You keep blaming Lira for your wrongdoings, pretending she’s your best friend.”

Tears stung my eyes. “But it’s true,” I insisted. “Lira is the one who—”

“Enough, Celeste!” he snapped, his voice echoing like thunder. I flinched, as if struck. “You’re shifting blame onto her because you can’t own your mistakes.”

My throat tightened. “I’m not lying—she sabotaged me—”

Leon’s jaw clenched, and he crossed his arms. “She’s the very reason I married you as my second wife,” he revealed, voice low and cold. “It was her idea, from the start. She insisted we perform the bond ritual.”

I took a shaky breath. “Why would she do that? To force me into your bed?”

A shadow passed over his face. “She told me you have a fragile heart and could die from the strain. She convinced me that by marrying you and consummating gently, I’d be protecting you.”

His words landed like stones in my stomach. “She… she knew all along?”

He nodded once. “I offered you the choice to become my second wife. You answered by luring me to bed with you.”

My throat went dry. “I never—”

“Save your excuses,” he cut in. “I keep you here out of pity, and for Lira’s sake. But understand this: there will never be anything more between us. You had your one night of… ‘fun,’ and that’s all you’ll ever get from me.” He took a step back, distancing himself. “For your own good, stay out of my sight and out of my way. I can’t believe the Moon Goddess chose someone like you as my mate.”

Silence settled over the room, thick as dust. My chest tightened with a desperate longing to escape this ordeal. I would rather the pain of death than endure another moment under their unrelenting cruelty.

Gathering every shred of courage inside me, I lifted my chin. “I, Celeste Thorne, hereby reject you, Leon Kaelen, as my mate.” My words rang out, solemn and resolute.

No sooner had I spoken than a white-hot agony tore through my chest as though a blade had pierced my heart. I gasped, clutching at my breast as sweat broke out across my forehead. My vision blurred; the walls around me seemed to tilt. A metallic taste flooded my mouth, and I felt warm blood trickle past my lips.

I sank to my knees, then crumpled to the floor, too weak to stand. Through the haze, I saw the night sky beyond the window flare into a spectacle of fiery light—like a swarm of bioluminescent insects dancing across the heavens—before it snapped back to its usual calm, the stars blinking indifferently.

As darkness claimed me, a small, bittersweet smile curved my lips. A final thought echoed in my mind:

Well, then, I suppose this is goodbye.