Misaligned Stars

Vespera POV

Two long, agonizing days had passed since Garrick last set foot in our bedroom. Every passing hour felt like a heavy stone resting on my chest. My isolation grew heavier, suffocating me in the very place I was supposed to call home. The painful episodes in my belly had worsened significantly since that horrific night I heard them together. They left me weak, clutching my stomach and sweating in the dark corners of my room.

The atmosphere of the pack had shifted entirely, twisting into something hostile and cold. Beta Axton, who had once treated me with the standard respect due to a Luna, now remained entirely cold and indifferent to my plight. He looked right through me in the hallways. The estate maids no longer bothered to hide their disdain; they openly snickered behind their hands when I walked past them. The councilors' wives, women who used to beg for my time, pointedly shunned me, canceling every social event I was meant to attend. I was rapidly becoming a ghost in my own home, a pathetic shadow lingering in the background of Garrick and Zanya’s twisted reunion.

I needed to understand what was happening. Desperate to find answers and uncover the real reason why Zanya had abandoned her powerful mate, Alpha Lucian, only to return to my husband, I decided to seek out her parents. Harek, the pack’s former Beta, and his wife, Beatrice. I hoped they might offer some shred of truth. Perhaps they knew something about Zanya’s motives that Garrick was too blind to see.

I dragged my aching body out of the packhouse and made the walk to their property. Stepping onto their front porch, a foolish spark of hope flared in my chest. I knocked on the heavy wooden door, taking a deep breath to steady my frayed nerves.

The door creaked open. Harek stood there, his eyes widening in shock before narrowing into a cold glare. He didn't offer a bow. He simply stared.

"Can I come in?" I asked, keeping my voice as calm and steady as my failing strength allowed.

He grunted, stepping aside just enough to let me slip past into the foyer. Beatrice walked into the main room a moment later, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel. She looked down her nose at me, her expression instantly twisting into a mask of pure annoyance.

"It is about Zanya," I started, ignoring the dryness in my throat. "You need to ask her to leave Alpha Garrick. He is my husband."

Beatrice let out a harsh, mocking laugh. She tossed the towel onto a nearby chair and crossed her arms over her chest. She sneered at me, her eyes filled with unapologetic contempt.

"They were childhood sweethearts," Beatrice stated, her voice dripping with venom. "Their bond existed long before you ever set foot in this pack. Zanya loves him. It is you who should leave Alpha Garrick, not Zanya."

My jaw clenched tight. "Beatrice—"

"Don't speak to me in that tone," she retorted, rolling her eyes in blatant dismissal. "You are not wanted here. Leave."

Without another word, she stepped forward and shoved the front door wide open. My hopes of finding an ally, or even a logical explanation, were brutally shattered. I turned on my heel and walked out, the sound of the door slamming shut in my face echoing in my ears.

When I returned to the estate, the humiliation of the morning only deepened. I walked into the main hall and froze. Garrick was sitting on the large leather sofa, Zanya tucked intimately against his side. The moment the heavy entrance doors clicked shut behind me, Garrick’s head snapped up.

His eyes flashed gold. He shot to his feet, and his voice dropped into a menacing, territorial growl that echoed off the high ceilings. "Why did you go to Zanya’s parents?" he demanded, taking a heavy step toward me. "Do you think I will leave her?"

Before I could even open my mouth to defend myself, Zanya immediately seized the opportunity to play the tragic victim. She gasped, covering her face with her delicate hands. She began weeping softly, her shoulders trembling violently as she shrank back into the cushions.

"Please, Garrick," she sobbed, her voice incredibly fragile. "Don't be angry with her. I am just the third person in this marriage. I am causing too much trouble. I should just pack my bags and leave."

Her false humility and flawless acting sickened me to my core. I stared at her, my expression turning to stone.

"Yes," I agreed, my voice blunt and entirely cold. "You should leave."

The moment the words left my lips, Garrick’s intense alpha aura exploded into the room. The sheer force of it slammed into me, a heavy, suffocating pressure that forced the air out of my lungs. He turned his full, crushing wrath on me, his canines lengthening as he glared at me with absolute fury.

Seeing Garrick’s anger ignite, Zanya began sobbing even harder. She threw herself forward, wrapping her arms around Garrick’s waist and burying her face in his chest. "I didn't want to come between you!" she cried out, her voice echoing dramatically. "I only came here because I had nowhere else to go! Alpha Lucian was so cruel to me. He beat me, Garrick. He abused me for two years! I fled to escape his severe abuse. Please, I beg you, don't throw me away!"

Garrick’s expression instantly softened. The wrath he directed at me vanished as he looked down at the trembling woman clinging to him. Pulling her into a tight, protective embrace, he stroked her hair.

"I will never throw you away," Garrick promised her, his voice thick with devotion. "You will never have to leave."

He then turned his head, his eyes hardening into flint as they locked onto mine. "Go to your room, Vespera," he barked, the harsh command leaving absolutely no room for argument. "Now."

My chest physically ached from the rejection. I turned around to walk toward the staircase. But just before I looked away, I caught Zanya shifting her head against Garrick’s chest. She looked right at me. The tears were gone. In their place was a triumphant, vicious smirk.

A few moments later, Garrick followed me upstairs. The second we were behind the closed doors of my bedroom, his anger did not waver. He paced the floor, fiercely defending Zanya’s presence in our home.

"She is innocent, Vespera!" he snapped, running a hand through his hair. "She came to me for protection. She was beaten and broken by her mate, and you want to throw her to the wolves? I will not abandon her."

"I am your mate!" I pleaded desperately, stepping toward him. "Garrick, we are bound by the Moon Goddess! Doesn't the sanctity of our mate bond mean anything to you?"

Garrick stopped pacing. He looked at me, his eyes entirely devoid of warmth. "I am an Alpha and you are incapable of satisfying my body's requirements," he declared coldly, the words slicing through me like a silver blade. "Zanya understands what I need. She will remain by my side. That is final."

As he turned to walk away, his hand accidentally brushed against my arm. The contact was brief, but it was enough. Deep inside my chest, my wolf, Kora, whimpered. Despite his cruelty, despite the betrayal, she yearned for his touch, reacting violently to the lingering embers of our sacred bond. I felt the agonizing pull of the mate bond tugging at my soul.

At that exact second, the distinct scent of jasmine and vanilla drifted under the crack of the bedroom door. Zanya. She was lingering in the hallway, listening right outside our room.

A sudden, reckless resolve filled my veins. If Garrick was so confident in his decision, I was going to force him to face the reality of what he was destroying. I stepped into his space, grabbing his wrists and pulling his arms tightly around my waist. I forced his body flush against mine.

Garrick gasped, his eyes widening. His body betrayed him instantly, his muscles tensing as the mate bond flared to life between us, demanding to be acknowledged. I stared directly into his eyes, locking my gaze with his.

"If you feel you can’t leave Zanya," I challenged him, my voice steady and loud enough for the eavesdropper outside to hear perfectly, "then reject me."

Garrick froze. He stared down at me in absolute horror, the color draining entirely from his face. His chest heaved against mine.

"I can’t reject you!" he snapped, his voice shaking with a sudden, raw panic. "I will not do that!"

At that exact moment, the bedroom door burst open.

Zanya stood in the doorway, staring at us wrapped in each other's arms. She slapped a hand over her mouth, letting out a dramatic, piercing sob that echoed down the hallway.

"Garrick!" she wailed, tears instantly flooding her face. She spun around and fled down the hall, her footsteps heavy and frantic.

Garrick instantly dropped my hands as if my skin had caught fire. He shoved me aside, stumbling backward toward the open door.

"Zanya, wait!" he shouted, completely abandoning me. He sprinted out of the bedroom and ran after her, his voice echoing with desperate explanations. "It was nothing! Zanya, please!"

I stood in the center of the room for a long second before my knees gave out. I collapsed onto the cold hardwood floor, my body shuddering violently. The harsh truth settled over me like a heavy winter shroud. Garrick was never going to choose me, but he was too weak, too possessive, to let me go. I was trapped.

I had to escape this living nightmare. I needed to reclaim my father's pack and free myself from this toxic, rotting marriage, but I knew I couldn't do it alone. Garrick was a powerful Alpha, and he would never just let me walk away. I needed a power greater than his. I needed the authority of the Senior Conclave to officially override Garrick's power and dissolve the union.

There was only one connection in my life who could help me reach them.

My college friend, Katarina.

Katarina’s brother was Alpha Varkas Krellen. He ruled the massive Boreal Territory, boasting a pack size that dwarfed ours three times over. He was known across the continent as a ruthless, cunning predator. A male who destroyed his enemies without a second thought. I had met him only once during our university days at a spring festival. I vividly remembered the way he had stared at me back then—with intense, unblinking, possessive interest. It had terrified me at the time, but right now, his terrifying reputation was exactly what I needed. Varkas held immense political clout within the Senior Conclave.

Desperate for a lifeline, I crawled across the floor and grabbed my phone off the nightstand. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely type in Katarina's name. I hit dial and pressed the phone tightly to my ear, praying to the Moon Goddess that she still had the same number.

I held my breath, listening to the tone.

The phone rang.

And rang.

And rang.

Katarina didn't pick up.