A Shattered Birthday

Sienna POV

The fragile remnants of my hopeful heart shattered into a thousand jagged pieces the exact moment my tear-filled eyes locked onto the glowing screen of my phone. The digital image staring back at me was a cruel, undeniable reality: a selfie sent directly by my stepsister and supposed best friend, Roxy. In the photo, she and Ryker Vance were passionately kissing, their faces pressed tightly together, completely lost in each other. The caption beneath the image was like a physical knife to my chest. It read, “It just happened. I’m so sorry, Sienna!”

Today was supposed to be my eighteenth birthday. It was a monumental milestone, the day I was absolutely certain that Ryker and I would finally recognize each other as destined mates. I had dreamed of this day for years, praying to the Moon Goddess that he would look at me with that undeniable recognition in his eyes. Instead, sitting paralyzed at the cold kitchen island, my misery only deepened with every passing second, completely eradicating my appetite. I couldn't even stomach looking at the breakfast spread laid out before me.

My father's authoritative voice cut sharply through my despair. "Get ready when you come back from school today," he announced, walking briskly into the kitchen. His tone was definitive, leaving absolutely no room for argument. "We have been invited by the Alpha’s family for dinner."

My blood ran cold. I knew exactly what this meant. The Alpha was preparing to officially announce Ryker and Roxy’s engagement to the entire pack. It was a formal tradition as soon as the future Alpha turned eighteen, and there was no escaping it.

"I’m sorry, I can’t go," I pleaded hoarsely, my fingers gripping the edge of the kitchen island. My voice cracked under the heavy weight of my impending tears.

But my father wasn't having a shred of it. "I am not asking you, Sienna," he growled. His eyes darkened, and his oppressive Alpha aura pressed down heavily on me, forcing my wolf into submission. "You are coming with us and that’s it!"

He desperately claimed that the Alpha had invited us specially for my birthday, a blatant attempt to placate me. It was an insulting excuse, though neither he nor my stepmother, Gemma, had even bothered to wish me a happy birthday yet. I felt like nothing more than an afterthought in my own home.

I dreaded the terrible thought of witnessing their supposed mate-pull in person. Ever since Roxy arrived in our lives, the electric, magnetic connection Ryker and I once shared had vanished into thin air. He had claimed her as his mate almost immediately, completely and utterly ignoring my existence from that moment on.

What made the profound betrayal even more excruciating was the fact that Roxy was secretly two-timing him with his best friend, Lukas. She played the innocent mate to Ryker while sneaking around, and she had maliciously forced me to hide her deceit, demanding my silence under the guise of our sisterhood.

Steeling my broken heart, I grabbed my keys and drove myself to Vance Academy. I was fiercely determined to build impenetrable walls around my unrequited love. I wouldn't let them see how much I was bleeding inside. But the universe had other plans.

The very moment I opened my classroom door, my eyes landed on Roxy and Ryker lip-locked once again, their bodies pressed flush together in front of everyone. The scent of their mixed pheromones made my stomach churn violently. I couldn't handle the physical evidence of their bond.

A searing agony flared within the depths of my chest. It was a suffocating pain. Unable to breathe, I turned sharply and fled desperately to the bathroom, locking myself in a stall. I violently puked until my stomach was empty, and then I sobbed uncontrollably on the cold, unforgiving floor until I completely lost track of time.

At exactly 1 PM, my phone rang. The screen flashed with Roxy's name.

I swiped to answer. She didn't even ask where I was or if I was okay. She just dove straight into her own selfish problems. "I want to meet Lukas and tell him I want to break from him," she said without any hesitation. "Please, can you personally convey this message to him?"

My lips quivered as anger and sorrow fought for dominance. "You love him," I said, my voice trembling. "You should tell him, not me. That would be… cruel."

Instead of taking responsibility for her messy love life, she ruthlessly manipulated my raw grief. "Sienna, I know you hate me for being Ryker’s mate, but what can I do? This is the moon goddess’s decision. Please, just once, do this for me, okay? Tell him I will marry Ryker, and not him."

Swallowing the suffocating knot of complex emotions lodged tightly in my throat, I closed my eyes and finally resigned to my miserable fate.

"I don’t hate you…" I lied softly. "Okay, I will tell Lukas."

Washing my tear-swollen, pathetic face in the sink, I tied my blonde hair into a messy bun and stared at my reflection, letting out a heavy sigh. Some birthday it was going to turn out to be.