I stared at her. At the bright blue dress. At the smile that didn’t belong here.
“Do you have any idea what today is?” I asked, my voice shaking despite my efforts to keep it steady.
She blinked, clearly caught off guard.
“I—I…” Her gaze darted briefly to Alpha Cain before returning to me. “I’m sorry, I don’t—”
“This is the death anniversary of the Alpha heir I lost,” I said, the words spilling out before I could stop them.
A collective gasp moved through the crowd.
Faye’s face paled instantly.
“I didn’t know,” she said quickly, her eyes filling with tears. “I swear, I didn’t know. I just—I wore blue because…”
Her hand moved instinctively to her stomach.
“Because I just found out I’m carrying a baby boy.”
The world seemed to tilt.
“I thought it was something to celebrate,” she continued weakly, her voice breaking. “I didn’t mean any disrespect—”
“Celebrate?” My voice rose, disbelief and anger crashing together inside me. “You come here, dressed like that, on this day, and you call it a celebration?”
“I didn’t—”
“You should have known,” I snapped. “At the very least, you should have had the decency to ask.”
Tears streamed down her face now.
“I’m sorry…”
“That’s enough.”
Cain’s voice cut in sharply. I froze. Slowly, I turned to look at him. His expression was cold.
“Luna,” he said, his tone laced with irritation, “you’re being too harsh.”
For a moment, I thought I had misheard him. Too harsh?
“I didn’t even remember what today was,” he continued casually. “What more her? She’s an outsider.”
A hollow feeling spread through my chest.
“She didn’t know,” he added. “You’re making a scene over nothing.”
Nothing. My fingers trembled.
“This is not nothing,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper now.
But he only frowned.
“You’re being overly sensitive,” he said flatly. “And childish.”
Each word landed like a blow.
“Nonsensical.”
Stephanie’s POV
The door to my room opened without warning.
I didn’t need to look up to know who it was.
Only one person entered my space like he owned not just the room, but the air I breathed inside it.
Alpha Cain.
I sat quietly by the window, my hands resting on my lap, my thoughts still lingering from everything that had happened earlier. The humiliation. The way he dismissed me in front of everyone. The way he chose her—again.
“Luna.”
His voice was calm. Almost casual. As if yesterday had been nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
I turned my head slightly to face him.