A Luna's Broken Heart

Chapter 2: A New Resident

-Selene-

“Such a great party,” someone I had forgotten the name of, said.

I knew she was mated to an alpha and came from a very rich family. She was wearing all too many diamonds to show exactly how rich she was.

“So glad you came,” I told her.

“Tell me, how is it ruling a pack all alone?”

“It’s … hard, but I’m happy to be given the chance to take care of the people I call family.”

More females joined us, as I started to speak about my position, which I fought for all on my own. They were like vaulters, wanting to know the latest gossip, and maybe even hoping I would slip in some way, let the pain show through the cracks.

“But you do plan on finding yourself an alpha soon, right?”

“I …”

“Of course, she is. A female can’t rule on her own, not even someone born to be luna,” Micha said.

She was an old “friend” of mine. Not that we were really friends. She loved this part of life. The gossip. The money. The power her mate brought her. It was all a drug to her, and if she got the chance to stab someone in the back, she would. So, I held her close, even if I hadn’t been able to contact her for months. She had been “out” every time I tried to call her, then suddenly, she was here, at the party. Acting like everything was just great between us.

“That’s right. You need an alpha. Do you have your eyes on someone or maybe you already have made an agreement with someone?”

I wanted to tell them yes, just to make that hungry look in their eyes go away. I knew a yes, would give me the power and they wouldn’t give me a look of pity, that we all knew wasn’t pity but a feeling of victory, because I, Selene Wilson, a former star among all these people, was suddenly struggling to keep her head above water. After Valerio and I broke ties, I had suddenly, in their eyes, fallen from grace. I was no longer the same, yet I was changing all of that. Slowly, but I was.

“Not yet, but soon.”

They just nodded, but I could see the smiles on their lips were just what I had expected. They were “happy” that I hadn’t yet found an alpha to “protect” me and secure my status and power. They were happy I wasn’t the same powerful person I once was, because I was no longer the queen.

“Will you excuse me? I just need to go freshen up," I said.

The room had gotten too hot, and the air felt thin. I needed a break, even if only for a few minutes. I found the nearest bathroom and locked myself inside, before panting like I had just run a marathon. I placed my hand over my heart, while trying to calm myself. Then I walked over to the mirror. I placed my hands on the sink, while slowly coming back down to earth.

“Calm yourself. Remember it is all a game … At least they are here. They accept you back. It is all going to be okay. You’ll get your life back … you’ll get it all back.”

I nodded, finding some confidence in myself, before straightening my back and smoothing out my dress. Then I walked over to the door, unlocked it and walked outside. The females I had talked to, Micha included, were still standing in their secure little circle. I was just about to go over there when Micha suddenly spoke up:

“To be thrown away for a traitor’s daughter. It’s pathetic.”

“I know. I mean, what did she think would happen? Did she really believe we would just accept her back?”

“This party is so bad. It is clear she has lost her touch. Not surprisingly, the king was no longer interested.”

“The king was never interested,” Micha said. “Had it not been for her father, he would never have looked her way. She is simply nothing. She always was nothing.”

I felt like screaming, yet I had lost my voice. It felt like the very ground beneath my feet was suddenly cracking open and swallowing me whole. What had I been thinking? I really had believed this was my ticket back. I thought I had “served” my punishment, being banned and isolated for months … Now I saw it … I was never going to be welcomed back. Never.

I turned around. The house felt so suffocating now. I couldn’t be here. I didn’t want to be here. I ran upstairs, the tears were already streaming. I closed the door hard behind me, before leaning up against it and giving over to the pain and crying so much it hurt. Was this my life now? Was I always going to be the joke of the society? The perfect little female thrown away for a traitor’s daughter, who tried to kill the king himself. I really was the joke in their eyes. I always would be.

“Why me?” I cried silently.

I had always tried to be the best. At everything. I always aimed to please, just like I had been taught. I was never cruel or mean, yet I had been wanted by no one. I was still wanted by no one.

“Why me?”

But there was no one to answer me. The only sound in the room was me, sobbing, crying, letting out a small high pitched noise, because words suddenly became too hard to speak.

***

“Selene? Selene?”

“Huh?”

“I called you twice, did you not hear me?” Isabella asked me.

She was standing in my office, right in the doorway, looking at me with a worried look. She had a file in her hand. Not very big and it had a sand-colored case protecting the information inside.

“No, sorry,” I said, closing my computer, that I had been staring at but not really looking at anything. “What is it?”

Isabella came into the room. Her eyes hadn’t changed, yet she didn’t seem like she was going to comment on my strange behavior. I knew I didn’t look the same. The night before still played like a bad movie in my head, and the females’ words still stung in my heart. I wasn’t dressed to impress when I came to work, but I still tried to always look good. I wore a white pair of slacks and a white shirt with a dark blue blazer. My hair was pulled up into a high ponytail and I wore a little make-up and a pair of golden earrings, and a pair of black heels.

Isabella was wearing a black shirt and grey pants, together with some comfortable sneakers. She was very relaxed and not just her clothes, but her whole personality. She never strived to please everyone around her, constantly trying to be what everyone needed. She was just her, and I felt sort of jealous. Her and Damian just had their ceremony a month ago, even though the two of them had already been fully mated. She even invited me, but I never showed up. I didn’t want to be rude, but I tried to keep as little contact as I could with the king and the people around him. I was happy with Isabella’s help and I enjoyed her company, but we only saw each other at work. It was how I wanted it. I hadn’t seen Valerio since last fall. We were in the beginning of July now.

“The female from last week. The one Damian and Garrett found in the woods only a few miles from here. She is being checked out of the hospital and transferred here.”

“When?” I asked.

“Now.

“Now?!”

Isabella nodded, before putting the file in front of me. It didn’t say much except her first name, and the location she had been found in, and her hospital report, of course. Other than a strong case of dehydration and being extremely tired, there was nothing else. No cuts. No bruises. Nothing. We had no idea where she came from or why she had been all alone passed out in those woods, but it was my job to find out, and see if someone was looking for her.

“I’ll put her on the first floor. The first door to the right,” Isabella said, and gave me a small smile before leaving.

I thanked her as she left, while continuing to stare at the file in front of me. This female was a mystery, and I didn’t particularly like mysteries. They often lead to a not-so-great outcome, but none the less it was one I had to solve.