Chapter 2 THE NEGLECT

ARIA

The sun is up, shining so bright across the training yard. The sound swords clashing and the warriors snarling as they train in the open field wakes me.

I open my eyes unwillingly. My body still aches from the journey and my mind not at peace from the events of the night before. It's a miracle how I was able to fall asleep. Everywhere around me feels foreign and unwelcoming. I reach out instinctively, my hand brushing the empty space beside me.

It is the first morning I wake up as a fated mate – and I am alone.My chest tightens. Maybe he is in the next room. Maybe he had come in late, silently, just to make sure I was safe. The bond wants to believe it.

Gathering my courage, I rise and follow the sounds of the training.

I find him there – Damon, the Alpha, my mate – moving like a storm through the warriors. His blade flashes, his wolf's presence dominating the field, every strike sharp enough to make seasoned fighters falter.

He barks order, corrects stances, disarms a man twice his size with barely a flick of his wrist.But he never looked at me.I linger at the edge of the field, fingers tightening around my cloak.

"Damon," I call out softly.

For a moment, his head turns. I think I catch something there – heat, conflict, the bond pulling at him like it pulls at me. But then his expression closed, hard as stone.

"Later," he says flatly, before turning his back and resuming the spar.

The word strikes harder than any blade. Later. Always later.I swallow down the sting and force my feet to move. I can't stand here under the eyes of the warriors, not while they smirk and muttered:

Ignored by her Alpha.

The Luna, abandoned already?

I make an escape towards the dining hall, my stomach knotted tight. Elias catches up with me.

The long tables are crowded when we enter, chatter filling the space.

But as soon as we step through the door and into the great hall, everywhere goes silent. Every head I can scan is turned in our direction and I stop on my tracks, standing still from all the stares.Some look curious, others pity clearly on their faces. A few openly hostile.

Unwilling to go, Elias excuses himself for a moment after someone calls out to him.

Alone, my pulse races and my heart beats fast. I lower my gaze to avoid eye contact and I take a seat at the far end of one of the benches in the great hall.

The omegas serve me quickly, but my tongue cannot comprehend the taste of the food as my mind is wandering away, trying to get as far away as possible. Every bite tasted of scrutiny. Then, a shadow falls across the table.

"Mind if I sit?" Elias asks, voice low and warm.

He carries no judgment in his eyes – only that steady, familiar kindness that had soothed me since childhood. I smile, weakly.

"Please."

He sits next to me on the bench. He's so close. I get more comfortable with each passing minute as though his presence next to me is drowning all my thoughts.

"You don't have to face them alone." He says quietly. "I know what they're thinking. They don't see what I see."

I set my spoon down, my hands trembling.

"And what do you see?" Elias's gaze softens.

"Strength. Grace. A Luna they don't deserve."

My throat aches.

"Don't say that," I whisper. "He's my mate. He's... Damon is my bond."

Elias's jaw works, his smile flickering but holding steady.

"And I'll always be your friend," he says, softer now. "But a bond doesn't make a man worthy of you,"

I stare down at my nearly filled bowl of food, my vision gets blurry. My wolf howls inside my chest getting restless, yearning for her mate. The one who reaches to claim her.

And though Elias's words wrapped around me like comfort, I know they can't quiet this ache.

DAMON

Training begins at dawn. Theairsmellsofpineandearth. The sound of the clashing blades of warriors, their low growls, and comands fill the grouns. Yet, despite the routine, my thoughts were not on drills or strategy.

She's awake in her quarters. Alone. Afraid. I can feel it. My wolf howls for me to move, to claim her, to protect her, yet pride and duty hold me back.

Tristan, my right-hand Beta, is organising and training the warriors, ensuring the drills are running smoothly. Maeve, our finest healer, moves among the healer apprentices. With such concentration and care, her gentle hands heal those who are injured and guides those who are less skilled.

I can see Aria from afar, seated on the edge of the training yard, observing quietly, head bowed. Her small frame looks vulnerable among the hulking warriors.

Weak. Fragile. How can she be my Luna? The thought pricks me, yet the bond lashes at me, insisting. I clench my fists behind my back, the bond pulling at me like chains. She shouldn't be here. I can't let her weaken me like this.

She is mine. Then, I heard my name unexpectedly.

"Damon." In a still and gentle voice.

I turn, quicker than I wanted to. In that brief unguarded moment, some piece of my internal struggle slips through my mask of indifference. I quickly regained control, making sure nobody sees it.

Upon the sight of her face so close, I am tempted to give in. to draw her close, to protect her, to keep her safe. But I don't. Instead, I say flatly:

"Later." I turn and resume sparring with my warriors.

Collins, a warrior walks up to my side. She leans against a pillar, arms folded, voice silk over steel: "She won't last a moon cycle." My wolf snaps inside him because the words echoed his own doubts.

I can see Tristan from the corner of my eyes. He's studying me from the shadows, jaw tight. He wants to speak but bites it back, loyalty wrestling with unease.

I don't turn back for a while. But when I do, Aria is no longer in the training yard. A memory flash hits me: father's warning-"Love is a weakness an Alpha can't afford." I all but laughed.

ELIAS

Aria, my Aria.

Her movement is quiet and her body looks tense. I don't blame her, because I, too, can feel the stares of judgement. My hand reaches out for hers, a protective instinct I cannot fully control.

He doesn't see her. But I do. Every subtle gesture, every flicker of hesitation in the movements – the way she shields herself from the pack's stares – tells me more than Damon ever will.

As we enter the hall, a few pack members glance openly, whispering as if our presence alone is scandalous. I hate to leave her all by herself, but I have to when I hear my name.

I see her sitting at the far end of the bench by herself, not surprising.

"Mind if I sit?" I try to hide how I feel inside with a smile.

She smiles back, weakly. "Please."

I try to reassure her and give her even the slightest comfort.

"Don't mind them," I murmur, leaning close enough so only she can hear. "I know what they are thinking. They don't see what I see."

Aria's gaze shifts, and she looks up at me. I can feel her hesitation, almost as if she's seeking reassurance. "He's my mate," she whispers.

I mask the edge in my smile. "A bond doesn't make a man worthy of you. Remember that."

Her jaw tightens, conflicted. She doesn't argue, but the subtle tension in her posture says she understand. For now.