Chapter 2 Chapter 2

Caleb's POV

"Do you take Alpha Darius as your mate…" the elder's deep voice echoed from the podium, carrying across the hall like a solemn decree. My mother didn't hesitate. She responded instantly, her voice steady and full of eagerness.

And that was when the truth hit me like a slap to the face.

Up until that very moment, I hadn't known that Alpha Darius was the man she intended to marry. Not once had she mentioned his name. Not even a hint. And now, standing here, hearing her vow herself to him in front of the entire SilverFang Pack, I felt my stomach twist.

I couldn't stay to watch.

I turned toward the hallway, forcing my feet to move even as my heart weighed me down.

Alpha Darius had a son called Ronan. The same Ronan I had secretly admired for years, back when my mother worked as a servant for the SilverFang Pack. I'd see him every time I followed her to the estate, and somewhere between those visits, my admiration had turned into something deeper. I used to imagine that one day, maybe, I'd be brave enough to tell him how I felt.

But now, that dream was gone.

Ever since my breakup with Maddox, I had been trying to console myself with that little spark of hope — the thought that maybe I still had a chance with Ronan. But my mother had crushed that completely. She had ruined even that fragile piece of my heart.

Tears burned my eyes as I walked down the hallway, every step echoing with pain. Pain from Maddox's betrayal. Pain from a mother who never once stopped to ask what was wrong with me. Pain from realizing that she had chosen a path that would only make things harder for both of us.

Soon she would become Luna of the SilverFang Pack. And I already knew what they would say.

A lowly omega servant marrying an Alpha? Of course they would call her a gold digger. They'd sneer and whisper behind her back, say she had trapped him. And somehow, those whispers would fall back on me.

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice someone approaching until I bumped into them. Before I could even apologize, a sharp slap landed across my cheek, loud and stinging.

I froze, my hand instinctively going to my face as I lifted my gaze and met his.

Betty.

"If it isn't the gold digger's son," he sneered, his eyes glinting with cruel satisfaction.

His words dripped with venom, but I held his gaze, refusing to look away. Betty was the Beta's son, one of the pack's highborns. He had always been close to Ronan, always part of his circle. I had spent years avoiding him and the others like him, because I knew my place. I was just a wolfless omega and the son of a servant.

But now, with my mother's marriage to the Alpha, I knew that avoiding him would no longer be possible. Our paths were bound to cross again, and somehow, I could already feel that this was just the beginning of what he had in store for me.

Not wanting any trouble — not today, not after everything that had already happened — I tried to walk away. I'd had enough since finding out that my mother's new mate was the Alpha of the SilverFang Pack. The whispers, the stares, the disbelief… I was already drowning in it all.

But before I could take another step, Betty's hand shot out and tangled in my hair, yanking me backward so hard that I fell to the floor. Pain shot through my scalp and I gasped, clutching my head as his laughter filled my ears.

"Let me go, Betty. I don't want your trouble," I said, forcing the words out through gritted teeth as I tried to get back up. I meant it — I truly did.

Before, I had always endured his cruelty in silence. Every time he found me helping my mother sweep the pack grounds, he would come around just to taunt me. He'd mock the way I dressed, the way I smelled, the way my mother bowed too low when greeting others. Betty had always found pleasure in bullying those beneath him, and I had been an easy target.

Back then, I'd kept quiet because I was a nobody. Because I couldn't risk my mother losing her job.

Even now, I was still that same nobody. My mother's remarriage to the Alpha wouldn't change that. I knew it. Everyone did. But I wasn't ready to let him extend his bullying to today.

Betty's laughter broke through my thoughts — a chilling sound that rattled my bones. I froze. I knew that laugh. Whenever he laughed like that, it meant something bad was coming. And this time, I had no idea how far he'd go.

"He thinks his poverty-stricken, gold-digging mother marrying the Alpha makes him special," Betty sneered, his voice dripping with venom. His group of followers burst into laughter behind him, each desperate to stay in his good graces.

"He wants to play prince so bad, poor thing," one of them mocked.

"The mutt actually thinks his rank will change overnight because his mother's leeching off the Alpha," another spat, his tone full of disgust.

Their laughter grew louder, echoing through the hallway. Each word cut deep, but Betty's smirk was the sharpest of all — his satisfaction, his pride in breaking others, his enjoyment of my humiliation.

I clenched my fists and pushed myself to my feet, my voice trembling but firm. "You can insult me all you want, but keep my mother's name out of your mouths."

They could call me wolfless, a curse, trash — whatever they wanted. But my mother? No. I wouldn't let them drag her. I had promised my late father I would always protect her, no matter what. That promise was the only reason I hadn't interrupted her mating ceremony today.

One of Betty's friends let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "Did you hear that? The little nobody dares to give the Beta's son orders!"

The group laughed again. And as I stood there, trembling but defiant, I realized that this was only the beginning. Betty wasn't going to stop. Not now that my mother was Luna.

"Seems like he's forgetting his place as nothing but a slave meant to clean the filth off our feet," another voice chimed in, the words slicing through me like a blade.

I rolled my eyes, refusing to give them the satisfaction of watching me crumble. I was tired — tired of them, of the constant taunts, of a world that wouldn't let me breathe without reminding me where I belonged. Without another word, I turned to leave. I just wanted to walk away, to have one moment of peace.

But I should've known better. Betty was never finished.

"How dare you try to leave when I'm not done speaking to you?" he yelled, his voice sharp enough to pierce through the music drifting faintly from the mating grounds. The celebration continued outside, the laughter and cheers masking the cruelty happening here in the shadows.

"Please, Betty. Let me go," I said, my voice barely steady. "I don't have time for this."

"Well, I have time for this, Caleb!" he snapped, yanking my hair again, harder this time. Pain shot through my scalp and I stumbled back as he pulled me closer, his face twisted with hatred.

"You think your mother's remarriage makes you above me now?" he hissed, his breath hot against my face. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but you'll always be the same wolfless, miserable servant's son crawling at my feet!"

His words burned, but what came next burned even more. He drew his hand back, ready to slam my head against the wall.

Instinct kicked in. I caught his wrist midair and grabbed a fistful of his hair, yanking it back with every ounce of strength I had.

"What are you doing? Let me go!" he screeched, still tugging at mine.

"Then let me go too!" I shouted back, refusing to back down this time.

We pulled and twisted, both struggling to overpower the other. His followers stood frozen, unsure whether to step in. No one dared touch the Beta's son — not unless they wanted trouble.

"Let me go, you wolfless mutt!" Betty spat, his voice shrill with anger.

"Let me go too!" I shot back, my fingers tangled tightly in his hair.

The air around us grew thick with tension, our harsh breaths the only sound cutting through the music beyond the walls.

"What the hell is going on here?!"

The commanding voice sliced through the chaos, freezing us both where we stood. Our grips loosened in

stantly as we turned toward the sound, dread creeping into my chest before I even saw who it was.