Naomi stood off to the side of the hall, watching everyone around her celebrate with people who actually loved them. Families. Friends. Well-wishers with warm hugs and full arms.
Some healers-in-training even had their mates and pups beside them, congratulating them, handing over gifts wrapped with real care.
But her?
Her chest tightened around the card Alpha Kaidan had tossed at her earlier that morning.
That was it. Just a card. No warm words, no real support, nothing but the same coldness that followed her everywhere he was concerned.
She stood completely alone, no family, no friends, feeling like a stray pup wandering somewhere it didn’t belong. Her father hadn’t been able to make it. And Alpha Kaidan had clearly chosen a meeting over her, the same way he always did.
Today should’ve been the best day of her life. Instead it felt like the loneliest one she’d had in a long time, another quiet reminder of exactly how little she mattered to him.
Still, she couldn’t stop herself from glancing toward the entrance every few minutes. Hoping. Some stupid, stubborn part of her still hoping he’d walk through that door. Even though she already knew better. He’d never once shown up when she needed him. Why would today be any different?
She took a breath and turned to grab a glass of wine, but before she’d even taken a step, the door swung open behind her.
And he walked in.
"Alpha Kaidan..." she whispered, stunned.
For a second she thought her mind was playing tricks on her. It wasn’t. He was actually here.
Her heart slammed against her ribs, and a smile broke across her face before she could stop it. He came. He actually came for her.
Her feet started moving on their own, ready to close the distance between them, but the excitement didn’t survive long. That was when she noticed who stood beside him. He hadn’t come alone.
He’d brought her.
"Serena."
The woman the pack, the gossip, even Alpha Kaidan’s own mother, kept quietly pairing him with, despite the fact that he already had a mate.
To everyone watching, Alpha Kaidan and Serena looked like they belonged together. To Christine, her mate’s mother, Serena came from proper bloodlines, the kind she believed actually suited the Vaughn name, unlike Naomi ever could.
And to the pack’s inner circle, Alpha Kaidan and Serena were the pairing everyone still wanted, the alliance that should have been, the one fate had cruelly interrupted.
They all hated that fate had kept them apart, and they all silently hoped the two would somehow find their way back to each other.
No one thought about her. No one wondered what it felt like watching her own mate get linked, again and again, to his first love. And worse, her own mate never seemed to care either.
He never corrected the rumors. Never once reminded anyone that he was already bonded, or that it wasn’t right to keep pairing him romantically with someone from his past.
Naomi’s feet froze where she stood, and her smile dissolved like smoke caught in wind. That same familiar ache crawled back into her chest, the one she felt every single time she saw the two of them together.
"Oh my goddess, it’s the Alpha!" someone whispered, eyes lighting up.
"He’s with Serena!" another voice murmured, practically glowing with admiration.
Some people glanced her way with pity. Others looked at her like she was the villain standing in the middle of someone else’s love story. Maybe, to them, she was.
Serena held onto Alpha Kaidan’s arm like it had always belonged to her. Her smile widened as she waved at the crowd with easy confidence.
"Seems like the Alpha really doesn’t care about his mate," someone whispered behind her. "He brought Serena Cole to his own mate’s healer trial."
"Mate? Please," another voice scoffed. "We all know that title should’ve gone to Serena, if she hadn’t been taken four years ago."
"I don’t understand why that gold-digger keeps forcing herself into a bond with a man who clearly doesn’t love her," someone else added. "She should just let the Alpha be free to be with who he actually wants."
The word rang in her ears. Did they mean unbonded? Was that what Alpha Kaidan really wanted? She asked herself the question even though, somewhere underneath, she already knew the answer.
The whispers kept spreading around her, louder now. And still, not one voice rose in her defense. Every eye stayed locked on the two of them.
Her gaze stayed fixed on Alpha Kaidan as they walked closer, and she could barely hold back the pain building behind her ribs.
"Congratulations on your trial, Naomi," Serena said, her voice soft and sweet as honey. "Such a big milestone."
To everyone else in that room, she sounded like the kindest soul alive. But underneath the gentle tone and the practiced smile, Naomi could see it plainly. She was being mocked.
"We would’ve come sooner, but I was busy launching my new alliance today," Serena continued. "Thank the goddess Alpha Kaidan came to support me."
Naomi froze at that last part. Alpha Kaidan had been with her? So this was the "matters" he’d mentioned that morning?
She should’ve known the second he compared her to Serena that he’d end up choosing her instead.
She’d already accepted that Alpha Kaidan never truly cared for her. But she never imagined he’d sideline her happiness completely just to stand beside Serena, especially not today.
Her eyes drifted slowly to Alpha Kaidan. He looked back at her with the same calm, unreadable expression he always wore, like none of this meant a thing to him.
"When I remembered it was also your trial today, I told Alpha Kaidan we should stop by," Serena added.
She told him. So he wouldn’t have shown up at all if she hadn’t suggested it. That stung more than Naomi wanted to admit, but she understood exactly what Serena was doing.
She was letting Naomi know, without saying it outright, that Alpha Kaidan had been with her, and that he never would’ve come otherwise.
"And before I forget, I brought you something," Serena said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a small gift box, holding it out toward her.
"Isn’t Serena just so kind-hearted?" someone in the crowd said. "Left her own celebration to come to Naomi’s trial, and even brought her a gift."
"Kind enough to bring the Alpha along too. Souls like hers don’t come around often," another added.
Naomi stared at the box. Her eyes drifted from the gift to Alpha Kaidan, then back to Serena, catching the faint, sharp curl of a smile hiding behind her expression. She was good at this, this game of playing gentle just to win everyone’s approval.
The crowd watched, waiting, wondering why she hadn’t taken it yet.
"Can you hurry up and take the gift?" Alpha Kaidan said, impatience creeping into his voice. "You don’t need to drag everything out."
A few people laughed quietly. Even Serena let out a soft chuckle. Alpha Kaidan’s face stayed completely flat, like humiliating her in front of everyone was just another ordinary moment for him.
If she took the gift, it would only deepen the humiliation, accepting a present from the woman everyone already believed was her mate’s true match. And if she refused it, she’d be branded the rude, ungrateful one.
But she was too worn down to keep standing there, too aware of every eye on her.
Without another word, she turned and started walking toward the exit.
"Naomi!" Alpha Kaidan called after her, surprise cutting through his voice.
He moved to follow, but Serena caught his arm and held him back.
"It’s okay, Alpha Kaidan. I’ll go check on her," she said sweetly.
Naomi nearly laughed. Check on her? Since when had Serena ever actually cared?
"Please, excuse me," she murmured, slipping through the crowd and heading straight for the door.