Prologue - Poppy #2
Simone arches one brow, and I giggle internally, mischievously, because I can’t wait for the day Damian announces me as his mate. I know Simone won’t be surprised, because she’s always been suspicious. But I’ve never confirmed her suspicions, just for my own safety.
What I wasn’t counting on was being overheard, and I gasp when a mouthy, pointed arrow is aimed at me.
“You’re damn right you shouldn’t even be dreaming about it, Omega,” Charlotte, one of the wolves who works with us in the pack center, cuts in. She never misses a beat, making it known that she doesn’t like me because of my status.
“Everyone knows the future alpha will be taking Roxanne as his mate and luna,” Charlotte continues, and my gut twists with horror.
It’s not like this is new information. When Dorian left, gossip circles turned toward Damian with the rumors that he was going to pick his father’s beta’s daughter as his luna. Of course, Damian extinguished those rumors when we first began seeing each other, and I had no reason to doubt him.
But the knot in my gut tightens the moment Roxanne and her family join the Walkers on stage.
The reminder of what the pack believes is true reignites the flames of my fears, my dread, and instinctively, I place a hand on my belly where my child’s—our child’s—heartbeat can be felt.
The beating is faint, but it’s present enough to bring back my doubts when I’m growing our pup in my womb, but I’m nowhere near the father, nowhere near the commencement of the ceremony that officially names Damian Walker as the alpha of the Valley Walker Pack.
There’s the most distance between us, with him in front on the stage, and me hiding in the furthest corner in the back.
The difference between us is evident, and even I can’t ignore the whispers anymore when Alpha Chester’s beta is called up to pass his torch to Damian’s chosen beta, and he does so with Roxanne at his side.
My heart hammers in my chest, dread filling my ears like a deafening sound.
The rest of the ceremony becomes a blur as I’m filled with insecurity, watching the leaders of the pack and their families exchange words, oblivious to my mere existence.
And when the crown is placed upon Damian’s head, and the priest slices his palm to draw blood for the sacred skull of the Walker ancestor, Roxanne steps forward to do the honors. First with Damian’s chosen beta, and then with Damian himself.
The priest steps forward and nods to the redhead, who returns the skull to him and steps back to join her father.
Deep down, I know I shouldn’t be reading too much into everything I’m seeing.
I mean, if Dorian were still around, it would have been Damian performing the rites alongside the priest, not Roxanne.
But no matter how much I try to curb my irritation, my fear, every second that ticks by fills me with more worry, and my undoing comes when the ceremony is complete, and Roxanne hugs Damian, and he wraps his arms around her.
The hug lasts longer than it should, and she turns her head and whispers into his ear.
Something that puts a smile on his face—the kind of smile I have not seen since his brother left.
A lump forms in my throat, tears burning behind my eyes, threatening to spill over if I don’t hold it together. It doesn’t help when I hear more whispers about Damian and Roxanne, about how good they look together, and how perfect she’d be as the pack’s luna.
It’s too much for me to bear. The moment everyone stands up to celebrate Damian, I get to my feet and spin on my heel, bolting for the nearest exit.
It comes crashing into me with rapid speed, the realization that maybe I meant nothing to him, after all.
What if the rumors were true? What if he’s taking the old beta’s daughter as his mate?
Is that why he’s been so distant lately?
Is that why I barely see him, save for the few stolen moments some nights when he can “get away for a bit” and visit my cabin?
Is that why it feels like there’s a wall between us where I used to be able to speak freely, and felt he was capable of the same?
My heart thunders now as I race through the woods, leaving behind the ceremony and carrying my worst fears like baggage toward the cliff.
The one place that had become my solace over the years, where I’d go to get a better view of the moon and weep to my heart’s content as if I were speaking to my mother, is the one place I need to find, as it feels like my heart is breaking.
I hike to the top, dress bundled in one hand, the other clutching my necklace in a desperate attempt to feel close to my mother.
When I get there, the full moon is as radiant as what I’ve imagined my mother’s love would have been, and the Moon Goddess wraps me in a warm embrace that drops me to my knees.
The warmth of silver moonlight holds me tightly, and soon, my worries don’t feel as consuming as they were back in the hall. I no longer feel stifled by the whispers of the pack, no longer choked by the rumors.
I can finally breathe, so I exhale slowly, lifting my head to marvel at the full moon when I find a familiar face staring down at me.
“I thought I’d find you here,” Damian says with a crooked half-smile that disappears when his brows furrow. “Is everything okay?”
His concern kills my worries instantly, and I feel so foolish for all the doubts I had just now, the questions running a marathon in my head. Chuckling to myself, I take the hand he offers out to me and get to my feet, dusting myself off.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Er—I should be asking you the same question.”
Damian makes a dry, scoffing sound, touching the top of his dark brown curls where the crown had been resting for the ceremony.
“I guess I’m fine,” he sighs heavily. “That was harder than I thought it would be.”
“At least it’s over now. I know it’s been weighing heavily on you these past few months.”
Damian makes a short sound as he turns toward the edge of the cliff, kicking his boot into the dust and watching it scatter in front of him.
My nerves should be eased now that he’s here, as promised, meeting me on the cliff where we’d first begun our friendship.
But something still feels off. He doesn’t reach out for my hand again, doesn’t even turn back to look at me. He just stares at his boot, like he’s trying to find the right words.
“Damian…” I begin, stepping toward him awkwardly. But even when he holds an arm out and I step into his embrace, his touch feels cold, his eyes barren as he looks into mine.
He offers me a half-smile as he cups my cheek and presses a kiss to my lips, and though my heart ignites with warmth and tingles begin in the tips of my fingers, I can’t shake off the distinct feeling that his lips feel wrong when he kisses me.
They’re tight, cold, the kiss falling short of captivating my senses the way it usually would.
The distance that has been growing progressively between us suddenly reaches its peak, and even though Damian is right here physically, his mind, and maybe his heart, is elsewhere.
I break the kiss first, drawing back to look into his eyes, searching for something I can’t find. Frowning, I step back, and Damian turns back to the edge of the cliff as if he doesn’t even notice my hesitation.
Something inside me snaps, and I blurt out the words sitting heavily on my chest.
“Damian, there’s something I need to know.”
He hardly glances over his shoulder when he responds, “What is it, Poppy?”
“When are you going to claim me in front of the pack?”
Damian turns this time, his eyes darkening as he frowns at me. “I just became the alpha, and you’re worried about a mating ceremony?”
“Can you blame me?” I ask with a scoff, my arms lifting and falling in defeat. “Don’t you think it’s time we made our relationship official?”
Damian sighs, dragging his eyes away from me. “It’s not a good time, Poppy. I just became alpha. There’s just too much going on right now.”
My heart sinks, and my mind flashes with images of Damian standing on that stage with Roxanne, them hugging, the way he smiled when she whispered something in his ear. All I can hear are the rumors going around that Damian will choose Roxanne as his mate.
And it drives me over the edge.
He’s delaying this because he has no intention of claiming me in front of the pack.
The others were right. I’m just the omega. I shouldn’t have ever entertained the idea that I could be Damian’s mate, his luna.
“I understand,” I whisper, my throat tightening as a lump forms. But I stop myself from shedding a single tear in front of him. He doesn’t deserve it.
He doesn’t even deserve to know that he’s going to be a father.
How am I going to raise a child in this pack, where I’ll be forced to watch the man I love mate someone else?
I spin on my heel, ready to take off, when Damian’s voice stops me.
“Poppy, what are you doing? What do you mean, you understand? I don’t think you do.”
I scoff without turning back to face him. “Oh, I understand perfectly well, Alpha Damian.” His rank falls from my lips like venom as I place a hand on my belly. “I am just an omega. And you are the alpha.”
“Poppy, what the hell are you talking about?! You know that never mattered to me!”
“But it does to your pack, and you are their alpha now. Do what you need to do, Alpha Damian.”
“Poppy—”
I don’t wait around for Damian’s explanation, because I’ve already heard enough. His hesitation was all I needed to know, and now I see that I never mattered to him.
Feeling used, like our relationship meant nothing, and all he wanted was to drag things out so I could be his slut, I shift into wolf form and race down the mountain. He doesn’t come after me, and though it breaks my heart, in some ways, I am relieved.
I won’t be able to stay another second in Valley Walker while carrying the child of the man who used me. The man I loved is gone, and it’s time I accepted it.