Scars Of Betrayal: Watch Me Shine

Serena's POV:

The silence in the apartment pressed against my chest like a boulder. I stood in the middle of the living room, the unshifted wolf soul deep within me aching faintly.

"I said, go brew the soup, Serena." Caleb's voice came through the crack of the door again. Every word carried the coercive pressure of an Alpha, a biological command that could bypass reason and directly control lower-ranking wolves.

My Omega instincts screamed at me to submit, my legs almost moving toward the kitchen against my will.

"No." I resisted with excruciating difficulty.

The study door was shoved open. Caleb stepped out, roaring, "What did you just say?"

I forced myself to meet his furious gaze. "I said no, Caleb. Brew it yourself."

Caleb was utterly stunned. An Omega defying an Alpha was simply unheard of. He stared at me, his chest heaving violently, but ultimately, he did not force me further. Instead, he let out a heavy sigh and walked into the kitchen alone, radiating frustration and anger.

Early the next morning, I walked wearily toward the dining room, but my footsteps abruptly stopped.

Caleb and Wendy were sitting at the mahogany table, premium raw venison reserved for elite warriors placed in front of them, while my seat was completely empty. The air was thick with Wendy's deliberately released, cloyingly sweet pheromones, simulating a heat cycle.

"Caleb worked on the runes all night; he needs to replenish his strength," she said softly, leaning her body almost entirely against his.

Caleb did not push her away. He merely shot me a cold glance. "There is leftover oatmeal in the kitchen. Eat it and don't bother us." With that, he grabbed his coat and left for the underground laboratory with Wendy.

The oatmeal at the bottom of the pot made a dull bubbling sound. I scooped out a bowl and waited until the front door locked before leaving this place that no longer felt like a home.

Throughout the day, I still fulfilled my duties as an unacknowledged Luna.

I visited the low-ranking families, comforted the sick wolf pups, and organized the territory's supply lines.

When night fell, I dragged my aching body, sore from heavy manual labor, back to the apartment.

Caleb was already in the bedroom.

He wasn't resting; he was waiting for me.

The moment I stepped into the room, he pointed a finger at my chest.

"Starting tonight, you are not allowed to step foot into the east corridor."

I froze, confusion welling up inside me.

"That is where the study and the guest rooms are. Why?"

"Because your Omega scent is too chaotic and disorganized," Caleb said coldly.

"Wendy and I need a pure environment to calculate the magical matrix. The royal inspection is next week, and your weak aura disrupts the flow of magic."

My heart turned completely to ice.

"You are restricting my movements in my own territory?"

A wolf pack's territory was the most sacred place, an absolute haven of trust.

"You don't even have a wolf form, Serena. You only get in the way."

He turned his back to me and lay down in the bed.

I lay beside him, staring into the pitch-black ceiling.

We fell asleep with our backs to each other, the distance between us like a freezing chasm.

When I woke up the next morning, Caleb was already gone.

I walked out of the bedroom and instantly stiffened.

At the entrance of the east corridor, a magical barrier pulsating with a faint blue light slowly thrummed.

Hanging dead center on the barrier was a wooden sign.

It read: "Omegas Strictly Prohibited from Entering."