Is This A Joke? My Whole Pack Betrayed Me On The Day I Became Luna Chapter 01
On the morning of the Mate Ceremony, I got up at four to wait for the pack’s ceremony stylist.
But by seven, there was still no sign of anyone.
I called my best friend, Vesper Hale.
She laughed. “Celine, how could you be so careless?”
“The escort ceremony was cancelled last night. Everyone’s heading straight to the Firefly Forest.”
I grabbed my Luna gown and rushed to the Firefly Forest.
I was drenched in sweat by the time I got there, but the forest was empty. Not a single wolf in sight.
Vesper called again, barely holding back her laughter.
“Just kidding. You didn’t actually go to the Firefly Forest, did you?”
“Destination Mate Ceremonies are all the rage now. We moved everything to a private island. Everyone’s waiting for you at the airport.”
I dragged my heavy gown from one terminal to another.
But I searched the entire departure hall and didn’t see a single one of them.
Then Vesper sent a video. She was laughing so hard she could barely breathe.
“You’re too slow. We already left!”
“There’s no such thing as a Destination Mate Ceremony. We’re just going to the island for a week. We’ll throw you a make-up ceremony when we get back.”
The video panned around.
My fated mate, the Alpha of the Moon Shadow Pack, Damon Blackthorn, was carrying her luggage.
My father, Beta Garrick Arden, and my mother, Elspeth Arden, stood behind them.
They looked happier than they ever did in any of our family photos.
My mother felt my emotions through the pack bond, and her face hardened.
“It’s just a joke. What’s the big deal?”
“Vesper is so much more fun than you. You? You were born with a frown and a rulebook.”
Damon draped his jacket over Vesper’s shoulders and looked into the camera.
“Go home like a good little Luna and wait for me.”
“I’ll come back and finish our Mate Ceremony after the trip.”
I stared at every smiling face on that screen. Suddenly, even questioning them felt pointless.
No anger. No sadness. Just a hollow numbness in my chest.
I sent a message to my ceremony planner.
“Cancel the ceremony.”
From now on, I was done playing their games.
—
The moment I hung up, the airport announcement echoed through the terminal.
A typhoon was hitting the coast.
All flights were cancelled.
Damon, Vesper, and my parents walked out of the pack’s private terminal.
Their island flight was cancelled too.
Vesper spotted the gown in my arms and doubled over laughing.
“Did you really chase us all the way to the airport holding your Luna gown?”
“Celine, how are you still this gullible?”
My parents laughed along with her.
As if me waking up at four in the morning and running around the Firefly Forest and the airport in my gown was nothing more than harmless entertainment.
Vesper suddenly placed a hand on her belly and leaned toward me mysteriously.
“Actually, there’s another reason we postponed the Mate Ceremony for seven days.”
“I’m pregnant with Damon’s pup.”
In that moment, I caught a whiff of Damon’s scent on her.
My wolf stirred restlessly inside me.
Vesper kept smiling. “Almost three months now.”
I looked at Damon instinctively.
He didn’t deny it. He just stood there calmly.
My mother even sighed.
“What’s done is done. Don’t blame Vesper.”
“The pup is innocent, after all.”
In that moment, the betrayal pierced through my chest like a knife.
I nearly lost control. “So you cancelled my Mate Ceremony just to give my fated mate to her?”
A few seconds of silence. Then Vesper burst out laughing.
Damon curled his lips in amusement too.
Even my parents were howling with laughter.
“You fell for it again?”
Vesper patted my shoulder, tears streaming from her eyes.
“I don’t even have a boyfriend. Whose pup would I be carrying?”
“Celine, the look on your face when you’re about to lose it is hilarious.”
Damon tapped her on the forehead.
“Stop teasing her like that.”
For a moment, I thought he was defending me. But then he turned to me.
“And you.”
“You know Vesper loves to joke. Why do you always take it so seriously?”
My mother waved her hand impatiently.
“Why are you making that face?”
“You’ve never been able to take a joke since you were little.”
“We’re all having a good time, and you make it look like we’re bullying you.”
Every single one of them knew those words would hurt me, would push me to the edge.
They deliberately didn’t explain. They just waited to enjoy my humiliation.
Just like they had for the past ten years.
Back when I took the Pack Academy entrance exam, Vesper told me my testing location had changed.
I ran through a storm all the way to the Western Territory, only to find the real test site was still at the academy.
A passing border patrol had to escort me back through the storm.
I made it to the academy with less than a minute before the gates closed.
After the test, everyone gathered around and laughed at me.
My mother tried to smooth things over. “Vesper just wanted you to relax. Don’t ruin everyone’s mood.”
Even Damon once posed for a staged photo with Vesper to prank me.
They pretended to kiss.
I rushed over like a maniac, only to find they’d already set up their phones, waiting to capture my reaction.
Every single time, I had to force my wolf back under control and choke back the tears threatening to spill over. I’d force a smile instead.
Gradually, everyone loved Vesper for being fun, while they found me dull, boring, and oversensitive.
I used to think that as long as I learned to laugh along, I could stay in their circle.
Only today did I finally understand.
All their joy was built on my pain.
I lowered my head, one hand pressed to my chest.
Strangely, it didn’t hurt anymore.
Maybe when disappointment reaches its limit, you stop crying.
You lose all desire completely.