When the Hidden Luna Rises novel Chapter 4

**Chained by Fate**
**Eliza Rowan**
**Chapter 4**

As dawn began to break, casting a soft, pale light across the horizon, Kelsey found herself still sitting on the roadside, just outside the villa. The chill of the night lingered in her bones, an unwelcome reminder of her solitude. She had spent the hours wrapped in her own thoughts, a bitter chill that had little to do with the weather. The first rays of sunlight pierced her eyes, yet she remained oblivious to Claire’s departure from Ryan’s house.

In that moment, a harsh realization settled in her heart: she had lost. Not just a battle, but the war—completely and utterly defeated.

Wrapping her arms around herself, she stood up, feeling the weight of despair pressing down on her. With a heavy heart, she turned her back on the villa, the very place that had once felt like home. The clothes she had discarded lay abandoned on the ground, remnants of a different time, a different Kelsey. She stubbornly refused to reclaim them, as if doing so would mean accepting Ryan’s pity, a charity she could not bear to acknowledge.

Nearby, a used clothing donation bin caught her eye. With a sense of urgency, she rifled through the discarded items, pulling out a few tattered pieces that would provide some semblance of warmth. Once dressed, she trudged to a cheap motel, each step weighted with the gravity of her situation.

The front desk clerk barely glanced up as she approached, his expression as cold as the morning air. “Card’s frozen,” he stated flatly, his tone devoid of sympathy.

For a brief moment, panic surged through her, but she quickly regained her composure. With trembling fingers, she retrieved another bank card from her pocket. It was worn and nearly smooth, the name barely visible. Memories flooded back—this was the card from her college days, a symbol of the money she and Ryan had saved up together while juggling part-time jobs. Back then, they had dreamed of using it for their wedding fund, a promise of a future together.

But that dream had shattered the moment Ryan ascended to the role of Alpha heir, transforming their modest savings into a mere joke in his eyes. Yet for Kelsey, this card was the last thread connecting her to him, a lifeline she had no choice but to grasp.

With a resigned swipe, she checked in and made her way to her room. The lock clicked shut behind her, a finality that echoed in her heart. Leaning against the wall, she slid down to the floor, her body rigid with cold, her heart encased in a frost that felt insurmountable.

That night, sleep enveloped her more deeply than ever before, but it was a sleep laced with despair, a darkness that seemed to seep into her very soul.

***

The days that followed were marked by Ryan’s absence. Their cold war had officially commenced, a silent battle played out in the glaring light of social media. Everywhere she looked, there were images of him and Claire, exuding a happiness that felt like a slap in the face.

He was seen accompanying her on the golf course, their laughter mingling with the sound of clinking clubs. They attended art exhibitions together, sharing intimate glances and whispered secrets. At high-society banquets, they danced as if the world had faded away, their chemistry palpable and undeniable. Ryan’s smile was tender, his gaze filled with an adoration that made Kelsey feel invisible, as if she had never existed in his life at all.

Her departure had merely cleared the stage for the perfect couple to shine.

That night, as she lay awake, the harsh glow of her phone screen illuminated a viral story that twisted her insides.

[EXCLUSIVE! Stormclaw’s Alpha & His Fated Mate? Inside Ryan Mitchell and Claire Sullivan’s Secret Rendezvous.]

Right below it, as if fate were mocking her, was her own humiliation.

[GRAPHIC! Outcast Omega’s Final Plea Ends in Humiliating Spectacle.]

The blurred images from that night when she was forced to strip were unmistakable, and the comments flooded in like a tidal wave of venom.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify