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[Making Claims]

ARIANNE

“Why do you continue to torment yourself like this, Ari? You are in love with a man who only sees you as a plaything when he needs a release. Alpha Sebastian can never love you. He is an Alpha, which means his second mate is somewhere out there, and so is our mate,” Sable, my wolf, growled in my head.

That did not sit well with me. Sebastian and I loved each other. I would wait. Even if it took him years to see what I could offer him, he was worth every second I had to wait for him to come around. He needed me, and I needed him just as much, if not more.

“Sable, you do not understand; you are a wolf. You have never been in love. So, you will not comprehend the heartache. You do not know what it is like to seek their touch, to wish to see their smile; if only it could make your day bearable. That is what Sebastian is to me. He is the center of my universe.”

I peered out at the tannin-brown woodland with skyscraper-like trees. The morning stars sparkled like glittering snowflakes, whereas wood sorrel flecked the blanket of grass under my feet. I meandered forward, in and out of shaded glades. The warmth of the early light warmed my skin.

“I am a wolf, yes, but I know more than you can imagine. I understand the need for a single person designed solely to love you. The Moon Goddess gave her children the ability to love. So, sure, Ari, I understand what it is like to be in love and want someone to love you. Regardless, Sebastian is not that person for us.”

"I cannot get over him that easily, Sable. He has been the only man I have ever loved.” My heart tightened as tears trickled down my tear-stained cheeks. “My heart belongs to him, and I will risk it all for him.”

For years, I sat back and watched Sebastian and Sasha. They were so happy and in love. She was always smiling at him, and for years, he had been so chivalrous and would do anything to make her happy. I envied them for so long that I grew a hatred toward Sasha for having everything I wanted.

Sasha was a typical, perfect Luna, and everyone adored her. Not only because she was the Luna. Also, the pack relied on her as much as their Alpha. Everyone she encountered appreciated her generosity and compassion. She and I grew even closer after I moved into the packhouse.

No one seemed to pay as much attention to me as they did to her, though. I became even more invisible to them. Still, I sought what she had. I coveted their admiration. She did not have to do anything, yet everyone respected her without reservation. Anyone would fall at her feet to keep her feet dry in a puddle. Was that done for me? Not at all! They would rather shove my face into it. What was so special about her that anyone would go to such lengths for her?

It did not help that my father was the previous Beta, and the current Beta was my step-brother. Nor did it help that my mother was the pack slut, sleeping with every man to numb the pain of losing her mate, my father, who died shortly after former Alpha Dimitri met his untimely demise.

Since then, my mother has been drinking. She overmedicated on pain relievers at first, and when that did not work, she just drank. On some days, I would find her passed out on the couch and would not move for hours, succumbing to fatigue and unaware of what was going on around her. Then again, what about me? I lost him too. Did she care? Of course, she did not, and why would she? She would preferably drink her sorrows away and sleep with the next man who smiled her way. Yet, she could not find the time to be my mother.

Now that Sasha was dead, I should not feel bad for her in the least. She had everything I wanted, and now it was my time to have it all. That included Sebastian’s heart, the respect of this pack, and in the end, becoming Luna and his mate. I had wanted no one or anything as much as I wanted this.

“What a pleasant surprise to see you out here, Arianne. But aren’t you supposed to be training?” Luna Madeline inquired, her words slicing through my thoughts like butter.

Startled out my head, I sat up, straightening my posture as I had relaxed slightly. “Lu-Luna Madeline, I did not see you there.” I sprang to my feet, ironing out any creases in my clothing.

Her laughter was soft, unlike any I had ever heard from my mother. “I did not intend to scare you, sweetheart, but why are you sitting out here by yourself?”

I lowered my head instinctively, unable to bring myself to tell her the truth. How was I supposed to say I was crazy about your son? Or that we had been screwing each other since his mate died? I did not want to seem like I wanted his mate dead. I only wanted him. Her death, well, in my defense, that was a bonus. A sad bonus, albeit. Still, I was not about to pass up the opportunity to be with him.

Now, I only needed to figure out how to get Sebastian to see I could be so much more than his bed warmer. I had no friends to have those girly talks with about boys. Neither could I go to my mother or Rory with this problem.

Luna Madeline sat down on the bench I was sitting on and invited me to join her by patting the space next to her. After all, she was my Luna, so I did not hesitate to do what she asked.

“I know things haven’t been easy for you since your father died and your mother—” she paused, her words fading away with the wind and her face distant.

I sat beside her, fumbling with my hands, and trying to pull words out of my mouth. I did not know what to say to her. “Perhaps I should leave and give you a minute to yourself.” Luna Madeline did not react, not right away, at least.

“Oh, Arianne, dear. A minute before you go running off to screw my son in all corners of his office,” she sang sweetly, rising to her feet.

Stunned was not even the word I would use to describe my furrowed brows. Not for her insult, but for what she said. “Luna Madeline, I—”

“Please, child, do not insult my intelligence by denying it. I have ears. We all do. We know what has been going on between you and my son since his mate died. Shameful.” She smiled sweetly, but her smile never reached her eyes.

I knew her smile was a charade. It was only to fool anyone walking past and caught us talking into assuming we were having a normal, friendly chat. However, there was nothing pleasant about this chat or sweet about this bitter old bat.

“Arianne, do not misjudge me. I do not despise you. But let me make myself clear. It does not matter if you are the former Beta’s daughter and the current Beta’s step-sister. You, dear, will never be the Luna of my pack. Hell, it doesn't even matter if my son is screwing you from Sunday to Monday,” she said sternly. Her voice was not bitter, but it filled the space between us.

“I see,” I answered, nodding. “Madeline.” She cocked her brow when I omitted her title. “Do not worry, I did not stutter. Let me make myself clear. Sebastian—”

“That is Alpha Sebastian to you,” she sneered, maintaining her poised expression.

“You had your chance to speak. I did not interrupt. How about you extend the same courtesy?” I crossed my arms over my chest and said, “Should I proceed?”

“You will not speak to me in that manner.”

I laughed. It was not fake or anything of the sort, like Madeline’s plastered-on smile. My laugh was indeed joyous. “You will not speak to me in that manner,” I mocked, laughing again.

I took a step toward her, all jokes aside. Adding to that, all the years I respected her. I gritted bitterly, holding her gaze. “I love Sebastian, and he loves me too; he merely does not know it yet. In due time, though, he will. Until then, you will respect me. Otherwise, once I become Luna, your ass will be the first one I banish from this pack.”

My eyes darted across Madeline’s face; no signs of amusement showed on her wrinkled features. I could not tell if she was trying to smile or smirk. “We will see about that, won’t we? Heed my warning, Arianne, time is longer than twine,” she remarked and waved me off dismissively. Shortly after, Madeline and I parted ways. Not in the best way, I might add.

In under five minutes, I was back in my chambers. “That bitch? Who does she think she is? She cannot speak to me like that!” I ranted, pacing back and forth, flailing my arms in the air.

“Time is longer than twine.” I had heard those words before. My father had whispered them to me in his dying breath. Still, I could never understand what they meant.

***

The rest of the day went by differently than the previous days. Perhaps it had something to do with putting Madeline in her primmed place once and for all. Or it could have to do with the fact that I no longer needed to hide my relationship with Sebastian. Everyone would soon know he belonged to mine. And when he claimed me as his Luna, they would all respect me in this pack, finally.

“See, daddy. All my hard work is paying off.” I smiled at my reflection in the mirror.

From the corner of my eye, a gust of wind blew through the open paneled doors, bringing a cloud of mist along with it, drawing my attention away from the mirror. My hand halted midair as though I was about to slap myself, whereas my eyes bugged out from their sockets.

I could sense someone else in my room. It was an evil presence, filled with darkness and vengeance, forcing me to kneel. “Who… who is there?” My voice croaked, sounding like a frightened child. “What… what do you want?”

The doors flew open, and the most filled my room, covering the floor.

“Silence, you impudent little girl,” a deep voice shouted authoritatively.

That was not the sound of whom I assumed it belonged to, right? I could not have heard that correctly. Perhaps I just thought it up in my head. The familiarity of that voice was so uncanny. It almost sounded like—my father.

But that was impossible.

He was dead.

I knew he was.

I was there when he took his final breath.

So how could he be here?

But then—

“You have succeeded where others have failed,” his voice thundered, sounding like rumbling and cracks across the sky.

I gulped. My heart galloped from my chest with fear of having my existence snatched from this world—cruel as it might be. He demanded my attention without even asking for it, and I dared not look away.

“Wh-why are you he-here, father?” I stammered, my hands trembling fervently. “Have you come to kill me?” My voice broke, and a tear slid down my face.

He was not anything like the man I remembered at all. The wound that ended his life remained open as blood trickled onto his bare neck. But, as I recalled, he was still tall and muscular. His jet-black hair was perfectly coiffed, and his deep brown eyes contracted to slits as he approached me in a velvet-black coat over a navy-blue buttoned-down shirt, dressed like the devil himself. The evil seeping from his body was so intense that the day’s cheerful sentiments dissipated, leaving me quivering in horror.

He chuckled as if mocking me, and the room became much colder than it had been. Pinching my fingers made them numb to the touch. “Death is much more than you deserve. But no worries. I shall return in due time. When I do, be ready to do my bidding.”

What did that even mean—when he returned?

Then, in the blink of an eye, he vanished the same way he came, like a thief in the night. By the time I came to, I couldn't even remember how I came to be on the floor. I glanced around the room, but nothing seemed out of place.

“What the hell happened?” Slowly, I got up from the ground, reclaiming my seat on the bench at the vanity. Brushing my hair was the last thing I remembered doing. So, how did I end up on the floor?

I returned to doing that, but something caught my attention on my wrist. “What is this?” It was a two-sided dagger with a sharp tip, wrapped in an ornate black full cross-guard with a skull at the top and a serpent with its jaws ajar, coiled around it. I ran my thumb across the weird ink, but winced at the pain.

“What the hell?”