Chapter 3

My clothes were always too big, too long, enough to hide the terrible scars on my stomach and my legs.

Five years ago, a pack of rogues swarmed Damien.

In the half-second that mattered, I was the one who stepped in front of him, then fought them off with one arm while shielding him, half-dead, with the other, until the guards arrived.

I came out of it shredded. The rogues' claws were coated in wolfsbane, so I was left with scars that will never close as long as I live.

When Damien and I were together, I could never look at my own body. I thought the scars were hideous.

But he didn't mind them, not back then. He used to kiss every wound, reverent, looking at me like I was everything.

"I'll never forget what you gave up for me. These aren't scars. They're proof of how much you love me."

But the scars never healed, and his love curdled long ago.

The next morning I did as he'd told me and carried the gown to Serena's room. She'd made sure the door was wide open. As I passed, she pitched her voice loud so the staff could hear.

"Who designed this thing? It's so tacky."

She ripped the skirt to shreds, diamonds clattering across the floor, and looked thoroughly pleased with herself. "Distressed is in right now."

The staff snuck a careful glance at me in the doorway. Not one of them dared say a word.

I didn't even give her a look. I went straight downstairs.

Passing the study, I heard Damien talking with one of his men.

"Damien, even if Serena's brother died for the pack, don't you think you're going overboard with her? You handed off the moonstone ring, the Luna's ring, and now you're giving away her gown too? The Luna spent three months on that as her graduation piece. You're not worried she'll blow up at you?"

My feet slowed. And then I heard Damien, like none of it mattered.

"She's gotten sensible lately. She won't kick up a fuss over something this small. And even if she's upset, so what? What's she going to do, walk out?"

His man hesitated. "But what if she really leaves?"

"There's no 'what if.'" Damien's voice was flat and certain. "She's an orphan. Where would she even go without me? A woman with nobody in her corner? Easiest thing in the world to manage. Throw her a bone now and then and she'll never leave."

"Even if she does get angry, she'll come crawling back in a couple of days. She's got nowhere else to go."

His man let out an admiring breath. "Damien. You've really got it figured out."

The laughter that drifted out of that study cut like glass. My fist tightened, nails biting into my palm.

So that's all I was to him: a cheap piece of merchandise.

Just then Serena's head popped out of her room. She was wearing the shredded gown, smiling that harmless little smile.

"Aurora, Damien said he's planting a whole field of blue roses for me in the back garden. We should have afternoon tea out there together sometime, wouldn't that be nice?"

My eyes went cold.

I'm allergic to pollen. Bad enough that a serious reaction has put me in the hospital before. Clearly Damien had forgotten all about it. There was no room in his head for anything but Serena's happiness.

"No thanks. I'm allergic to pollen."

Serena gasped and covered her mouth, like she was hearing it for the first time. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I forgot. But they've already started planting, and I couldn't waste all the trouble Damien's gone to."

"Maybe you should just move out? That way you won't get sick from your allergy, and I get the garden I love."

I looked at the smug little show she was putting on, and I nodded.

"Fine. I'll go pack."

Even without her saying it, I'd already planned to leave. I didn't take any of the jewelry or the bags. Just a few changes of clothes and the basics.

When I came downstairs with my suitcase, Damien had just walked in from outside.