Chapter 3

For the next two days, I moved through the place like a ghost, erasing every trace of myself.

I dug up the calming herbs I'd spent three years growing on the balcony, roots and all, and tossed them into the composter. I stripped the soft slipcovers I'd chosen off the living room couch, packed them, and sent them to the donation center...

Silas noticed none of it. A powerful Alpha had no time for the small details of daily life. He even took my silence as a sign that I was giving in.

"I'm glad you've come around. Lilian is just an ally. You're my Luna, so act like one and show a little grace."

On Friday morning, he sat at the table eating the mass-produced breakfast the housekeeping robot had brought.

"The Frost Moon envoys are hosting a thank-you banquet at the Red Peak keep tonight. You're coming with me."

I stopped packing. "Why would I go?"

"Don't you want everyone to see you by my side? The Elders' Council and the heads of every division will be there tonight. It's the perfect chance to introduce you as the Luna of Red Peak."

He said it as though he were granting me a great favor.

Before, when I'd asked him to introduce me to his allies, he'd said the werewolf elite would look down on a wolfless commoner. He didn't want me to face their mockery.

Now he was offering to take me, probably because the night was all about Lilian and he wanted to look like a generous, kind Alpha.

"Fine," I said.

I wanted to see for myself what his powerful friends really thought of Lilian and me.

At seven that evening, the banquet hall at the Red Peak keep glittered. Lilian sat in the guest of honor's seat, wearing a shimmering frost-white gown and a glowing blood-marrow pendant.

I'd nearly broken my spine digging that stone out of a polar crevasse for Silas, and I'd barely made it out alive. It was meant to protect his heart.

Now it hung on another woman's chest.

"Silas, Elena came too."

Lilian approached gracefully, glass in hand. "Hello, Elena. Silas talks about you all the time. He says you're the gentlest, most considerate person. I'm so glad I finally get to meet you."

She held out her lace-gloved hand for me to shake.

I stepped back half a pace to avoid her touch. "Princess Lilian."

For a moment, the whole banquet hall seemed to go still.

Silas grabbed my wrist and whispered in my ear, "Be sensible. Don't embarrass me in front of everyone."

Once we sat down, the talk around us turned to border wars and the inheritance of high-ranking bloodlines: which legion had stronger wolf riders, which secret realm had purer magic crystals.

I cut the cold steak on my plate without saying a word.

"Speaking of which, Alpha Kane is truly unmatched in battle."

A Frost Moon duke laughed heartily. "Last time, if Alpha Kane hadn't taken down three dark beasts single-handedly, the northern line would have collapsed."

Lilian stifled a laugh, her eyes sparkling. "Of course. But the wolfsbane backlash struck Silas then, and he nearly lost control. I was terrified. Luckily, I used a secret Frost Moon technique to calm his nerves."

The table erupted in good-natured laughter.

"A pure-blood and the strongest Alpha. The Moon Goddess herself must have made this match!"

Silas smiled, raised his glass, and drained it. He did nothing to correct them. If anything, he looked pleased.

My hand stayed steady on my fork.

The night of the northern riots, as the line was about to break, Silas's spirit beacon had shaken violently. The backlash sent poison flooding through our bond and into my mind. Back at the penthouse, I'd poured all my soul's strength into steadying his mind from hundreds of miles away.

I'd writhed on the floor in agony, bleeding from my eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. All the while, he'd been flirting with the princess beside him.

"Elena, don't you look after the Alpha's old injuries when you're in the city?"

Lilian suddenly turned to me, her tone a careful mix of reproach and concern. "The day before yesterday, Silas had stomach cramps so bad he went white, but he kept reading battle reports. It broke our hearts to watch. You don't have a wolf core, so you can't feel the Alpha's pain, but you could at least pay more attention to what he eats."

The table fell silent. A dozen proud, cold stares fixed on me with open contempt.

I set down my fork and looked Lilian straight in the eye.

"The bureau has three excellent medical teams. He knows how to call a medic."

Lilian shrank back. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean anything by it. I just care about Silas so much..."

Crack!

The crystal wine glass shattered in Silas's hand.

"Elena, are you done making a scene?!"

Silas stood, his face dark. "With all these dukes and allies here, you have to make things this ugly?"

"Did I say something embarrassing?"

I looked up at the man I'd loved for seven years, the man I'd spent seven years keeping alive.

"Lilian was kind enough to remind you of your duties, and this is the attitude you give her? Apologize right now!"

I stood and looked at him calmly. "Alpha, since someone else knows how to care for you better than I do, a wolfless commoner like me doesn't need to worry about you anymore. I won't embarrass you again. I'll leave now."

"Elena! Walk out that door and see what happens!" he roared behind me. The force of his power shattered two chandeliers overhead.

I pushed through the crowd and opened the keep's huge carved bronze doors. I didn't stop.

After seven years, I no longer had to grind my dignity into the mud to protect his image as Alpha.