Chapter 2

Once inside, I summoned the healer to bandage me. The argument with Kyle had reopened an old wound from a fall while I was gathering herbs for him.

Vivian stood off to one side, weeping helplessly. Her wound was minor, yet she cried as if she might collapse.

Kyle's expression darkened by the second, but he had no excuse to show concern for a traitor.

"Bandage Vivian's wound. I can see to mine myself."

Kyle's expression eased, but everyone else stared in shock. No one could believe their future Luna would yield the healer's attention to a lowly traitor.

Vivian's face went cold. Beneath her choked sobs, I could practically hear how badly she wanted to tear me apart.

Vivian suddenly slapped the healer's hand away and sprang to her feet. She shoved the wolf-mark bracelet into Kyle's arms, then ignored her bleeding wound and dropped to her knees before him. "Kyle, I cannot live without you. Please forgive me. Can't we be together again?"

Kyle's face twisted. He flung the bracelet aside. "Have you no shame, Vivian? You know I have a mate, yet you still try to seduce me? We are finished. I have Ophelia, and I will never love you again!"

Vivian dissolved into tears at his contempt. Oblivious to her bedraggled state, she darted to retrieve the bracelet from the mud. "You gave me this as a token of our love. Have you forgotten? I have kept it with me all this time. I made a mistake and lost you. I do not expect forgiveness. I only want to say I am sorry."

Leah, a close friend to both Kyle and me, watched Vivian's fragile display and feared no man could resist it. She leaped to my defense, dragged Vivian away from Kyle, and kicked her in the stomach. "Where were you while Kyle was fighting for his life? Oh, right - you ran straight to the enemy. Ophelia stayed. She fought beside him until the very end."

Vivian lay crumpled on the ground, yet I was the one whose face paled. I remembered exactly what had happened to Leah in my previous life.

Because Leah had defended me and hurt Vivian, Kyle had torn out her fingernails, broken all four of her limbs, and abandoned her in the wilderness. Her body was never found.

I hurried to pull Leah behind me and put an end to the farce. "No! Stop hitting her. This ends here. I don't want the festival ruined, and nobody is to hurt Vivian for my sake."

The wolves marveled at my generosity. They praised my restraint and declared me the perfect Luna. Soon the feast was lively again.

The maids brought out small cakes in every flavor, and everyone was about to reach for them.

The next second Kyle swept the chocolate cake in front of Vivian onto the floor.

Kyle's sweeping arm struck me where I stood behind him. I fell beside the blazing stove, and the heat seared my arm red as blood soaked through the bandage. Kyle did not notice a thing.

He was too busy facing Vivian down, gripping her arm and shouting furiously, "Have you forgotten you're allergic to chocolate? Are you planning to die in our pack so your new mate can come and take revenge on Ophelia and me?"

I froze. Chocolate was my favorite flavor, yet Kyle had forbidden me to eat it for months. I had assumed he disliked sweets. Now I understood: he remembered Vivian's allergy, so he had banned chocolate altogether.

Of course Vivian saw Kyle's concern for her as well. She gave me a challenging look and then leaned against Kyle and said softly, "Kyle, I know you're the one who cares about me most. I won't cause you any trouble. Even if it kills me, I won't put you in a difficult position."

Kyle's expression shifted through a dozen emotions, but I still caught the flicker of delight he could not hide. He loved Vivian after all.

Pathetic.

How had I never seen this before?

I gave a bitter laugh. I was done watching their twisted love story play out, and I brought the festival to an end.

As the others dispersed, I turned to Vivian. "There may be rogues outside the pack. You can stay at my house tonight."

Kyle looked startled. Before he could speak, I shocked him again. I dropped the moon necklace he had given me - the symbol of a Luna's exalted status - at his feet. "Kyle, I want to break the mate bond."

Kyle blinked, then laughed dismissively and stepped closer to soothe me. "Ophelia, stop this. You want to break our bond because of Vivian? She is only a traitor. You are the only one I will ever be with. We will swear it before the Moon Goddess..."

I dodged Kyle's embrace, utterly repulsed by this foolish man who had gotten my child and me killed in my previous life.

When we returned home, I went straight to my room and refused to say another word to him. Kyle did not try to coax me again. Instead, he offered to move into the study and give me space, while I put Vivian in the guest room.

That night, memories of my brutal death in my previous life kept me tossing and turning. Kyle had murdered my child merely as an offering to Vivian. My parents had been framed, driven from the pack, and left to die in the wilderness. I had perished after days of relentless torture.

All of this was merely to avenge his beloved: Vivian.