Chapter 2

I stormed out of the study, ripped off that damned black lace, and drove to the bar at the edge of the territory.

Alphas and Betas kept trying to talk to me. I ignored every last one of them and drank myself numb, one glass after another.

The alcohol blurred my vision, but the pain in my chest was a blade that stayed sharp.

Two years. Two years of intimacy, warmth, and possession — and I had been nothing more than his experiment while he "tried someone else."

"Another bottle."

The bartender hesitated. "Miss, you've already had quite a bit—"

"I said another bottle."

Through the haze, the bar door swung open. A familiar Alpha scent drifted in, and my wolf came alive instantly.

Kieran.

He was wearing a black shirt, his expression cold.

I lifted my head, squinting through blurred vision toward the entrance. When I saw the figure beside him, my glass nearly slipped from my fingers.

It was Melody Ashford. My half-sister.

She was in a white dress — gentle and delicate — head slightly bowed, nestled against his side.

My nails dug into my palm. She and her mother were the two people I despised most in this world.

When I was two years old, my mother died on the battlefield protecting my father Marcus during a territory war.

Three months later, Marcus brought home his mistress Vivian, along with their three-year-old illegitimate daughter, Melody.

Marcus claimed my mother had used her family's influence to force him into the marriage. That his heart had always belonged to Vivian.

But I knew the truth. My mother was the daughter of the former Ashford Pack Alpha. Marcus had pursued her himself. After they married, she gave up her right of inheritance to let him become Alpha.

She gave him everything. She died for him.

And in less than three months, he married his first love and made her his new Luna.

Now I watched Kieran pull out Melody's chair for her — that careful, considerate attention he had never once given me.

He never held my hand in public. Never stood by my side at pack gatherings.

I had convinced myself he was just cold by nature, that he didn't like showing affection in front of others.

Only now did I understand. His tenderness had always belonged to someone else.

My heart felt like it was being carved out with a silver blade, cut by cut.

I stood up and stumbled toward the exit.

"Well, well. A lady this drunk — want us to walk you home?" Three rogue wolves closed in around me.

"Get lost." I laughed coldly.

"Ooh, feisty." The one in front reached for my shoulder.

I needed to hit something.

I shifted into my white wolf and launched myself at the worthless bastards. My claws found flesh almost immediately.

But something was wrong. These rogues had come prepared — their claws were coated in silver dust.

The burning hit me fast. My movements slowed.

One of them seized the moment and sank his teeth into my shoulder. Blood ran through my fur and dripped to the ground.

Then that familiar Alpha scent came closer. I raised my head and, through the blood and haze, saw Kieran.

He stood at the edge of the crowd, moonlight falling across his sharp features.

He was looking at me. Worry and fury flickered across his face — like he was about to push through.

Our eyes met. One second. Only one second.

"Kieran, I'm scared." Melody's voice floated up, soft and fragile. "These rogues are terrifying. Did you see someone you know?"

Kieran stopped. He looked away. "No. Don't be afraid. Just some rogue wolves fighting — nothing to do with us."

Then he wrapped an arm around Melody and walked away without looking back.

I stood there, frozen.

Stray wolves with nothing to do with him.

Two years. In his heart, I had always been nothing more than a stray wolf with nothing to do with him.

I wanted to laugh, but blood and tears ran together down my face.