Chapter 2

Kate was radiant up on the stage.

She wore the gown Cole had made to measure for her, every inch of her preening like a peacock.

When she noticed me watching, her fingers drifted instinctively to the moonstone at her chest — a small territorial gesture.

Cole caught me looking at her and rushed over, anxious.

"Wendy, don't bother with her."

"When we hold our ceremony, I'll have something even better made for you."

Before I could say a word, Kate made her way to my side.

Her head was bowed, every trace of superiority gone.

She shrank behind Cole as though frightened, peering out from behind his shoulder, eyes wet.

"Wendy, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize how much this necklace meant to you. I'll take it off right now."

I could see from the way she fumbled with the clasp that she had no intention of actually returning it.

But I wasn't going to interrupt her performance.

In the end, it was Cole who stepped in and stopped her hands.

"Don't. Wendy's not petty."

"What's given is given."

As though he wasn't sure that was enough, Cole pitched his voice so the whole room could hear, turning to Kate.

"That necklace is my ceremony gift to you. Wear it well. It stands for the love between us, faithful and unshakeable."

The corners of Kate's mouth curved upward.

Her fingers tightened around the moonstone.

The timid look she'd aimed at me a moment ago was gone, replaced by something self-satisfied.

The crowd around me broke into applause.

"Finally! They're bonded at last!"

"Cole and Kate, childhood sweethearts, what a love story. I'm so envious."

"With an Alpha and a Luna like this, our pack is going to thrive."

Cole's brow creased. He moved quickly to my side, lowering his voice.

"Wendy, don't listen to them."

"You'll be Luna of my pack. You know that. Everything I'm doing right now — I'm just playing along for Kate's sake."

When I didn't respond, he grew more urgent.

"Wendy, there's nothing between me and Kate."

"She's just someone I grew up with. I couldn't bear the thought of her dying with regrets."

I watched his face — the anxious set of it — and something strange stirred in me.

I had said it early on: the bonding ceremony was everything to me.

Blood Moon Pack held purity of heart and character above all else, and as its princess I had been raised on that belief.

When I found out Cole was my fated mate, I had been terrified, because I already knew about Kate.

But what had Cole told me back then?

He said his love for me was absolute, that it would never waver.

He gave me everything he had.

He sent Kate away to another pack so I wouldn't have to worry.

When I was badly ill, he climbed a cliff face to pick medicinal herbs, coming back bloodied and bruised.

To help me recover, he fought the most dangerous beast in the territory just to bring back a bowl of its blood.

And then, at the very moment I trusted him completely and was ready to give myself to him — Cole chose Kate as his ceremony partner without a second's hesitation.

I was about to leave when the crowd's chanting came at me from every direction.

"Alpha, why aren't you kissing your mate? Are you shy?"

I stared at him. Held his gaze.

He was awkward at first. But the moment he caught Kate's hopeful eyes, he kissed her without hesitation.

I drained the rest of my champagne in one swallow, then called over one of my people.

Earlier, to satisfy Cole's fragile ego, I had personally arranged with the Alliance chairman to grant his pack the exclusive privileges that only Blood Moon Pack was entitled to.

First-purchase rights. Priority bidding on resources. Sacred Spring access.

All of it just to make him feel like he could stand at my level.

But now he had taken all of it for granted — and apparently felt entitled to trample my dignity in front of everyone.

"Publish an announcement that Cole has completed his bonding ceremony. Make sure every member of the Alliance knows his mate is not me."

"Tell the Alliance chairman: revoke every one of Cole's privileges. Effective immediately."