Chapter 2

At dawn, the bedroom door opened, and Elena walked in carrying a bowl of hot soup.

"Lila." She set the soup on the table. "You look awful. I made this healing broth just for you."

I sat up in bed, not looking at her. "Get out."

My coldness didn't faze her. She came to stand in front of me. "I know you still blame me."

"It was the first time I'd ever mixed a remedy. I accidentally got the doses confused, and that's what wounded your wolf and nearly killed you in labor."

I lifted my head, looked at that innocent face, and scoffed. "Accidentally?"

"Elena, it's just the two of us here now. Who exactly is that poor-little-victim act for?"

Elena kept the same innocent look. "Lila, what are you talking about? I don't understand."

I couldn't be bothered to argue. I turned my back on her.

"If you don't understand, then get out."

Elena didn't leave. Instead she leaned closer and dropped her voice to the barest whisper.

"Lila, you were right about one thing. I did do it on purpose."

She let out a soft laugh. "To lock you away in that forest prison, I even followed an old formula from the ancient texts and brewed a potion that could fake the appearance of your death."

"That potion did one thing: it blocked the bond between mates. Otherwise, how could I ever have fooled Killian?"

"You're the strongest she-wolf this pack has ever had. I always knew that forest prison couldn't hold you for long. Five years was far more than I ever expected."

"After all, by now Alpha Killian, your son Eric, even the whole Silver Moon Pack has accepted that I'm about to be their new Luna. And you? Next to the Luna, you don't matter at all."

Before I could say a word, Elena suddenly shrieked and threw herself backward, knocking the bowl of hot soup off the table as she went down.

The shatter of porcelain rang out, harsh in the quiet room.

The bedroom door was kicked open. On cue, Elena collapsed beside the broken shards, her palm cut and bleeding.

Killian and Eric rushed in.

"Mommy!" Eric scrambled over and threw his arms wide, shielding Elena. "You vicious woman! Why did you push my mother?!"

Killian bent down and helped Elena up.

He looked at the blood on her hand, his brow tight. "What happened?"

Elena's eyes brimmed with tears.

"Lila looked so pale, so I brought her some broth and wanted to apologize. Maybe I was just clumsy. I must have upset her somehow again. It's all my fault."

Killian turned to me, his eyes full of disappointment.

"Lila, apologize to Elena."

"I didn't push her." I looked Killian in the eye, spacing out each word. "She threw herself down."

"Enough." Killian cut me off.

"Elena comes to check on you out of kindness, and this is how you treat her?"

My lips twisted into a humorless smile. All at once I had no strength left to argue.

"And what if I had pushed her? She nearly killed me back then. A shove is me being generous."

"Take her to get bandaged." Killian sighed and handed Elena over to a servant standing nearby.

"Daddy, she admitted herself that she pushed mommy. Why haven't you thrown her in the silverwater dungeon?!"

"Eric, step outside."

"Daddy..."

"Get out!" Killian's voice climbed several notches.

Eric shot me a venomous look and reluctantly followed Elena out.

Once the two of them were gone, Killian finally turned back to me. "As for the accident back then, I'll apologize to you on Elena's behalf."

"What did you say?"

"It was her first time mixing a remedy. The mistake was an accident. But over these five years she's saved a lot of our people, and she's taken good care of Eric. Lila, let it go."

I looked at Killian and, for the first time, felt that maybe I had never really known him at all.

"When did you learn the truth?"

"Right after it happened to you."

He looked at me. "I thought about punishing her. But at that time a deadly plague had broken out in the Silver Moon Pack, and she saved a lot of lives. As Alpha, I couldn't punish someone who'd done the pack such a service."

Killian sighed and reached out to take my hand.

"Lila, I promise you, I have no feelings for Elena. I will never mark her."

"But I'm the Alpha. I have to balance what's good for the whole pack, and our people need a Luna who can keep everyone steady."

"You vanished for five years without a reason. The Silver Moon Pack nearly fell apart. The people don't trust you anymore. Elena, on the other hand, gave them that."

I laughed suddenly, and as I laughed, the tears came without my meaning them to.

"No feelings, and yet you let her take my place."

"No feelings, and yet you let my son call her mother."

Killian frowned, his patience seeming to run out. "Stop being unreasonable. For the five years you were gone, Elena gave him a mother's love. You need to give him time, not force Elena out. Do this, and all you'll do is make Eric hate you."

I looked at him and couldn't say a word.

He knew everything.

And he had chosen to cover for Elena.

Because it served his interests as Alpha.

I took a step back. "I need to calm down."

"Get some rest."

Killian turned and left.

Alpha Caleb's voice came through the mind-link.

"Lila, you're in a bad way. Do you want to stop?"

"If you don't want to break the bond, I can have a healer send you the antidote."

I looked at the closed door. "No. There's no future left for Killian and me."