2

I clenched my fists, trying to control my heaving chest. "She's not coming back," I said coldly.

Damon smiled, but his eyes were ice. "Oh? Has she found another Alpha and doesn't need me anymore?"

Even now, after everything, Cathy was still nothing but a disgrace in Damon's eyes. I laughed bitterly, the sound scratching my throat.

Three years of devotion, of tears shed in silence, of hopes repeatedly crushed—all worthless. Cathy's love had meant absolutely nothing to him.

"Damon, if you despise her so much, why don't you just break the mate bond? It'd be better for both of you." My voice hardened. "Or is having someone to torment too enjoyable to give up?"

Damon chuckled. "Sounds like she really has found another Alpha."

His eyes glowed an eerie green, his wolf close to the surface. One wrong move and he'd tear me apart.

I turned away, pushing past him to hurry upstairs. I hadn't come back to argue with these monsters. I just wanted to find out why Cathy had taken the wolfsbane.

The Cathy I knew would never commit suicide. She had always been so afraid of pain, so careful with her life. Even the smallest paper cut would make her wince and complain for hours.

But before I could reach the second floor, a strong hand grabbed my arm and pinned me against the wall. Damon's hot breath hit my face as he leaned in, intimidating and overwhelming.

"Daphne, tell me. Who the fuck is Cathy with?"

"Tell me!" he growled, his face inches from mine, teeth elongating as his wolf pushed forward.

For once, Damon's ever-present smile was gone, replaced by pure, unfiltered fury. I felt a twisted sense of satisfaction blooming in my chest.

How much crazier would he be when he finally realized Cathy was truly dead? Would he feel even a fraction of the pain he had caused her?

"Why are you smiling?" His eyes widened in disbelief. "Daphne, don't think being the Luna protects you. Ask my brother if he cares about you at all." He sneered, his claws pricking my skin through my shirt.

"So, be a good girl and tell me. Where is Cathy?"

I laughed, my eyes wet. "She really is dead, you know. Last night. Wolfsbane. She died in agony, covered in blood."

"If you don't believe me, go check. You're capable of that, aren't you, Damon? Or are you too busy with your stepmother to care that your mate is dead?"

The hand gripping my collar tightened, but I stared back unflinchingly. His rage and my calm were like two sides of an unbridgeable chasm.

Suddenly, a large hand covered Damon's.

"Enough, Damon. If you really want to know where she is, go find out yourself. Don't take out your anger here," my mate Garrett said.

My collar was released as Damon stepped back. His eyes were dark, but he nodded, his smile returning like a mask.

"Fine, I'll go check. But Luna," he drawled the title mockingly, "if I find out you and Cathy are playing me, I won't touch you, but she'll pay. She'll wish she had taken wolfsbane for real."

I watched silently as Damon stormed out, disappearing through the main door.

"Seen enough?" Garrett's voice was cold in my ear, sending a shiver down my spine.

I pressed my lips together, trying to step past him towards Cathy's room. But before I could take two steps, he grabbed me, dragging me in the opposite direction.

"Let go, Garrett. Let me go. I need to—" I struggled against his iron grip, but it was futile.

"You didn't come home last night. Today you return looking like death, claiming Cathy's dead. Daphne, I think you've lost your mind."

As soon as we entered our bedroom, he threw me onto the bed with such force that the air was knocked from my lungs.

His tall figure loomed over me, blocking the light, casting me in his shadow. His hand shot out, gripping my chin painfully, forcing me to look up at him.

"Daphne, am I being too lenient? Didn't I warn you to stay away from Cathy?" His fingers dug into my jawline. "Did I not make myself clear enough?"

It was no secret that Garrett disliked Cathy. She had been the only daughter of the River Pack's Alpha, but three years ago, rogue wolves attacked their territory without warning. Her parents died in battle, fighting to the last breath to protect their pack.

Cathy had dreamed of becoming a healer, spending years studying herbs and remedies. But after the pack's tragedy, she had to abandon that dream.

With no Alpha to lead them, she sought alliances with other packs to save what remained of River Pack.

But Garrett thought a she-wolf who wasn't even an Alpha had no right to lead a pack. He assumed she must be sleeping with other Alphas to gain their favor, and he looked down on her.

Even after Cathy mated to Damon, Garrett's opinion hadn't changed. In his words: "She just went from serving many to serving one."

But for Cathy, this marriage was like a moth flying into a flame. The free-spirited wolf she loved turned out to be a devil in disguise.

I stared at Garrett for a long time. His face hadn't changed, but I could no longer see any trace of the man I once thought I knew and loved.

"Garrett, let's break our mate bond." The words left my mouth with surprising ease.

I'd known Garrett for five years, mated for three. I once thought we'd spend our lives together, grow old side by side.

But since Victoria, their widowed stepmother, returned six months ago, that dream had slowly crumbled, piece by painful piece.

Victoria was only eight years older than Garrett. She was the second Luna that Garrett's father, the previous Alpha, had married to help raise his sons.

But Garrett was already 16 then, and Victoria got along well with both brothers.

Years later, Garrett's father died in battle. Garrett became Alpha, and Victoria moved out of the pack house.

Before meeting Victoria, I thought the brothers' love for their stepmother was based on childhood bonds and respect. But reality had slapped both Cathy and me hard in the face.

It turned out that Cathy and I were just Garrett and Damon's second choices, mere covers to hide their twisted love for Victoria.

I just wanted to leave him, to have no more connection with him.

Garrett froze, his stern face showing a hint of suspicion.

"What did you say?" His voice was dangerously quiet.

"I said, let's break our mate bond. Let's stop this entanglement." I met his gaze unflinchingly. "I'm tired, Garrett. So tired of pretending."