Chapter 2

That evening, Claude returned in triumph with Victoria.

But when he pushed open the doors to the banquet hall, he was dumbfounded.

The wine hadn't been decanted, the seating arrangements were chaotic, the newly appointed Gamma was in a fluster, and they'd even forgotten to adjust the lighting over the main table.

Claude stood at the entrance, his brows knotted tight.

Yet, the atmosphere of the party forced him to maintain appearances.

I sat in a corner of the hall, squeezed onto a table with ordinary patrol warriors, watching this farce unfold.

The lights converged on the main table.

Victoria, wearing a bespoke white gown, stood beside Claude like a proud peacock. The contrast with me, his legitimate mate, was ironically perfect.

Victoria had clearly spotted me. She picked up her glass and gracefully stepped onto the stage.

"Heather, so that's where you've been hiding," she said, her voice amplified through the microphone. "On the way back yesterday, a few vampire remnants ambushed us, and Alpha Claude exhausted himself to protect me.

"I seem to recall that you're responsible for eliminating them, so how come you dropped the ball this time? What if Alpha Claude had been injured?"

Every wolf began whispering among themselves, their accusatory gaze boring into me one by one.

Claude looked over as well. His gaze was cold, and it carried a hint of displeasure at being slighted.

I set down my glass and rose unhurriedly to my feet.

"Ms. Grimm, I must correct you. The Luna crown you wear on your head is a symbol of honor and status. Since Alpha Claude bestowed this honor upon you, you should know to be grateful and repay his kindness.

"Yet, you focus only on enjoyment. At a critical moment, not only were you unable to protect Alpha Claude, but you actually let him protect you. That is your dereliction of duty.

"Or perhaps ask yourself—why is it that, wearing the Luna crown, you still cannot take down a few remnant vampires?"

The pack felt I had a point, and the looks they cast toward Victoria held a hint of something different.

"That's not it. I was just—" Victoria panicked, her lips trembling as she failed to fabricate a decent excuse.

She seemed not to have expected that the me who usually swallowed my pride had changed so much today.

The murmuring continued. Some werewolves even began questioning whether the coronation ceremony had been tainted by personal feelings.

Unable to find a way to respond, Victoria burst into tears on the spot in her desperation, demanding to know why I'd embarrassed her in public.

A celebration party held in her honor had turned into a mockery.

"Enough, Heather!" Claude interjected with a darkened face, coming to her rescue. "You are my Beta, so protecting me is your duty. Stop shirking responsibility. Now, apologize to Victoria for ruining the celebration."

I laughed in exasperation.

Claude had deliberately taken Victoria to the border as a formality, staging the illusion that she'd contributed to the pack, all to legitimize her coronation.

It was a pure accident they'd run into those vampire remnants, yet now he was twisting it into my dereliction of duty?

I lifted my chin and met Claude's eyes squarely. "I did nothing wrong! I'm not the one who started this dispute—she did. She's the one who should apologize!"

This was the first time I had defied Claude's comment, and in front of all our pack members, no less. It made Claude lose face completely.

He stared at me intently, anger churning in his eyes. "I'll say it one more time—apologize to her now!"

"No!"

As we stood locked in confrontation, Claude raised his hand and struck me hard across the face.

The entire hall fell into dead silence. Even Claude himself looked stunned.

My face quickly swelled red. I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth, but remained obstinate.

"I won't apologize!"

"Very well then." Claude forcibly suppressed his rage, one hand supporting his forehead as he paced back and forth. "Guards, take her down and lock her up. She can come out when she's ready to see reason."

The party ended on a sour note.

Claude returned very late, still carrying that cloying perfume scent Victoria always wore.

Seeing me curled up on the couch, apparently having cried, he looked momentarily guilty.

"Does it still hurt?" He crouched down and reached out to touch my face. "I was just—

"Don't touch me!" I knocked his hand away. "You should go be with Victoria."

My lack of receptiveness angered him once again.

"What exactly are you making a scene about?" He stood up, looking down at me. In a tone laced with undisguised annoyance, he continued, "Victoria was just concerned because she felt you've been off lately. Was it necessary to cause such a commotion?"

I looked up at this wolf I'd loved for ten years. Even now, he still believed I was the one at fault.

"Claude, you call that concern? Concern means throwing mud on me in front of everyone and humiliating me publicly?"

Claude's eyes flickered for a moment, then he shifted the subject.

"That still doesn't justify you making a scene."

He moved closer to the window and lit a cigarette, his emotions gradually calming.

"When it comes down to it, isn't this all about that Luna crown? After next month's actual Luna coronation ceremony, the entire pack will be yours. Was it necessary to cause such a fuss?"

He was always using the Luna position to guilt me into being the bigger wolf.

I said nothing because I felt there was no point in continuing this conversation.

He thought I'd come to see my mistake, so he softened his tone. "Alright, I was wrong tonight too. I shouldn't have hit you. Consider that slap your atonement to Victoria. We're even now."

I listened to his reasoning in disbelief.

I'd been falsely accused first, yet the instigator only had to shed a few tears before I ended up being slapped.

And now he was telling me this made us even?

What kind of twisted logic was that?

I closed my eyes and steadied my breathing, trying hard to suppress the urge to lose control.

It was time to tell him about dissolving the mate bond.