Chapter 2

I’ve just finished the ritual when I hear familiar footsteps behind me.

"Lacey."

Jayden’s voice drips with a tenderness so fake it makes my skin crawl.

I don't turn around. I wipe the blood from the altar first. "Finished with your 'emergency'?" I ask coldly.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. It was trickier than I thought. I couldn't get away."

He walks toward me, reaching out. A wall of silver magic flame instantly erupts around me, forcing him back.

“Lacey, stop this childish tantrum.” The warmth drains from his face, replaced by a cold mask of authority. “Yes, Chloe was with me. She was learning how to manage the core wards. It’s for the pack.”

“Learning?” I finally turn, staring at his deceitful face. “Five years of my life's work. You’re letting a Beta who can’t even cast a proper shield charm ‘learn’ it? Jayden, are you stupid, or just cruel?”

“Insolent!” His Alpha command washes over me, trying to crush me.

But the pressure hits an invisible barrier of golden magic three feet from me and dissolves into nothing.

I didn't even have to lift a finger.

“Save it,” I say, my voice dripping with contempt. “After ten years, have you forgotten who helped you secure your Alpha title in the first place?”

"Lacey, you disappoint me." He doesn't come closer. Instead, he starts blaming me. "Chloe may not have your power, but she is supportive. She is obedient. And you? You challenge my authority at every turn."

Just then, light footsteps approach through the trees.

"My Alpha!"

Chloe runs out from the woods in a white dress and throws herself into Jayden’s arms.

And around her neck is the Luna heirloom—a 300-year-old moonstone necklace.

Chloe looks up at me, her eyes innocent but cruel.

She deliberately strokes the temporary mark on her neck. “Lacey, you look awful. Is it because your bond with the Alpha is unstable? Is your magic fading? Jayden always says a Luna's strength is a reflection of her Alpha's favor. I guess he’s right.”

My eyes lock on the moonstone necklace.

It’s a 300-year-old heirloom. Only the Luna is supposed to wear it.

"That necklace..."

"Isn't it beautiful?" Chloe tilted her chin, letting the moonstone glitter. "Jayden said it suits me more. It belongs on the neck of a Luna who supports her Alpha. Not a monster who challenges his every command."

Monster?

I look at Jayden. He says nothing.

He even reaches out and adjusts the necklace for her.

A sharp pain rips through my chest. The mate bond is starting to crack.

Chloe’s eyes land on the blood-red charm on the altar. "Ooh, what's this? Such a pretty design."

"It's a Bonding Charm," I say, my voice hoarse. "Drawn with my magic and my heart’s blood."

"A Bonding Charm?" Chloe's eyes light up. "Jayden, you prepared such a special gift to celebrate my one-year anniversary with the pack! You’re so thoughtful!"

I pretend to be shocked. "What?"

Jayden glances at the charm, then back at me.

He frowns, as if my defiance is an annoyance. “Lacey, don’t be so selfish. It’s just a charm. You can always make another. But this possessiveness, this disobedience… I don’t like it. Since Chloe likes it, giving it to her will teach you a lesson in true submission.”

He raises his hand, Alpha power gathering in his palm.

I reach out, as if to stop him.

He raises his hand, and a ball of golden fire incinerates my charm.

My gift. It turns to ash, scattering on the night wind.

Jayden gestured to the shimmering dust. "Beautiful, like stardust, isn't it?"

The ash dusts her face as she giggles. "So romantic, my Alpha."

He thought he was burning my hard work. He thought he could humiliate me, tame me.

But he didn’t notice a sliver of light from the ashes enter his body.

He’ll pay for this. Soon.

"Jayden, you got what you wanted."

Without another glance, I shift into my silver wolf form and disappear into the darkness of the forest.

Back in my rooms, I shift to my human form.

My hands are shaking, but my mind is crystal clear.

First things first: book a one-way flight to the neutral territories.

Before the backlash from our cracking bond destroys me, I have to file for a formal rejection. I have to end this.