Third Party of a Love Story

Chapter Two

The ballroom of the Blood Moon Pack was a sea of gold and black. Every high-ranking wolf was there, their scents mingling in a thick, suffocating cloud of power and judgment. Nora stood at the edge of the dais, her fingers digging into the silk of her skirt. She was the Luna, the female Alpha of this pack, yet she felt like a common Omega waiting for scraps.

Kashton stood three feet away from her. He hadn't spoken a word to her since they arrived. He was busy greeting the elders, his posture commanding and regal. 

"You look like you're about to faint," River whispered, appearing at Nora's side with a glass of champagne. "It’s embarrassing. Pull yourself together before you make the Blackwood name a laughingstock."

"I'm fine, River," Nora said.

"Are you? Because the way you're staring at Kashton is desperate. Even the pups can smell your thirst for his attention. It’s pathetic." River took a slow sip of her drink, her eyes scanning the crowd. "Oh, look. The main event is here."

The doors at the back of the hall swung open.

The room went silent. The music didn't stop, but it seemed to fade into the background. A woman walked in, dressed in a simple, ethereal white gown that clung to her lithe frame. She didn't have the heavy jewelry Nora wore. She didn't need it.

Maeve.

Nora felt the air leave her lungs. The photograph in Kashton's pocket was one thing, but seeing her in the flesh was another. Maeve looked like a dream, her pale skin glowing under the chandeliers.

Nora looked at Kashton.

She expected him to be angry. She expected him to demand why an exile had returned to his lands. Instead, she watched as his entire face changed. The cold, iron mask he always wore for Nora simply melted away. His eyes softened, a look of profound, agonizing longing taking hold of his features. It was a look Nora had prayed for every night for five years.

He didn't even realize he was doing it. He stepped off the dais, moving toward Maeve like a man in a trance.

"Kash?" Nora reached out, her fingers brushing his sleeve.

He didn't just pull away. He jerked his arm back as if her touch were a physical insult. He didn't even look at her. He just kept walking toward the woman from his past.

The whispers started immediately.

"Is that Maeve?"

"I thought she died in the fire." 

"Look at the Alpha. He looks like he’s seen a miracle." 

"Poor Nora. She really was just a seat-warmer, wasn't she?"

Nora stood frozen on the stage. She felt the eyes of the entire pack on her, heavy with pity and mockery. 

She felt small. She felt like a mistake that was finally being corrected.

Twenty minutes later, Nora found herself retreated into the alcove of the library, just off the main hall. She needed to breathe. She needed to hide the tears that were threatening to spill.

She heard voices coming from the other side of the heavy velvet curtains.

"You haven't changed at all," a deep, warm voice said. It was Kashton. He sounded different. Happy.

"Neither have you, Kash," Maeve’s voice replied, soft and melodic. 

"Except maybe you’ve grown a bit more serious. 

Is that what being an Alpha does to you? Or is it the wife?"

Nora held her breath, her heart hammering in her throat.

"Don't talk about her," Kashton said. There was a short pause. "She’s just... there. Like the furniture. A necessity of the pack."

Maeve laughed, a light, tinkling sound. 

"That’s cruel, Kash. She’s your Luna. I saw her on the stage. She looks like she worships you. It must be nice to have someone so obedient."

"It’s exhausting," Kashton countered. Nora could hear the sneer in his voice. 

"She tries so hard it makes my skin crawl. Every meal, every look, every 'I love you.'

It’s like being haunted by a ghost that won't realize it's dead. I spent five years staring at her and seeing only what I was missing. I don't think I've truly felt alive since the day I thought I lost you."

"And now?" Maeve asked.

"Now I feel like I can finally stop pretending," Kashton said. "The pack knows. They see the difference. They know she’s not the one who belongs by my side. She’s an Omega soul in a Luna’s dress. She was never meant for this life. She was just temporary until the real queen came home."

Nora’s knees hit the floor. She covered her mouth with her hands to stifle the sob that escaped her.

An Omega soul. Furniture. Exhausting.

She had given him everything. She had tended to his wounds, managed his household, and loved him through his darkest rages. And to him, she was just a ghost that didn't know it was dead.

She scrambled to her feet and ran. She didn't care who saw her. She ran through the corridors, past the smirking servants and the whispering guests, until she reached their bedroom.

She slammed the door and locked it, sliding down the wood until she was a heap on the floor. She cried until her throat burned. She cried for the five years she had wasted. She cried for the woman she used to be before she let Kashton Blackwood break her.

The lock turned.

Nora didn't move. She stayed on the floor, her head resting on her knees.

Kashton walked in. He didn't look tired. He looked invigorated. The scent of Maeve—wildflowers and honey—was all over him. It was clinging to his suit, mocking Nora.

He looked down at her, his expression returning to that familiar, icy mask. "Get up off the floor, Nora. You’re acting like a child."

Nora looked up at him, her eyes red and swollen. "I heard you. In the library."

Kashton didn't blink. He didn't offer an apology. He simply walked over to the dresser and began unbuttoning his cuffs. "Then you saved us both a very long and tedious conversation. I don't like repeating myself."

"Five years, Kashton," she whispered. "I gave you five years. I loved you."

"And I never asked you to," he snapped, turning to face her. "I told you from the start what this was. If you chose to build a fantasy in your head, that’s your failure, not mine. I needed a Luna to stabilize the pack. You were the most suitable candidate at the time. Now, the situation has changed."

"Because she’s back?"

"Because she is my mate," Kashton said, his voice dropping to a dangerous, low frequency. "The real one. The one the Moon promised me. You were a consolation prize, Nora. And the game is over."

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a stack of papers. He didn't hand them to her. He tossed them onto the bed, the white sheets making the black ink stand out like a bruise.

"Sign them," he commanded.

Nora stared at the papers. Her eyes caught the bold lettering at the top: DISSOLUTION OF MATE BOND AND PACK STANDING.

"You're rejecting me?" she asked, her voice barely audible.

"I’m setting us both free," he said, though he sounded like he was only freeing himself. 

"You’ll get a house in the southern territory and a monthly allowance. You’ll be taken care of, but you are to leave the Blood Moon lands by dawn. 

I won't have Maeve feeling uncomfortable in her own home."

"Her home?" Nora laughed, a broken, hysterical sound. "I’ve lived here for five years! I decorated these rooms! I planted the gardens!"

"And you did a fine job," Kashton said, his voice devoid of any emotion. "Maeve will appreciate the foundation you’ve laid. Now, sign the papers. I have things to attend to."

Nora looked at the man she had called husband. She looked at the handsome, ruthless Alpha who was throwing her away like a piece of used equipment.

"What if I don't?" she asked, a spark of defiance lighting up in her chest. "What if I refuse to go? We’re marked, Kashton. You can't just erase that."

Kashton stepped toward her. He didn't touch her, but his aura flared, heavy and oppressive, forcing her to stay seated. He leaned down, his face inches from hers.

"If you don't sign them," he whispered, "I will call a full assembly of the pack. I will stand on that dais and I will formally reject you in front of every wolf we lead. 

I will strip you of your name, your rank, and your protection. I will make you a rogue, Nora. And you know what the hunters do to rogues."

He straightened up, checking his watch.

"You have until 6:00 AM. If the signed papers aren't on this dresser by then, I start the public ritual."

He walked toward the door, pausing with his hand on the knob.

"And Nora? Don't try to see me in the morning. I’ll be with Maeve. She’s had a very long journey, and she needs her Alpha."

The door clicked shut behind him.

Nora looked at the papers. She looked at the pen he had left beside them.

She felt a sharp, sudden pain in her lower abdomen, a cramp so intense she gasped. She leaned forward, clutching her stomach, the room spinning around her.

She reached for the bedside table, her hand knocking over a small glass vase. It shattered on the floor, the water soaking into the rug.

As she tried to steady her breathing, she saw something under the edge of the bed. A small, black velvet box.

She reached for it, her fingers trembling. She opened it.

Inside was a beautiful, diamond-encrusted pendant in the shape of a crescent moon. It was far more expensive and intricate than anything Kashton had ever given her.

There was a small card tucked inside.

For my true Luna. Welcome home. - K.

Nora stared at the gift he had bought for Maeve while she was still wearing his ring. The pain in her stomach flared again, sharper this time.

She stood up, stumbling toward the bathroom, but as she passed the mirror, she stopped.

There was a smear of blood on the white silk of her skirt.

It wasn't a lot, but it was enough.

She stared at the red stain, her hand moving to her belly.

"No," she whispered. "Not now."