Chapter 2

On the drive to the altar, my best friend raged the entire way.

"What kind of mate is he? It's your engagement ceremony! Letting Yvette steal the spotlight was bad enough, but then he just dumps you and runs off after her?"

"You have never had to put up with this kind of crap."

"No. I'm turning around. I'm dragging him back."

I caught her arm before she could. "Leave it. Even if you bring him back, his heart's somewhere else."

She looked like she was about to cry. "You haven't even had the mating ceremony yet and he's already treating you like this. If you actually spend your life with him—"

"I won't," I said quietly. "I'd never spend my life with a man like that."

A memory from eight years ago rose up to meet me.

I'd agreed to the alliance back then. The first time we met, he'd held my hand and said: "I don't expect you to accept me right now. Just give me some time. Let me prove I love you."

"If you still don't love me a year from now, I'll call off the alliance myself."

After that came the expensive gifts. The trips to places I'd always wanted to see. Care so attentive it made me dizzy.

Slowly, I fell for him. Genuinely. I wanted to build a happy home with that man.

Later I found out the truth. Everything he'd done had been about one thing—using my pack's power to secure his claim as Alpha heir.

I let it go. No point dwelling on it.

The car stopped at the foot of the altar. The Moon Goddess stood carved in stone at its center.

I'd come here once before. Years ago. My head had been full of Xavier, and the wish I'd made was to walk the rest of my life hand in hand with him.

What a joke that was now.

I stepped up to the statue, closed my eyes, and pressed my palms together.

Moon Goddess, hear me. From today, Claire belongs only to herself. She will not love Xavier again. She will not cry over any man again.

I opened my eyes and saw them.

Two figures coming up the path—Xavier leading Yvette by the hand.

My friend looked ready to tear him apart.

He didn't notice. He just launched into his little speech. "Yvette talked me into it. You're right, it wasn't fair to make you come alone to pray at our engagement ceremony. So I've made time to come be with you."

"Also, I want you to see Yvette like this. See her properly. She's not plain—she just hasn't had the money to present herself. With a little effort, she's just as good as any of you."

Yvette stood there in a couture gown so weighed down with jewelry it hurt my eyes. But her small frame couldn't carry any of it. The most expensive pieces in the world looked cheap draped on her.

My friend snorted and rolled her eyes, already opening her mouth. I stopped her.

"You're right. It's lovely. The dress suits her."

Xavier swelled. "Of course. I picked it out myself."

Yvette blushed, reached up to touch her neck—and let out a cry.

"Oh—my necklace. It's gone."

Xavier waved it off. "It's just a necklace. Nothing worth getting upset over. I'll buy you a prettier one."

She pouted, voice small. "But I have to meet your friends later. Without the necklace, the whole outfit looks incomplete."

He couldn't stand to see her upset. That's when his eyes found my throat.

"Claire. Yvette needs a necklace to complete the look. Give her yours and I'll forget everything you've pulled tonight."

I froze. My hand drifted up to the pendant at my collarbone.

It had been a gift from Xavier's father. The Luna heirloom. Every Luna in the pack had worn it. Only the Luna was entitled to wear it.

When his father had given it to me, I'd been almost too overwhelmed to accept it.

"Xavier is the Alpha heir," he'd insisted. "You are the future Luna. This is going to be yours anyway. Wear it."

"You seriously want me to give this to Yvette?" I asked, looking Xavier dead in the eye.

"It's just a necklace. You've got a dozen. What's one to Yvette? Don't forget, you're going to be the Luna. Don't be petty."

He stepped toward me, reaching to unclasp it himself.

I blocked his hand. "Don't touch me. I'll take it off myself."

I reached back, unhooked the clasp, and fastened it around Yvette's neck with my own hands.

I stepped back. Looked her over. Smiled.

"You're right. It suits you better than it ever did me."