3

Elena's Pov

"Please, James," I begged, legs throbbing against the chill of the cold marble beneath me as I knelt at his feet. "Where would I be? What would I be doing?"

James gazed down at me, his features twisted between that boredom and slight irritation, as though I was some wayward dog rummaging through scraps. Beside him, Sophia sneered, one hand wrapped possessively around his.

"That is beside the point, Elena," she replied, studying her trimmed nails. "You may take your leave back to Mother and Father. Although they would no doubt be extremely. Disappointed at your failure."

Their warning made another wave of nausea wash over me. They'd been so happy when I married the next Northern Range Pack Alpha. The status, the safety, the bloodlines—all of those down the drain now. They would be heartbroken at the shame.

"I can continue to be of use," I pleaded, loathing the whiny quality of my tone but unable to stop it. "I can continue to serve the pack differently. I can—"

"Stop embarrassing yourself," she interrupted the tone of her voice cutting through my back. She stood by the fireplace, where she looked serene even when she radiated hatred. "The pack does not require an infertile she-wolf. Not one from as. Dull as your bloodline, anyway."

The brusqueness of her tone hurt worse than the surgical scar that was healing along my belly. I hid it from sight under my own palm, feeling the ridged stitches beneath the lightweight fabric.

"Seven days," he finally said, not even taking the trouble to glance at me as he declared sentence upon me. "One week from this day, you are to vacate the main house. There is a cabin on the perimeter of the property. You may reside there until other arrangements are made."

Sophia's smile widened, triumph gleaming from their eyes. "So liberal, darling. I would have given her three no more than."

I gazed up at them—husband, sister, mother-in-law—like royalty sitting in judgment of the commoner. They looked down at me in the same way of removed disdain, as if I was already a ghost, a memory, an unpleasant chapter closing.

My fingers burrowed deep into the carpet, claws ready to spring forth even as they were weakening. "And the pack, then? How are you going to answer them?"

James shrugged off the off-hand gesture as more destructive than any rage-filled tantrum would have ever been. "The fact. That you've carried out your obligation and haven't given birth to an heir. That the union is invalidated under pack law. Sophia will be stepping in as Luna."

They'll accept it, she said coldly. They always accept.

I recognized she was right. Pack law did not compromise. An Alpha needed strength beside them, needed heirs to continue the line. I had provided neither.

My body convulsed in agony and sorrow as I struggled to get up, not wanting to remain on my knees before them anymore. The world around me spun, but I struggled to remain standing upright, wanting to regain some dignity.

"Fine then," I said, trying to remain calmer than I felt. "One week."

Turning around from Sophia, I heard Sophia's voice trail after me like poison. "Oh, and Elena? Don't touch the jewelry? Everything belongs to the Luna. And that would be me now."

I braced myself, fingers automatically finding their way to the silver pendant around my neck—the crescent moon that identified me as James's mate, as Luna of the Northern Range. I removed it, its weight suddenly feeling oppressive. Without looking, I let it fall to the earth with a soft clinking sound that resonated against the silence.

Their laughter echoed behind me as I staggered off, step flowing into step as agony started anew along each battered limb and shattered heart.