Blood for Betrayal

“It’s just an ordinary stone, Jennie. Since Joey has already given it away to Anna, you’re insulting him by asking for it back. Is a stone more important than Joey?”

The voice belonged to Mollie Bate, Anna’s mother and my stepmother.

Mollie always played the saint whenever Anna and I were at odds. My naïve father bought her act every time and sided with Anna.

Sure enough, Gale Bate, my father, tore into me as I stood there in silence.

“Keep it down, Jennie. Today is Anna’s eighteenth birthday. Stop this nonsense right now.”

Apparently, my antics embarrassed him.

Some gifted werewolves shifted at fourteen, but even at eighteen, I still hadn’t gone through my first shift. Despite Gale’s efforts, I hadn’t succeeded, nor did I have a wolf.

In other words, I was less than the lowliest Omega. I was a wolfless werewolf.

Unlike me, Anna shifted at fourteen and had a wolf of her own.

On her eighteenth birthday today, the Moon Goddess would bind her to her fated mate.

Gale and Mollie couldn’t be more excited for Anna.

Alone and helpless, I turned to Joey for support.

There was not even a peep from him. His silence affirmed their accusations toward me.

My voice was laced with desperation.

“Joey, the stone is the only thing Mom left me. I kept it locked in the study safe and told you about it. You know how much it meant to me, so why did you lie to me and give it away to Anna behind my back?”

Joey shied his gaze away.

His knuckles were white from clenching, a sign that he was simmering with rage.

At last, he spoke, his voice callous.

“You’re the future Luna of the Moonstone Pack, Jennie. The least you can do is show some grace. If you’re going to be petty with your sister over a stone, how can I trust you to run the pack?”

Anna said, sounding hurt, “I’m sorry, Jennie. I didn’t know that this was your mother’s keepsake.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she uttered, “Don’t blame Joey. It’s all my fault.”

With Anna turning on the waterworks, Joey turned on me critically.

“Stop this, Jennie. You are sisters. Don’t make things difficult for family.”

I looked at the pack, Gale, Mollie, and Joey. They believed that I started the whole hoo-ha.

“Am I wrong to ask for my mother’s stone back?” I asked.

Unfazed, Joey narrowed his emotionless eyes at me.

“I’m disappointed in you, Jennie. Have I not given you enough? You get a diamond ring, couture gowns, and a manor. After all I’ve done for you, does the stone matter more than my love to you?”

I let out a scoff.

“You may have marked me, but I am still my own werewolf. None of you has the right to take what’s mine without my permission.”

Rage burned in Joey’s eyes.

“You’re not even the Luna yet, you’re telling me, your Alpha, what to do? It seems I should reconsider if the Moon Goddess made a mistake choosing you as my Luna.”

“Don’t be upset, Joey. I’m scared.” Anna approached Joey and took his arm.

In a low-cut slip dress, Anna pressed her chest and grazed against Joey’s arm.

The harsh lines across Joey’s face softened.

He uttered tenderly, “Don’t be scared. It’s Jennie’s fault for being petty.”

I stared at them, struck by the irony of it all.

From the time the Moon Goddess brought us together to our mating ceremony, I had never seen Joey so affectionate.

Joey had always been stoic, as if nothing could stir him, throughout the four years with me.

I assumed that he wasn’t one to smile, but his eyes often sparkled with joy whenever Anna was in the room.

Due to our mate bond, I could pick up on his feelings for Anna, be it upset, distress, or heartache.

It was the most absurd thing ever. I guessed he was lying when he said his feelings remained true to me regardless of whether I had a wolf.

While walking away, I took one last look at the wooden box holding my mother’s keepsake.

No one understood the significance of the stone from my mother.

It was a moonstone, a gift from the Moon Goddess to white wolves.

Should I wish to reject Joey as my fated mate, I could use the stone to break the mate bond between us.

One way or another, I must get the stone back.