Chapter 1

All the way back to the estate, the pack members kept giving me strange looks.

I got out of the car with a head full of questions, only to find that the servants who usually huddled together whispering had disappeared. There were more guards, too.

A heavy, somber silence hung over the whole estate.

But none of that was my concern. I was just arm candy around here, and Damian Sterling took care of everything anyway.

I pushed open the door to Damian's study. Inside were several elders who usually criticized me for being nothing like a future Luna. Right now, they'd completely abandoned their dignity, arguing so fiercely they were one step away from rolling up their sleeves and throwing punches.

When they saw me come in, they lowered their voices. One of them even casually swept the papers on the table into a pile.

I pretended not to notice and walked toward Damian, who was sitting on the sofa in the middle of the room.

His stern, cold expression softened instantly. He opened his arms and pulled me in as I came closer.

I buried my face in the crook of his neck, nuzzled him, and complained in a muffled voice, "I'm so upset. I found a moonstone necklace I loved today, but my card got declined, so I couldn't buy it."

Damian gently stroked my hair and was about to say something.

But before he could, an angry female voice cut in.

"Serena, something's happened to the pack, and all you can think about is some stupid necklace!"

Evelyn Sterling's eyes were red, as if she'd just been crying. Her voice trembled with emotion.

"My brother is so good to you. Do you even have a heart?"

"Evelyn!"

Damian cut her off. His voice wasn't loud, but it was unusually hoarse.

Evelyn reluctantly shut her mouth, bit down hard on her lower lip, and shot me a fierce glare.

She slammed the door on her way out.

For a moment, the room went tense, but Damian didn't seem to care at all.

His fingers ran through my hair, stroking it over and over as he soothed me.

"Don't listen to her. The pack has run into a little trouble, but I can handle it.

"You liked that necklace, didn't you? Go buy it."

Damian pulled a card from his pocket and handed it to me.

I looked up to take it, and only then did I notice his bloodshot eyes. He couldn't hide the exhaustion on his face.

This problem must be pretty hard to solve.

Still, if he said he could handle it, why should I worry?

"Damian, you're the best."

When Damian heard that, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

"Have Theodore take you shopping later. While you're at it, go stay in Silvermoon City for a few days. I won't be there with you, so take good care of yourself."

I held the card, confused. "You're not coming?"

"No. Things will settle down once I get through this." Damian paused. "Think of it as a little getaway. Once everything here is sorted out, I'll come find you, okay?"

When I nodded, Damian pulled me into a tight hug. Before letting go, he kissed my forehead.

As we drove away from the estate, I stared at the card in my hand. The more I thought about it, the more something felt off.

The declined card. The heavily guarded estate. What Evelyn had said...

Wait. Silvermoon City!

If I really were just arm candy, maybe I would've obediently gone along with Damian's plan.

But as the former Chair of the Werewolf Council, how could I not know?

With the pack in crisis, my Alpha mate was having his Beta take me to the very city where the Werewolf Council's court was based. That could only mean...

Alarm bells went off in my head.

I looked at Theodore in the rearview mirror.

"Theodore, turn around!"

"But this is the Alpha's order—"

"If you don't turn around right now, I'll jump out of the car!"

I cut him off and grabbed the door handle.

Theodore had never seen me like this. We were at a standoff, but in the end, he gave in.