Chapter 2

The next morning, Weston took me to inspect our newly built house.

It was the lakeside mansion built for their union, with sturdy defense towers, dense fir trees, and the territory's most elite patrol team.

I walked straight to the passenger side, but Weston grabbed my wrist. "Darling, let Riley have this seat. You can sit in the back for now."

Riley appeared from the porch right on cue, and Weston opened the car door for her. "She's been complaining about how noisy the training grounds are lately. She's coming with us to relax."

I climbed into the back seat without a word. "Whatever."

In the front, Weston and Riley discussed recent border patrols and Alpha council rankings, as if the back seat were empty.

Seeing them side by side, I suddenly understood. I wasn't just in the back seat; I was completely excluded from their world.

The moment she got out of the car, Riley was captivated by the greenhouse on the side of the villa. It was the one Weston had reluctantly agreed to build for my healing herbs three months ago.

Riley stood under the glass dome, her eyes shining. "The light in here is perfect. A field of purple roses would be beautiful. I could even do some publicity shots for my upcoming pack ambassador campaign here."

Weston barely hesitated. "Then this space is yours. Do whatever you want with it. I'll have the purple rose seeds shipped over tomorrow."

I stood at the doorway, struggling to hold back the stinging in my eyes.

Weston had shown almost no interest in this villa, from its location to its layout. But now he stood beside Riley, enthusiastically planning a corner that was supposed to be ours.

They looked like a true, fated pair.

Riley turned to me with a sweet smile. "By the way, Lyra, you don't mind, do you?"

My gaze went straight to Weston. "You know it's filled with the herbs I've spent months cultivating, right?"

His expression was as steady as ever. "The herbs can be put anywhere. Riley's roses need this kind of greenhouse more. The villa's basement is cool and quiet. You can move your things there."

I unclenched my reddened palms. "Do what you want."

Weston patted my head. "That's a good girl."

I turned my head to avoid his touch. He didn't even notice.

After leaving the new house, the dressmaker sent Weston a message saying my bonding ceremony gown was ready.

Riley linked her arm through mine affectionately. "I'll go with you to see it. You can't always dress so drably. You need to be eye-catching at the ceremony."

I had just slipped on the ceremonial Luna gown, embroidered with full moon patterns in white gold thread, when Riley burst in, slamming the door, her face a mask of frustration.

"Damn it. The gown I was supposed to wear tomorrow night is ruined. I have to represent the pack when I meet the envoys from the other packs. Where am I supposed to find a dress that makes a statement now?"

Weston scanned the racks of ready-to-wear gowns. "Then just pick one from here."

An attendant brought over several of the finest gowns, but he frowned and rejected them all.

Finally, his gaze landed on me. "This one will do. The white gold will complement Riley's cool skin tone. Give it to her."

The tailor spoke up in alarm. "Alpha, that is Miss Lyra's Luna gown. She came in more than twenty times just to get the embroidery on the waistline right."

Weston looked at me as if this wasn't a problem at all. It was an automatic response, as if his mind was wired to give Riley whatever she wanted.

I looked at myself in the mirror, wearing the white gold gown, and suddenly I felt nothing. There's a certain clarity that comes with being hurt one too many times.

I took off the gown and handed it to Riley. "Here. It will look beautiful on you."

Weston seemed stunned for a moment, then his expression softened. "There you go. I'll order you an even more beautiful one."

He murmured soothingly, but his eyes never left Riley.

Suddenly, he knelt on one knee, took Riley's ankle in his hand, and personally helped her into the matching high heels, even brushing a speck of dust from the toe.

I had rehearsed this scene in my mind a hundred times, wanting Weston to see how stunning I looked in the gown.

But from start to finish, Weston had only come with me once, and even then, he was constantly on the phone dealing with pack business. I remembered him saying that fussing over someone's clothes was a servant's job, something beneath him.

And now, here he was, kneeling at my sister's feet. I was finally tasting the bitter price of my foolish fantasies.

Everyone loved Riley more. My parents, and Weston too.

But who could possibly care that I had once loved him so deeply?

When I was little, my mother scolded me in front of the elders for my weak wolf form, calling me a disgrace to the family.

Weston secretly pressed a small piece of honeyed cake into my palm. "There's nothing wrong with being a little weak, Lyra. You look pretty when you're quiet."

I had held onto those words for many years.

The day Riley refused the arranged marriage and Weston turned to me, I knew I was only the second choice. But I still reached out and took his hand.

Because I wanted him so badly.

To stay by his side, I became a shadow, his planner, even his nanny, handling every trivial detail of his life. But in the end, I could never become Riley.

My phone buzzed in my pocket.

[The border transport truck is ready. It leaves at midnight on the night of the bonding ceremony. I'll wait for you in the pine forest by the territory's back gate.]

I tapped out my reply: [I'll be there.]