Elena's POV

The next morning, I spent an hour in front of the mirror covering the slap mark on my left cheek with layers of foundation. My hands were wrapped in thin flesh-colored bandages, the cuts from the porcelain was still throbbing. I pressed my fabric down past my wrists, and made sure everything was hidden, and then sat for a long moment looking at my own reflection.

From the courtyard three floors below, I could already hear the celebration building. Music filtering up through the windows, champagne glasses clinking, the warm rumble of voices as pack members arrived in their finest clothes and greeted each other like they were gathered for the happiest occasion in recent memory. The three-year vow renewal of Alpha Caleb and his Luna. A celebration of enduring love. A symbol of pack unity and strength.

The bedroom door swung open and Chloe came in bouncing.

She was my best friend. She had been since we were seven years old, which meant she had been in my life longer than almost anyone. She was carrying a silver tiara in both hands, her eyes bright. She crossed to where I sat and set the crown carefully into my hair, stepping back to look at my reflection over my shoulder with the expression of someone admiring a finished painting.

"Elena," she breathed. "You look breathtaking."

I watched her face in the glass.

"Every woman in this pack is going to be green with envy today," she continued, smoothing the fabric across my shoulders with gentle hands. "You are so incredibly lucky, Elena. He is the most powerful Alpha in the entire territory, and he is dedicating this entire day just to stand up in front of everyone and show the world how much he loves you. Do you have any idea how rare that is? How many women would trade places with you in a heartbeat?"

Everything she said was correct, but her eyes had a particular gleam in them that I had never let myself notice before, or maybe had never looked closely enough to see. It wasn't the warmth of a friend who was happy for you. It was the satisfied shine of someone watching something they had been waiting for, who already knows how the story ends and is simply enjoying the performance before it gets there.

She already knew.

I had known Chloe since we were seven years old. I had told her things I had never told another living person. And she already knew everything.

I smiled at her in the mirror and made it reach my eyes just enough to be convincing. "It's going to be a big day," I said.

"The biggest!" She squeezed my shoulders gently, careful not to disturb the gown. "Are you ready?"

I kept my hands loose and my breathing even all the way down the staircase.

The ceremonial hall was packed to capacity. Pack elders, visiting dignitaries from three different territories, all dressed in their finest wears. When the double oak doors opened and I stepped out onto the aisle, every person in the room stood. The applause was immediate.

I kept my chin up. I kept my gaze fixed dead ahead. I walked the way a Luna is supposed to walk, with purpose and a smile.

Caleb was waiting at the altar.

He was in his formal Alpha attire, silver-trimmed, and when I got close enough to see his face clearly, he gave me a smile that was warm and adoring. Several women in the front row sighed audibly.

If I hadn't heard his voice through that bedroom door last night, I would have believed every single thing about him.

He stepped forward and took my bandaged hand in his, squeezing carefully, then dipped his lips close to my ear. "You look beautiful, Elena," he murmured. "Let's give them a show."

I looked up into his face. "A show they'll never forget, Caleb."

The ceremony was beautifully done. The priest spoke about the sacred nature of the bond between an Alpha and his Luna, about faithfulness and the moon goddess's blessing and the rare and precious strength of a love that endures through difficulty. Caleb held both my hands and gazed at me with the kind of total, unwavering devotion that women wrote about in letters. Not once did his expression flicker, not once did he look away.

He was extraordinary at it. If performance were an Alpha gift, it was absolutely his.

I stood and felt nothing but a quiet, steady calm, like when a decision has already been made and you are simply waiting for the right moment to act on it.

"And now," the priest said, his voice deep. He turned to me with a kind smile. "Elena. Do you accept to renew this sacred bond? To bind your soul once more to your Alpha, your husband, for all eternity?"