Erase My Mark, Lose Your Throne

Ivy stood at the center of the banquet hall, turning just enough to show the pack members gathered around her the fresh mark on the back of her neck.

Compliments came from every direction. More than a few people peered past her shoulder to where I stood alone in the corner, their eyes bright with mockery.

Damon occupied the Alpha’s seat at the head of the hall. Every so often, his gaze drifted toward me.

After basking in everyone’s attention, Ivy picked up a glass of champagne and made her way over.

Her eyes settled on the necklace at my throat.

The clear moonstone pendant caught the light like a drop of frozen moonlight.

The necklace had been passed down through generations of Obsidian Lunas. Only the pack’s reigning Luna had the right to wear it.

Ivy hesitated before speaking in a small voice.

“Damon told me only the Luna is allowed to wear that necklace. But it looks so beautiful on you. I really shouldn’t even be asking…”

She reached toward it with tentative fingers.

I instinctively stepped back.

Ivy swayed, sloshing champagne down the front of my gown.

Her glass hit the floor with a sharp crack and shattered.

She immediately cradled one hand against her chest. Her eyes reddened, and tears began rolling down her cheeks.

“I’m sorry, Serena. I only wanted a closer look. I didn’t realize it would upset you so much…”

The music stopped.

Every eye in the hall turned toward us.

For seven years, I had driven away every she-wolf who tried to seduce Damon or challenge me openly.

Once, in front of the entire pack, I had thrown a she-wolf out of our territory after catching her trying to crawl into Damon’s bed.

Damon crossed the hall in a few long strides and pulled Ivy behind him.

His gaze fell on the faint red scrape across the back of her hand, and his expression darkened.

“What the heck is wrong with you, Serena? Ivy is the Luna now. How could you show her such disrespect?”

The blame and favoritism in his voice were impossible to miss.

I looked at the face I had once loved more than my own life and felt a dull ache settle beneath my ribs.

I drew a slow breath and forced back the sting in my eyes.

I neither defended myself nor lost my temper.

Instead, I reached behind my neck and unclasped the moonstone necklace.

Under the stunned gaze of the entire room, I held it out to Ivy.

“If you like it, it’s yours. I lost my balance just now. I’m sorry.”

Damon went rigid.

Shock flashed through his eyes, and the crease between his brows deepened.

Ivy froze too. For a moment, she even forgot to cry.

I wiped the champagne from my hands with a napkin, then crouched and picked up the shards of broken glass one by one and dropped them into a nearby bin.

When I finished, I rose and looked at Damon.

“My dress is ruined. I’m going upstairs to change.”

I walked out of the banquet hall with my back straight.

Damon’s stare clung to me the entire way.

The moment I reached my room, I shut the door and leaned against it with my eyes closed.

Seven years of devotion had ended tonight.

My phone lit up on the bedside table.

It was an encrypted message from my father.

[Serena, we’re on our way to Obsidian territory. We’ll reach you in two days. Damon will repay every debt he owes you tenfold.]

Heat gathered behind my eyes as I read it.

The door suddenly swung open.

Damon strode in and fixed a sharp gaze on the phone in my hand.

He crossed the room, snatched it away, and looked down just as the screen went dark.

He didn’t try to unlock it. He tossed it onto the carpet and gripped my chin, forcing me to look up at him.

“Why didn’t you make a scene downstairs?” Suspicion edged every word.

I met his eyes without flinching.

“You’ve spent years telling me I have a temper and need to be more generous. I gave her my title and the necklace. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

Something complicated flickered through Damon’s expression.

He released my chin, wrapped both arms around my waist, and pulled me against him.

His familiar cedar scent was tangled with the cloying floral sweetness of Ivy.

The mixture turned my stomach.

He lowered his head until his lips brushed the shell of my ear.

“I know today was hard for you, Serena. But this law has governed the Obsidian Pack for centuries. Ivy is my fated mate. As Alpha, I have no choice but to give her the title of Luna.”

“A title has nothing to do with love. You’ve been with me for seven years. You should know you’re the one I’ve always loved. Stay here and behave, and I’ll give you anything you want—anything except Ivy’s place as Luna.”

He offered the promise like a king granting mercy.

He truly believed I would be grateful for it.

A frantic knock came at the door.

Ivy’s fragile voice floated in from the hallway.

“Damon, my wolf is fading again. I can barely stand. Will you come stay with me?”

Damon’s arms fell away from me at once.

Without the slightest hesitation, he turned for the door.

At the threshold, he paused and glanced back.

“There’s an alliance banquet tomorrow night, and I’m taking Ivy. She doesn’t have anything suitable to wear yet. Have the maids take Moonlight from your wardrobe and alter it for her.”

I stared at him in disbelief.

Moonlight had been made for me five years ago, when Damon and I formally became mates. He had commissioned the finest seamstress in the North to create it to my exact measurements.

Nine hundred and ninety-nine moonstones glittered across its deep-blue skirt.

I treasured that gown so much that I rarely allowed even the maids to touch it.

Once, when a new maid secretly tried it on, I banished her from the main house.

Damon had praised me for it then. He had said what belonged to me was mine alone.

Now he was ordering me to give it to Ivy.

My nails bit so deeply into my palms that they nearly drew blood.

Still, I looked at his expectant face and nodded.

“All right. I’ll have it sent to her tomorrow.”

Damon studied me for a long moment before walking out.

His low, soothing voice carried through the hall as he comforted Ivy. A moment later, the door to the room next to mine closed.

I crossed to my desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out a calendar.

With a red pen, I drew a heavy line through the date.

Two days remained until my father came for me.

I stripped off my champagne-soaked gown and stepped beneath the shower.

Warm water streamed over my body.

In the mirror, my face looked pale. The skin at the back of my neck was still raw where the wolfsbane ash had burned away Damon’s mark.

Seven years ago, Damon had found me injured and without any memories near the edge of Obsidian territory. He had saved my life.

In the years since, I had nearly died protecting him three times. The power in my blood had reinforced the wards around his territory, and I had run the entire pack alongside him.

We owed each other nothing now.