Liz POV
At the altar, the elder of the Dark Moon Pack begins a long speech about how blessed everyone is here to witness the union between two royal families: the Phalens and the Wilks. It should feel like a blessed day, but it isn’t. I swallow hard and try to pay attention to what the Elder of the Dark Moon Pack is saying, but my mind drifts away.
Suddenly, the elder gestures wildly to the crowd during his speech, and I am brought out of my thoughts. He kindly makes an excuse for why Deimos has decided not to show up today before continuing his speech. Another wave of embarrassment washes over me.
I knew Deimos might be mad over the last-minute change in the bride. He was expecting my sister, after all. But I never in my wildest dreams imagined that he would stand me up. Not to mention them keeping the wedding going on even without him.
The pack Elder clears his throat, and I am again pulled from my thoughts. The Elder raises his eyebrows at me, and I realize I have missed an essential part of the ceremony. My face flushes, and I don’t know what to say.
The Elder pauses for a moment before repeating the words I missed. “Do you, Elizabeth Wilks, pledge your life to Deimos Phalen as his mate for life?”
I blink my eyes quickly. And nod my head.
“You have to answer aloud,” the Elder leans in and whispers to me.
I roll my shoulders back and try to sound confident. “I do.”
“Do you, Elizabeth Wilks, break all ties with the Moonstone Pack and pledge your loyalty to the Dark Moon Pack?”
I hesitate. I don’t remember this being part of the deal. I glance over my shoulder at Nico, who nods for me to continue.
“I do,” I say through the tears filling my eyes.
I wasn’t prepared for what would happen next. It feels like a knife is being stabbed into my chest. I know it is my ties to the Moonstone Pack breaking. I clutch my chest with my free hand and sink to the ground. I try not to cry out as I writhe in pain before the altar.
My father is at my side instantly, pushing my hair out of my face. “You are so strong,” he whispers for my ears alone. He helps me to my feet, and I see Nico standing with his hands clasped together with a pleased look on his face.
My father moves to take me down the aisle, but a younger version of Nico steps in front of us. I grind my teeth together as the young man tries to take me by the arm.
Father tries to pull me back into his arms, but I pat him gently on the shoulder. “I will be okay,” I tell him as I let the man lead me away.
The young version of Nico leads me away by my elbow. His fingernails dig into my skin as he leads me down the stairs. It is as if he is worried that I am going to run. I want to wrench my arm away from his grasp, but it is too painful. So, instead, I fight back the tears that are prickling at the corners of my eyes.
“I am Elizabeth,” I say through gritted teeth, but the young man only growls at me in return.
He leads me back into the pack house and to a different room from where I was before. The young man opens the door and tosses me inside the room. I hit the floor on all fours, and the satin material of my dress rips against my skin.
The young man chuckles, “Good luck.” Before he shuts the door, locking me in.
My first instinct is to run to the door and try to escape, but I have nowhere to go. So, instead, I pace the floor of Deimos’s bedroom and try to formulate a plan.
I will have to play my part carefully. Deimos has the most ruthless reputation of all the Alphas in power. Rumor has it that he murdered his brother for the title of Alpha, and when his army uprose against him, he wiped them out single-handedly. His pack or allies don’t trust him due to his erratic temper. There is no telling who he will kill next and why.
That is why when I heard my sister was being forced into a marriage with him. I couldn’t let it happen. For the past two years, Belle has built herself up to be one of the greatest warriors in the Moonstone Pack. She didn’t deserve to be mated to someone like Deimos. At eighteen, Belle deserves to find her fated mate.
I wring my hands together nervously. I haven’t been trained to be a spy, and I don’t know the first thing about collecting information about someone.
“You can do this,” I chant to myself in the room's darkness.
I sit on the couch in the corner of the room, as far away from the bed as possible, and go over my plan. I will be a kind and doting mate. The perfect mate, to be exact. That way, Deimos will have no reason to suspect me as a spy. As long as I keep up the façade, I might be able to make it out of here alive. The best scenario for me would be left alone from their father and son war. I just need to hang on long enough for Nico to take the power away from Deimos. Once my job is over, I will be free.
I don’t move from the couch. The sun sets outside, creating large shadows in the room. My body shakes with fear as I wait for Deimos to finally show himself. The later it gets, the heavier my eyes become, but I refuse to fall asleep in the lion’s den.
I hear the lock click on the door, and I put on a perfect smile. The door slams shut, and I hear the heavy thump of a cane on the ground. The thump of the cane grows closer to me until a pair of shiny shoes stop on the floor in front of me.
Taking a deep breath, I look up to see the most beautiful man I have ever laid eyes on. I never thought someone so evil could be so handsome. I open my mouth to speak, but Deimos holds his hand up to silence me.
“So, you are the spy,” he snarls.
Liz POV “What?” My voice trembles. All my imaginary plans formed from the few TV shows I watched break into pieces at his first words to me. How did he even?! What do I do now? Is he going to kill me? Where do I go from here? “You are Nico’s spying whore,” Deimos says through gritted teeth. “Get. Out.” “There must be a misunderstanding–” “You are a cute one,” Deimos snorts coldly, “Cutely stupid. You are not the first spy he tried to plant on me, and you won’t be the last. A wedding is a new way, though. I’ll give him that.” I stand with my jaw on the ground. I came here to play chess with him. Sure, I might lose in the end, but not without a fight. Yet this man threw the chessboard at me before I could make my first move. “Get out, or I throw you out–” “You throw me out. He will know you are onto him,” I blurt. Never have I thought so fast in my life, “If you are so sure I’m a spy, the worst one no less, then won’t it be better for you if you keep me instead of someone bet
Liz POV I rush out of Nico’s office with a newfound sense of purpose. I have done what was asked of me, and now my family will be safe. I head down the hall with a bounce in my step until Tracy turns the corner and glares at me. "There you are, finally," she says with a sneer on her lips. "You don’t start working late like today ever again, understand?" Tracy thrusts a worn Omega’s uniform into my hands. “You will need this.” I open my mouth, but she is clearly not waiting for an answer. She looks me up and down with an air of disgust, and I fidget uncomfortably in the too-small uniform. She shoves a bucket and rag into my hands. "Start with the windows," she says before she begins to walk away. "Wait!" I call after her, having an awkward panic attack. Tracy turns and gives me an annoyed look. "What?" "I am not an Omega," I say quickly, “I think there has been some sort of misunderstanding...” "You are the new Luna of this pack," Tracy snaps back at me. I le
Liz POV My eyes feel heavy as I try to open them, and a subtle beeping noise is in the background. I squint against the harsh light of the bright white room, trying to make my eyes come into focus. I open my mouth to yawn, and a pain shoots through my jaw. I raise my hand to touch my face, and I realize it is swollen and painful to the touch. The blurriness in my eyes subsides, and the world comes into view. I am in a bright white room with wires and tubes connected to my arms, chest, and legs. Gingerly, I try to sit up in the bed, but a strong hand lays me back down. “It is nice to see you awake, Luna,” a soft voice says to me. I look to my right and see a doctor standing beside the machine, watching my vitals. “Where am I?” I ask stupidly. “You are in the hospital,” the doctor says with a kind smile. “Alpha Deimos got you here just in time.” I try to shake the fuzziness from my brain. I thought I just heard the doctor say Deimos brought me to the hospital.
Liz POV I sit in the hospital bed and shake fearfully. I don’t know what to say. Deimos is right; I did betray him, and there is no sense in trying to deny it. I open my mouth several times to speak, but nothing comes out. “Get dressed,” Deimos’s growl fills the silence between us. “You are being discharged.” Deimos tosses me a bag of clothes, and I am touched that he remembered I would need clean clothes to go home in. I patiently wait for Deimos to leave the hospital room so I can change. Instead, he draws the curtain and waits with his arms crossed over his chest. “Change,” he commands me. I can feel his Alpha Aura wash over me, but it doesn’t have the desired effect. “I would like some privacy,” I try to sound confident. “I have already seen you naked,” Deimos laughs. “Or have you already forgotten?” Memories of the shower flash through my mind, and my face heats. “I have not forgotten. But I would still like some privacy.” “And if I don’t?” Deimos gro
Liz POV My eyes widen with fear. “You want me to be a double agent?” Deimos chuckles. “For lack of a better word, yes. You will feed my father just enough information to make him think you are still on his side, and in return, you will tell me everything he wants to know.” “Won’t it be dangerous?” My voice is dry and raspy. “If you prove yourself,” Deimos pauses. “I will keep you safe.” I look at Deimos. He is stripping off his clothes and getting ready for bed. I try to avert my eyes from his partially naked form, but my eyes are drawn to him. He is easily the most attractive man that I have ever seen, but I would never let him know that. This is officially a strictly business agreement. “You should get ready for bed,” Deimos growls. “You have had a stressful day.” Deimos crawls into his bed, settling himself right in the middle, and I know that I will be sleeping on the floor again. It is probably best that we keep our distance from each other anyway. There is
Deimos POV From the moment that little wolf-less girl walked into this pack house, my life has been turned upside down. My father has been demanding I mark and mate her. I know what he wants. A mate like her is only going to make me weaker. Nico has always been obvious and stupid. It was obvious that she was a spy from the beginning. That is why I refused to offer her any type of solace. I vowed not to make her stay her comfortable. That's why I insisted she sleep on the floor. I watch as my father drags her down the stairs to his office, and my wolf, Duko, is running wild in my mind. From the moment he laid eyes on Elizabeth, he insisted that she was his. He has never found himself concerned with the other females in my life. He is sure this wolf-less spy is my mate, but I refuse to believe the Moon Goddess would be so cruel to pair me with someone like her. I slam the door so I don't have to watch Elizabeth fight against my father's grip. I lean my forehead against the
Liz POV The paper crinkles underneath me as I scoot around on the hospital bed. I pinch the gown together behind me, trying to hide my bare bottom as Deimos paces the floor in front of me. I don't know why I am bothering. It isn't like he is paying attention to me anyway. He is playing a game on his phone. "Would you please sit down," I say, trying to sound commanding. Deimos looks up at me with a shocked look on his face. "Did you just try and command me to sit down?" I immediately look down at my hands. "Your pacing is just making me nervous." "What the fuck do you have to be nervous about?" Deimos stops in his tracks. "I'm sitting in a hospital gown at four in the morning for the second time in less than twenty-four hours. I have every reason to be nervous," I spit at him. "Elizabeth," Deimos breathes out. "I don't think I have ever heard you sound so assertive." I cannot stop the slight grin that tugs at the corners of my lips. "You have known me for less than a day,"
Liz POV After too many stitches to count and another barrage of tests, the doctor hands me a bottle of pain medication and tells me to take it easy. The doctor quickly leaves the room and I slide off of the hospital bed. Gingerly, I slip off the hospital gown and slide the bloodied oversized t-shirt back over my head. I peek out of the hospital room and see the hospital is in full swing. The hallways are busy with nurses and doctors running from one room to the next. Looking down at my clothes, embarrassment washes over me. Between the blood on the shirt and the bruises on my face, I know people will be watching me as I leave the room. I step back into the room and wait for several minutes but it is clear that no one is coming to get me. I will have to find my way back to the pack house on my own. "You are the Luna of this pack," I whisper to myself. “You can do this.” I hold my head high, pull the t-shirt down around my hips, and walk out of the room. I weave my way in and ou