Chapter 3

  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.