Chapter 2

The banquet ended in bitter silence. I returned to my room alone. I had barely sat down by the fire when a magical raven sent by Lyla from the camp landed on the windowsill.

The raven spat out a memory crystal and a sheet of parchment.

The crystal immediately projected an image.

Inside a cabin, Silas held Lyla as he gently applied healing herbs, stopping now and then to kiss her swollen belly.

Lyla leaned against his chest with a sweet, taunting smile.

The tenderness in the image cut through my chest like a dull blade.

"For the rest of my life, you're the only one I'll ever love. I'll never betray you."

He had once whispered those words into my ear. Now they were a poisoned thorn, driving deeper every time I remembered them.

I curled my hands into fists so tight that even my fingertips trembled.

I couldn't tell where the pain came from: the jealousy of losing the man I loved or the bitterness of learning that our five years together had been a lie.

I waved the image away, and my eyes landed on the parchment. It was a petition to dissolve the mate bond.

Silas had already signed it.

Clearly, he'd signed it to keep his pregnant lover happy.

A witch had already witnessed it. Once we both signed it, the mate bond sealed by the Moon Goddess would be severed for good.

My finger hovered over the parchment, and for a moment, I hesitated.

As long as I didn't sign, this fake mate bond would still exist.

I could keep fooling myself and cling to the illusion of those five years together.

Then I remembered the daily wolfsbane, the stolen memories and power, and the way everyone had looked down on me. Whatever tenderness remained turned cold.

I bit my thumb and signed my name in blood.

The pact had barely begun to glow when I stuffed the parchment into the raven's beak. "Take this back to her."

I smoothed my skirt and leaned back as a mocking smile curled my lips. "And give them a message from me. Happy breeding."

A faint sting ran through my soul as the bond broke. It didn't tear me apart, but a heavy ache settled in my chest.

The master bedroom door exploded into splinters.

Silas stood outside, breathing hard, his eyes so red they looked ready to bleed.

He advanced, every movement rigid, crushing the parchment in his fist.

His chest heaved, and blood seeped through the bandage on his palm again as he clenched his fist.

Rage rolled off him, yet his massive frame trembled.

"You actually signed it?!"

His voice ripped from his throat.

He hurled the document into the fire and watched it burn to ashes, but it wasn't enough.

He turned on me, his gaze dangerously intent, and closed in one step at a time, using his dominant scent to force me into submission.

"Seraphina, you know I can't live without you!

"That document was garbage. Lyla went on a hunger strike to make me sign it!"

He pressed one hand against the back of my chair, caging me against him. "You could see I was forced into it. So why did you sign?

"Do you want to get rid of me that badly?"

His fury ignited my own.

"Forced?" I stared at him, my voice sharpening with every word.

"Silas, you swear you'll never break our bond, and meanwhile you're out sowing your seed in someone else.

"Do you know what you look like right now? A stray dog snarling over its bowl while prowling for scraps elsewhere.

"It's not that you can't live without me. You just can't stand that I'm the one doing the leaving."

Silas went rigid. The last of his self-control was about to snap.

Suspicion flickered across his face. For a second, my cold, sharp expression must have reminded him of the proud woman I used to be.

But he dismissed the thought almost at once. The wolfsbane could not have failed.