Chapter 2

The next morning, my wolf was restless.

Even suppressed by Silver Dust, it could feel my rage and despair.

I could hear its faint growls, like a beast trapped in a cage.

I drove to an independent clinic on the edge of the city.

Old Shaman Mira tended to werewolves who didn't trust the pack doctors.

Her clinic smelled of herbs and the faint scent of wolfsbane incense.

The familiar scents calmed my repressed wolf slightly.

"I want to check the state of my wolf," I said, looking directly into her ancient, wise eyes.

Mira’s nostrils flared as she sniffed the air around me.

She frowned.

"You smell of silver. Heavily."

My heart pounded.

"Please, check me."

She motioned for me to lie on the examination table and placed her hands on my chest.

As she used her own wolf to sense my condition, her eyes suddenly turned gold—the sign of a shaman entering a trance.

A few seconds later, she snapped her eyes open, staring at me in shock.

"By the Moon Goddess... child, your wolf…"

"What is it?" I asked, my own wolf beginning to struggle faintly.

"Your wolf isn't damaged. It’s just… encased in a thin silver film, like a cocoon. This isn't natural, it's—"

BANG!

The door was violently thrown open.

A crushing Alpha presence slammed into the room like a tidal wave.

I felt my wolf instantly curl into a ball.

Mira fell to her knees, whimpering in pain.

"It's like what?" Kael’s voice boomed, his eyes glowing gold, fangs peeking past his lips.

A sign of an Alpha's rage.

"Alpha Kael…" Mira managed, her wolf completely submissive before him.

"My Luna is unwell. What were you doing to her?"

Kael strode to my side, pulling me up with a powerful arm and shielding me behind him.

His wolf radiated a fierce, protective aura.

But through our mate bond, I felt his anxiety.

"I was just... checking on her wolf's recovery..." Mira stammered.

"Recovery?" A dangerous glint flashed in Kael's eyes. "Shaman Mira, I think you're mistaken. My Luna's wolf was severely traumatized in a rogue attack three years ago. She's still in recovery. You weren't thinking of performing some dangerous forced awakening ritual, were you?"

"No, I wasn't—"

"Such a ritual would be too dangerous for her. Her wolf is in no condition to handle it."

Kael held me tighter. "Right, Clara?"

I looked at Mira's terrified face, at how she couldn't speak the truth under Kael's crushing presence.

"Yes," I whispered. "Let's go."

Back in the car, Kael held my hand tightly.

"Baby, why did you go to that old shaman? If you're worried about your recovery, I can arrange for the pack's best healers to see you."

He soothed me with his Alpha scent, trying to calm me.

"I just wanted to know when I'd get better."

"You will. I promise. But it takes time. You can't rush it." He kissed the back of my hand. "Those radical awakening rituals are too dangerous. I can't let you take that risk."

The same old excuse.

I asked him softly through our bond, "Kael, do you love me?"

His answer was instant. "Of course. I love you more than anything."

But the emotion that came through the bond was ice-cold.

Not love, but burden.

Not protection, but imprisonment.

And a flicker of something I'd never felt before... guilt?

"Then why don't we ever talk about our future? When can we have pups? When will I have my Luna ceremony?"

His hand stiffened.

"There's no rush for any of that. We'll talk about it when you're fully recovered."

When I'm recovered.

But I'll never recover, will I?

Because you're the one injecting me with Silver Dust.

I felt the coldness and rejection from his wolf, and my heart sank completely.

Three years of a mate bond, and I'd been living with an actor.

I stifled a sigh and turned to gaze out the window.