Chapter 3

"Layla, don't do this to me. I was wrong, but you said I was the only one worth loving. You'll forgive me, won't you?"

Elias tried to wrap his arms around me and hold me there.

The only one worth loving? What a joke.

As far as I was concerned, the man who had once deserved my love had died the moment he slept with Morwen.

Three years ago, I'd had a falling-out with my father over an arranged marriage.

He wanted me to marry into the Crimson Fang Pack to create an alliance that would strengthen our own pack.

But I believed marriage shouldn't be a bargaining chip for power.

So my father and I made a three-year bet.

If I found a werewolf who didn't care about my background, my father would call off the marriage.

On my first day away from the pack, I ran into a rogue.

Just as I was about to strike, Elias appeared in front of me and killed it.

After that, he worried that wolves from other packs might attack me again if I was alone, so he brought me back to his pack.

He made me a cloak from the pelt of a silver fox he'd hunted. He also gathered herbs for me himself.

I still remembered him telling me, "Layla, Omegas are strong too. Every werewolf has their own worth. To me, you're every bit as wonderful as the Moon Goddess."

Back then, I truly believed he was the one I'd been looking for.

But now...

I pulled free of Elias's arms.

"Not anymore!"

Before he could react, I turned and walked out of the hall without a second's hesitation.

On the way home, my mind kept replaying all the ways he'd once cared for me and all the ways he was hurting me now.

This was the man I'd loved for three years. My thoughts were a mess, but my heart had already gone numb.

So I contacted my father through the mind-link. "Dad, I'll come home and accept the arranged marriage."

"Layla, now you see I was right! In this world, your own strength matters most."

A wave of dizziness hit me just before I reached home.

When I came to, I found myself tied to a pillar in a secret room.

"Oh, you're awake, dear Layla."

Morwen leaned in close, an unreadable smile on her lips.

"I'll give you one more chance. Leave Elias right now. Otherwise..."

Morwen shook the vial of purple wolfsbane in her hand.

"You'll regret it!"

"This is between Elias and me. It's none of your business!"

"Listen, Layla, you're a lowborn nobody, so don't push your luck. Without Elias's protection, the rogues would've torn you to pieces long ago!"

Taryn Webb, Morwen's little lackey, walked over.

All anyone ever saw was Elias protecting me. No one knew what I'd given up for him.

That great battle had turned Elias into a legend. In everyone's eyes, he was a god of war.

Everyone thought he'd single-handedly beaten every rogue on the Silver Flats.

What they didn't know was that the night before he attacked the rogues, I'd warned him he couldn't possibly handle those beasts on his own.

But Elias was so obsessed with victory that he ignored my warning.

I had no choice but to step in and protect him in secret.

I was six months pregnant, but when the rogues were about to tear him apart, I still stepped in to shield him.

But it cost me my baby.

I held the clothes I'd made for our baby and cried for three days and three nights.

When Elias saw me sinking into depression, he held me and wept as he apologized. Later, he gave me a whistle carved from a beast's bone.

"Whenever you want to see me, blow the whistle. No matter what time it is, I'll come to you at once."

And later, he really did keep that promise.

Even when he was badly hurt, he'd be by my side within 30 seconds whenever I blew that whistle.

"Layla, my father just called Elias away. He's in the wolf keep nearby. Let's play a game. I'll blow this whistle three times. If Elias doesn't show up, I'll pour this bottle of wolfsbane down your throat. How does that sound?"

Before I could refuse, she gagged me. "All right, let the game begin."

She blew the whistle once. He didn't come.

She blew it a second time, then a third. Elias still didn't appear.

Morwen uncorked the bottle of wolfsbane and walked slowly toward me.

"Time's up! Looks like Elias doesn't love you as much as you thought. Taryn, pry her mouth open."

At Morwen's command, Taryn hurried over and forced my mouth open.

Morwen raised the bottle of wolfsbane with a vicious grin.

"Layla, once you're dead, Elias will be all mine."