Chapter 2

After all these years with Charles, I knew him well.

Whenever it came to Susie, he would take her side without hesitation.

First it was a dress he told me to give up for her.

Then it was jewelry. Whatever Susie took a liking to, he'd make me hand over.

He always said the same thing: Susie was his only sister.

She'd suffered so much before being adopted.

He just wanted to make it up to her.

The moment I said a word about it, he'd threaten to leave me.

He was confident I'd never leave, because the first time we met, I'd told him he was my fated mate.

He had finally agreed to make me his Luna.

He had only agreed because he'd had a falling-out with Susie.

After I moved into his estate, he was decent to me sometimes. When he bought cake for Susie, he'd pick one up for me too.

But five years had passed.

Charles still hadn't developed an ounce of trust in me.

I swallowed the ache in my chest and repeated, "If you don't believe me, try reaching your parents through the mind-link. You'll feel it yourself."

The moment I finished, the healer came to urge me again.

There was no response on the other end. I let out a small breath of relief, certain that this time, Charles would sense that his parents were hurt.

But that hope lasted less than a few minutes.

He shouted over the phone. "Enough! You know I'm busy. I'm here with Susie because she accidentally hurt someone, and if my parents find out, they'll blame her!

"So you're doing this on purpose! Let me make this clear, Selena. If they hear one word about this, I won't let it go!"

Whatever patience Charles had left was gone.

I was about to explain when Susie grabbed the phone.

"Selena, I know you've never liked me. Charles just brought me out for a change of scenery. We won't be gone long, so don't worry.

"Oh, and the bow Charles gave me got blood on it. I don't really like keeping dirty things around, you know how I am. Be a dear and clean it up for me, give it a good polish. After all, it was all paid for with our family's money."

Susie's tone was calm and sweet.

It was as if nothing had happened. There wasn't a trace of fear in her after what she'd done.

Charles let out a cold snort beside her.

"That's what she's supposed to do. She lives in our home. This is the least she can do."

The color drained from my face. My nails dug into my palms.

My throat closed so tight I couldn't speak.

It started before the Spring Hunt. Charles had admired one of my bow designs and asked me for it himself.

It was rare for him to ask me for anything.

The fact that he actually liked something I'd designed made me happy.

I found the finest craftsman in the pack to bring the design to life.

I gave him the finished bow.

But when I put it in his hands, he complained about the color.

I adjusted it to his liking and was about to commission a new one when I discovered the old bow had already ended up in Susie's hands.

He always did the same thing with my gifts.

He would find some excuse to pass each one along to Susie.

The thought made my chest seize so hard I could barely breathe.

Charles said, "Enough. Just do what Susie asked. I'll bring you something nice when I get back.

"Stop wasting my time with this act."

And he hung up.

I hadn't even had time to respond.

All that was left was the dial tone.

The healer urged me once more, visibly losing patience.

I turned to her, my voice shaking. "My mate and I never had the mating ceremony, but can I sign anyway? Save them first. There's no time."

My voice was a plea.

My eyes burned, and tears spilled over before I could stop them.

The healer's expression softened. She sighed and handed me the pen.

The moment the pen touched one of the consent forms, the operating room doors flew open, and the healer performing the surgery called out urgently.

"They're crashing. They've lost too much blood.

"We couldn't save them!"

My wrist went slack. The pen slipped from my fingers and clattered to the floor.