Chapter 2

With only three days left before the marriage, I began packing my things.

My attendant, Mia Carter, grumbled as she folded my clothes. "Your brothers are convinced Sophia is the bride. They're throwing her a farewell banquet in the Moon Garden and haven't even asked about you."

I tucked away the wolf-fang necklace Mother had given me. "Let them be."

All I wanted was one last look at the home I had known for so many years before I left.

When we were children, my brothers would lift me onto their shoulders to pick fruit. Whenever nightmares jolted me awake, they gathered around my bed and sang me back to sleep.

Everything changed after Sophia threw herself in front of Caine to shield him from an attack.

She had those big, watery eyes, and she had suffered through years of wandering alone.

At first, I genuinely felt sorry for her. I gave her clothes and a room and treated her like a real sister.

She offered me a moonstone Mother had left behind, then went crying to my brothers. She told them I wanted it and that she didn't mind giving it up.

Furious, I returned it. Sophia deliberately let the stone slip from her fingers and shatter, then accused me of destroying her keepsake.

From that day on, whenever she shed a tear, I was always the one to blame.

When I reached the Moon Garden, Sophia stood at the center with my brothers gathered around her.

A moonstone bracelet circled her wrist, its silver crescent pendant bearing the crest of a northern Luna.

She kept stroking the pendant. "Once I'm in the North, I'll repay the pack's kindness on your behalf."

I had no interest in talking to her. I turned to leave.

But Sophia suddenly lunged at me from behind!

As I hit the ground, she flung the bracelet into the roaring farewell bonfire.

Then the sobbing began.

"Why did you burn the gift they gave me?"

My brothers rushed over at the sound of her crying.

Rhael's expression darkened on the spot.

He didn't give me a chance to explain. He seized my wrist and dragged me to the edge of the fire.

"Pretending you're the one getting married wasn't enough? Now you have to destroy her things too. How long are you going to keep this up?"

"I'm the one going to the North. She's not leaving. You have a lifetime to spend with her."

Rhael assumed I was lying again and tightened his grip on my hand.

Caine and Lucian stood in front of Sophia. Neither tried to stop him.

The next second, Rhael forced my wolf into submission and held my right hand over the red-hot coals.

Flames licked across my palm, and the skin quickly blistered.

"Apologize, or I'll press your hand into the coals."

I was shaking with pain, but neither of the other two said a word.

Survival instinct finally won.

"Sophia, I'm sorry.

"I shouldn't have fought with you over them.

"From now on, they're all yours."

A flash of triumph crossed Sophia's eyes. Afraid my parents might see the burn and investigate, she quickly told Rhael to let go.

I fell onto the cold stone floor.

Before he left, Rhael warned me not to tell our parents or ruin Sophia's marriage out of jealousy.

They left with Sophia between them. Not one of them looked back.

When I was little, they had once kept watch beside my bed all night because a stray spark had grazed me. Now Rhael had burned me himself, and the other two had watched in silence.

What truly hurt was not the blisters on my palm, but the fact that I had told them the whole truth and they still chose not to believe me.

They believed Sophia only had three days left, so they refused to waste a single second.

But in three days, I would be the one stepping into the bridal carriage.