C5

Eloise Hollowmere POV

"My rule is simple," Lucan says, looking down at my face. "Once a bond starts, it never ends."

"I know how you do things in the Moonsong Dominion, Alpha Lord," I say, keeping my voice strong. "I will be your good wife with all my heart, but I have one rule too."

"Speak," Lucan says.

"I want to finish my fight with Rowan Blackthorn by myself," I say. "I do not want to use the big power of your royal pack."

"Good," Lucan says, nodding his head. "I like that."

He walks with me right into the big Ashcroft Silverclaw Citadel.

"I have pack papers to read in my study," Lucan says, pointing his big hand down the hall. "Go rest first. My bedroom is right over there."

"Alright," I say, and my face feels very hot.

My phone shakes in my pocket. I pick it up fast. It is Selene Moonwhisper.

"Eloise, it is done!" Selene laughs over the phone. "Everyone on the pack web is reading about Meredith Thornvale buying her way into songs. We told them she uses Rowan to steal resources and hurt the young human girls in the guild."

"Thank you so much, Selene," I say.

"Do not thank me," Selene says. "The workers in the guild gave me the proof. They hate Meredith because she bites them. We all want to help you."

"Did you tell them she has a baby coming?" I ask.

"Not yet," Selene says. "Are you really sure about this? Do you still love Rowan?"

"No," I say, looking toward Lucan's dark room. "My path is not with that bad wolf anymore."

"Who is with you?" Selene asks, sounding very sharp. "Is there another wolf?"

"I must go," I say.

"Wait, the Wind Speaker bards are calling me now!" Selene shouts. "I have to get the news out!"

"Goodbye," I say, hanging up.

I feel so different now. You have to walk down a new path to see the bright sun.

"You are very quick to strike," Lucan says from right behind me. His wolf ears must have heard everything.

"You heard that?" I ask, turning around fast. I feel so scared he will think I am a bad person.

"I like a girl who fights," Lucan says. He steps close and touches my chin with his big fingers. His golden eyes are very bright and dangerous.

"I only do what is right," I say, looking right back at him. "Do not think bad things about me."

"I only believe what my own eyes see," Lucan smiles, letting me go to open the cold box for a drink.

My heart feels so warm. This new Alpha husband is almost perfect.

But across the territory, Rowan Blackthorn is screaming. He throws his phone against the stone wall of the Silverhowl Bard Guild.

"Who did this?" Rowan roars at his wolves. "Tell me right now!"

In thirty minutes, all the Moon Herald Keepers called him. The whole pack web is full of stories about Meredith stealing songs and bullying the young pups. The big sponsors are demanding their pack resources back.

"It is Eloise!" Meredith cries from her bed, looking very ugly and mad. "She wants to ruin my life because she hates me!"

"No," Rowan shakes his head. "If Eloise knew about us, she would come crying to me. She is just a fat human. I will find out who is really behind this game."

"Investigate?" Meredith screams, stomping her wolf paws hard on the stone floor. "By the time your trackers find anything, the Moon Bard Guild will throw me out forever!"

"Then what do you want me to do?" Rowan roars back.

"Remember when Eloise stopped singing because she wanted to stay with you?" Meredith asks, rubbing her body against his arm to make him soft. "She gave up everything for your pack. If she did it then, she will do it now. Write a pack scroll from the Silverhowl Bard Guild. Tell everyone she is desperate for a comeback but no pack wants a fat human."

"What else?" Rowan asks.

"Say she is jealous of my big name," Meredith snarls. "Tell them she saw me get hurt, put on my wolf mask, and tried to steal my glory to make herself famous. Tell the territory she paid bad bards to spread lies about me!"

"This is very harsh," Rowan says, biting his lip. "She did a lot for my pack these past two years."

"If you do not crush her, she will rip the Silverhowl Bard Guild to pieces!" Meredith yells.

"Director Parker!" the big pack sponsor shouts, kicking the door open before Rowan can speak. "If this is how you run your territory, our deal is dead!"

"What is wrong now?" Rowan snaps.

"The magic web is full of pictures of you and Meredith kissing in secret!" the sponsor roars. "It hurts our pack resources! We are taking our gold back right now!"

"Who did this?" Meredith screams, her face turning red and ugly.

"I did it," Selene Moonwhisper says, walking straight into the room. She slams a big box of memory stones onto the table. "Here is the proof of Meredith biting the young pups in the academy. The stories online are just the start."

"Are you crazy?" Rowan growls, his wolf eyes flashing. "I will kick you out of the territory!"

"I am leaving anyway, you stupid wolf," Selene laughs, ripping her pack badge off her neck and throwing it at his face. "You make the whole guild smell bad."

Rowan does not even watch her leave. He calls his territory keepers fast.

"Put all the blame on Eloise!" Rowan orders. "Tell the packs she is a lying human!"

He spent too much gold making Meredith a star. He cannot let her name stay dirty. By afternoon, all the wolf bards are shouting that I am a bad, jealous human who stole a mask.

But right before sunset, the Moon Scribe from the Moonsong Dominion sends a giant red eagle to every single pack leader.

"If any wolf bards speak bad words about Eloise Hollowmere, Alpha Lord Lucan will destroy their lands."

"Does the supreme Alpha protect a human?" the pack leaders whisper in fear.

They stop the news right away. All the bad stories turn back onto Meredith.

"You did this, right?" I ask, looking across the table at the huge man cutting his meat.

"It is nothing," Lucan says. He swaps his plate with mine so I can eat the best pieces. "You are a big target for Silverhowl now. Do you want to stop singing?"

"No," I say, chewing my food. "They say I want a comeback. So I will go back to the stage and show them a human can win without them."

"Are you not scared?" Lucan asks, his golden eyes shining dark. "If they lock you out of the guild halls, I cannot jump out to save you every time."

"I am not scared at all," I say, looking right into his scary eyes. "Once I start a fight, I finish it. Nobody stops me."