Chapter 4

Isabelle’s POV

That day, Jace and Rowan stood beside Selene while she tried on her ceremony gown.

Jace watched her with soft, caring eyes.

For one second, déjà vu hit me.

I remembered Jace standing beside me before our own mating ceremony, wearing that exact same smile.

He had pulled me into his arms and kissed my forehead.

“Isabelle, how lucky am I to have you as my fated mate? You’re beautiful, caring, and unlike anyone I’ve ever known.”

Selene’s voice dragged me back to reality.

She looked at Jace through the mirror and smiled. “Do I look good?”

Jace smiled back. “You—”

The door suddenly flew open.

A wolf rushed inside, breathing hard. “Alpha, the Healer asked me to inform you about those two bodies. They… those two bodies…”

Jace frowned impatiently. “What about them?”

The wolf lowered his head. “They belong to Luna Isabelle and Luna Lena.”

For one strange second, relief washed through me.

Jace finally knew. Surely now he would do something.

Maybe the truth would finally set me free.

But Jace’s face only darkened. “What kind of sick joke is this?”

The wolf swallowed. “Alpha, the Healer wants to know if we should prepare a Farewell Ritual for them. Their bodies are already badly decomposed—”

“First the necklace, now the Healer?” Rowan shot to his feet. “What’s next? They’re going to send their ashes to Jace and Selene’s ceremony?”

For the first time, hesitation crossed Jace’s face.

“Maybe we should go check.”

Rowan placed a hand on his shoulder. “Friend, have you forgotten what they were like back at the Fortress? They’ll do anything for attention. Right now, your focus should be Selene. This is what we owe her.”

“Our fated mates made her suffer. We can’t do the same.”

Jace said nothing for a long moment, then he slammed his fist onto the table.

“You’re right.”

His voice filled the room. “Isabelle is doing this because she knows I’ll soften. She wants me to turn my attention back to her.”

His expression hardened. “I promised to stand beside Selene at the mating ceremony. Isabelle just wants me to panic, run back to her, and beg.”

Rowan nodded.

“And Lena is doing the exact same thing to me. She and Isabelle have been friends forever. They must have planned this together.”

I stared at Rowan. Then suddenly, I remembered those endless nights inside Thornhold.

Lena would curl into my arms and whisper about him. “We’ve never been apart this long, Belle. I can’t imagine how worried Rowan must be.”

Oh, Lena. If only you knew. Our mates had never been as desperate to find us as we imagined.

Even with the truth laid right in front of them, they still believed we were throwing tantrums, pretending and begging for their attention.

Even death wasn’t enough to make them believe us.

…

Another week passed.

After Jace had snapped at the Healer and the guards last time, none of them came back.

Lena and I disappearing had officially become nothing more than another little act for attention.

Jace pretended he didn’t care.

And I thought he would keep pretending forever.

Until this morning, he suddenly stopped an Omega passing through the hall.

“Has the Luna contacted you?”

The Omega froze. “No, Alpha.”

Jace’s jaw tightened.

He let out a cold laugh before pulling out his phone and opening our chat.

His last message was still there. Unread.

“Come home when you’re ready to apologize for your behavior.”

Jace stared at it for several seconds before locking his phone again. “Tell me if she contacts you.”

His voice grew louder, enough for the nearby wolves to hear. “And don’t help her hide. If she wants to disappear, let her. No one in this pack is to help her in any way.”

He turned and walked into the main hall. His gaze stopped on the large painting hanging above the fireplace.

My portrait.

Jace had started painting it the day after our mating ceremony.

In the painting, I wore a glowing white dress and stood beneath the full moon, smiling back at him.

He had spent an entire day sketching it. Then months perfecting every little detail.

When he finally ordered the Omegas to hang it inside the pack house, I had immediately refused.

“I don’t want everyone thinking their Luna is that obsessed with herself.”

Jace had laughed and pulled me into his arms. “I want everyone to see how beautiful my Luna is. It’s staying right here.”

I had blushed. “What if you get tired of looking at me?”

“Impossible.” He had looked straight into my eyes. “I could never grow tired of you, my love.”

Now Jace stared at that same painting as if it were nothing more than another thing irritating him.

Just then, Selene entered from the other side of the hall.

The moment she saw him, she hurried into his arms. “Jace… there’s something I’m not sure I should tell you.”

Jace immediately softened. “You can tell me anything.”

Selene hesitated before calling another wolf inside.

The wolf walked forward and knelt before Jace.

“Alpha,” he said carefully. “I think there’s something you need to see.”

He handed Jace a phone.

A video was playing on the screen.

I floated closer, trying to get a better look.

The video showed Lena and me partying inside a large room. But we were the only she-wolves there.

Around us were several half-dressed male wolves, all muscular and built, laughing and drinking like we had been partying together all night.

Jace’s expression changed the second he saw it.

The next moment, he hurled the phone against the wall. It shattered instantly.

“So she complains about me treating Selene differently,” he said coldly, “while she’s out having fun with all those wolves?”

“It’s fake!” I screamed even though no sound came out. “Jace, you know me! I would never do this!”

Selene gently placed a hand on his chest.

“Don’t be angry, Jace. Maybe there’s some reason behind her behavior that we don’t know about.”

I stared at her.

By now, I understood.

Selene was behind all of it. The fake photos. The video.

She wanted Jace and Rowan angry. She wanted them to believe Lena and I were perfectly fine, having fun somewhere, so they would never bother checking whether we were actually in danger.

How could someone be so cruel?

Jace grabbed his own phone and called me.

Of course, no one answered.

His face darkened as he left a message. “Isabelle, you have exactly one hour to come home.”

His voice was cold enough to make my mate mark burn. “Or you’re going to regret it.”