Chapter 4

Willow’s POV

Six months later, under the full moon, he asked me to be his fated mate. I did not even hesitate.

The night before we sealed our bond, my mother pulled me aside. "Rowan is using you for your bloodline. You are just too stupid to see it."

Of course, I did not listen to her. He was so good to me, my fated mate. How could he not love me?

I became his Luna and spent seven years trying to be the perfect mate.

And for all seven of those years, Isolde was always there. She had been sleeping with my Alpha behind my back the entire time, and I had never suspected a thing.

A sharp pain lanced through my chest. I blinked hard, pulling myself back to the present.

"My parents favor Isolde. When Rowan rejects me at the ceremony, they will likely be the first to approve. I cannot count on them for protection."

Lucian paused. "So you want revenge."

"I want them to pay in blood," I corrected him, my throat tight. "He murdered my three pups and used their blood to heal that woman. He tricked me into signing away my power, and now he plans to cast me out like a stray rogue."

"And what makes you think I would involve myself in your pack drama?" Lucian asked, his voice laced with amusement.

"Because you hate him," I said bluntly. "Rowan warned me to stay away from you. He called you cold-blooded, dangerous, and said you would stop at nothing to wipe his pack off the map."

A low chuckle came through the line. "And what do you want from me, Willow?"

I clenched my fists, my knuckles turning white.

"I want him to lose everything. His title, his pack, his life. I hold half of the Founding Pact. You are the Alpha of the North. Together, we can bring Black Moon to its knees."

Lucian fell silent, his breathing heavy through the connection. "Sending my warriors is not an act of charity. I require payment."

My stomach tightened. "What do you want?"

"You."

Just one word.

"...What?" I could barely hear my own voice.

"When Rowan falls and you hold the full power of that pact," Lucian said slowly, "you will break your bond, come to me, and be my Luna."

"But..." I started to protest.

He cut me off, his tone firm. "Consider my offer carefully, Luna Cross. My private line is always open for you."

The connection went dead.

I stared at the screen, my thoughts a tangled mess. Mate with Lucian Wolfe? Share a bed with Rowan's most lethal enemy?

I shook my head violently. No.

I had the evidence. I held the Founding Pact. I could handle this myself.

I would make Rowan lose everything, on my own.

I did not give myself time to hesitate. Back in the bedroom, I started yanking my formal gowns out of the closet one by one.

My mind was blank, but I was certain of one thing: I could not stay here.

"Willow?"

I froze.

His voice came again, familiar and unwelcome. "What is all this? Packing?"

I turned around slowly.

The moment Rowan saw my face, his expression shifted. My eyes were swollen and red, tear tracks still visible on my cheeks. He must have felt my turmoil through our mate bond and rushed back.

"What is wrong?" He took a step forward, a flicker of panic in his eyes. "What happened to you?"

For a split second, I almost believed he loved me again.

He played the part of the "concerned" mate so well. He had been playing it for seven years.

I shook my head gently. "I am fine."

He took another step, his voice laced with false concern. "Willow, your eyes are swollen. Do not tell me you are fine."

"It is Aunt Maeve," I choked out, the lie forming easily on my tongue.

His brow furrowed. "The old healer who raised you? Did she not go to the borderlands to gather herbs?"

I nodded. "The border patrol just sent word. She was attacked by rogues. She is badly injured. The pack healers say she might not make it through the full moon."

In that instant, I saw it: a flicker of relief in his eyes.

It was instantly masked by a show of sorrow.

"Oh, Willow." He strode over and pulled me into his arms. "I am so sorry. I know she was like a mother to you."

His hand rested on my back, but all I could think about was how this same hand had helped sacrifice my three pups. How it was now stroking my back, comforting the mother he had deceived for seven years.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to extend my claws and gouge out his lying eyes.

But I let myself remain stiff in his embrace, perfectly still.

"Rowan?" A soft, sweet voice called from the doorway.

Rowan's shoulders tensed. He practically shoved me aside and turned to Isolde.

"Why are you out of bed?" His voice softened with a tenderness he never even tried to fake with me. "You should not be running around like this."

Isolde smiled coquettishly and nodded. "I am fine. I just came to see if you told Willow the surprise."

Rowan turned to look at me. His Alpha aura was suddenly colored with a manic joy, and he struggled to keep his voice from trembling with excitement.

"Willow, a miracle has happened for Isolde."

I raised an eyebrow. "A miracle?"

He nodded emphatically. "That is right. I am planning a grand full moon ceremony next week to celebrate. I am summoning the leaders of all our allied packs and the members of the Elder Council. Every powerful wolf in our territory must be there."

I knew exactly what this so-called miracle was. My mate's child was growing in my sister's womb. And I knew that at that same ceremony, he planned to turn me into the laughingstock of the entire North.

I stared at him. "You are making such a huge scene, just to celebrate this 'miracle'?"

"Of course," Isolde chirped, smiling like an innocent flower. "The Alpha insisted on making an exception for me. After all, we are family."

He was going to hold a ceremony before the Moon Goddess's altar for the bastard child conceived with the blood of my three pups.

"There is a pack dinner tonight first," Rowan continued, rambling on. "Just the few of us and your parents. But the main event is next week, on the full moon. I have already informed all the servants and sent out the most exclusive invitations..."

"I am not going," I said coldly.

Isolde's smile froze on her face. "But Willow..."

"I said, I am not going."

Isolde immediately put on a hurt expression, her eyes welling up with tears.