Chapter 3

Every eye in the room was on me, waiting for my answer.

Just then, Alpha Damon made his way into the hall, looking frail, struggling to walk at any speed.

Muffled laughter spread through the crowd as I was about to declare that I would choose to marry Damon. However, the High King's words echoed in my mind.

"If your heart truly lies with Damon, I'll honor your choice. However, keep it under wraps for now. Once the dust settles, the truth will come out."

I bit back my words, hesitating.

Damon caught my eye, his gaze filled with a sadness I could not ignore.

I got the High King's point.

With all those heirs from different clans watching, each hungry for power, I could not just blurt out my feelings.

So, I decided to let them think what they wanted and walked away from that choking atmosphere.

On the drive home, Ruby and I shared a car.

She flicked her wrist, and the gems in her box glittered so intensely I had to squint.

"So what if you marry Alpha Iris? His heart will always belong to me," she said, her voice dripping with challenge.

Ruby was like two different people. To the world, she was the picture of sweetness and innocence, but when we were alone, her true colors came out—sharp and dangerous.

I could not shake the memory of her previous life, wrapped up with Iris, nothing between them.

She was curled up in Iris's arms, a scared little wolf, while Iris clutched her close as if he was protecting her from me.

I felt like I would break down right then and there.

Later, my parents sent Ruby off to some small town and married her to a High Serpent King who was always off fighting wars. She had it way easier than I did.

However, I decided to let her stick with Iris in this life. I was curious to see how that would turn out.

"What do I care where his heart lies? If you're so into him, go ahead and let him mark you.

"I hope the Moon Goddess blesses you two," I said, though I did not mean it.

Ruby paused, then smirked and laughed. "Your blessings? No thanks, they might be cursed. However, no matter what, Alpha Iris is mine."

Thanksgiving rolled around, and my dad had me take a gift to the High King.

I walked into the royal court, and there was Ruby, all dolled up in a red dress and dripping with jewels, looking like a million bucks.

She caught my eye and gave me that little smile. "Sophie, do you like my dress? Alpha Iris gave it to me.

"I told him I wasn't into all this bling, but he wouldn't take no for an answer. He said I deserved the best."

I was annoyed and tried to walk away, but Ruby blocked my path.

"Sophie, can't we just talk? You look so down.

"I get it, it's tough. Feelings can be a real pain to deal with," she said, and then she started crying. However, it was all an act.

I tried to shove her aside, but she collapsed with a dramatic gasp, clutching her leg and wailing about the pain.

"Why did you hit me? I'm your little sister!"

Right then, Iris burst through the door, his eyes blazing as he took in the scene.

"Sophie, what the heck are you doing?" His finger was practically a claw as he jabbed it in my direction. "How could you be so cruel to your sister? That's just evil!"

I could not help it—I burst out laughing, looking from Iris to Ruby.

"Ruby, I have to hand it to you; your little act is pretty convincing. You're quite the piece of work."

Out of nowhere, a wolf's howl cut through the room.

Iris spun around, his hand a blur as it came down hard across my face, leaving a trail of scratches.

"Don't you dare talk about Ruby that way!" he shouted.