Chapter 3

"The northern wards have been breached!" a guard yelled, bursting in with a pale face.

"What?" Fabian's expression hardened as he bolted out the door, Gloria right behind him.

I let out a shaky breath.

There was no time to think about the knife twisting in my gut.

This was my only chance to escape.

I darted out from behind the curtain and ran.

If I could just get out of the main house, I could take the Moon Goddess's Tear to the Elder.

I was only borrowing it. Once the mate bond was broken, I could leave for good.

But as I sprinted into the courtyard, I slammed straight into a hard chest.

It was Fabian, rushing back in, carrying someone in his arms.

The person was covered in blood. It was Gloria.

The impact sent me stumbling, and the Moon Goddess's Tear flew from my hand.

It clattered across the stone floor, the sound echoing like a gunshot in the sudden silence.

"Healer!" Fabian roared, his eyes filled with panic and murder. "Save her, now!"

"What happened?" my mother cried, rushing over and collapsing when she saw Gloria.

"She was patrolling near the wards and got caught in the blast," Fabian's voice was like ice. "Someone deliberately sabotaged the wards. They're trying to kill us!"

The healer scrambled to treat Gloria while everyone scanned the crowd for the culprit.

But then she weakly opened her eyes, her gaze locking onto me, then shifting in horror to the gem at my feet.

"Sister," she whimpered, her voice a pathetic whisper. "Where were you? I... I thought I felt you near the wards... And... is that... the Moon Goddess's Tear? The heart of our wards?"

In an instant, every eye in the place was on me.

A thousand daggers.

"I…" I tried to explain, but the words wouldn't come.

Fabian's second-in-command stepped forward, picked up the Moon Goddess's Tear, and then produced another object—a black, jagged stone.

"Alpha," he said, his voice grave. "We found this at the breach." He held up a jagged, black demon stone. "It has Luna Hazel's spiritual signature all over it. What's more, the theft of the Moon Goddess's Tear is the direct cause of the ward's failure!"

Dead silence.

Then, an explosion of hisses and curses.

"Oh my gods! It really was her!"

"She stole the artifact and destroyed the wards! Why would she betray the pack?"

"And she's supposed to be our Luna? She's a traitor!"

I stared blankly, my mind a void.

"I didn't do it!" I cried out, my voice raw. "I only took the Tear to sever the bond! I never touched the wards!"

"Still lying!" My mother's hand cracked across my face.

"Enough."

A low voice cut through the noise.

Fabian walked slowly toward me. He gently handed the "injured" Gloria to the healer.

Then, his Alpha aura slammed into me, knocking me back.

His eyes held no anger, no disappointment.

Only pure disgust and contempt.

"Hazel," his voice was dangerously low, colder than a winter grave. "I always knew you were pathetic. I just never realized you were this vile."

He strode forward.

He reached out, not to help me up, but to grab my jaw, forcing my head up to meet his gaze.

"Tell me, what did I ever deny you? Was the title of Luna not enough? Was hurting me not enough? Did you have to drag Gloria and the entire pack into your petty revenge?"

His nails dug into my skin.

I looked at his face, so close to mine.

The face I once loved enough to die for was now twisted with revulsion for me.

Maybe I would never get to leave.

The strain on my failing mate bond sent a sharp pain through my chest.

But nothing hurt more than the contempt from my own fated mate.

A laugh bubbled up out of my chest, raw and broken.

"You're laughing? You dare to laugh?" My smile enraged him, and his grip tightened.

I met his icy gaze, my voice clear and steady. "Of course I'm laughing. Because I've just realized something…"

Then I said, each word a shard of ice,

"Betraying you... is the smartest thing I've ever done."