Chapter 3

Adrian and I settled into a run-down cabin in the mountains. Life was hard, but it was ours, and it was happy.

Adrian swallowed his pride and took whatever work he could find — the dirtiest, most grueling jobs no one else wanted.

He never once complained. Every evening before coming inside, he'd scrub the grease and grime off himself at the door, then walk in with a smile and cook dinner for me.

The meals were nothing compared to the feasts he'd once enjoyed as Alpha, but he ate with genuine contentment, picking out every piece of meat and putting it in my bowl.

The forest turned bitter cold at night. We'd curl up together in bed, keeping each other warm.

He always pulled me close, his chest pressed against my back. Beyond his uneven breathing, I could feel his heartbeat — growing faster and faster.

I even thought: maybe spending the rest of my life like this wouldn't be so bad.

Then one night, I rolled over in my sleep and my arm hit empty space. I shot awake. The bed was cold beside me, and Adrian was gone.

I crept to the door and heard him on the phone with someone, his voice low and pleading — nothing like the commanding Alpha he'd once been.

From the fragments I caught, he was calling old allies, begging them to help him reclaim his title.

But everyone loves a winner. Adrian had nothing left to bargain with, and no one was willing to cross the sitting Alpha for the sake of a rogue wolf.

Over and over he humbled himself, and over and over they mocked him.

I realized then that I could endure this life — but Adrian couldn't. He'd been born at the top. A man with that much pride would never accept rotting away in a place like this.

The thought broke my heart.

He heard my footsteps and whipped around. The moment he saw it was me, the exhaustion and shame vanished from his face, replaced by a forced smile. "Why are you still up?"

I pretended I hadn't heard anything, sat down beside him, and leaned against his shoulder. "Couldn't sleep. Came out for some air."

He didn't call out my lie. I didn't ask about his call.

We understood each other without a word.

Moonlight draped over us like a veil of silk, and we sat there together in silence.

After a long while, Adrian spoke. "Do you believe in me?"

"Do you believe I'll keep my promise and make you my Luna?"

I smiled softly. "I believe you."

I scooted closer, resting my head on his shoulder. "But even if you fail, I won't hold it against you."

"Whether you're the most powerful Alpha or just a rogue with nothing to his name — I'll always be right here."

I was so tired that I drifted off mid-sentence, so I never heard the last thing he whispered.

"I will become Alpha. I will keep my promise to you."

The days blurred together in a rush, until one evening I watched Adrian pull on his jacket and head for the door.

He scooped me up and spun me around, his eyes bright with excitement. "Mira, an Alpha from one of the big packs has agreed to help me. Wait for me — I'm going to keep my promise."

"I need to go strategize with them tonight. I won't be back until morning."

Before he left, he pressed a long, deep kiss to my forehead.

The moment he was gone, the comments erupted.

[Is this finally the key plot point? That Alpha isn't actually going to help him — it's a trap. The hero gets tortured half to death, and the heroine swoops in to save him.]

[The villainess has been hogging the hero for way too long. After tonight, the hero and our precious heroine will finally be together, and this wicked villainess gets kicked to the curb.]

Ice flooded my veins.

Without stopping to think, I raced to the bar and slipped past the bouncer while he wasn't looking.

The music hit me like a wall, pounding against my eardrums. I pushed through the crowd, and there — in the center of the bar — I found Adrian.