Chapter 2

ANNALISA POV

The morning sun was shining, spreading its rays through the opened windows as I worked hard, between the industrial stoves, checking on the breakfast preparations. The familiar rhythm of work was like a balm to my wounds, allowing me to reflect on the conversation that I had yesterday with Antonio.

One month.

"Luna Annalisa, you don't need to help with this," said Margaret, one of the older kitchen staff, her wrinkled hands were gentle as she tried to take the knife from me, not happy seeing me working down here.

"You should be upstairs, resting."

I smiled at her, continuing to dice strawberries, perfectly as I had been doing for the past years here. "I'm fine, Margaret. Besides, you know I prefer to be useful, rather than stay idle."

It was true. In the two years since my marriage to Antonio or rather, in the twenty-three years since Samuel Greenwood had brought me to this pack as a five-year-old orphan, I'd worked in nearly every department of the pack house. Kitchens, gardens, the pack school, the medical clinic, the administrative offices. Wherever hands were needed, I went. It was easier that way. Easier to be seen as helpful rather than as the unwanted burden Brooke Greenwood constantly reminded me I was.

The pack members respected me for it, at least. Even if I'd never officially held the title of Luna, even if Antonio's mother had made sure I was kept firmly in my place, the workers knew I wasn't above them. That i understood them because I had struggled with them.

"Still," Margaret fretted, "with the Alpha's mother due down any moment—"

"What is she doing here?"

The cold voice cut through the warm kitchen air like a blade. I didn't need to turn around to know who it was that spoke, after all nobody here could replicate the disgust and hatred that was present whenever my mother in law saw me. Brooke Greenwood's presence always seemed to lower the temperature of whatever room she entered.

I set down the knife carefully and faced her. "Good morning, Mrs. Greenwood. I was just helping with breakfast—"

"I didn't ask what you were doing. I asked why you're here." Brooke's perfectly made-up face twisted with distaste as she looked at me, her pale blue eyes so unlike Antonio's warm brown ones were filled with the familiar contempt that I had grown used to, but still hurt whenever I saw them. "Shouldn't you be packing your things and deciding where to run to? I heard my son finally came to his senses about this ridiculous marriage."

The kitchen had gone silent. Margaret and the other staff suddenly had other tasks that could be found in the far corners of the room as they silently moved away, though I could feel their sympathetic gazes on my back.

"The Moon Rite is in one month," I said quietly. "Until then, I'm still Antonio's wife. Still a member of this pack."

"A member." Brooke laughed, the sound bitter yet amused as she scoffed. "You've never been a true member of this pack, Annalisa Hills. You're a charity case that my husband took pity on. A stray he dragged home despite my objections, and look how you've repaid his kindness—by trapping my son in a marriage he never wanted."

The words shouldn't have hurt anymore. I'd heard variations of them for years, ever since I was old enough to understand that Brooke hated me. But they still found their mark, still made me flinch with the rejection.

"Samuel wanted—"

"My husband is dead." Brooke stepped closer, her voice dropping to a vicious whisper that somehow felt worse than if she'd been shouting.

"Whatever guilt or obligation he felt toward you died with him. You have nothing here. You are nothing. The moment Antonio claims Christiana as his Luna, you'll be exactly what you've always been—an orphan, and no one who wants you."

My hands clenched at my sides, nails biting into my palms. I wanted to argue, to defend myself, but what could I say? She wasn't entirely wrong. Without Samuel here, I had no place. The only reason why I hadn't been kicked out immediately was the Council's laws about mate rejection.

"At least I haven't reported Antonio to the Council," I heard myself say, the words leaving my lips before I could stop them. "The laws are clear about Alphas who reject their Lunas. Perhaps I'm being quite generous, considering the fact that he is in the wrong and would lose all he hold dear."

Brooke's face flushed red, her eyes filled with fury. The slap came so fast I didn't have time to dodge. My head snapped to the side, cheek burning, as I could taste the copper metallic taste of the blood filling my mouth.

"You dare threaten my son?" Brooke's voice shook with rage as her fingers were inches from my face almost jabbing my eye. "You dare use Council law against your own Alpha? Samuel was a fool to bring you here. He should have left you to die in whatever hole he found you in."

"That's enough."

Antonio's voice rang out across the kitchen. I hadn't heard him enter, but he stood in the doorway now, his dark eyes fixed on his mother with an expression I couldn't quite read.

"Antonio—" Brooke began, her tone immediately shifting to something softer, more cajoling.

"I said, enough." He crossed to where I stood, and for one bizarre moment, I thought he might actually touch me, might place a comforting hand on my shoulder. But he stopped just short of actually being near but enough for his body language to show that he was protecting me....for now. "Annalisa is still my wife. She's still under my protection as Alpha. You will not strike her again."

Something loosened in my chest seeing Antonio defend me. For whatever reason he had, he'd stood between me and his mother's wrath.

Brooke's eyes narrowed, flicking between her son and me. "She's poisoning you against your own family. Against Christiana. Can't you see what she's doing?"

"What I see," Antonio said coldly, "is my mother assaulting a pack member in our own home." He turned to me, his expression unreadable. 

", Annalisa, you shouldn’t be insisting on this. You know Chrissy is my fated mate. You know I can't—won't—ignore that bond. You're making a fool of yourself."

And there it was. He still saw me as the inconvenience he couldn't get rid of, what was I thinking, that  he suddenly cared about me? That he was feeling  guilty?

"I'm the third party?" The words came out harsher than I intended, my tone sounding bitter. "I'm Antonio Greenwood's chosen mate. Your Luna by right of ritual and pack law. Christiana is the one who came between us."

Antonio's jaw clenched, as he gritted his teeth. "So you still won’t let it go?  His voice dropped, rougher now.

You still want to be a real wife and be treated  as my Luna?" He stepped closer, invading my space. "Fine. For the next month, you'll get exactly what you asked for. You'll fulfill every duty of a wife. Every. Single. One."

"And when the month is over," he continued, "you'll stand beside me at the Moon Rite and play your part. You'll smile and maintain appearances while I claim Christiana as my mate. You'll show the pack that this is an amicable separation. Are we clear?"

I met his eyes, refusing to back down even as my heart hammered against my ribs. "Perfectly clear."

"Good." Antonio turned to his mother. "Have the Beta clear Annalisa's schedule today. As Luna, she'll be representing the family at the pack school. There are visiting educators arriving this afternoon."

Brooke looked like she'd swallowed something sour. "I was going to attend—"

"You're busy," Antonio cut her off smoothly. "Annalisa will handle it. Won't you?"

He wasn't really asking. I nodded, knowing it wasn't a request but an order. "Of course."

Before Antonio strode out of the kitchen, I reminded him, “Just so you know, my heat cycle will be coming up in a few days. You should get prepared to fulfill the duties as my husband.”

I left just as the sound of something smashing rang out behind me. For the first time, I didn’t care about Antonio’s feelings.

Anyway, I just need him to stay with me through one heat cycle. That would be enough.