2

"Sophia, wait!"

Ethan's voice boomed from behind me, his footsteps closing in fast.

I didn't stop. I just kept walking toward the parking lot.

"Where do you think you're going?" He grabbed my arm, his grip tight.

I wrenched my arm from his grasp. "I'm going home."

"I'm driving you," he stated, his Alpha tone leaving no room for argument. "It's not safe for you to be out alone."

Just then, Tessa came running out of the pack house.

"Ethan, wait for me!" she called, breathless as she reached the car, her chest heaving. "I need a ride home, too."

Without a second thought, Ethan opened the car door for her.

The passenger seat.

The Luna's seat.

I was left to climb into the back, watching as she buckled her seatbelt like she'd done it a thousand times. Like it was her place to be.

As soon as the doors closed, her scent hit me like a physical blow.

It wasn't perfume. It was the possessive, territorial scent of a she-wolf, thick with musk and arousal. And it was mingled with Ethan’s own scent. The combination had soaked into the leather, a clear sign they had spent a lot of time in this car… together. It was a violation, a claim staked right under my nose.

"We're going to Starmoon Villa first," Ethan said, his eyes meeting mine in the rearview mirror. "You drank too much. You need to rest."

Starmoon Villa?

Our home was on the main pack grounds. I'd never heard of Starmoon Villa.

The car headed toward the outskirts of the city, to an area I'd never been to.

Twenty minutes later, we pulled up to a secluded, modern villa.

"You two head in. I'll park the car," Ethan said.

Tessa got out and pulled a key from her purse like it was second nature.

She had her own key.

I followed her inside. The living room was filled with things for a couple. Matching wine glasses, his-and-her throw pillows, romantic candle holders.

But it was the photos on the wall that made my blood run cold.

Pictures of Ethan and Tessa, from the time she was fourteen until now.

In every one, his arm was around her waist, her body pressed against his, her eyes burning with a possessive heat.

In the most recent photo, she was wearing a slinky white nightdress. He was in an unbuttoned shirt. They were embracing right here, in this living room.

I never knew this place existed.

"Sophia, you look pale," Tessa called down from upstairs, her voice laced with triumph. "Why don't you come up and see the rest?"

I followed her voice up the stairs. The master bedroom door was ajar.

Through the crack in the door, I watched her slip out of her dress. And there, stark and brutal against the pale skin of her neck, was a fresh mating mark.

It wasn't a faint claim, but a raw, brutal bite. The teeth marks were deep, the skin around it still glistening faintly with saliva and blood.

A claim made in the heat of passion. A bond forged in betrayal.

The blood was still wet. They had mated.

Today. While I was out securing their future, they were in this bed, claiming each other...

I stumbled back, bile rising in my throat.

"Sophia?" Ethan's voice came from downstairs. "What are you looking at?"

I hurried back down, trying to keep my face a mask of indifference.

"I want to go home."

"Of course." He moved toward me, trying to put an arm around me, but I flinched away. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm just tired."

On the drive back, he was sickeningly sweet, as if trying to make up for something.

"Sophia, about tonight… I'm sorry," he murmured, his thumb stroking my knuckles in a gesture that now felt revolting. "Mentioning the bond-breaking… it was a tactic. Just to appease some of the more traditional elders."

"A tactic," I echoed, my voice hollow and dead.

"Yes. And we'll have a new, official mating ceremony soon," he promised, his eyes full of fake sincerity. "We'll show everyone how strong our bond truly is."

I looked at him, at the face I once loved.

I could see the faint swelling on his lips, a ghost of the passionate kisses he'd just shared.

A new mating ceremony?

Three years my wolf has bowed to you, Ethan, I thought, a bitter smile touching my lips. It’s time she learned to stand on her own again.