LOGINEvie.Magnus was not as terrifying as Rodney had said. Unless, of course he was pretending. Rodney had mentioned he was manipulative. If that was the case, then I was falling right into his trap. Maybe he wanted to get on my good side for selfish reasons and I was there being all friendly with him.He stood beside me with one hand resting casually on the stone railing as we both listened to music from the hall. Suddenly, there was a high-pitched scream. It came from inside the palace. It was followed by another and the clashing of steel against steel.Magnús and I glanced at each other. That was definitely not music. Before we could make a move, a masked assassin burst through the balcony doors, five others following behind him. They all had black armors and black masks.The lead assassin ignored me and sprinted straight toward Magnus who sidestepped effortlessly. The assassin’s sword struck empty air.“So,” Magnus murmured lazily. “You’ve finally come.”He drew a silver blade hidden
RodneyThree days later, Evie had recovered enough to walk again, but the Fireheart inside her had weakened greatly. Healer Joshua assured me the effects were temporary so we were all hoping for the best. Unfortunately, the investigation had not yielded the desired results. We questioned everyone but no one gave us a reasonable lead. It was as though the poison had appeared out of thin air. Whoever was behind it was extremely careful.I sat in the council chamber with Damien, Joshua, and the pack elders, studying another useless report. Evie was also in the room. I’d told her not to bother but she claimed to be strong enough.“No witnesses,” Damien said, tossing the parchment onto the table.I clenched my jaw. “I think we’re missing something.”Before anyone could respond, there was a knock and the doors opened. A royal messenger entered, dressed in black and silver armor that was not commonly worn in Crescent Pack. He bowed respectfully.“Alpha Rodney Harding.”“Who sent you?” I ask
Rodney.It was such a relief when the battle ended. Crescent Pack was quiet again. Elders sat together beneath the old oak tree, thanking the Moon Goddess for protecting the pack while everyone else had gone back to their normal activities.We had won, and it was all thanks to Evie. If she had not used her Fireheart powers to save everyone, I didn’t know what would have happened to the pack. The attack was a surprise, and the attackers were strong and coordinated. Whoever had planned it was mighty. At first, I suspected Lucien but then remembered that Lucien adored Evie. He may have been a moron, but I couldn’t imagine him attacking us. Lucien and I had issues, but it was more like a ‘frenemies’ situation, at least that’s what I thought on my side.Evie was now the star of the show. Wherever she walked, wolves stopped to thank her. The mothers whose children she rescued embraced her with tears in their eyes. The warriors she healed bowed respectfully whenever she passed. Even the eld
Evie.Thereafter, things remained quite peaceful. My popularity within the pack was rising, and everyone was treating me like I was their real luna. At first, I was a bit shy, but with time I stepped into the role. Unfortunately, doing Luna duties meant I had to work close to Rodney again, which was a big downside. I had to give him reports and act as his subordinate, which wasn’t why I returned to the pack. Other times, working with him was fun.And then one morning, there was an attack on the pack. It happened just as the sun was about to rise. An emergency alarm echoed across the valley, followed by a deafening explosion that shook the ground.I sat up in bed and heard wolves shouting from outside. “INTRUDERS!”“TO ARMS!”“The eastern gate has fallen!”When the next explosion came, I leapt out of the bed and quickly put on some clothes. There was a knock. I threw open my bedroom door and nearly collided with Rodney, who was just about to open it.He was already dressed, a sword
Rodney.The curse still woke me several times every night, but lately it wasn’t always the pain that kept me awake. Most times, it was regret.I stood at the window of my office overlooking the park grounds. The festival had ended days ago, yet the image of Evie dancing with Lucien refused to leave my mind. With Lucien, she had smiled from her heart. The smile was not forced, and she had seemed genuinely happy, not like when I was with her.The only time I had seen Evie that happy was during the early months of our marriage when she still had hope that I would stop obsessing over the moon omega. With time, her true, carefree smile had faded.But when I saw her with Lucien, she seemed truly happy. It was so unfortunate that I could never make her that happy. She only hung out with me because of the curse and Tommy. If we didn’t have a child, she’d probably have been glad to let me die.I rubbed a hand over my face. I realized that I had spent so much time trying to win her back that I
Lyra.Everyone thought I was now a loser. As I scrubbed the marble floors outside the dining hall, several servants walked past without giving me a second glance.Once upon a time, they bowed to me and envied me because Alpha Rodney favored me above every other woman in the world.Now they handed me buckets and ordered me to clean. It was humiliating, but I was not going to let it stop me from destroying Evie and everyone who supported her.Rodney was going to pay a big price for betraying me after uprooting me from my home. If he hadn’t attacked my pack and taken me, I might have married another powerful alpha who would have put my powers to good use. Now I was stuck in this useless pack, suffering as a lowly omega.I dipped the rag into a bucket of soapy water and smiled to myself. The patient wolf always caught her prey.A pair of young omegas whispered as they passed.“I heard Luna Evie is training with Elder Mara.”“They say she’s becoming powerful.”“I wish I could see her fire.







