Chapter 4

That evening, Lucas pushed open the door to my room with Vivian at his side.

He saw the untouched cup of calming tea on the table and let out a helpless sigh. He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Eileen, is your hand any better?"

He reached for my bandaged right hand, and I flinched back, dodging his fingertips.

Lucas didn't take offense. He spoke gently.

"Tonight is the full moon celebration. Vivian was just promoted to acting Beta not long ago, and a lot of the pack still won't accept her."

"I want to postpone the official Luna coronation that was set for tonight and hold her Beta investiture first at the celebration, granting her the emblem."

My chest tightened at his words, a dull, suffocating ache.

Three years ago, when Lucas had just taken over as Alpha, the pack was beset by troubles inside and out. To solidify his position, he'd put off the coronation again and again.

But he'd cut his palm before the moon goddess statue and sworn an oath. Once the border rebellion was put down, on the very first full moon night, he would have me stand beside him in glory and accept the homage of the whole pack.

For over a thousand days and nights, I'd brewed his healing potions and steadied the pack's morale, and what I got in return was him handing that honor to another woman first.

Vivian stood at his side, twisting the hem of her shirt uneasily, and said in a small voice:

"Alpha, this isn't right. Eileen waited three years for this ceremony. If you postpone it, she'll be heartbroken."

Lucas patted the back of her hand, then turned to me, his tone negotiating.

"Eileen, Vivian's brother died for me. I have to give her a high enough status so the elders will shut up and stop looking down on her."

"You're my Luna. We have a lifetime ahead of us. Pushing the coronation to next month is the same thing. You've always been understanding. You can see where I'm coming from, right?"

Then he pulled a key studded with crushed diamonds from his pocket and placed it gently in my palm.

"This is the key to the Southern Reaches estate. Once tonight's investiture is done, I'll take you there tomorrow for a vacation. Just the two of us. I'll make it up to you properly."

I looked down at the cold key and finally spoke.

"All right. Whatever you want."

Lucas clearly hadn't expected me to agree so readily. He blinked, then let out a relieved breath and reached over to tuck a stray strand of hair behind my ear.

In his eyes, I'd probably finally learned my place, no longer petty and jealous and unreasonable like before.

"One more thing. There'll be a big crowd at tonight's celebration, and Vivian's position is delicate. She needs to wear your Luna moonstone crown to lend her some presence."

"I'll take it for her to wear tonight, and it'll be back first thing in the morning."

That moonstone crown—when he'd proposed to me, he'd gone alone into the far northern ice fields, nearly freezing his legs off, to retrieve the raw stone and polish it himself.

He'd said that in all the world, only I was worthy of that shade of moonlight.

Now, without even asking, he turned and walked straight to the dressing table, opened the wooden box, and took the crown.

"Eileen, your hand is hurt, and the celebration tonight will be noisy. Just stay in your room and rest. Don't go out in the cold wind."

Lucas handed the crown to Vivian, whose eyes lit up with delight, tossed a parting reminder over his shoulder, and left the room with her in tow.

The moment the door shut, the distant plaza erupted with lively horn calls and the cheers of the pack.

I didn't go to the window to look. I just stood up calmly and tossed the key to the Southern Reaches estate into the wastebasket in the corner.

The night deepened, and the full moon outside climbed to the very center of the sky.

Cold, clear moonlight spilled through the window lattice onto me.

A sharp, violent spasm seized my chest. The mate mark on the back of my neck began to burn, then fade.

I braced myself against the edge of the table, gasping for breath, letting cold sweat soak through the back of my shirt.

The pain lasted a full quarter of an hour. As the last trace of heat at the back of my neck faded, the thread of awareness in my mind that connected me to Lucas snapped completely.

From this moment on, Lucas and I had nothing left between us.

My whole body felt impossibly light.

I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead and dragged the pack I'd already prepared out from under the bed, slinging it over my shoulder.

I took one look at the room I'd lived in for three years. No attachment, not a shred. I pushed open the back window, swung myself out, and under cover of darkness walked quickly past the borders of the pack's territory.

Lucas's POV

Meanwhile, on the central plaza, Lucas stood on the raised platform, about to place the moonstone crown on Vivian's head.

Out of nowhere, his heart seized with a violent, wrenching pain. The crown slipped from his hand and clattered to the ground.

Lucas clutched at his chest, suddenly hollow, his face going dead white. Dazed, he turned to look toward the direction of my chamber.