Chapter 4

Near the end of dinner, two lodge employees entered carrying a moonstone Luna crown and a ceremonial cup of moonberry wine.

Ronan had arranged them for me.

Before we left home, he had promised to place the crown on my head in front of the people who had known us before he became Alpha.

Instead, Tessa took the crown from one of the employees and carried it to Chloe.

“You’ve already lost eight years,” she said. “Call it making up for old times. It isn’t a real ceremony. It’s just the blessing game we used to play at camp.”

Chloe shook her head, but she didn’t move away from Ronan.

“I can’t. This should be saved for the woman Ronan chooses as his Luna.”

“It’s only for a minute,” someone said. “Sera won’t make a scene over a game.”

Ronan looked at me.

He knew it wasn’t harmless. The game did not have to be official. By morning, everyone in that room would be telling the packs that Ronan Blackwood had crowned Chloe Hart and shared the Luna’s cup with her.

I waited for him to refuse.

Ronan picked up the crown.

“It’s only a game, Chloe. Relax.”

Then he placed it on her head.

Applause filled the room.

Chloe sat in the Luna’s chair beside him. She placed one hand on the ceremonial cup, and Ronan covered the other side with his. As our former squadmates cheered, they both drank.

There was no kiss or mark. He never touched her like a lover.

That made it worse.

He had taken the public acknowledgment I had waited five years to receive and used it to comfort another woman. He had given away my place without believing he had betrayed me.

His voice came through our bond.

[Don’t read too much into it. I’ll take you home when this is over.]

I lowered my eyes and unfastened the bracelet around my wrist.

The man beside me noticed.

“Why are you still wearing Ronan’s mate token if he won’t even name you as his Luna?”

I closed my fingers around the bracelet and stood.

“You’re right.”

The room fell quiet.

I looked at Ronan.

“A man who won’t claim me in public doesn’t deserve to see me wearing his token in private.”

At last, his composure cracked.

[Sera, sit down.]

It was the tone he used when he expected the entire pack to obey.

In the past, I would have stayed because I loved him enough to keep trying.

This time, I walked toward the door.

“Where are you going?” Ronan asked.

“Somewhere I don’t have to be hidden.”

He didn’t follow.

Chloe was still wearing the crown, and everyone was waiting for him to finish the blessing.

More than that, Ronan believed I could go as far as I wanted. In the end, I would return to the home we shared and forgive him, just as I always had.

I got into my car and placed the moonstone bracelet on the passenger seat.

Then I opened the bond-rejection form on my phone.

A warning appeared on the screen.

[Rejecting an accepted fated-mate bond may cause lasting pain. Do you wish to continue?]

I pressed yes.