Chapter 3

 Clara’s POV

I could feel Jacob’s eyes burning into me, but I didn’t dare look at him.

The Lycan King kept his eyes on me for another second before turning away.

Moonstar Pack.

The name stayed in my head.

My fingers curled against my dress.

“I will see you all again soon,” he said. “With my son.”

His eyes travelled past the others, finding me again, but I didn’t lift my head.

“Of course.” Jacob hurried to open the door. “We look forward to it.”

The Lycan King left, and Jacob closed the door behind him before turning around.

I didn’t need to look up to know he was glaring at me.

“What was that?” he spat.

I kept my eyes on the floor. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” His footsteps came closer. “The Lycan King walked past Rose to speak to you, and you expect me to believe you don’t know why?”

My throat burned as I swallowed.

Jacob stopped in front of me.

“Look at me.”

My head lifted before I thought about it.

His eyes searched mine like he might find the lie he had already decided was there.

“The prince will be here tomorrow,” he said. “This visit matters to Rose. Don’t do anything to ruin it.”

“Jacob,” Mother said softly. “Maybe we should let Clara rest.”

He looked at her, not bothering to hide how unhappy he was, then back at me.

“Whatever.” He waved his hand towards the stairs. “Go.”

I moved before he finished speaking.

I turned and headed for the staircase, keeping one hand against the wall. My legs felt weak, and each step made the room spin faster.

The medicine cabinet was upstairs.

I only had to reach it.

My fingers wrapped around the railing as I forced myself to keep going.

The cabinet was at the end of the hallway, but my eyes found the white moon carved into the bedroom door before I could stop them.

Jacob and Father had made it for me when I was little.

The medicine could wait one more second.

I staggered towards the door, closed my hand around the handle and pushed it open.

Pink curtains covered the windows.

The white bedding Mother had made for me was gone, replaced with a thick pink blanket. My books had disappeared from the shelves, and framed pictures of Rose filled the empty spaces.

The room smelled like roses now.

“Oh, I hope you don’t mind.”

Rose’s voice came from behind me.

“It seemed like such a waste to leave it empty.”

I turned.

Rose stood in the doorway with her arms folded in front of her, a smile on her lips.

“I’ll have one of the maids show you where you’ll be sleeping.”

She looked down the hallway and clicked her fingers.

“Mara.”

A maid stopped and hurried towards us.

“Take Clara to her new room.”

“Yes, Miss Rose.”

Mara looked at me like she wanted to tear me apart. Her lips pressed together, and her angry wolf flashed through her eyes before she turned away.

I stepped towards her.

“And Clara.”

I stopped and looked back.

Rose held out her hand. Two small white tablets sat in her palm.

“You’ll need these. I’d hate for anything to happen to you now that you’ve finally come home.”

I stared at the tablets.

They looked like my allergy medicine, but my vision had blurred too much to read the tiny markings pressed into them.

My throat burned with every breath. The hallway tilted around me.

I took them from her with shaking hands and placed them straight onto my tongue. I had no other choice.

They caught against the back of my throat when I swallowed them dry. My stomach twisted painfully, and I pressed my hand over my mouth as bile rose.

There was nothing there to bring up.

I couldn’t remember the last time I had eaten.

Yesterday, maybe.

Or the day before that.

Rose stepped back into my old bedroom and closed the door.

Mara started walking, and I followed.

She led me through the hallway, past the empty guest rooms. Each door stood open, showing clean beds and sunlight pouring through large windows.

She didn’t stop at any of them.

At the end of the hall, she pulled open a narrow door.

A steep staircase disappeared into the darkness below.

“Your room is down there. The one at the bottom.”

“Thank you.”

A growl came from her.

Before I could step past her, she spat at my feet.

“You should have stayed in prison.”

The staircase creaked beneath my feet as I made my way down. There was no railing, so I kept one hand against the wall to stop myself from falling.

The air became colder the farther I went.

At the bottom was a narrow hallway with three doors.

Two were locked.

The last one opened when I pushed against it.

A small bed sat beneath a cracked window. There was a washstand in the corner and a wooden cupboard with one door hanging crooked.

The room smelled of dust and damp wood, but it was quiet.

I closed the door and waited for the lock to turn.

It didn’t.

My throat slowly began to loosen, and the burning beneath my skin faded enough for me to breathe without forcing every breath.

The tablets were working.

I sat down on the bed and looked around the room.

Everything tilted again.

My body gave in, and I fell sideways before I could stop it.

The mattress was thin, but it was softer than the one in prison.

I pulled my knees towards my chest.

Keys rattled outside the door.

My eyes flew open.

Darkness surrounded me.

I was back in my cell.

“Get up, mutt.”

Garrick’s voice came from the other side.

The lock turned.

I pushed myself from the bed and fell to my knees. My hands went to the buttons on my dress, but they shook too badly to open them.

“Faster.”

“I’m trying.”

The door began to open.

I pulled harder. The thread caught beneath my nail.

“Please.”

Light flooded the room.

I woke with my hands gripping the front of my dress.

My breath tore in and out of my lungs as I looked towards the door.

It was closed.

No one stood inside the room.

I stayed curled on the mattress, listening.

There were no keys.

No footsteps coming down the hall.

Only voices somewhere above me.

Morning light slipped through the crack in the window.

I let go of the front of my dress, my heart still racing.

River Moon.

I was in River Moon.

I stared at the broken cupboard until the shadows stopped looking like iron bars.

My stomach twisted, empty and sore, but the burning in my throat had disappeared. The red marks across my arms were gone too.

I stood and headed towards the stairs.

A few maids were gathered in the hallway when I reached the top. They turned up their noses as soon as they saw me.

I lowered my head.

Their whispers followed me as I walked away, but none of them came close.

The smell of warm bread, eggs and bacon reached me before I found the dining room.

My mouth filled with saliva.

Mother sat at the table beside Rose, cutting fruit into smaller pieces for her while Jacob spoke about the prince’s arrival.

Father’s chair was empty, but a plate had still been set for him.

There was nothing for me.

I stood quietly in the doorway.

No one looked up.

“The prince should arrive before midday,” Jacob said. “Everything needs to be perfect.”

Mother pushed the plate of fruit closer to Rose. “You should eat more.”

“I’m trying.”

Jacob rested a hand on her shoulder. “You’ll need your strength.”

Rose smiled at him before taking another small bite.

My stomach growled.

I pressed my hand against it.

No one heard.

I stepped forward.

A hand closed around my arm before I could enter the room.

I looked beside me.

Mara stood there, her fingers digging into my skin.

“I have a job for you,” she said.

I looked back to the table. Mother, Jacob and Rose continued eating, unaware that I was standing only a few steps away.

Mara pulled me harder.

I followed her.

She dragged me through the side hallway and stopped beside the servants’ entrance. A basket filled with gardening gloves and shears sat on the floor.

She picked it up, shoving it into my hand before pulling me forward again.

“Rose’s garden needs to be prepared before the prince arrives.”

I grabbed the basket.

She pulled me through the door.

Pack members moved across the grounds, carrying tables and hanging decorations around the main house.

Everyone stared at me with hate.

I lowered my head, and Mara kept pulling me.

“Alpha Jacob wants everything perfect,” she said. “Especially Rose’s garden.”

The path curved around the house.

My steps slowed.

I knew where it led.

“Miss Rose said the garden needed more colour last year, so Alpha Jacob had half the flowers replaced,” Mara continued. “He gives her anything she asks for.”

The stone arch appeared ahead.

I stopped.

Red and pink roses had replaced most of the white moon lilies. Thick vines covered the small moons carved into the stone, and pink cushions rested on the bench beneath the willow tree.

The little wooden table Jacob and Father had made for me was gone. A larger one stood in its place, with roses carved around the edges.

A silver plaque hung across the arch.

Rose’s Garden.

Jacob had brought me here on my tenth birthday with his hands covering my eyes.

I had laughed and tried to peek between his fingers while Father followed behind us.

When he finally let me look, moon lilies had filled the garden.

For my little wolf.

His voice came back so clearly that I almost turned around.

My garden was still here.

It just belonged to Rose now.

Mara pulled the shears from the basket and shoved them into my hands.

“Those vines need cutting.”

I climbed onto the low stone wall. My legs shook as I reached above my head, trying to close the blades around the thickest vine.

Something struck my back.

My foot slipped from the stone.