Esme’s POV
From the other side of our bedroom door, Stella moaned for the third time. I could no longer deny what I was hearing, and indescribable rage burned through me. After all the sacrifices I’d made? Every single thing I had gone through to get the damned contract I was holding rushed through my mind as I placed my hand on the doorknob.My body trembled. But with one last silver of hope that I was wrong, I pushed the door open. Everything I feared manifested before my eyes. Calvin had Stella straddling him while he sat on my vanity chair and thrust into her as if his life depended on it.It took them a second to realize I was there, and Calvin froze as he met my gaze. “Esme!” he cried with his eyes wide.Stella rushed to get off him, while Calvin pulled up his pants and then fell to his knees. “Esme, she seduced me—”
“Seduced you?” I shouted in disbelief. He had been pounding her like it was his only mission on earth, yet he had the guts to claim she’d seduced him?
My gaze went to Stella.She had grabbed a sheet to cover her nakedness and now met my gaze head-on. “You’re back early,” she said.
It was four words, but my eyes misted with tears. While I had only known Calvin for two years, Stella had been my best friend for ten. We had grown up together and shared every important moment of our lives. And now, her sneer and nonchalance—I couldn't believe it, any of it. Was this the same Stella I knew?
“Why are you surprised?” she asked. “You abandon your husband every single day to chase after success. Do you expect him to keep waiting for you?”“Are you out of your mind?” I asked, incredulous. “Chase after success? Me?” My voice rose octaves higher than usual, unable to believe she’d made such an outlandish accusation. “I’ve been working for him! Tirelessly. Day and night, doing everything he should have done for this pack. And you say I’m chasing success?”She approached, her sneer deepening. “It’s your family’s pack. Even now, it’s still named after your grandfather. Why should Calvin have to work for it?”
How wrong I’d been.
I took a deep breath, doing my best to keep my emotions under control, though my insides felt like they were coming undone. “You’re right,” I said, barely able to contain my rage and hurt. “This pack does belong to my family, and I have done everything to make it grow bigger and stronger. And since you two love each other so much, I’ll let everyone know you’re now a couple and will be sent out of the pack tomorrow.”
Calvin stood, his face going pale. “Esme, you can’t do this. I’m your husband. Besides, it only happened this one time, and I swear by the moon goddess, Stella seduced me.”I turned to Stella, who looked aghast at the ease of his betrayal. I shook my head, my lips curling up in disgust, not feeling the least bit sorry for her. She’d gotten what she deserved.
Of course, I had been blind to choose him, too, and even more stupid to think he was some wonderful gentleman I could spend my life with. I peered at him with newfound disdain. “There’s no need to explain anything,” I said. “I’ve made up my mind, and I’m done here.”
I turned away, unwilling to look at them any longer and even more unwilling to stay in the room where I’d caught them.“You really want to cause a scene at the festival tomorrow?” Calvin called to my back, desperation clear in his voice.I paused. Causing a scene at a large-scale event we had spent a lot of resources on wasn’t what I had planned. Nor was it good for pack morale. Then Silvan’s gloating face flashed in my mind. That alone was more than enough for me to rethink my decision.
“Both of you can be guests for the New Moon Festival,” I said. “After that, leave the pack on your own.” That was the best solution.I slammed the door on my way out, then meandered through the house, not knowing what to do with myself. I had grown up in that house, and it held memories of Stella and me playing in nearly every room. Those images flashed through my mind, making my heart feel as though someone held it in a treacherous vise.Where did I go wrong? Why would she do such a thing?Now that I’d caught them, I could see Calvin for what he was, could see what I should have seen all along. But Stella? My lifelong best friend? The woman who was like a sister to me? It didn’t make any sense.
I entered one of the guest’s rooms, not caring which, and fell to the floor with a loud sob. Not only had I been betrayed by my husband, but I had lost a friendship that meant the world to me. The pain crushed my soul to where it felt like I could barely breathe. Another sob escaped my lips, and I allowed myself to cry, to wail, to drown in my tears. In the empty darkness of that guest room, I let it all out until there was nothing left, until I knew I could control my feelings the next day.Because I was the pack’s luna, and that’s what was best for the pack.
I would wake tomorrow, get dressed in my ball gown, and stand beside Calvin like I didn’t want to drive a knife through this chest. I would smile at Stella as though she hadn’t torn my heart out, too. Then I would endure through the New Moon Festival before I could actually punish them for doing this to me.Goddess help me.Esme’s POVAfter a fitful and truncated night’s sleep, I woke early when my personal assistant, Amy, entered the room. “Ah, here you are. I’m done with all the tasks you gave me yesterday.” I looked into her eyes, grateful for her reliability and our relationship. My father found her near death and rescued her when I was five, and we’d grown up together. Like Stella, she was like a sister to me. Just the thought of Stella made my heart ache. An unbidden image of her naked on top of Calvin formed in my mind. I shoved the memory aside and addressed Amy. “Are the gates open yet? Some of the guests like to come early.”“I had them open the gates at dawn, and several packs have already arrived.” She looked at me with a furrowed brow. “But that’s not important. Are you okay?” “I’m fine,” I said, sounding lackluster and unconvincing, even to my own ears. Amy raised her brows, clearly not buying that. My shoulders slumped. “I’m just tired from working around the clock these last few days,”
Esme’s POVI stood, gaping at Calvin on the stage. What did he mean the project was obtained through underhanded methods? Was that some kind of accusation? I braced myself for whatever came next, sure I wasn’t going to like it. He continued without another glance my way. “As you all know, the Lycans have prohibited us from having any relationship beyond the surface level with humans unless we are specially instructed.”Many people nodded. I remained still, waiting to see where Calvin was going with this, wondering if I should rush the stage, or if that would only make things worse.“And we all know how valuable this project is. But I’m sad to say that, to get it, my wife and your luna, Esme, slept around with human men, betraying the laws of our kind.”“What?” I screeched.An uproar filled the garden, and the crowd sent thousands of hostile gazes my way.Shock, anger, and betrayal rushed through me. I ran to the stage and slapped Calvin across the face. “You bastard! First you sleep
Esme’s POVNever in my wildest dreams would I have expected that Silvan would request a union between us. When Papa had informed me about his plans to have me wed Silvan, I not only refused Papa and rejected Silvan, I lied and said I already had a mate. Then I had Calvin pretend we were fated mates and write a letter to Silvan. Why would he want me after all that?I stared at him. As much as I regretted my relationship with Calvin, I was still scared of Silvan, just as scared as I had been back then. He kept his eyes locked on mine for one second. Two. Three. Then disappointment flashed across his face, and he turned to leave.One look at the silent but curious crowd had me gritting my teeth. In desperation, I quickly said, “I agree.” After we got away from the crowd, I would make him see reason, make him see I wasn’t the right person for him. Somehow.Silvan turned, and his eyes curved upwards in a smile. “The man in the picture is me,” he declared. The crowd broke into even more
Esme’s POVHe walked off.Fucking walked off while I stood there watching him walk deeper into my pack. However, I followed him.“I’m going to need more explanation, Silvan.” Silvan finally stopped at a dead end that was miles away from the garden.“Considering that I just saved your ass, I had imagined that you would be more, you know…” he paused, his eyes lingering on me as I walked closer.“Grateful,” he added, and I rolled my eyes.“I would be grateful if that was really you saving me and not you taking advantage of a mess that you created.”Damn him.He had been the one to lean in, he was also the only reason why that picture existed in the first place, and then he raised some goddamn condition to clear his own mess.I took a deep breath, calming my emotions.“I’m glad I don’t have to remind you of the stakes again,” Silvan said with a smirk that made me wish I could get a punch on that perfect face.But remembering that he was a Lycan and a Royal made me restrain myself. As m
“Stella was right after all. Either way, you are still a slut,” Calvin slurred, and my nose crinkled as I smelled the alcohol on him.He was drunk.“You don’t have any right to be in here. Not to mention talking to me.” Calvin scoffed, stepping inside completely. “You talk about rights? What of the three years of you depriving me of my right? And then whoring around?” “What are you talking about?” this was not the Calvin I knew.He was not the man I came home to every night who would praise me for working so hard. He was not the Calvin that held me every night after my father died.This was someone else. A total stranger.“We were married for three years, Esme. And not for once did I get to touch you or be with you like a proper couple!” Understanding dawned on me, and I rolled my eyes, irritated at his true colours. “We were never a proper couple, Calvin.” “From the very onset, I made things clear with you. In exchange, I have given you shelter and every damn thing you could ev
Esme’s POVI barely slept as I spent all night packing my bags and anything that my father and I considered important.I knew that after tonight, this place that had been my home for the last twenty-one years would not be anymore.At the first break of dawn, I dragged one of my boxes downstairs, and I saw the two men from last night, standing with their backs ramrod straight while a bundle that I just realised was Calvin was tied up beside them. “Is this all?” one of them asked, not sounding the least bit surprised that I came down with a box.“There’s more upstairs.” The both of them gave curt nods and then went upstairs.By the time all of my bags were moved downstairs, an hour had passed, and I was surprised when the door opened, and three more men stepped in. And right behind them was Silvan. He stood there, his two hands in his pocket and the silliest grin on his face.“Can we leave now?” How did he know that I was going to come along?I trailed behind him until we got to the
Esme’s POVI could feel the scorn and the judgement in their gazes as soon as someone announced that I was a werewolf.Well, judging by what Silvan said, I wasn’t exactly one, but that wasn’t my place to say. Or so I felt.“Ohh! Is she one of your servants from the Thessaloniki’s Region?” The girl who spoke up at first asked, and I saw her gaze change from curiosity to disregard.“Kathie…” Silvan called out in a growl, and the girl, who I guessed was called Kathie, stepped back while trembling slightly.“This is Esme. She’s my woman, and I would not tolerate anyone being rude or disrespectful towards her.” I felt a certain kind of relief and emotions from watching Silvan declare I was his woman to seeing the gazes of the people here change.The whole place was dead silent, but I could feel their accessing gazes on me.“You took a werewolf as your woman?” Kathie asked while her eyes sent daggers my way.“And you are bringing her back with you? To the palace?” another person added. T
Esme’s POVI sucked in air at the grand entrance they were giving him. I had already felt that the fleet of cars and all those people there when we landed was already impressive.From my side eye, I could see Silvan's calmness to all these. It was clearly something that he was used to. “Alpha,” a middle-aged lady stepped out from the lineup and curtsied. “Madame Helene, how is mother?” Silvan asked, and my ears perked up. “The Queen demands that you come to the west wing first. She has invited all the core family members.” Silvan turned to look at me. “Would you like to meet my mother?” While I wasn’t mentally prepared, I didn’t think refusing was an option. This Madame Helene worked for his mother and would communicate everything to her.Even though I now knew that Silvan wasn’t as ruthless as I thought him to be, there was no way I would underestimate anyone from the Royal Lycan Empire.“If I won’t disrupt your meeting, I can tag along.” Madame Helene nodded subconsciously, le