C2

Nyla Ravensalt POV

"You made the pack guards drag my family to the Alpha Council, so you come with us right now!" the huge guard barked.

I don’t care. I sit in the grey room of the Grand Wolf Assembly and stare at the stone floor. My hands are cold. I am the one who called the guards on Ronan Ashclaw, so I have to give my word to the pack elders.

The heavy oak doors blow open with a loud bang.

My stepmother, Vivienne Saltbane, runs into the room with a bunch of wolves from the Saltbane Silverclaw Pack. She does not even stop. Her hand flies up and hits my face super hard.

Slap!

My mouth tastes like copper and blood. I look up at her with sharp eyes, but I do not cry.

"You bad wolf!" Vivienne screams. Her silver fur cloak shakes because she is so mad. "You knew it was your own half-sister, Seraphine Blackthorn, in that room! You still called the Alpha guards on her? Do you want to kill me with stress?!"

I wipe the red drop from my lip and let out a small, mean laugh.

"My sister?" I say. "Are you talking about Seraphine?"

"Stop acting like a dumb pup!" Elder Osric Saltbane steps up, his voice booming like thunder in the room. "The whole Moonhaven Ridge Territory is talking about it! They say the daughter of the Saltbane line went and crawled into another wolf's bed. You made this huge mess for our family!"

I look down at my boots and make a soft sound in my throat.

"So that girl on the fur bed was her!" I laugh. "I thought Ronan just found some cheap rogue girl in the Shadowfang Wastelands who wanted silver tokens. It was my own blood sister the whole time?"

My father, Alaric Saltbane, moves past the crowd. His wolf ears are flat against his head. He looks ready to shift and bite me.

"You low-born girl!" Alaric roars. "What did you just say about your sister?"

"I just said the truth," I tell him.

My mind is spinning fast. I really did not know Seraphine was the girl under the sheets with Ronan. I just wanted to hurt Ronan because he broke my heart. I wanted the pack to see what a bad wolf he was.

But he did not just leave me. He went with my own half-sister. It makes me want to be sick.

"You!"

Vivienne raises her heavy wooden staff to hit my head. Her face looks ugly and mad.

"Stop, please do not get your blood pressure high!" Cedric Saltbane says, grabbing her arm. He acts super sweet. He turns to me with a fake soft face. "Nyla, do not make your mother mad. Seraphine did a bad thing, and you can bite her or yell at her later in the den. But your mother is old. Just keep your mouth shut and do not talk back."

Anyone who does not know Cedric would think he is a good wolf. I just smile at him with all my teeth showing.

My father, Alaric, gets even madder when he sees my face.

"Are you happy now?" Alaric yells at me. "You put your sister and your future Alpha mate in a guard cage! You made the whole Saltbane family look like trash today! Do you even know who you are?"

He steps closer, his eyes hot.

"Your sister works for the Mooncrest Dominion! How is she supposed to show her face to the pack now? Will the Grand Wolf Assembly let her keep her job? What happens to the alliance between the Saltbane Pack and the Ashclaw Pack? Did your small brain think about that?"

I look right into his eyes. "Is that all you care about? The pack resources?"

Alaric stops talking for one second.

"They are the ones who broke the pack laws," I tell him, my voice loud and clear. "Why are you yelling at me? Did you want me to just close my eyes and look away? Did you want me to bring them raw meat and wish them a happy moon bond?"

Alaric's jaw moves like he is chewing bone. He cannot find any words. Then he snarls super loud.

"You cannot even keep your own male wolf!" he shouts. "You blame others for taking him? If you were a strong female wolf, would he leave you for Seraphine? You never look at your own flaws. You are just like your useless mother!"

My body shakes hard.

I stare at my father. My eyes feel big. I cannot believe he said that.

Ten years ago, my father brought Vivienne and Seraphine into our pack lodge. That was the day I found out I had a sister who was five years younger than me. My real mother was so sad that she shifted into her wolf and ran right into the fast river, ending her own life.

The Saltbane family did not want the pack to talk, so they packed my bags and sent me far away to the Silvermoon Vale. They did not care if I lived or died. If my mother had not left me a small pouch of gold tokens, I would be dead in the woods.

I always knew they hated my mother. But hearing him say those mean words about her now makes my whole body feel like ice.

"Yes, I am a bad wolf!" I shout back, and I do not care who hears. "I do not have a mother who was a mate-stealer, so I do not know how to take other girls' males! Seraphine learned very well from Vivienne. My eyes are wide open today!"

Vivienne's face goes white like paper.

"What did you say, you pup?" Alaric screams.

"You heard me!" I say.

"Stop this right now!"

Elder Osric hits his staff on the floor. It makes a loud noise. Alaric wants to yell more, but Cedric pulls him back.

We all look down the long stone hall. Ronan’s father, Ronan the elder, is walking out of the back room. He is dragging Ronan and Seraphine behind him. None of them looks happy.

Seraphine is holding onto Ronan's arm. Her face looks small, and she is crying big, wet tears. She tries to look like a small, hurt pup so everyone will feel sorry for her.

My family runs to her fast. "Seraphine! Are you hurt? Did the guards touch you?"

Seraphine shakes her head. "I am okay," she whispers.

Then she looks past them and sees me.

"Nyla," she says.

She walks toward me with slow, weak steps. She tries to look super sorry.

"I am sorry, sister," she says, her voice shaking. "I did not know you would come to the fortress tonight. Ronan and I... we did not mean to do it under the moon. Please do not hate us!"

I stand there like a stone wall. I do not show her anything.

Ronan’s father sighs big and steps up to me. "The Ashclaw Pack did a bad thing to you, Nyla. But we cannot change the past. Tell us what pack lands or silver tokens you want for compensation. We will give it to you."

I laugh, and it sounds mean. "Compensation? You think you can buy my broken bond with some silver tokens?"

The old wolf looks bad. He turns to Ronan and roars, "You stupid pup! You made this big mess, now you go tell her the truth right now!"

Ronan looks like he wants to bite me, but his father pushes him hard. He walks up to me.

"Nyla, the moon does not want us together," Ronan says, his voice cold. "Let us break our engagement right now!"

My heart feels like someone hit it with an iron rock. It hurts so bad.

I knew he was going to say it, but hearing the words makes me feel cold inside. I look at this boy I loved for six years. My eyes get hot and red.

"Ronan Ashclaw, how many moons have we been together?"

"Six years," he says.

Six years. We spent six years sharing meat and running in the woods, and now it ends like this.

He does not feel bad at all. He does not say he is sorry. He just tells me we are not a good match. Something inside me breaks completely.

"Fine," I say, keeping my head high. "I agree to break it."

Ronan looks surprised. He did not think I would say yes so fast. He looks at me like I am tricking him. "Are you serious?"