Chapter 2

When my pack first decided to offer me to Kane, Drake had come to me.

He said if I didn't want to go, he'd take me away, right then and there.

But I was fixated on repaying the "wrong" man for saving my life. I never imagined this would be the outcome of our mating.

And Drake. An Alpha every bit as powerful.

All the years I’d wasted on a lie—watching my back in silence.

Now, I was taking what little I had and getting out.

All I needed first was Kane’s blood.

I was packing my things when I heard his familiar footsteps.

Kane pushed the door open. He frowned, seeing the books and bags scattered on the floor.

"What are you doing?"

"Packing." I didn't look up, just kept putting my ancient texts into a crate.

Mating with Kane, the only thing I hadn't given up was preserving the last remnants of our ancient lore. These books were all I had. They were all I cared about.

As I handled the most damaged book, a piece of parchment fell out.

Scrawled on it in the old wolf tongue were a few lines: “…blood of the moon is not always weak… power of the mind is not for Omegas alone… when the Moon Queen returns…”

I gave a bitter smile, dismissing it as some silly myth, and tucked it back into the book.

"Packing for what? We have a celebration gala tomorrow," he said, his tone impatient. "Stop this tantrum. I know you’re still shaken up about the kidnapping, but I have more important things to deal with. Your duty as my Luna is to ensure stability, not cause more problems for me."

A tantrum? More problems?

He had dismissed my near-death experience as me being childish.

I finally looked up at him.

Ten years, and he’d never once tried to understand me.

"I'm not throwing a tantrum."

"Then what is this? Running away from home?" He scoffed. "Elara, your duty is to be my Luna. I’ll let the thing with Drake slide. We’ll just forget about it. The matter is closed."

Just then, soft footsteps approached.

"Kane?" Fiona appeared at the door, dressed in a white silk nightgown, looking fragile and lovely. "I heard voices... Elara, are you okay?"

Her eyes scanned my room and landed on my Moonpetal charm—a crystal sphere containing the petals of the rare flower.

It was the only thing that helped soothe the volatile power inside me.

The moment Fiona got close to the table, her power brushed against mine, a cold, predatory probe that made the power inside me stir uneasily.

"Oh!"

Fiona suddenly stumbled, her elbow "accidentally" knocking the table. The crystal sphere crashed to the floor.

The Moonpetal petals instantly turned to dust.

"I'm so sorry!" she apologized, but a flash of triumph crossed her eyes.

She leaned in, her voice a rapid whisper only I could hear. "Don't blame me, Elara. It was Kane. He said your things were... upsetting my balance. He told me to… get rid of it."

I stared at the shattered pieces.

That was my last Moonpetal. It was extinct in the wild.

Without it, the power inside me would be even more unstable.

But this time, there was none of the usual pain in my chest.

My eyes locked on a piece of the wreckage. A shard of crystal, razor-sharp at the edge.

Wasn't this the perfect tool to draw his blood?

"It's fine." I knelt, pretending to clean up the shards.

The second Kane turned to check on Fiona’s hand, I snatched the sharpest piece. I clenched it in my fist and slid it into a hidden pocket in my sleeve.

The sharp edge dug into my palm. The sting of it made me feel terrifyingly awake.

With this, I could get his blood.

"Elara, leave it," Kane ordered, turning to Fiona. "Are you hurt?"

"I cut my hand a little," Fiona said pitifully, holding out a finger with a nearly invisible scratch.

Kane immediately took her hand, inspecting it. "I'll take you to get that cleaned."

"It's okay, Kane," Fiona smiled sweetly, then turned to me with perfect apology. "Elara, I'm so, so sorry… I'm just so clumsy."

As she spoke, she swayed slightly, as if dizzy.

I instinctively reached out to steady her.

The second our skin touched, her silk nightgown conveniently slipped, revealing her pale collarbone.

There, on her collarbone, was a dark red crescent mark, glowing faintly.

A mark?

I froze.

My bond with Kane was still intact; I could feel that they hadn't actually mated. But this mark...

"Pretty, isn't it?" Fiona noticed me staring. She stroked the mark, her voice a smug whisper in my head through the mind-link. "Kane... he gave it to me last night."

I smelled a strange, herbal scent.

Phantom-leaf. The sap, applied with an Alpha's calming energy, stains the skin to look like a claiming mark. It's used to soothe hysterical patients.

But to put it there, on her collarbone, shaped so intimately... it was obvious Kane had indulged her.

"You just painted that on with Phantom-leaf," I said, my voice flat, cutting through her act. "Fiona, you'd drain your own energy for a stunt like this, just to show off to me? So much for being 'fragile'."

Fiona stiffened, then leaned close to my ear. Her whisper was pure venom.

"So what if it's fake? The whole pack will see it and think it's real. As long as Kane doesn't correct them, it is real. He said he doesn't mind teaching you a lesson, as long as it keeps me calm."

Then, she turned back to Kane, her expression all innocence. "Oh, by the way, I saw how much sun Elara's sunroom gets. My flowers haven't been doing so well lately... I was wondering if..."

"Of course," Kane agreed without a second thought. "Elara, give the sunroom to Fiona."

The sunroom was my only sanctuary.

It was where I studied my books, grew my herbs, and spent countless lonely afternoons.

"That's my room."

"It's Fiona's now," Kane's tone was final. "Her recovery demands it."

"So does mine," I said, standing up. A shard of glass sliced my palm, and blood dripped, staining the floor. "Those herbs are for stabilizing my own power."

"What power? You have no power." Kane scoffed. "The wolfsbane shattered your healing. Whatever you think you need... it can wait."

I stared at his entitled face, the last bit of warmth in my heart turning to ice. Right. This was him. For ten years, my needs could always "wait."

Fiona chimed in. "Elara, if you don't want to…"

"No." I wiped the blood from my hand. "Take it. I don't need it anymore anyway."

"Oh, and by the way," Kane said suddenly. "You will attend the gala tomorrow night. We just closed a major deal. We need to project an image of pack unity."

"I'm not going."

"You will go." A dangerous glint flashed in his eyes. "That's an order, Elara."

I looked at the two of them.

Kane, domineering and cold. Fiona, a master manipulator behind an innocent mask.

This was my life.

A decade of humiliation.

"I understand," I said, turning back to my packing.

Fiona snuggled into Kane's arms, her slender fingers tracing circles on his chest.

She looked at me with triumph, her voice sickly sweet.

"You don't mind, do you, Elara? Kane just wants to keep me happy. After all," she paused, her eyes dripping venom, "I'm the one who matters."

I closed my eyes, ignoring her.

Four more days, and this would all be over.

Then Kane could be with his beloved Fiona. Forever.