Chapter 3

My cheek was still hot, but I was done.

The baby in my womb needed peace, and this pointless fighting was just making me tired.

I turned to leave.

"Wait." Seth's hand closed around my wrist. His grip was light, but firm enough to stop me. "Are you still sulking?"

After hitting me, his voice was suddenly gentle. Just like the man who used to make me happy.

"Ember, I know you still have feelings for me."

He stepped in front of me. His palm brushed against the cheek he'd just slapped. The touch made me freeze.

"See?" he murmured, mistaking my frozen shock for longing. "You still react to me." A triumphant glint lit his eyes.

"I'll give you a chance. A real one. In three days, the pack is hosting a gala for the peace treaty. I can take you. Show you real high society."

His fingers traced my cheek, as if soothing a frightened kitten.

"But you'll have to get rid of that disgusting band on your wrist. And lose the cheap jewelry. I'll turn you back into the beautiful Ember I remember."

The beautiful Ember.

The woman who would do anything for a glance from him. The woman who lost sleep over his cold shoulder.

That woman died three years ago at our mating ceremony.

"No, thank you." I frowned, shoving his dirty hand off me.

"What?"

"I said no, thank you." I took a step back, putting distance between us.

Seth's face turned ugly.

"Ember, do you really think you have a choice? Three years as a blood thrall is enough. Stop lying to yourself."

I didn't answer. I just held his gaze for a moment, then turned and walked away.

This time, he didn't stop me.

I walked to the lounge area of the trading post and sat on a long bench.

Outside the window, twilight was falling.

The magical lights of the station began to glow, mingling with the last fiery embers of the sunset.

I stroked my stomach and thought about that night, three years ago.

The night before my mating ceremony, I was crying in the park, jealous of the way Seth and Brielle were flirting.

That’s when Lucian found me.

The man I had met once before at a supernatural auction.

Tall, elegant, with the ancient, mysterious air of a vampire.

He gently wiped away my tears. His cold fingertips held a strange warmth.

"I told you before. I don't care about bloodlines or species. I care about the heart. And my heart tells me I've waited centuries for you."

I turned him down.

My mating ceremony with Seth was the next day.

I thought that was my destiny, my home. But destiny dealt me a cruel betrayal.

At the ceremony, Seth chose Brielle.

When I left the pack, heartbroken, Lucian appeared again.

This time, I didn't refuse him.

He hadn't cared about my broken heart or my fated bond to another. He'd only cared about me. His love was a relentless, healing fire. He didn't just give me a new life; he showed me what it felt like to be treasured.

I never would have come back here if it wasn't for this treaty.

Three days later, the night of the gala arrived.

The pack's most lavish ballroom was glittering with lights. Important guests were already arriving.

I stood at the entrance, wearing a simple, elegant black gown.

"Ember?"

That familiar, nauseating voice again.

Seth was standing nearby. Surprise flickered in his eyes, followed by smug satisfaction.

"I knew you'd come." He walked toward me, a victor's smile on his face. "You still can't let me go, can you? Three days was enough to make you see sense. Good. That's how it should be."

He reached for my hand, but I sidestepped him effortlessly.

He blinked, his smile faltering. "Ember, what game are you playing? Everyone is watching. Don't embarrass me."

Just then, Brielle pushed through the crowd.

She was wearing a flamboyant red gown, dripping with so many jewels she looked like she was trying to wear a nation's entire treasury.

Her eyes landed on my neck and went wide.

"How dare you!" she shrieked.

Her shriek sliced through the ballroom's polite chatter.

"That necklace! How dare you wear that fake to the gala? Are you trying to humiliate the entire pack? Or are you trying to start a war?"

The room fell silent.

All eyes were on me.

On the massive, glittering moonstone around my neck.