Chapter 2

Voices downstairs woke me the next morning.

My legs were swollen. The scales had spread to just below my knees, and even turning over in bed hurt.

I pulled on a pair of loose trousers and packed the things I had set aside during the night into a box: clothes Adrian had left in my room, a silver knife Caleb had given me for protection, and a bracelet Noah had given me after my first shift.

The box wasn’t heavy, but I had to stop twice on the stairs.

Caleb and Adrian stood beside the living room sofa, surrounded by bags of supplements.

Claire was curled against Noah in a silk nightgown, holding a mug of something warm.

“The healer said these herbs cost a fortune,” she murmured, looking up at Adrian. “You shouldn’t have spent so much on me.”

Adrian squeezed her shoulder. “If they help your wolf, they’re worth it.”

Caleb stirred a spoonful of honey into her herbal tea.

“Tell me if there’s anything else you need. I’ll get it.”

Noah handed her a velvet jewelry box.

“Try this on. I thought you’d like it.”

I recognized the jeweler’s name on the lid. The bracelet he had given me had come from the same shop.

I reached the bottom of the stairs.

Adrian looked up.

“There you are. Get dressed, sweetheart. We’ll go into town after breakfast.”

I set my box on the coffee table.

“I’m already dressed.”

His eyes moved over my loose trousers and the oversized sweater hiding the pendant at my throat.

“What’s all this?”

“Things that belong to you.”

I took everything out of the box and laid it on the coffee table.

Noah picked up the bracelet.

“Why is this in here?”

“You can have it back.”

“I gave it to you.”

“I know.”

Caleb looked through the things, then at me.

“Isla, are you still upset about last night?” I hadn’t slept much. I kept remembering my mother placing the pearls in my hands, then the pain that had torn through my legs on the shore.

“No,” I said. “I’m giving you all your things back. That’s all.”

Adrian glanced at the familiar things on the table, certain I was throwing another tantrum.

He stepped forward, ready to pull me into his arms like he always did.

But I stepped back before his scent could envelop me.

“I’m going back to my room.”

Adrian stopped short, frowning at me.

“Didn’t we agree to go shopping today?”

“You suggested it. I said no.”

I turned toward the stairs.

Claire stood and caught my wrist. “Isla, please don’t fight with him because of me.”

“Let go of me.” I pulled my hand free.

She staggered backward as though I had shoved her, caught the edge of the sofa, and dropped to the floor with a cry.

Adrian rushed to her at once.

“Claire?”

“Why did you push me, Isla?” Her voice shook. “I was only trying to help.”

“I didn’t push you.”

Claire pressed a hand to her side.

“She’s still angry about the pearls. I knew she hadn’t forgiven me.”

Noah stepped between us.

“You’re better than this, Isla.”

“She grabbed me. I didn’t push her.”

“We all saw it, Isla,” he said. “Stop lying.”

I didn’t know what else to say. I looked from Caleb to Adrian, hoping one of them would speak up for me.

For a split second, that look hurt so much that I could barely breathe.

Noah glanced down at Claire, then back at me. “She’s been doing better since last night. The pearls helped her. Can’t you at least be glad about that?”

I looked at the bracelet in his hand.

He had fastened it around my wrist himself after my first shift. After my parents died, he had promised I could always come to him.

Now I couldn’t get him to listen while I stood right in front of him.

Claire let out a whimper.

Caleb hurried past me toward Claire, bumping my shoulder.

It was barely a nudge, but pain shot through my legs. They gave way beneath me.

I struck the marble floor on both knees. Pain tore through the scales beneath my trousers, sharp enough to leave me gasping.

For a moment, I couldn’t move.

“Isla?”

Adrian looked over. He started to reach for me.

“I barely touched you,” Caleb said. “Claire’s in pain. Can’t you stop competing for attention?”

Just then, Claire began to whimper. “Help me. It hurts so much.”

Adrian’s hand stopped.

“We all know you’re fine. Get up on your own.”

Then he turned to Claire.

“Where does it hurt?”

“My side. I don’t know why it hurts so much. I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to cause all this.”

“It’s not your fault.” He said, then turned to Caleb. “Go get the healer.”

Noah moved the coffee table aside so Adrian could sit next to her.

I stayed on the floor, one hand pressed against my knee.

They were certain I was just jealous and upset about being ignored, that I was putting on an act for attention.

Adrian bent over Claire, listening as she described the pain. Noah brought her a glass of water. Caleb had already gone to fetch the healer.

I waited until I could breathe normally, then gripped the arm of a chair and pulled myself up.

The box was still on the table. Adrian’s jacket lay where I had left it.

I walked toward the door.

“Isla,” he called without looking up. “We’re going to have to postpone the trip.”

I stopped with my hand on the handle.

“Of course.”

Outside, I slipped my fingers beneath my sweater and found the pendant Adrian had given me. The pack’s crest was engraved on its face.

When he had fastened it around my neck, he had kissed the place where his mark would someday be.

“So everyone knows you’re my mate, and my future Luna,” he’d said.

I unfastened the chain.

For a moment, I held it in my palm. Then I dropped it into the waste bin beside the gate.