Chapter 3

Ethan's face was ashen.

He stared at me, the tenderness in his eyes gone, replaced by a naked threat.

"Let her go, Samara," he snarled. "You're not even hurt. Is all this drama really necessary?"

He helped the limp Clara to her feet and left without a backward glance.

I stood there, watching their backs disappear into the trees.

Inside, Mia trembled at our mate's hostility.

Nyx snarled in my mind. "Show this bitch we're not to be messed with! Now, go cleanse that poison before it sets in!"

The burning pain quickly brought me back to reality.

I looked down at the stain on my dress.

The wolfsbane oil had soaked through the fabric and was starting to corrode my skin.

I had to deal with it. Now.

I hurried back to my room and tore off the contaminated dress.

A patch of skin on my calf was red and raw, screaming as if it were on fire.

I grabbed the antidote from my first-aid kit and, gritting my teeth, applied it to the wound.

A wave of intense pain hit me.

I bit down hard on a towel, refusing to make a sound.

Mia curled into a terrified ball inside me. "It hurts... We almost died..."

"Yes," Nyx said coldly. "This is what happens when you trust the wrong person."

After treating the wound, I collapsed onto the edge of my bed.

If I hadn't smelled the wolfsbane in time today, if Clara had dumped a whole bottle instead of a small vial... I would probably be dead.

Just like in my past life.

And now... my sense of smell would only recover slowly.

Voices drifted in from outside the window.

With my werewolf hearing, I could clearly make out Ethan and Clara's conversation.

"Stop crying," Ethan said impatiently. "I didn't want to make a move this early, but she was clearly starting to suspect me. It doesn't matter. The plan failed, so we'll just make another one. Change of plans."

"But she found out! She knows I tried to hurt her!" Clara sobbed.

"So what?" Ethan’s voice was cold, stripped of all warmth. "In three days, she will accept my mark. And once our mating bond settles, all her pack's secrets will flow to me. The Moon Orchid seeds. Her formulas. Everything."

My blood ran cold.

Moon Orchid seeds?

That was our Crescent Moon Pack's most precious secret.

The core ingredient for the perfumes that strengthened a wolf's soul was the Moon Orchid!

"And then?" Clara breathed.

"Then, I petition the council to dissolve the bond. I'll claim the wolfsbane fractured her mind, that her second wolf has driven her insane," his voice was a venomous hiss. "By then, everything she has will be mine, including all those formulas."

Clara's sobs turned into a giggle. "And what about me?"

"You?" Ethan chuckled. "You'll be my true Luna. With Samara's techniques, you'll become the most powerful perfumer in the North."

My hands clenched into tight fists.

So that was it. That was his plan.

Fake love, earn my trust, steal everything, and then cast me aside.

"It was the same last time," Nyx roared in my mind. "His goal has always been to destroy us! He only kept you alive back then because he coveted your Stardust formula. That bastard!"

Suddenly, an alarm blared through the manor—a piercing shriek that meant only one thing. Intrusion!

"Rogues at the western wall!" a guard yelled from the courtyard below.

I scrambled to the window. Shadowy figures were scaling the outer walls, moving with a feral hunger.

Rogues. Packless scavengers, driven by nothing but desperation and bloodlust.

"All pack members evacuate immediately! Protect the heir!" my father's voice boomed over the speakers.

I grabbed a jacket, ready to run for the safe room.

But as soon as I opened my door, a huge figure blocked my path.

A rogue stood at the end of the hall, staring at me with greed.

"The little princess of the Crescent Moon," he licked his lips. "I hear your blood can strengthen a wolf's soul? Let me have a taste."

I took a step back, my heart pounding.

The rogue’s scent hit me like a physical blow—he was strong, at least a Beta.

And I was weak, the wolfsbane still dulling my senses.

“Ethan!” Mia, my younger wolf, whimpered in my soul. “Our mate will save us!”

A scream tore from my throat, raw and desperate. "Ethan! Help me!"

The sound echoed down the hall.

A few seconds later, I heard footsteps.

Ethan and Clara appeared at the top of the stairs.

He saw the dangerous rogue, saw me trapped.

And then, he hesitated.

"Ethan, run!" Clara shrieked, grabbing his arm. "It's too dangerous!"

The rogue lunged at me with a twisted grin. In that split second, Ethan made his choice. He scooped Clara into his arms and ran.

He didn't even look back.

He abandoned me.

Despair washed over me like ice water.

“It's happening all over again...” Nyx howled in anguish. “He betrayed us again! The rogues... he sent them!”

The rogue's claws were inches from my neck.

I closed my eyes, waiting for death.

Suddenly, a familiar scent cut through the air—sharp, cold, like cedar and ice.

That scent was like a shield, instantly pushing away the rogue's foul stench.

Even with my sense of smell severely damaged, this scent was impossibly clear, as if seared directly onto my soul.

A sickening thud. A choked scream. Then, silence.

Shaking, I forced my eyes open. A tall, dark figure stood over the rogue's body, shielding me.

Arthur.

His hands were stained with blood. The rogue was unconscious in a pool of it. Without looking back, his voice was deep and commanding.

"What are you standing there for? Move!"