Unclaimed After Nine Years

I was almost at the door when Kael stopped me.

“Selene. Leave the moonstone ward charm.”

My fingers tightened around the handle of my suitcase.

That charm was the last thing my parents had left me.

Kael’s face showed no emotion.

“Lyra has been having nightmares. She needs it more than you do.”

When he saw my eyes turn red, his voice stayed cold.

“Name your price.”

I almost laughed.

After nine years of being worn down piece by piece, what price was I supposed to name?

I said nothing. I only remembered the last time I had refused Lyra something she wanted.

At the winter hunting resort, Lyra said the cold made her dizzy and asked for my wolf-fur cloak. I refused, so Kael tore it from my shoulders, wrapped it around her himself, and left me outside the hunting lodge in nothing but a thin sweater until I could barely feel my hands.

So this time, I unclasped the charm and fastened it around Lyra’s wrist myself.

Then I looked at her stomach and said quietly, “May the pup be born safely.”

For the first time that night, Kael sounded almost satisfied.

“If you can learn your place, my heir can be yours to serve as well.”

The next second, Lyra gasped.

The charm slipped from her wrist, struck the marble floor, and broke apart. One sharp shard cut across her ankle.

Kael crossed the room at once and caught her in his arms.

“Call the pack healer.”

Everyone looked at me with amusement they did not even bother to hide.

No one in the room found it strange.

Lyra had grown up beside Kael, and for years half the upper packs had assumed he would choose her in the end.

Honestly, I almost found it funny too.

The night before, my heart had clenched so hard that I collapsed on the floor, gasping for air. Kael had stepped over me without stopping, on his way to watch the meteor shower with Lyra.

The last thing I heard before I blacked out was him telling the pack steward, “Clean the sitting room and clear the scent. Lyra is coming tomorrow, and I don’t want her smelling anything unpleasant.”

I turned toward the door.

Kael caught my wrist.

“Apologize.”

I looked at him. “What?”

He dragged me across the floor and forced me down in front of Lyra.

Broken moonstone cut into my knees. Blood spread across the marble.

Kael released me with open disgust.

“You played a petty trick, broke her charm, and hurt her. Are you still going to act as if this had nothing to do with you?”

After marrying into Blackthorn, saying sorry had become second nature.

The moon-herb broth was not brewed to his taste. I’m sorry.

I asked too many times whether he was safe after the pack hunt. I’m sorry.

I accidentally found Lyra’s torn dress in his bedroom. I’m sorry.

I bit the inside of my cheek, stood up, and bowed to Lyra.

After the third apology, I raised my head and looked at Kael.

“Is that enough?”

His gaze stopped on the blood at the corner of my mouth. Something moved in his eyes, but it was gone almost immediately.

“Selene, your grandmother is no longer here to protect you. Don’t put on that pitiful act in front of me.”

Before I could answer, the healer arrived.

Kael barely looked at me again. He went straight to Lyra.

While all his attention was on her, I walked out.

The night air struck me the moment I stepped beyond the villa.

Then two short honks sounded from outside the gates.

The silver sedan was already waiting there.

I quickened my steps, but before the gates could fully open, my vision blurred.

My knees gave out beneath me.

The blood loss, the pain in my chest, and the weakness left over from the night before all crashed down at once.

The last thing I saw was the gate light bleeding into a blur of white.

Then everything went dark.