Chapter 3

Back at the villa, Mrs. May, the head housekeeper, hurried over to me.

"Mr. Gray just took Ms. Hayes into your dressing room. He said she needed a set of jewelry."

My brow furrowed, and my voice rose slightly.

"What? Nobody stopped him?"

"Mr. Gray said that since you're married, your belongings should belong to both of you."

I sighed. "What's missing?"

"The ruby necklace," Mrs. May said quietly. A ringing filled my ears, and my thoughts ground to a halt.

My grandmother had placed it in my hands on her deathbed.

It was a Lycaon heirloom passed down through generations, a symbol of the family's standing within the Moonbane Pack.

Everyone who had ever seen, touched, or worn it was recorded in the pack's registry.

On her deathbed, she'd told me to wear it on my wedding day.

Now the spot where the necklace belonged was empty.

And something inside me emptied with it.

In a daze, I suddenly remembered how Silas's eyes had shone like stars the first time we met.

"Sophia, meeting you is the greatest miracle of my life."

And now, he'd put my grandmother's necklace around another woman's neck to prop up her image.

Mrs. May carefully tidied what was left of my hair, her eyes full of heartache.

"Ms. Lycaon, how could they do this to your beautiful hair?

"You treat it with honey and milk every day. It's insured for more than three hundred thousand dollars."

I stared at my ashen reflection, and my wolf's voice echoed in my mind.

"Do you still consider him your Alpha?"

"No. He doesn't deserve to be. I'm ending this marriage."

My phone chimed. A message came in from my friend Lily Bennett, along with a video of Vivian working the room at the pack gathering as if she owned it.

"Is Silas an idiot? How does he keep falling for that sweet little act of hers?"

"Did you know she's been copying everything about you? A lot of the guests mistook her for the Luna."

"When I saw that smug bitch, I wanted to tear her apart."

Then came Vivian's Facebook post. Photos from the charity gala.

Silas had his arm around her waist. To anyone watching, they looked like the perfect couple.

The comments were full of congratulations, with the occasional question.

"Where was Sophia?"

Vivian had replied with a photo, a candid shot someone had taken of me.

I looked ghastly in it, wet hair stuck to my face, a complete wreck.

She'd written, "How could she show up looking like that? Doesn't she have any shame?"

"Someone younger looks much better by Silas's side." My friend video-called me, her face tight with worry.

"People in our circles are laughing at you, saying you can't even keep your own husband. They're even saying Silas and Vivian have already..."

I gripped my phone until my knuckles turned white.

"Sophia, don't you dare let that manipulative woman get away with this."

I nodded, then said quietly.

"Don't worry. They'll both pay for this."

The words had barely left my mouth when the bodyguards brought Vivian in, bound and struggling.

"How dare you? I'm the Alpha's secretary.

"Aren't you afraid he'll come after you? He's the Alpha!"

I looked down at her and tilted her chin up with my finger.

The ruby necklace still glittered at her throat.

I unclasped the necklace and placed it carefully back in its velvet case, my voice cold.

"Vivian, do you know my full name?"

She jerked away from my hand. "What do you mean?"

"My name is Sophia Lycaon."

Vivian's lips began to tremble.

Of course she knew.

The Lycaon family was the most powerful bloodline she could never hope to reach.

Vivian tried to force herself to stand, but her voice came out thin and hollow.

"You're lying. The Lycaon family? You think an ugly woman like you could belong to them?

"It's just a necklace. Silas has given me plenty of jewelry. Take it all if you want."

I scoffed. "I don't want filthy things. I don't want filthy people, either."

I had the bodyguards hold her down and brought out a set of clippers.

The color drained from Vivian's face.

I nodded to the barber. The cold blade touched her scalp, and she screamed.

Brown hair slid to the floor in sheets as she begged and apologized.

But the clippers didn't stop until the last strand was gone.

Vivian collapsed on the floor, her bare scalp gleaming under the light.

I raised my teacup, my tone even.

"I was only joking around. You wouldn't get mad over something so small, would you, Ms. Hayes?"