Chapter 4

Maybe it was the guilt of how badly he had let me down.

Or maybe it was the bone-deep nervousness of a man who had just been caught.

Whatever it was, the next morning Cassian came at me with a tenderness that didn't belong in our marriage anymore.

A tenderness that felt familiar and foreign at the same time.

I hadn't felt anything like it since Dora was born.

He acted like the man I'd just mated five years ago.

He stood behind me at the mirror and combed my hair, careful, slow. He pressed a soft kiss to the corner of my mouth.

His voice came out low and warm.

"Eva. These last few days with Dora must have worn you out."

I looked at the woman in the mirror. There was no warmth in her eyes. Only ice.

I gave a small nod and pushed him off me.

That clearly threw him.

Once upon a time, I'd loved nothing more than him brushing my hair. Loved nothing more than his kiss.

I looked up at him. His eyes were full of confusion. Hurt.

But only for a second.

Then a doting smile slid into place. He hooked an arm around my waist and pulled me down onto his lap.

His voice dropped, all velvet.

"Still mad about how I smelled?"

When I didn't answer, his smile only grew.

"Come on. Smell me now. There's nothing on me, right?"

"Don't be angry. I'll take you out and buy you that ruby necklace you've been wanting. The one you love."

He buried his face in the curve of my neck and nuzzled.

This was Cassian's white flag.

I didn't react. I just got up, walked to the window, and looked down into the garden.

Kayla was already there.

I watched her scoop Dora up like she'd done it a hundred times. The way she patted my daughter's back was easy, practiced. So practiced it made the room blur for a second.

She spotted me at the window and called up, bright as a bell:

"Long time no see, Eva!"

Dora was draped over Kayla's shoulder. She looked at me — and stuck her tongue out.

That nearly broke me.

From the day she was born, Dora had hated being held by anyone but me.

I had asked her about it once.

She'd said affection like that was for weak wolves. She wanted to be like me. Strong.

I'd been so proud. I'd thought to myself: this child is going to be the heir my pack deserves. She's going to take us to heights I never reached.

It turned out she just didn't want me touching her.

In her heart, I was never the safe place. Never the home.

Kayla saw my silence. A flash of triumph crossed her face.

She squeezed Dora's cheek lightly, and asked her — loudly, on display:

"Auntie and Daddy are very busy today. Why don't you let Mommy play with you?"

Right on cue, Dora started wailing.

"No! No!"

"Auntie Kayla, I want you!"

I stood there. The tears came up but didn't fall. I held them.

What had I done — what had I ever done — to make my own daughter despise me?

She was the child I had nearly died bringing into the world. She was the child I had carried in the palm of my hand.

While I was still standing there, frozen, Cassian crossed the room, scooped Dora out of Kayla's arms, and started patting her back.

"Okay, okay. Auntie Kayla will play with you."

"No more crying. No more crying."

Dora's tears stopped instantly. She giggled.

A second later, she squirmed back into Kayla's arms and rubbed her fluffy little head against Kayla's chest.

Kayla laughed.

Cassian stood next to them, watching, his eyes soft, indulgent.

I looked at the three of them.

That was the family. Not me.

"Hey, time's getting tight. The meeting's about to start."

Cassian turned to me with an apologetic look.

Kayla, still holding Dora, lifted her chin at me.

"We're heading out, Eva."

"It's an important meeting. We'll be late. Don't wait up."

I forced down everything bitter rising in my throat and pulled my mouth into a smile.

It was the last smile any of those three would ever get from me.

He'd betrayed me. My daughter had chosen against me.

So I was done. With every piece of it.

I watched the three of them leave. Then I followed.

There was no meeting. Of course there wasn't. The meeting was just an excuse to get away from me.

The second I was out of sight, Cassian's arm slid around Kayla's waist. He laughed bright into her hair.

He took her to the largest jewelry store in the city and bought her a ruby tiara. The most expensive piece on display.

Then Dora reached up and crowned Kayla with it herself.

A boxed gift came with the purchase. The clerk handed it over. Cassian flicked a glance inside. A ruby necklace.

The very thing he had promised me that morning.

And it was a freebie. A throw-in.

I had to physically stop my hands from shaking. I balled them into the fabric of my coat instead.

When I had myself under control, I opened my email and called every senior member of the pack to a meeting. Immediately.

If Cassian wasn't going to hold his own meeting, I'd hold it for him.

The Elders rushed to the council chamber, confused and a little afraid.

Under my aura, every single one of them lowered their heads.

Good. So I hadn't lost my grip on this pack at all. Cassian was the only one who had forgotten.

"Eva, what's so urgent?"

Before anyone could speak again, I tossed the bag onto the council table. The lingerie was still inside. The smell of it bled into the room.