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"If you want to be my Luna, you need to learn how to help me run this pack. Right now, you don't even understand the basics. How could I trust you as my Luna?"A muffled voice came through the door. "Damian, another pack has attacked our territory. The Alpha is furious. He wants you back immediately to repel them!"Damian heard the guard and swallowed whatever he had been about to say."Stay here and behave until I come back," he said in a low voice.At those words, the numbness on my face finally shifted.After he was gone, I broke down and sobbed.Five years. He was finally gone.Five years ago my father handed me over to him, and he swore that one day he would make me his Luna, in a ceremony so grand and so beautiful that everyone would envy me and wonder how I had gotten so lucky.Instead he found fault with every part of me and told me I was nowhere near good enough to be his Luna.Every day, he graded my manners, my posture, and my education. He brought in one tutor after another

The next morning, Rowan was already waiting when I arrived on the busiest street on the north side of the city.He wore a pale blue shirt stretched taut across his broad, muscular shoulders. He stood perfectly straight by the road, scanning his surroundings.Then he spotted me and lifted one hand in a small wave."Selene." His voice was deep and resonant.I picked up my pace and went to him."Hello, Rowan. It's nice to meet you," I said softly as I approached.The street was nearly empty that early, and after five years of Damian keeping me shut away, few people knew what I looked like now.Rowan and I sat down on a bench by the road with a space between us."Rowan, you know why I'm here. You must also know that crossing Damian won't do you any favors."He nodded."I do.""I heard you want to marry soon.""I do."His clear gaze held mine, open and guileless."Do you want to know why I agreed to this?""I do. With my reputation, there's nothing in it for you," I said calmly.People stil

That last line jolted me.Damian had apologized to me?That was even harder to believe than Damian lying near death.I watched Garrick kneel there, knocking his head against the ground over and over.Every doubt that had begun to take root vanished.I was certain now. This was a lie, start to finish.This was how he meant to turn me back into the caged bird he kept.I looked at Garrick in his pitiful posture.I said coldly, "How long are you going to keep this up? He would never say sorry to me."In those years I came to know Damian better than anyone alive.He wasn't hurt at all. He wanted me back under his control as his obedient toy, and he couldn't even lower himself enough to come for me in person.I could picture him imagining the moment I saw him standing before me, completely unharmed, and the terror on my face.What I couldn't understand was why he was trying this. He had to know I had sealed a bond of absolute loyalty, that I had a mate now, and that betrayal was impossible f

At the noise outside, I clutched the hem of Rowan's shirt.The courtyard gate crashed open under a boot. An enforcer strode in."Rowan Hale, you've been reported for breaking the peace between packs. Come with us."As he spoke, he walked over and secured a pair of cuffs around Rowan's wrists.Rowan did not resist. He looked at me, his face calm."Don't be afraid."Then he walked out with them.After the enforcers were gone the courtyard was frighteningly quiet.I stood frozen, staring at the gate. My hand was still curled as if around Rowan's shirt, but it held nothing.After a moment of silence, I summoned the guard who had delivered the warning."Keep an eye on Nell. Don't let her hear about this. If she asks, say Rowan and I went to my father's.""Yes."Once the guard was gone, I remembered the look Rowan had given me over his shoulder. It was calm and seemed to say, "Wait for me."I understood.He wanted to walk into the trap on purpose.Damian wanted Rowan taken away on a charge o

I opened the door and the guard hurried in."Luna! We have trouble. Your father just sent a letter, and Damian has become Alpha of his pack."My heart lurched. How had it happened so quickly?I took the envelope and sent the guard away."Go look after Nell. Don't let any of the talk outside reach her."Back inside, I opened the letter.It said that Damian had become Alpha of his pack and would come for me any day now, and that my father had already stationed men near our territory, who would come out to protect me the instant Damian tried anything by force.Damian had won acclaim for repelling the enemy, and with the Alliance Elders praising him, many now regarded him as the likely next Alpha King. Rewards were being heaped on him. Under no circumstances was I to let a conflict start with him, or I would not survive it.But there was no need to worry too much. The council was almost here, and for the sake of his reputation, he would probably avoid causing a scene in front of witnesses.