Chapter 2

Neil finally looked up. His gaze slid past me without pausing, never noticing the hollow pallor that had leeched the color from my face.

He only gave a casual order, his tone flat as if speaking to some insignificant subordinate. “Kay, make something simple to eat, and simmer a broth to stabilize Fawn’s bloodline—she’s badly depleted and needs warming nourishment.”

The words struck like a silvered dagger, finding the softest part of my chest. The pain tightened my breath until I could barely draw it.

I turned wordlessly to the kitchen. The glass door closed behind me, muffling the living room’s sharp laughter and easy warmth. Inside, the pack celebrated; outside, I walked alone like an exiled lone wolf, licking my wounds.

I used to scream and argue, defending the last shred of my dignity as Luna with every feral roar I had. But bloody reality taught me that in front of those who did not love you, any show of hurt becomes a weapon to wound you further—only to make Fawn’s Omega gentleness look that much more “precious.” I was a crude, unfit joke of a Luna. Even my anger had been drained away, leaving only a bone-deep exhaustion.

When I brought out the food, Fawn rose immediately, wearing just the right amount of contrite sweetness. “Kay, let me help.” She reached for the bowl of hot stew in my hands. At the instant we passed it, her wrist twitched without warning.

The scalding broth sloshed, most of it pouring down onto my bare calf. A white-hot pain shot through my skin; angry red welts bloomed. The porcelain bowl hit the floor and shattered with a harsh crash.

“Careful!” Neil reacted like lightning. His massive frame formed a shield in front of Fawn, pulling her safely into his arms.

Even though not a drop had touched Fawn, she whimpered and buried herself in Neil’s chest. Her shoulders trembled; her cry was plaintive and convincing, her scent laced with the air of a frightened whelp. “Kay… I know you hate me, but… you didn’t have to scare me like that!”

The Betas’ accusations flew like arrows. “What are you doing!”

“There should be limits—don’t target Fawn!”

“We’re all watching—she’s the one who nearly dropped it!”

I corrected them coldly. “You didn’t hold it steady.” The burning on my calf made my voice shake.

I raised my eyes and swept a cold look across their indignant faces, about to speak, when Neil’s voice dropped over me like hail, carrying the unquestionable pressure of an Alpha. It crushed my spine. “Apologize to Fawn! Kay, you disappoint me so much! Fawn has just stabilized—she can’t take a scare like that!”

In that midsummer heat, I felt as if I’d been hurled into the deepest northern ice cave; even my fingertips trembled. The blaze on my calf was nothing compared to the ripping void inside my chest.

The Alpha who once vowed to guard my honor with the pack now stood as the coldest judge, grinding my last hopes beneath his heel.

The string in my mind, taut for too long, snapped with a metallic twang.

“All right.” I forced out a bitter smile and shoved the welling ache back behind my eyes.

For the pup that had never known moonlight, I would not shed another weak tear. “I apologize.” My voice was unnervingly calm, even to myself.

Neil seemed taken aback by my compliance. He hesitated, the instinct to reach for me stirring—then I stepped aside quickly, dodging his hand.

“The meal is ready and the apology’s been given,” I said, holding up the calf, hot and blistered and ugly, my tone distant. “May I go to my room and treat this wound now, Alpha?”

I didn’t give him a chance to answer and walked straight to the bedroom. A commotion rose outside the door—Fawn’s shaky, choking sobs: “It’s my fault…I’m the bad one…I shouldn’t have stayed here and troubled everyone…” followed by hurried footsteps and panicked exclamations.

I expected him to storm after me as he had so many times before. Instead, his steps stopped at the bedroom threshold.

He opened the door and came up behind me. His warm hand went, almost habitually and with a tone meant to soothe, to my now-flat belly. His voice dropped low and coaxing. “Can’t you let her be? Fawn is as innocent as a pup—she needs protection. Besides…” His palm rubbed gently, “we’ll soon have our own pup. Once I’ve taken care of Fawn, I’ll give you the grandest pack ceremony—under the full moon, I’ll declare to everyone that you are my one Luna. Don’t sulk, okay?”

That low, familiar voice—once the deepest thing I clung to—might have made me soften in a former life.

But now I flung his hand away and faced him, staring into the golden wolf-eyes that once drowned me. A bitter, derisive laugh slipped out, sharp as a snapped wire. “Oh? So His Exalted Alpha still remembers I carried his pup?”