Chapter 3

On my third day locked inside the Moon Goddess's shrine, my phone still had no signal.

As the sky darkened, voices drifted in from outside.

"Elara is incredible. She actually wrote a detailed combat training plan for the pack."

"And the best part is she knows every squad inside out. The plan is tailored to each team's fighting style. You should have seen how grateful those warriors were."

"Moon Goddess bless us! Now there's someone worthy of being our Luna!"

My heart plummeted.

That combat training plan was mine!

Back when I loved Damon, I had always worried that my father would one day ignore my feelings and move against Graymere.

To protect Damon's pack, I had used everything I'd learned since childhood to create a perfect training plan, so that when war came, he could defend his own.

But how had my work ended up under Elara's name?

I rushed to the doors and screamed.

"Let me out! I need to see Damon!"

No one answered.

By the time my voice had gone hoarse, I finally heard footsteps.

Someone opened the doors and respectfully ushered Damon and Elara inside.

"Elara is kind enough to worry about you before she's even fully healed. Apologize to her and we can put this behind us."

Elara came up to me with a sweet smile and reached for my hand.

"Sable, I know you weren't thinking clearly."

"No matter what you think of me, I've always thought of you as my best friend. Let's get along from now on, okay? Let's not make things harder for Damon."

I grabbed her wrist and laughed coldly.

"Is that what friends do? Put their name on someone else's work?"

"You wrote that training plan? Do you even know everyone in our combat units?"

Elara's face crumpled, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Sable, that hurts. I wrote the training plan. How could it possibly be yours?"

"If you wanted shared credit, you could have just asked. But you can't claim my work as your own."

She looked perfectly innocent. Perfectly pitiful.

If I hadn't poured my heart and soul into that plan, I might have believed her too.

But in Damon's eyes, her version was the truth.

He pushed me aside and looked at Elara with soft, pained eyes.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let her near you. Since she won't listen, let her stay here and reflect."

He supported Elara as he led her away.

I chased after them.

"Damon! I have proof that the plan is mine!"

"I'm the only one who knows what the string of numbers at the end of the plan means!"

They both stopped.

Damon frowned.

"It's just a string of numbers. That doesn't prove anything."

"But if you don't understand those numbers and train blindly, your warriors will only get weaker! Elara, can you tell us what they mean?"

I dug my nails into my palms.

A flicker of guilt crossed Elara's face.

"Damon, I'm not feeling well. I can't breathe."

Damon studied her face for a long moment, then scooped her up and left.

He left me with one sentence.

"I'm the Alpha of Graymere. If I say the plan is Elara's, then it's Elara's."

I slid down against the door and sank to the floor.

So that was how it was. In Damon's eyes, the truth didn't matter.

I simply wasn't the one in his heart, so I didn't deserve the right to speak the truth.

My phone had shown no signal for days. Now it buzzed.

A message from my father.

"Sable, the warriors are assembled. I'm about to lead Ravencrest to flatten Graymere. Stay safe. I'm coming to bring you home."

I looked up at Damon's retreating figure, my emotions tangled.

This day had always been coming.

The guards locked me in again.

I knelt before the Moon Goddess's statue and prayed silently.

"Moon Goddess, protect us."