Chapter 2

Harper hadn't caught the shift in the air at all.

She jabbed her champagne glass at me, voice still shrill. "You unknown little mongrel, how dare you—"

"Shut. Up."

Tristan's snarl cut her off cold.

Pure Alpha dominance slammed through that corner of the room, hard enough that the people nearby flinched on instinct.

"You want to die, don't drag the rest of us down with you," he growled through his teeth.

Harper went blank. "I—I didn't mean—"

Every drop of color drained from her face as she stared at the Alpha who'd just lost it, utterly at a loss.

I watched the sweat break out across Tristan's forehead and nearly laughed.

Of course he was afraid.

Three years ago, at the edge of the Mistwood, I'd been out treating someone nearby and it got too late, so I'd curled up under a tree to sleep.

He'd shown up out of nowhere—drunk out of his mind—cornered me against the trunk, flooded the air with his scent, and snarled that he was going to Mark me whether I liked it or not.

And what happened?

The second his claws broke my skin, I ground a handful of specially-brewed "Blood Rot" powder straight into the wound.

The poison wasn't lethal.

But when it hit, his wolf went into agony, seizing so hard his whole body convulsed.

The itching drove him to slam his head against the bark until he tore off a full layer of his own skin, screaming loud enough that rogues on the outer edge of the forest heard it.

The royal healers were useless.

In the end, it was Morwenna who recognized my work. She tracked me down and forced me to hand over the antidote before he pulled through.

That ordeal had clearly left a scar on him that never healed.

Now, with everyone staring in horror, Tristan turned rigidly toward Harper.

"What are you still standing there for?" His voice dropped low, but the edge in it left no room for argument. "Apologize to Lady Aria."

Harper froze. Her lips moved, like she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Now." Tristan pressed harder.

Only then did Harper drop her head, her voice shaking to pieces. "I'm—I'm sorry, Lady Aria. I shouldn't have spoken that way."

Tristan finally turned to me, even dipping his head slightly. "Lady Aria, my people don't know any better. I apologize on their behalf."

Dead silence fell over the room.

Harper's knees buckled a beat too late; she had to grab the edge of a table just to stay upright.

Selena stared at me, thoroughly confused.

"Just a few jokes," I said. "I'm not that small-minded."

Watching the spotlight slip entirely out of her hands, Selena finally dropped the act.

She lunged forward to plant herself in front of Harper, hostility burning openly in her eyes.

"Aria, what kind of dark magic did you use? What exactly are you trying to do?"

I closed the distance between us, step by step, my mismatched eyes fixed on her.

"You stole my identity for over twenty years. Lived off privileges that should have been mine."

I held her gaze, the two colors in my eyes flickering.

"And now you're just afraid—afraid this 'monster' you keep calling me is finally taking back everything you stole."

Selena's eyes flooded red in an instant.

Fat tears rolled down her cheeks. "I didn't! I never wanted to steal anything!"

The Betas standing around immediately softened, faces full of sympathy for her.

I let out a cold laugh. "Whether you did or not—your wolf knows better than anyone."

Right as the tension stretched to breaking, the doors were thrown open.

Alpha Prince Lucius strode in at the head of a fully armed royal guard.

He scanned the wreckage on the floor and the standoff frozen mid-air, brow furrowing.

Before he could even ask, Tristan jumped in to smooth it over. "Nothing serious. Just a few girls bickering."

Lucius clearly didn't buy it for a second.

His eyes swept the crowd and landed, finally, on my mismatched gaze.

He paused—visibly.

I lowered my eyes and reined in the killing intent rolling off me.

"The Alpha King and Luna Queen Seraphina!"

Every wolf in the hall dropped their heads on pure instinct, bodies bending into submission.

Every wolf except me. I stood exactly where I was and didn't move.

The air went rigid.

Luna Queen Seraphina swept her gaze across the room with practiced elegance, her eyes settling on me last, a note of displeasure creeping into her voice. "Whose child is this, that doesn't even know the basic courtesies of the pack?"

Selena seized the opening instantly.

Eyes red-rimmed, voice thick with wounded concern, "My Luna, please don't blame my sister... she only just came back to the pack. She doesn't quite know our ways yet."

"She's lived wild for too long, out there—her temper runs hot, and she just wasn't thinking clearly. Please, don't hold it against her."

The Alpha King's expression darkened, his gaze locking onto me completely.

The full weight of a wolf king's dominance crashed down over me without warning.

"So this is the elder daughter the Vance family just found?"