Chapter 3

Morning came, and Lucian still hadn't come back to our room.

Good. It gave me the quiet I needed to finish writing up the papers to break our mate bond.

By the time Tess came to get me for breakfast, the ink was dry. I folded the paper and slipped it into my sleeve.

My whole life, I'd been living for somebody else.

Sent away as a kid. Dragged back when I turned eighteen. Pushed into a marriage that was never supposed to be mine.

Once these papers went through, though, whatever came next would finally be my choice.

I'd barely stepped into the dining hall when I saw Lucian at the table. Vivienne sat right next to him, smiling like she owned the place.

"Maren, about last night—"

He didn't get to finish. Vivienne picked up a sugared strawberry and popped it between his lips.

My eyes stung.

"I'm not hungry. I'll head back to my room."

I turned and walked out before he could get another word in.

Whatever he'd been about to say, I didn't want to hear it.

"Maren, do you have to be like this?"

I hesitated.

Then Vivienne pressed a handkerchief to her face and started crying.

"Lucian, this is all my fault. I never should've come back. Now Maren thinks I'm here to steal her place."

"If having me around upsets her, I'll go. The last thing I want is to make trouble for you two."

"Stop talking nonsense. Nobody's making you leave."

Lucian's voice was low and gentle as he comforted her. Then he turned to me.

"Vivienne just got home, so I'm throwing her a welcome dinner tonight. I'd like you to be there."

"Yes, please come," Vivienne added, just as sweetly. "We're family, after all."

Seeing the two of them like that made my eyes burn.

I didn't answer. I just left.

Of course I'd go.

This was my pack. I was the Luna. Why should I hide?

Back in my room, I called in the maid with the best hands in the Keep. A braided crown, a moonstone circlet, a silk gown, a dab of my best perfume.

Two hours later, I walked into the throne hall in a gold gown stitched with silver thread and the royal wolf crest.

Vivienne, on the other hand, was lounging in the same plain dress she'd shown up in, leaning on our parents and Lucian and laughing without a care in the world.

She blinked at my outfit, then burst out laughing.

"Maren, it's just a family dinner. Why are you dressed for a coronation?"

"Are you really that desperate to win?"

I paused. My nails bit into my palm.

But I kept my face blank.

"You've been out in the wild too long, Vivienne. Maybe you forgot."

"I'm the Luna of this pack. Everything I say and do reflects on it. I can't exactly show up in front of guests looking like a mess."

"You—!"

Vivienne swayed and clutched her chest like she might faint.

"You're nothing but a replacement! You stole my life! You stole my place! All of this was supposed to be mine!"

Ridiculous.

She was the one who'd thrown it all away.

The hall went silent. I lowered my eyes and spoke so softly they had to lean in to hear.

"That's a funny thing to say."

"What exactly did I steal? You decided the crown was too much trouble. You practically handed it to me."

"You walked away like it was nothing because you didn't want the weight of it. So tell me, why should I have spent six years holding your spot and dealing with everything you ran from?"

"Maren!"

Lucian's voice cracked through the room.

"Do you have to make it sound so ugly? Is being married to me really that miserable?!"

He looked beyond furious.

His eyes were bloodshot. Before he'd even finished, his Alpha aura slammed down on me like a landslide.

People gasped all around the hall. I didn't flinch.

Go ahead, then. Hit me if you want. I'm too tired to care.

"Lucian!"

Vivienne threw her arms around him.

When he didn't move, she pressed a slow kiss to his cheek. Light, quick, and gone.

"Last night, I found out how you really feel. That's all I need."

"If I've come between you two, I'll never forgive myself."

How he really felt?

And why didn't he pull away from her kiss?

Unless...

My mind went blank. I stared at his hand resting on her waist and said quietly,

"So you do know how to be gentle, Lucian."

"Just never with me."

The wine glass in his hand shattered. Glass sprayed across the marble floor.

Lucian stared at me, his eyes red, like he was the one bleeding. Maybe for me. Maybe for himself.

"That's what you think?"

I took a step back, pulled the paper from my sleeve, and laid it on the table.

"Lucian, I want to break our mate bond."

"She's back. This bond was always supposed to be hers. I'm giving it back."

Lucian's eyes went wide. He stared at me like he couldn't believe what he'd just heard.