A sob from deep in the shadows at the end of the hallway catches my ear, and when I investigate, I find my personal maid, Sylvie, slumped down and sniffling in the corner.
Upon noticing my arrival, Sylvie only cries harder. "I tried to stop them, ma'am, I did. But they wouldn't listen." She looks up then, glaring at the staff entering and exiting my room.
I hear her words, but all I can see is the faint outline of a handprint of her round cheek, the red, distinctive marks of a full-on face slap. Aghast, I hunch down beside her. "Who did this to you?"
"I did."
The voice sends a shiver of revulsion down my spine. Anger curls my upper lip and I rise to my feet, ready to face my enemy head-on.
"Why did you do this, Nalani?"
I examine her as she makes me wait – the newly coiffed hair, her skintight silk dress, strappy six-inch heels, and layers of makeup. She doesn’t look like someone who just woke up from a coma. In fact, the transformation from the poisoned woman lying in a hospital bed to now is nothing short of miraculous.
"I'm the Luna now," she says finally, her voice laced with sneering superiority. She shoots Sylvie a venomous smile. "Everything in the Luna's room is mine. Servants who disobey their mistresses – who actively oppose their betters! – get punished."
Her gaze shifts back to me, her eyes glittering with disdain. "You'd know that already if you knew anything about ruling.
She held out her hand to me, palm up. “Now, hand over the Luna crown to me."
The Luna Crown, an exquisite tiara crafted from the finest gems, was a gift from Liselle, Evander's mother, on the day of our wedding. As she handed it to me, she told me of its power, and about how it symbolized the transfer of the Luna title to me.
Flattered though I was by the personal nature of her offering, it was the moment when Evander placed it on my head that I truly cherish.
"Forever and forever again," he vowed before the entire pack as he set it upon my head. The act caused a few wisps of my hair to escape my elaborate updo.
I can still feel the gentle brush of his fingers as he smoothed them back down into place.
Only you, his eyes said as he gazed into mine and that look – not the words, or the formalities, or even the crown – that look is everything I've ever lived for. As we stood there, hands clasped, my only wish was for him to look at me like that every day for the rest of our lives.
The snap of Nalani's fingers brings me abruptly back to the present.
"Find it," she commands, and in an instant, every servant in the house is the hallway, rummaging through my already ravaged belongings.
The thought of her having that crown fills me with bile, and I snarl back at her, "No!"
She snorts out a laugh at me, then rolls her eyes as she looks away. A few seconds later, the woman who once served me my morning tea hands Nalani the exquisite wooden inlaid box I housed the crown in for safekeeping.
"Mmmm…" Nalani lifts the tiara from the box. A low purr of pleasure and spite leaks from her mouth. While she places it on her own head, she makes sure she's looking me dead in the eyes.
Seeing her standing there, modeling that crown, my crown, short circuits something in my brain. Rage, unlike any I have ever known, propels me forward. I lunge at her, reaching for the prize.
The shock on her face when I snatch the tiara off her head is deeply satisfying, but my triumph is short-lived. She swivels aggressively, knocking me aside with her hip. The move sends me careening into the wall, but it also lands her on her butt, sprawled out on the hallway floor.
We growl at one another from across the room, and just as I'm sure we're about to get into it again, a deep voice comes from the edge of the hallway.
"WHAT. IS. GOING. ON. HERE?"
Evander's thunderous demand freezes everyone in place. I immediately drop to my knees, scrambling to bow before my Alpha’s aura. The servants quickly follow suit and the hallway is suddenly, thoroughly, encased in hypertense silence.
Only Nalani rises to her feet, and when I take a peek up at her, I can see there are now tears in her eyes.
"Oh, Evander," she wails, falling to his arms. "Thank the gods you're here. All I wanted was to start moving my things into my new quarters, but Aurora, she went crazy!" She slumps in his embrace, seemingly too weak to stand on her own. "When I asked her for the crown, the Luna's crown – she attacked me. And–" She sniffles. "Well, you saw."
Evander turns his gaze upon me, and I shiver under the strength of his stare. "Do you have anything to add, Aurora?"
"That was not the way of it, Evander." I rise to my feet because I will not defend myself from my knees. I pray with every beat of my heart that he listens. That he believes. "I returned home to find this mess in the hallway. My maid, Sylvie, crying, suffering from physical abuse."
This is the unfortunate precursor to the conversation I must have with him. If he won't hear me now… No, I won't think about it.
I shoot Nalani a look of pure loathing. I can't help it. "She had no right to strike my servant, and no right to demand any of my personal belongings. That crown was gifted to me by your mother. It's not hers for the taking."
"It's the Luna's crown," Nalani insists, looking up at Evander with her big, wet eyes. "All I did was ask her for it. Isn't that within my rights? She didn't have to react so…" She affects a shudder. "Violently."
"We all heard her deny Miss Nalani's request," a servant pipes up. "I was in the back corner of the bedroom, and even there I heard Aurora scream, 'No!'"
The betrayal is like a literal knife in my gut. What have I ever done to these people to make them hate me so much? From day one, I tried to be nice, friendly, and this is where it got me.
"I see," Evander says, his voice calm. He looks me up and down, his gaze flat. "Aurora, you are no longer Luna of this pack. The forth-coming ceremony is merely a technicality. Nalani is already my Luna. Give her the crown."
"What?" I gasp, flabbergasted and appalled.
“You heard me.”
I do as I am told, but my fury overwhelms me. The injustice only feeds my ire, and I blurt out my words without any forethought or consideration.
"You can’t do this to me. I’m pregnant with your child!"
Silence meets my declaration, and my announcement seems to echo off the walls. I'm pregnant with your child! – I can't believe I blurted it out the way I did.I take some fierce gratification from seeing the shock on Nalani's face, her smug smirk nowhere in evidence now. My joy is short-lived, however. At first, I read surprise in Evander's gaze, then – dare I think it? – happiness. But that flash of brightness in his eyes is gone before it can take root, quickly replaced by cold, hard regard."You are all dismissed," Evander says to the servants, his gaze never leaving mine.The household helps scurries to get as far away from what is about to happen as possible. The tension in the air is electric, like the eye of a storm, and I fear I'm the one who's about to be struck by lightning."Wait, you," Evander says, pointing to the tattletale. "Get me my Beta. Tell Ralfi I want him here now.""Yes, sir," the servant replies, bowing his way out the door.Evander waits until the hallway is e
I keep my head down as Ralfi leads me to the guest room. I can’t bear to see the looks on the servant's faces when I pass them, though I can hear their whispers. Every member of the staff is abuzz with my rejection. The shame keeps my eyes on the ground, following Ralfi's feet through the meandering halls."Here we are," Ralfi says, opening the bedroom door for me. "Go on in, Aurora. This is where you'll spend your last night in the pack house.""Ralfi…""No," he says, holding up a hand to halt my words. "I serve my Alpha, and this is his command. You can go inside yourself, or I can carry you in. That is the only choice you have now."Rejected and dejected, I can only nod and enter the room under my own volition. Ralfi follows me inside, then holds out his hand to me. In the center of his palm rests a single pill. "I met with the Alpha and Luna while you were still in the hospital. Evander asked me to give this to you. Since you don’t have a wolf, the rejection will hurt you more th
The guards surround me, corralling me out of the guest room, down the corridor, then out of the house. I am led into the arena on the edge of the training grounds.Panic has me shaking, struggling to make even the tiniest sound. Nalani's poison is potent though and I remain mute as I'm guided onto the field. My stomach sinks even further when I catch sight of the wooden structure ahead of me – an elevated platform that reminds me all too much of gallows.I look up into the stands at the gathering crowd and find only cold indifference on the faces looking back at me. I have no allies in this pack, no friends, and everyone attending today makes that explicitly clear. There's no sympathy for a wolfless Luna. Only my dear, sweet maid, Sylvie sheds a tear for me.Once I'm on the platform, more guards join the first three, creating a tight circle around me. The crowd chitters, buzzing with excitement over my impending downfall, and all I can do is open and close my mouth, gaping like some k
Prince Mykal? I repeat stupidly to myself, unable to stop gaping at the breathtaking man before me. I knew the name, of course. It always pays to know the name of your enemy.Prince Mykal Boreal, eldest son of the Lycan King, and next in line for the throne.Everything in me stops suddenly. Wait, did he just say I was his mate? I look at him, aghast. How is that possible? He's a Lycan! I'm a Werewolf. We're enemies. And yet…His scent fills my head again and I know that this irrefutably strong response I feel toward him is our mate bond taking hold. I just lost my first mate, and now, instantaneously, I have a new one? How can this be?But even as I try to cast-off the thought as absurd, in my heart of hearts I know this man is my second chance mate.I found my second chance mate! "I thought our business was done, Mykal," Evander says, breaking into my whirlwind of thoughts. "We finished the trade our superiors commanded us to make. What are you still doing in my lands?"If the princ
"Let her go," Evander barks over my head at Prince Mykal."Not a chance," the Lycan sneers back, tightening his grip on my arm. "She's coming home with me. I felt the pain you inflicted upon her." He raises his noble chin, clearly looking down on someone he sees as a barbarian. "I will not allow you to hurt her anymore.""You dare!" Evander bellows, inexplicably enraged. He lets go of my arm, then throws his head back to snarl out a battle cry. He drops down on all fours, immediately shifting to his wolf. His nails dig into the wooden planks as he prepares himself to pounce.The prince shifts as well, and in his Lycan form he remains on two legs while his hands grow into razor-sharp claws. He shoves me aside, probably much harder than he intended, and I fall off the edge of the platform and onto the hard ground.I scramble to my feet, ready to climb back up the stairs, but the sight of the Lycans running onto the field freezes me in place. Petrified, all I can do is watch as they hurl
The blush on my cheeks morphs into anger as I look beyond the men and take in the scene around me. All this bloodshed, and for what? Their pride?"I can't believe the two of you resorted to this," I say, then stop. I spoke! I spoke real words out loud. I'm so relieved. Now I can rip into them properly. "Do you really want to solve your problems through violence? Putting civilians in harm's way? Is that how royalty and Alphas are supposed to behave?"The men have enough grace to look away abashed."Your voice," Prince Mykal says, deftly changing the subject. "It has returned as I knew it would. Lycan blood cures most things. You'll learn all about it and more when you come home with me.""I told you already, she's not going anywhere with you." I hear the snarl in Evander's tone and I know that if I don't do something right now, they will be at each other's throats again soon."Stop it, both of you. I'm not some prize to be fought over and won!" I can't believe how strong I feel. I don
Rejected. Banished. Rogue.The words swim in my head, swirling around, threatening to drag me down. This is a nightmare. My worst nightmare.Everyone is staring at me. Am I supposed to do something? I'm not sure what they want. The prince says something, but his voice is too far away for me to hear.The next thing I know my world goes entirely dark.***My mate, the man I am destined to love, marry, and have a family with, lies motionless on the ground, on the verge of death. I only just met him today. We've barely said hello. I will not let him die.I give my surroundings a quick look, making sure there's no one else around. I can save him, but it's risky. Dangerous. I don't know how, and I don't know why, but there is a way I can bring people back from death itself.My mother warned me never to tell anyone about this. She made it clear – throughout my entire life – that revealing this talent would be disastrous not only for me, but for everyone who knew. She promised, over and over a
Evander’s POVThe pack house was oddly quiet. I listened hard, expecting to find something wrong, but all I heard was the usual sounds of the servants going about their business. The chef cooking up my breakfast, the chambermaids giggling to one another in the halls – all normal, all usual. But something was off.And whatever it was felt like a bramble caught in my fur."Here you are, sir," one of the dining room staff says as she presents me with a heaping plate of food. My gaze immediately, involuntarily, shifts to the right, to look at the empty seat where my Luna should be."Please," Auroa begged, tears in her eyes. "You don't need to be this cruel."Cruel. I am many things, but I never thought myself that."Everything all right, sir?" my server asks, giving me a troubled, tentative smile. The entire house staff has been wary around me ever since the night I declared my intent to reject Aurora.Cruel.Maybe they have a right to be."Why has Nalani not come down yet?" I ask, my Lun