Chapter Three

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!"