Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO: THE MOON BETRAYED ME

Power is everything.

Such was the law of the Parson Pack. The daughter of a venerable bloodline of wolves, Lady Jaya Victoria Parson knew this truth better than anyone. The media fawned upon her family, commending their strength, their might, their invincibility. But she sensed the rot under that golden mask.

Her family was a den of vipers — scheming, vying for favor, willing to shred one another to pieces for the Matriarch’s benison. Victoria had no desire to be queen. She wanted peace, freedom. But fate had other plans.

Tonight, the world she knew would burn.

A Future Built on Lies

Victoria straightened her dress, squinting at her reflection in the mirror. The dark emerald gown hugged her form, graceful and confining at once.

“I feel so silly,” she whispered.

“It’s just a reunion,” Stacey snorted, lofting a pillow on the bed. “You look fine.”

A reunion. Lets just say, more battle-field than field of dreams.

Wolves who had married and found their mates and built their little empires, all the while strutting their success in the shadow of the Parson elders. And then there was Victoria.

Unmated. Unclaimed. Unwanted.

She exhaled sharply. “Let’s just make this happen.”

Stacey raised an eyebrow. "You sure? You look like you’d rather be eaten by rogues than endure one more speech about ‘pack legacy.’ "

Victoria laughed a little. "That’s because I would."

But there was at least one thing that she still turned up for. Jason Welch.

The man who had chosen her. And the Alpha who was meant to be her mate.

Her heart knotted at the idea of him. He had promised her a future. A bond. A love that would be free from pack politics. She had believed him.

She should have known better.

The Scent of Deception

Headlights caught the window in a reflection.

Victoria stilled.

Jason’s vehicle was parked out front. He hadn’t informed her he was coming.

"Wait," she murmured. "Jason’s here."

Stacey looked up from her phone. "Weird. Did he text you?"

"No."

She felt a strange twisting in her stomach.

Victoria was about to head for the door when a voice in the hall stopped her in her tracks.

Katarina.

“She’s in her room,” her sister said in a whisper. “She has no suspicion.”

A male voice — Jason’s voice — answered, low and like a growl. “Keep it that way.”

Victoria felt the color drain from her face.

Next to her, Stacey frowned. “O f**king way,” she mouthed.

They were fast, quiet as shadows as they passed through the pale-lit hall toward Katarina’s wing of the estate.

The door to her sister’s bedroom opened with a creak. Then — a soft click as it locked from the inside.

Victoria’s pulse thundered. She didn’t want to know. She didn’t want to accept it.

But Stacey had already taken out her phone and put it on silent.

They had to see the truth.

Shattered Bonds

Victoria slammed against the wall, heart racing. She could hear them — hushed whispers, the rustling of clothing, a sharp intake of breath.

And then — the sound that broke her.

A deep groan. Jason’s voice. Jason’s pleasure.

Victoria stiffened all over.

Beside her, Stacey stiffened, her fingers clenching her phone so tightly her knuckles turned white. Slowly, carefully, she slid the camera through the crack of space between the door and the frame.

Victoria didn’t need to look. She could smell it. The thick musk of lust—Jason and Katarina entwined like wild beasts.

“F**k,” Jason growled. “I love it when you do that.”

Victoria gritted her teeth so hard, her jaw hurt.

Katarina laughed, breathless. “Tell me, Jason… am I better than my sister?

A pause. Then—the final betrayal.

“You know you are.”

Something inside Victoria snapped.

She had battled all her life to be enough. Had given, had loved, had placed their faith.

And for what?

For Jason to bury himself into her own sister?

Her claws were out and anger curled in her breast like wildfire.

Stacey shuddered and exhaled next to her. “I recorded it,” she whispered.

But all Victoria heard was an echo. The blood roared in her ears, drowning out the sound of anything except the savage sound of her mate betraying her.”

The walls of the estate felt too tight, too choking. She needed to get out.

She needed to run.

A Wolf Unleashed

The cold night air slapped at her as she stumbled outside.

Her breath came fast, ragged. Tears welled, blurring her vision.

Her wolf cried out within her, angry, crushed, wild.

Mate bonds were sacred.

And Jason had broken theirs without a second thought.

Victoria staggered toward the trees, hands shaking as she clutched the hem of her dress. She wanted to scream. She was feeling the need to destroy, to disrupt something.

A rustle behind her.

She turned sharply.

Jason.

His shirt was half buttoned, hair tousled, but he still smelled of Katarina.

“Victoria,” he began, his voice low, tentative.

She snapped.

“Don’t,” she snarled. The weight of her fury shook the earth. "Don’t you dare say my name."

His eyes darkened. "You don’t understand—"

She lunged.

Having him up against a tree in the blink of an eye, claws now embedded into his throat. Jason gasped, going rigid with shock.

Victoria’s words came out in frayed breaths. Her wolf was roiling, trying to get loose.

“I was yours,” she hissed, her voice trembling with rage. “I trusted you.”

Jason’s gilded gaze wavered, but he remained resolute. “It wasn’t—”

"Shut up." Her claws sank into his skin, and pierced deep. Blood oozed from her fingertips and stained them crimson. “You don’t get to speak. Not after this.”

His jaw tightened but he didn’t pull away. Didn’t fight back. Just stood and watched her,

Something twisted in her gut. He should be afraid. He should be begging. But instead—

He looked satisfied.

His breath caught, the realization hitting her like a crashing wave.

This wasn’t a mistake.

This wasn’t some accident.

Jason Welch never meant to claim her.

His silence spoke volumes about everything. The sly little smirk, the twinkle in his eyes — it all lined up.

He had played her. Used her.

Her heart seized, the violence oozing in alongside a far more dangerous emotion—betrayal.

Because she had been a fool.

Because she had loved him.

But Jason had done one critical thing wrong.

He had underestimated her.

A slow, dangerous smile curled Victoria’s lips,

exposing the fangs.

He thought this was over. He thought she was weak.

He didn’t realize whom he had just betrayed.

And she was going to make Jason Welch live long enough to be sorry.