04. Be My Woman.

Esme’s POV

I stood, gaping at Calvin on the stage. What did he mean the project was obtained through underhanded methods? Was that some kind of accusation? I braced myself for whatever came next, sure I wasn’t going to like it.

He continued without another glance my way. “As you all know, the Lycans have prohibited us from having any relationship beyond the surface level with humans unless we are specially instructed.”

Many people nodded. I remained still, waiting to see where Calvin was going with this, wondering if I should rush the stage, or if that would only make things worse.

“And we all know how valuable this project is. But I’m sad to say that, to get it, my wife and your luna, Esme, slept around with human men, betraying the laws of our kind.”

“What?” I screeched.

An uproar filled the garden, and the crowd sent thousands of hostile gazes my way.

Shock, anger, and betrayal rushed through me. I ran to the stage and slapped Calvin across the face. “You bastard! First you sleep with Stella, then you accuse me of cheating—with human men!”

The crowd’s uproar transformed into murmurs and whispers. I didn’t care. Instead, I raised my hand to slap Calvin again.

He moved away, undeterred. “Now, don’t be jealous just because Stella’s been running the pack with me while you’ve been off warming the beds of human men,” he said, loud enough for the microphone to pick up his voice so everyone would hear.

“Calvin! Don’t you dare!” Stella cried out as she rushed to the stage.

For a second, I saw the girl that had always stood by my side, the best friend I had grown up with.

“You promised you weren’t going to mention the things Esme had to do to get the project. Everything she did, she did for the pack, not for herself.”

Any shred of remaining hope I’d had in my best friend—my former best friend—died in that moment. My eyes teared up as I looked at the scornful and judgmental gazes of my pack. Deep regret filled me as I realized my decision to leave Calvin and Stella the day before had led to my own folly.

Stella met my eyes briefly, flashing a smirk I was sure no one else saw. It cut me to my core.

Before I could recover enough to figure out what to do or say next, Calvin spoke, his mouth all too near the microphone once again. “I, Calvin Moore, hereby break the marital bond between me and Esme Howell. From now on, you will cease to be Luna and a member of our pack!” he declared.

My blood froze. “You—what are you doing?” The pack belonged to me. I was the one my father handed it to.

“I’m the Alpha here, Esme,” Calvin said coldly, “and you are not fit to be called Luna or even a member of our pack anymore.”

I looked around the large garden to where our pack members were. More than half of them had watched me grow up. My family had protected them all. I was certain they wouldn’t allow Calvin to do this. Yet, as I sought a friendly face in the crowd, they all averted their eyes.

“Look Esme,” Stella said. “There’s all the evidence behind you.”

I turned to see an image on the larger-than-life projector. In it, I was outside the government building against a wall, with a man in front of me, his hands on either side of me. I had to prevent myself from gaping. Then I had to search my mind for the memory. Once it came to me, my eyes instinctively sought Silvan out of the crowd. His icy blue eyes met mine, and his lips curled into a faint smile.

Then he stood and asked, “How can your pack be such terrible hosts?” while releasing his alpha aura. Everyone fell silent as he moved toward the stage. Despite having alpha blood in me, I still shuddered from the fierce power and strength his wolf had over mine. And with every step he took, Calvin took two steps back.

He eyed Calvin when he asked, “Since when did a task from our Lycian Empire become something you turn into a charade, Alpha Calvin?”

Lycian Empire? They held strong ties in the human government and, as the rulers of our world, were also the strongest supernatural beings. But why was Alpha Silvan involving them?

Subtle murmurs arose from the crowd, letting me know I wasn’t the only one confused.

“You seem to have had enough time to have your luna followed, but not enough time to fight for the project yourself. Aren’t you ashamed to call yourself an alpha?”

My mind flashed to my conversation with him the day before, and I frowned. Was he aware of what Calvin and Stella were doing behind my back before now? Silvan’s shadow moved over me, pulling me from my thoughts, as he approached and stopped right in front of me.

His blue eyes held a silent taunt as he peered at me. “Like I said before, your taste in men is terrible.”

“Thank you for the pep talk, but if you don’t mind, I have some important things to settle. Why don’t you just… go?” I said with a wave of my hand, doing my best to keep my voice neutral and hold back my anger toward him. If he hadn’t stopped me in front of the government building, the picture before us wouldn’t even exist. The whole mess wouldn’t exist.

Silvan chuckled and then leaned in. “We both know who the man in that photo is. Are you sure you want me to leave?”

I gritted my teeth. The easiest way out of this was to say Silvan was the man in the picture. But if I did that, it would only change the accusation from human men to another alpha. However, if Silvan said it, there was definitely going to be a different reaction.

I took a deep breath as I tried to form some kind of response in my mind.

Silvan didn’t give me the time. “I’ll help you on one condition, Esme,” he said.

My brows arched.

“Be my woman.”