Chapter 3

Two weeks.

That was all it took.

Fourteen days.

Fourteen days after our daughter returned to the Moon Goddess, Evander had already erased her from his heart as though she had never existed.

The Frostfang Pack's grand hall blazed with silver moonfire, every crystal lantern glowing beneath the vaulted ceiling while Alphas, Betas, and honored guests from neighboring packs filled the room with laughter and celebration. At the far end of the hall, a great silver banner hung above the Alpha's dais.

WELCOME HOME, CELESTINE AND ALARIC.

My fingers curled so tightly into my palms that my nails drew blood.

Maeve had been gone for only fourteen days.

Yet my mate had chosen to celebrate.

The guards moved to stop me, but one look at my face made them hesitate.

I strode through the hall without slowing, my footsteps echoing against the polished stone floor as every conversation died around me.

Evander stood before the gathered packs in his black ceremonial robes, every bit the powerful Alpha they admired.

Beside him stood Celestine.

She wore the crimson robes of a Luna, one hand resting possessively around Evander's arm as though she already belonged there.

She was smiling.

As though she hadn't stolen everything from me.

As though my daughter hadn't been buried beneath the Moon Tree only two weeks ago.

The fury consuming me drowned every shred of reason.

Before anyone could stop me, my hand struck her face.

The sharp crack echoed across the silent hall.

Celestine stumbled sideways, one hand flying to her cheek.

"Aurelia."

Evander's voice carried the unmistakable warning of an Alpha.

I ignored it.

"How dare you?" My voice shook with grief and rage alike. "Our daughter has barely returned to the Moon Goddess, yet you feast and celebrate as though she never existed."

I turned to Evander.

"You couldn't even give her one moon cycle." Tears blurred my vision. "Not even that. Instead, you place your former lover at your side while your own pup lies beneath the earth."

A startled cry escaped Celestine.

Then she crumpled to the floor.

Tears spilled freely down her face as she clutched her reddened cheek.

"Alpha..." she sobbed. "She attacked me before everyone."

Her shoulders trembled.

"I only wanted to come home."

Before another word could be spoken, a small figure rushed toward me.

Alaric.

His tiny fists struck my stomach again and again.

"You hurt my mama!" he cried. "You're wicked!"

Each blow lacked strength, yet every one pierced deeper than claws.

"My papa doesn't want you anymore!" he shouted through his tears. "He loves us!"

The warriors exchanged uneasy glances.

No one moved.

No one dared interfere while the Alpha remained silent.

I could have stopped the child with ease.

I didn't.

He was innocent.

Even if his existence had shattered my life.

When I lifted my eyes, I caught Celestine watching me.

Only for an instant.

The corners of her lips curled into the faintest smile before she buried her face against Evander's shoulder once more.

"She wants to destroy our family," Celestine whispered between sobs. "She cannot accept that you've chosen us."

Evander's expression hardened.

Before I realized he had moved, his hand struck my face.

The force sent me reeling backward.

Silence swallowed the hall.

My cheek burned, but it was nothing compared to the ache spreading through my chest.

The mate who had once sworn to shield me from every harm had struck me before the entire pack.

His gaze remained cold.

Emotionless.

"This ends tonight."

He withdrew a rolled parchment from inside his robes and cast it onto the floor between us.

The scroll unraveled at my feet.

A formal rejection.

My breath caught.

Then several enchanted memory crystals tumbled after it.

As they shattered against the stone, glowing images rose into the air.

Images of me...

Naked.

Curled in another wolf's embrace.

Then another.

And another.

The entire hall erupted in horrified whispers.

"No..." My voice barely existed. "These aren't real."

Evander looked at me with nothing but contempt.

"You've dishonored your Alpha."

"I never betrayed you."

"You shared another male's bed."

"I didn't!"

Celestine leaned against his shoulder, dabbing at tears that no longer looked convincing.

"Alpha... perhaps we shouldn't do this today."

I looked directly at her.

This time I saw it clearly.

The satisfaction gleaming in her eyes.

She had orchestrated everything.

The false memories.

The humiliation.

The rejection.

"Evander." My throat tightened. "After everything we've survived together... after Maeve... do you truly believe I would betray our mate bond?"

For the briefest heartbeat, something flickered across his face.

Pain.

Then it vanished.

"I no longer care."

His voice carried the finality of an Alpha's judgment.

"Accept the rejection."

My heart broke all over again.

Not because he doubted me.

Not because the entire pack watched me fall.

But because the man standing before me no longer resembled the mate who had once sworn himself to me beneath the Moonstone.

I slowly lifted my chin.

One tear slipped down my cheek.

"You'll regret this."

Evander offered no reply.

He simply turned away.

Just as he had turned away from our daughter.

As the whispers spread through the great hall and every eye settled upon me, I finally understood the truth.

The Alpha I had loved no longer existed.

And the Luna he had cast aside would not leave without a fight.