Three weeks. Three weeks since Alpha Kael broke his holy rule for her. Elara stared at her image in the kitchen's cracked mirror.
Dark rings shadowed her eyes. Her lips were swollen from last night's kisses. Bite marks covered her neck like a collar.
She looked like exactly what she was: Alpha Kael's secret addiction. "You're glowing," whispered Sara, another cooking omega.
"What's your secret?" Elara's cheeks burned. "Just sleeping better." Sara laughed. "Right. And I'm the Moon Goddess." If only she knew.
Every night for three weeks, Beta Marcus had appeared at her door with the same message: "The Alpha requires your presence." And every night, Elara's heart rose higher. Because Kael wasn't just using her.
He was talking to her. Holding her. Making her feel important. "You're different from the others," he'd whispered last night, tracing lines on her bare shoulder.
"Special." "How?" she'd asked, gasping from his touch. "I don't know yet. But I'm going to find out." The memory made her stomach flutter.
Maybe, just maybe, she meant something more to him than his normal conquests. "Elara!" Cook's sharp voice cut through her thoughts.
"Stop mooning and start cutting. We have a pack to feed." She grabbed her knife and attacked the veggies with renewed energy.
Tonight couldn't come fast enough. Across the courtyard, hidden in the library's shadows, Lysander watched her through the window.
His silver eyes tracked every movement, every smile, every unaware touch to her neck where Kael's marks lay. Twenty-three days of pain. Twenty-three nights of listening to his mate laugh softly in another man's arms. His wolf was going crazy.
"You look terrible," Beta Marcus said, appearing beside him. "Thanks for the observation," Lysander muttered.
"When was the last time you ate? Slept?" Lysander couldn't remember. Food tastes like ash. Sleep brought dreams of Elara that left him hurting and desperate.
"This can't continue," Marcus pushed. "You're destroying yourself." "Better than destroying the pack." "Is it?" Marcus's voice turned serious.
"Look around, Lysander. Really look." Against his better judgment, Lysander expanded his abilities. The pack bonds that linked every wolf hummed with tension. Anxiety. Fear.
"Kael's obsession is affecting everyone," Marcus added. "He's busy. Volatile. Yesterday he nearly challenged Alpha Torres over nothing." Lysander's blood ran cold. Alpha Torres held the neighboring territory.
A fight between their packs would be devastating. "The elders are starting to whisper," Marcus added softly. "About Kael's fitness to lead." "They wouldn't dare."
"They would if things get worse." Marcus gripped his shoulder. "Your cousin is losing himself to this girl. And you're the only one who can stop it." "How?" The word came out broken, desperate.
"Tell her the truth. Tell her who she really is to you." Lysander laughed coldly. "So she can refuse me for the powerful Alpha? Great plan." "You don't know she'll reject you." "Don't I?"
Lysander turned away from the window. "Look at what Kael can offer her. Power. Protection. Status. What do I have? Books and shadows?" "You have the true bond."
"The bond means nothing if she doesn't want it." Marcus was quiet for a long moment. "What if I told you Kael is planning something? Something that will change everything?" Ice filled Lysander's veins.
"What do you mean?" "There are reports. Whispers about an announcement coming soon." "What kind of announcement?" But Marcus was already walking away, leaving Lysander alone with his fears.
That evening, Elara hummed while cleaning the last dinner plates. Her body tingled with expectation. Any time now, Marcus would appear with Kael's summons. She'd worn her best dress tonight. The blue one that made her eyes sparkle.
She'd even managed to tame her wild hair into soft curls. Because tonight felt different. Special. Footsteps sounded in the hallway, but it wasn't Marcus who appeared. "Hello, Elara." She spun around to find Isolde Vance standing in the doorway.
The future Luna looked perfect as always, her ice-blonde hair gleaming, her expensive dress pristine. Elara's stomach dropped. "Miss Isolde. What can I do for you?"
"We need to talk." Isolde's blue eyes were cold as winter frost. "About your little arrangement with the Alpha." Heat flamed in Elara's cheeks. "I don't know what you mean."
"Don't insult my intelligence." Isolde stepped closer, her presence filling the small kitchen. "The entire pack knows you're warming Kael's bed." Shame crashed over Elara like a wave.
She'd been so focused on her growing feelings, she'd forgotten how it must look to everyone else. "It's not like that," she whispered. "Isn't it?" Isolde's smile was sharp as a blade.
"A desperate omega throwing herself at the Alpha for a few nights of attention?" "I didn't throw myself at anyone!" "No? Then why does he keep calling for you?" Isolde circled her like a predator.
"Night after night, breaking his most sacred rule. It must be quite the performance you're giving him." Tears burned behind Elara's eyes. "Stop." "The truth hurts, doesn't it?" Isolde's voice turned pitying.
"You actually think you mean something to him. That this is more than just physical." "He said I was special," Elara whispered. Isolde threw back her head and laughed.
Rich, mocking laughter that bounced off the kitchen walls. "Special? Oh, you sweet, naive little girl. You have no idea, do you?" "No idea about what?"
"About the news. About why Kael has been so busy lately." Isolde's eyes sparkled with malicious joy. "He's been planning our engagement party."
The world turned sideways. Elara gripped the counter to keep from falling. "What?" "Tomorrow night. In front of the entire pack, Kael will announce our breeding bond.
Our plans for the official ceremony next month." Isolde's smile turned nasty. "I suppose he forgot to mention that during your little encounters."
"You're lying." "Am I?" Isolde pulled out a beautiful invitation. Gold letters on cream paper. "See for yourself." Elara's hands shook as she read the words.
The honor of your presence is requested at the engagement celebration of Alpha Kael Blackwood and Miss Isolde Vance. The paper crumpled in her fist. "Why are you telling me this?" she choked out.
"Because I want you to understand exactly where you stand." Isolde's voice turned deadly soft.
"You're nothing but a distraction. A toy he's playing with until he grows bored. Which, knowing Kael's history, should be any day now." The kitchen door swung open.
Beta Marcus stepped inside, then froze when he saw them both. "Miss Isolde," he said carefully. "The Alpha is looking for you." "Of course he is." Isolde smoothed her perfect hair.
"We have so many wedding details to discuss." She swept toward the door, then paused beside Elara. "Enjoy tonight, little omega," she whispered. "It might be your last."
The door slammed shut, leaving Elara alone with Marcus and her shattered dreams. "Elara—" Marcus started. "Is it true?" she interrupted, her voice barely audible. "The engagement?" Marcus's silence was answer enough. "How long have you known?" "The preparations started two weeks ago. "
Two weeks. While she'd been falling deeper under Kael's spell, he'd been planning his future with another woman.
"I should go," she whispered, moving toward the door. "Where?" "To him. He'll be expecting me." Marcus caught her arm gently.
"You don't have to do this. You could leave. Tonight. I could help you." She looked up at him with eyes full of tears and fierce pride.
"No. If this is ending, I want to hear it from him." She pulled free and walked toward her fate, leaving Marcus staring after her with sorrow and something that looked like fear.
Because in the shadows of the hallway, watching everything play, Lysander stood with his hands clenched into fists and murder in his silver eyes.
The time for watching was over. Tomorrow night, everything would change.