Chapter 2

The warding runes on the oak door flash wildly. They hold for less than five minutes before shattering with a deafening crash.

Wood splinters fly everywhere. Caleb kicks the door open. His massive frame storms into the room, bringing a wave of volatile energy with him.

He freezes in his tracks the second he sees what is on the floor.

I half-kneel on the rug, slamming the last piece of my silver chest plate into a black tactical duffel. A few sets of casual clothes and my personal daggers sit packed beside it.

"What are you doing?" Caleb's voice tightens.

"Packing." I don't even look up. I yank the zipper shut on the duffel. "I leave at dawn. Heading to the neutral pack territory."

"I forbid it!"

Caleb lunges forward. His pupils narrow into slits, and his eyes flare with an oppressive, dark gold light. The absolute command of an Alpha hits my spine like a ton of bricks, tangled up with the soul-binding weight of our mate bond.

"Stop right now, Elara. That isn't a request from your mate. It's an order from your Alpha."

The thick rug practically tears under the sheer force of his aura. Any Beta or Omega would be on their knees shaking by now.

But not me.

My lead warrior blood boils. My inner wolf lets out a vicious snarl, shattering his command. I stand up slowly, keeping my back completely straight, and meet his golden stare without flinching.

"Save it, Caleb." I let out a cold laugh. "Your Alpha command never worked on me. You think you can use your rank to keep me locked up in Blood Moon? You're out of your mind."

The panic in Caleb's eyes deepens when he realizes his order did absolutely nothing.

"Elara, just calm down." He softens his tone and reaches for my shoulder, but I step out of the way. His hand hovers in the air. A hint of pain slips into his voice. "We are fated mates. Have you forgotten everything we've been through? When we were fifteen..."

"When we were fifteen, there was a massive flash flood on the back mountain." I cut him off without a shred of mercy, staring dead into his eyes as I finish the sentence for him. "You pushed me out of the mudslide and let a boulder crush your back. You laid in the ICU for three straight months. You held my hand and told me that as long as you were breathing, you would never let anyone hurt me."

Just saying the words makes the mate bond pull tight. A tearing, agonizing pain rips through my chest, and the taste of blood rises in the back of my throat.

I swallow the blood down and give him a deeply mocking smile. "You kept your word, Caleb. No one else has laid a finger on me for the past ten years. Because the only person ripping me to shreds is you."

"I never wanted to hurt you! I just..."

"You just put Lily first. Every single time." I grab my phone off the nightstand and unlock the screen. "You think she's so innocent? You think she's just some fragile little Omega?"

I hit play on an audio file, crank the volume to the max, and slam the phone down on the vanity.

It is the telepathic taunt Lily sent me late the other night. My inner wolf intercepted the frequency and recorded it perfectly.

The fragile Omega's voice fills the room, sickeningly sweet and dripping with smugness:

"Still waiting for him, Elara? Stop kidding yourself. I just have to say I'm scared, and Caleb will run straight to me, even if you're standing at the altar. You're just a duty to him. I'm his real priority."

The recording cuts off.

The bedroom falls dead silent.

All the color drains from Caleb's face. His pupils shake violently. "That... that's impossible. Lily would never say something like that. There's a mistake, or something must have messed with her head..."

Awooo.

Right as he stammers through his pathetic excuses, the soft, needy whine of a wolf pup rings out in the room.

It comes from the phone in Caleb's pocket.

My nails dig deep into my palms. It is his custom notification sound for Lily. The entire pack uses a standard alarm for emergencies. But Lily gets this sickeningly cute pup noise.

So much for him just taking care of her.

"Answer it." I glare right at him. My inner wolf slams against the bars of her cage in my mind, desperate to tear this hypocrite to pieces. "Your real priority is scared again."

Caleb violently rejects the call and hides his hands behind his back like he just got burned. His breathing speeds up. Cold sweat breaks out on his forehead. The rejection pulsing through our bond finally hits him with real physical pain, and his massive body sways involuntarily.

"Elara, it's not what you think." He clenches his jaw. A flash of panic and calculation crosses his eyes. He steps forward, blocking my duffel bag. "Lily called me tonight because the Hollowthorn clan is trying to force her to mate with some random Alpha from the West. She's terrified. She was asking for help!"

I watch his performance with dead eyes.

"I know I've been neglecting you lately." Caleb takes a deep breath. A hint of begging sneaks into his voice, but it still drips with the arrogance of a guy used to being in charge. "Tomorrow night. The eve of your coronation. We'll have a makeup dinner at the Moonlight Restaurant. Just the two of us, okay? Once I sort out this mating mess for Lily, we can sit down and really talk after dinner. Just show up. If you still want to leave after we talk... I won't stop you."

He stares at me hard, trying to find any trace of my old feelings for him.

He thinks I am just jealous. He believes that if he throws me a bone with a dinner date and promises to marry Lily off, I will just fall back into line like I have for the past ten years. He thinks that will fix our shattered bond.

Utterly delusional.

I look at the cold sweat on his forehead. I look at the Alpha I used to be willing to die for. The very last spark of resentment in my chest finally burns out into nothing but ash.

"Fine." I spit the word out like ice.

Wild relief explodes in Caleb's eyes. His tense shoulders immediately drop. "I knew it. I knew you wouldn't really leave me, Elara. I'll send a car for you at seven tomorrow night."

He turns and leaves in a hurry, almost like he's terrified I might change my mind. His footsteps actually sound a little lighter.

I stand right where I am, looking at the busted door, and pick up my tactical duffel from the floor.