Chapter4
I turned and walked away.
Bella followed me out of the ballroom and grabbed my wrist, her eyes locked on the necklace at my throat. The main stone was the size of a pigeon’s egg, and under the hallway lights it shimmered with a shifting, silver-blue glow.
“Where’d you get that? No way you can afford it. Lab-grown, right? I’d say a hundred and fifty bucks, tops. Let me borrow it for a few days. You’re working anyway. You won’t need it.”
I covered the necklace with my hand and stepped back.
It was called the Moon Goddess’s Tear. Every Luna Queen before me had worn it. It had been locked in the royal vault for seven years, until Julian took it out and fastened it around my neck himself.
When we were kids, whenever Bella wanted something of mine, Mom and Dad made me hand it over.
Apparently nothing had changed.
Mom rushed over and yanked the necklace right off my neck.
“It’s just a cheap necklace! Your sister likes it, so let her have it. What kind of sister makes a fuss over a necklace?”
The moment she turned to Bella, her whole face softened. She carefully fastened the necklace around Bella’s neck.
“Sweetheart, it’s perfect on you. It looks so much better on you than on Hazel.”
I swallowed my anger. “Bella, give it back and I’ll pretend this never happened.”
Bella scoffed and ran back to show off her prize to Ethan and Dad.
The second Ethan saw the necklace, his eyes went wide.
“That’s the Moon Goddess’s Tear! The Alpha King’s mating gift to his Queen!”
Bella laughed. “Ethan, you’re seeing things! It’s Hazel’s. It’s obviously a cheap knockoff!”
“You’re overthinking it,” Mom agreed. “Where would Hazel get something that valuable?”
Ethan relaxed. He pulled out a wad of cash and flung it in my face.
“Bella likes it, so I’m buying it. Three hundred bucks. Keep the change.”
The bills scattered at my feet.
“It’s not for sale.”
“Three hundred isn’t enough?” Bella put on her peacemaker face. “It’s a fake. If you need money, you can borrow some from us. You don’t have to scam us with a fake necklace.”
Ethan smirked. “Since you’re Bella’s sister.”
He flung another three hundred at me. “That enough?”
A crowd was gathering. Mom hissed at me, “Hazel, it’s a fake! Six hundred dollars will feed you and that Rogue for a month. Pick up the money!”
I kept my eyes on Bella. “Give me back my necklace.”
Ethan’s face darkened. “What are you standing around for? Help her pick up her money!”
Two Blackthorn warriors seized my arms, one on each side, and forced me toward the floor.
Ethan’s eyes flared Alpha gold.
“Kneel.”
The command came down on my back like a mountain, and my knees bent, inch by inch.
“Let go of me! Ethan, when Julian finds out, he won’t let you get away with this!”
Ethan laughed. “That broke Rogue chauffeur? Having the King’s name doesn’t give him the King’s power. Let him come. I’d love to see what he thinks he can do to me!”
The words had barely left his mouth when the entire palace went silent.
A terrifying aura rolled down the hallway, as if the whole night sky were caving in. Every wolf in the ballroom, Alphas, Betas, and warriors alike, dropped to their knees in the same instant.
The two warriors holding me whimpered. Their claws shot out on their own and were forced back in, and they collapsed flat on the floor.
Ethan’s command shattered like glass. He went down too, his neck so rigid he couldn’t raise his head, cold sweat dripping from his chin.
Royal guards poured in from both sides. Julian strode toward me, his eyes gone completely silver.
Ethan stammered, “S-sir… you’ve got it all wrong! I caught a thief who stole the Moon Goddess’s Tear. I was just questioning her!”
Julian didn’t even glance at him. He bent down, helped me to my feet, and gently brushed the dust off my knees.
Then he turned to Ethan, and every trace of warmth left his face.
“A thief?” His voice was ice. “Are you calling my Luna a thief?”
