Chapter 2

I had once been foolish enough to believe Magnus and I could spend the rest of our lives together in peace.

Looking back, I knew better. It had been nothing more than a dream I’d clung to because I couldn’t bear the truth.

But every dream eventually comes to an end.

Then Willa came back and pressured me to save Jasper.

All it took was one look at her for Magnus to soften completely.

His eyes filled with a tenderness he had never once shown me.

I smiled bitterly.

But when he turned to me, all that tenderness vanished.

“Elowen, I know you love me. You made up those lies because you wanted to be my mate. If you save Jasper this time, I promise I’ll treat you better from now on.”

His promise was nothing more than an undated IOU, something he could keep putting off forever.

I stared at him numbly.

My lips parted, but no words came out.

It felt as though something had tightened around my throat, leaving behind nothing but a dull ache.

My wolf, Eva, was far angrier than I was.

She slammed against the inside of my mind, desperate to take control.

“Elowen, he’s humiliating you! He’s asking you to risk your life for another she-wolf!”

I let out a shaky breath.

I knew Magnus was too blinded by Willa to listen to reason.

But some pathetic part of me still wanted to try one last time.

“Magnus, please. Believe me just once. I would save anyone for you. Anyone except Jasper.”

I hated how desperate I sounded, but I still hoped he might change his mind.

Willa froze.

Panic flashed through her eyes before she quickly buried it beneath tears.

“Magnus, tell Elowen I would never try to take her place as Luna!”

She lowered her gaze, as if she had already accepted defeat.

“Forget it. I know she’s only refusing because she’s jealous that you love me. I won’t force her.”

Magnus had always carried guilt over what had happened between them.

Now that he finally had a chance to make it up to Willa, there was no way he was going to let it slip away.

When I still refused, he reached out and wrapped one hand around our son’s throat.

His tiny throat jerked beneath Magnus’s fingers.

“Elowen. Go into the forest. Now.”

His voice was terrifyingly calm.

“And don’t try anything once you’re inside. If you give up on saving Jasper, I’ll kill our son and send him to join Jasper.”

My heart turned to ice.

Cold spread through my limbs, rooting me to the spot.

That was when I understood.

Magnus had been given the Moon Goddess’s gift too.

Fate had given us both a second chance.

And Magnus was still making the same choice.

Our son’s face turned red beneath his grip.

Terror filled his eyes as he screamed himself hoarse.

“Mommy! Why is Daddy trying to kill me?”

“Mommy, save me!”

The scene before me merged with a horrifying memory from my first life.

I forced myself through the crushing weight of Magnus’s Alpha aura, rushed forward, and tore our son from his grasp.

“I’ll do it!” My voice shook. “I’ll go!”

Magnus finally let him go.

The moment my son’s full weight fell into my arms, my heart sank.

I never wanted to see his tiny hands and feet pierced through again.

I never wanted to smell that overwhelming stench of blood again.

Thank the Moon Goddess.

This time, I still had a chance.

Eva paced frantically inside my mind.

“Elowen, that place is deadly. Are we really going in?”

My nails nearly cut into my palms. I slowly unclenched my fists.

So what if it was dangerous?

Magnus didn’t love me.

And he would never believe me.

I shifted into my wolf form and ran into the Moonlit Forest without looking back.

By the time I staggered out of its deepest reaches, I was covered in blood and barely able to breathe.

The moment I crossed the boundary, Magnus rushed forward and caught Jasper’s body.

His attention never left him.

Not once did he look at me.

His own mate.

He didn’t even ask if I was okay.