Chapter 2

The second the words landed, Caius's pupils snapped tight and a flicker of panic crossed his face.

But the panic was gone almost as fast as it came.

He stared at me like I'd said something absurd.

"You're done with me? Selene Ashford, everyone in the Northern Territory knows what we are. Now that I've withdrawn the claim, no one else will take you."

"If you don't Mark me, you'll be alone forever. Do you really want to be the unclaimed She-Wolf everyone spits on? They'll drown you in it. How will your father hold his seat on the Alpha Council after that?"

"I'm only asking you to wait five years. What's there to be upset about? You already waited five before."

He said it like it was obvious, with a hint of blame in his eyes, as if I were the unreasonable one.

I almost lost track of the moment. When had he started saying "fall in line" and "know your place in the Pack" to me in every conversation?

Before, I'd always swallowed it and bent myself around him. It only made him push further.

This time, I just said, calmly, "I'll have my father clear my name of your rumors."

Caius scoffed. "You really think you should drag your father into this? Right now only a few know. People only gossip behind closed doors. Take this out in the open and everyone will know."

He wasn't wrong. Right now it was private whispers. An investigation would make it public, and the damage would be worse.

That's exactly why Caius had dared to do it. He'd counted on that.

He knew better than anyone how much a She-Wolf's reputation mattered — and he'd still cut me open with it.

I didn't want to argue anymore. I turned to leave, and that was when the parrot, which hadn't made a sound no matter how they coaxed it, suddenly spoke in a bright little voice. "Good fortune! Good fortune!"

I froze. That parrot had been a gift from me to Caius.

Caius had lost his parents young, and Langford Manor was cold and quiet. I'd trained that little parrot to speak, so it would cheer him up.

He loved it. He'd taken excellent care of it.

Birds feel the mood in a room. It must have sensed the tension between us and tried to smooth it over.

But the pup in Caius's arms let out a sudden wail.

"It's mean! Mina called it and called it and it wouldn't talk! Now it's trying to scare Mina on purpose!"

Caius had been cold with me a second before. The moment the pup cried, he gathered her close and soothed her with the softest voice.

His face went tender in a way I'd never seen. Rhea reached over and held the pup's small hand just as gently.

Mina looked up at the parrot through her tears. "Mina hates it! It just wants to scare Mina! Mina doesn't want this parrot!"

I frowned and was about to go take the parrot back when Caius raised his hand. A gold coin flew from his fingers. The parrot gave a sharp squawk — and the little thing that had just been trying to cheer us up a moment ago dropped to the floor, dead.

"What are you doing?!"

I almost ran. I scooped the parrot up. Its fuzzy little head nudged against my palm once, weakly, and then nothing.

My chest twisted and I glared at him. "You're cruel."

Something flickered in Caius's eyes, something close to panic. In the end all he said was, "Don't — don't be angry. It's just a feathered thing. After we're Marked, I'll get you another one."

When he said that, Rhea's eyes flashed with jealousy.

Then she took the pup back and said, with tears in her voice, "Ashford, don't blame him. Mina and I have made his life difficult. If it weren't for me, Caius wouldn't be stuck like this."

"Caius, apologize to her properly. I still have an old cabin outside the capital. We can go. It's fine."

The words had barely left her when the pup in her arms burst out crying again. "No! I want him to be my father, I want him to be my father!"

Caius lifted her up, his face full of tenderness. "All right, all right. From now on I'm your father. I'll keep you safe."

When he looked at me again, there wasn't even a trace of guilt left.

"Selene Ashford, the place of Luna in Langford Manor will always be waiting for you. But if you insist on making a scene, I don't mind making you suffer a little."

I wiped away the last tear, cupped the parrot in my hands, and turned and walked out without another word.

Unease flickered through Caius. Before he could hold onto it, Rhea tugged gently at his sleeve.

He looked into her nervous, worried eyes and made himself smile.

"Don't be afraid. You saved me once. I swore I'd always protect you."

"Selene has been spoiled since she was a pup. She has her tantrums. Once she's home, she'll realize she has no other Alpha and she'll settle down."

My steps got faster and faster until I was almost running out of Langford Manor.

The second I stepped through the gates of Ashford Manor, my mother said, "Selene, your father and I just arranged a new Mate Match for you."

I held the Bond Letter and read it carefully.

The name on it was Rhys Thorne, only son of the old Thorne Alpha.