Chapter 2

Looking back, there had been signs.

Before he left, she had blushed and said she wanted to help me sew his shirt.

Every time Cain ran short on supplies, she always knew before I did.

Even the cold plum scent on him — I realized now it was the same perfume she always wore.

I had been a fool. My man and my sister had been playing me for three years.

"Clara. You're disgusting."

I raised my hand through tears and swung at her face.

Cain stepped forward fast and grabbed my wrist.

"Elara. Are you done? You're the legitimate daughter of the Whitmore Pack. You've had everything since you were born."

"What did she have? She had to watch every step she took around you, always giving way."

"All she wanted was a little love. Why can't you give her that? Why do you have to humiliate her like this?"

He took three years of lies and made them sound righteous.

I stared at him. My eyes burned.

"Cain. The Whitmore Pack sold every piece of land we had. I sold every piece of jewelry I owned."

"Just so you could win and come home and marry me."

"Then you turned around and slept with my sister, and called it real love — so what was everything I did?"

Cain's face went still. Something flickered behind his eyes.

"I'm not ungrateful. I'll remember what you gave. I swear it."

"I'll make you second mate. That's a fair offer."

Clara grabbed his sleeve, sobbing.

"Cain, stop. We owe Sister—"

"Second mate? You're dreaming."

The tent flap flew open. My mother, Helen Whitmore, stormed in, shaking with rage. She had heard everything.

"Cain Calloway. I was blind the day I agreed to this Bond."

Cain's expression went flat. He said nothing.

Clara panicked. She crawled toward my mother on her knees.

"Mother, this is my fault. Not his."

"Be quiet."

Mother cut her off and raised her hand to strike.

"I raised you from a low-ranking pup. I treated you like my own. Elara treated you like a true sister."

"I even made sure your dowry matched hers."

"And you climbed into your own sister's mate's bed. Is this how you repay us?"

Cain frowned and stepped in front of Clara, shielding her with one arm.

"Ma'am, blame me. For three years, she kept trying to end it. I was the one who wouldn't let go."

Mother's eyes went wide. She choked on the words. Blood burst from her lips.

Her body collapsed.

"Mother!"

I rushed forward to catch her.

"Get the Pack Healer! Mother! Someone help!"

Mother gripped my wrist so hard it hurt. Her lips moved through the blood.

"Don't — don't accept the Bond—"

Mother was moved to a small side tent to rest.

The Pack Healer said the shock had hurt her lungs. She couldn't take any more stress.

The celebration outside had stopped at some point. Everything was quiet.

I sat by the cot watching over her, my hands still shaking.

Cain came in, two soldiers behind him carrying wooden chests.

He opened them and dumped gold and jewelry across the floor.

"Elara. I know you gave a lot. I'm paying it back ten times over."

"Everything you ever gave me, it's all here. And in the Capital Territory house, Clara has already agreed to stay in the side wing. She's made that concession. Be satisfied."

I stared at the pile of gold for a long time. My eyes stung.

In my best years, I had quietly sold my jewelry and savings to fund him.

When his troops were starving that winter, I wore plain clothes and went without.

In a city where appearances mattered, I looked poorer than families half my status.

Other women laughed at me for waiting three years to become an old maid for him.

Clara had once taken my hand and told me I was suffering too much.

And now I was the one who couldn't be satisfied.

Maybe because I stood there crying too long, Cain finally moved. He stepped forward and pulled me against him, rubbing my back the way he used to.

"Elara. I won't forget what you gave me. I promise I won't treat you badly."

"But Clara — she's suffered in silence all this time. You got to walk in through the front door. She couldn't even let anyone see us together. She didn't dare ask for anything."

His words cut through me.

I'm not blind. I had noticed things.

The three of us used to go out walking together. When Clara said her feet hurt, he'd slow down without thinking.

When she twisted her ankle, he was the first one to reach out.

Even in a crowd, his first move was always to shield Clara.

I had thought he was just being kind. He liked her, so he was kind to the people around her.

I had teased Clara about it, told her I'd find her a man just like him someday.

Now I understood why she had gone red in the face. It wasn't shyness. It was guilt.

The tent flap opened. Clara came in carrying a bowl.

"Sister. I made your favorite herbal drink. You haven't slept. Please rest."

Her eyes were swollen. Tear tracks still showed on her face.

Before, I would have softened at the sight of her like this. I would have taken her hand and told her it was okay.

I wasn't going to now. But my eyes moved to her collar.

The laces were looser than before. A mark showed at her collarbone. A fresh mark.

The kind you get right after.