Chapter 2

Ellery POV:

The walk-in closet was bigger than my first apartment. It smelled of him-cedar, power, and the suffocating weight of ownership.

I huddled in the corner behind the winter coats, the burner phone slick in my sweating palm.

I dialed a number whispered in the darkest corners of the Rogue networks.

"Evans," a voice rasped. Sounded like gravel in a blender.

"It's the Weaver," I whispered.

"The Obsidian Luna? You're far from your ivory tower."

"I need the package," I said. "The Tabula Rasa."

Silence. Even a black witch respected that name.

"Do you know what you're asking for?" Evans asked, his tone shifting from mockery to caution. "It doesn't just make you forget. It scours the neural pathways. For a wolf... it's acid. It dissolves the spirit. It hunts down your inner wolf and melts her while she screams."

"I know."

"It severs the Mate Bond by burning the connection points in the soul. You'll be left a hollow shell. A human. Defenseless."

"I am already defenseless," I said, looking at my trembling hands.

"The price is steep."

"Silver," I said. "High purity. Minted coins from the pre-war treasury. Enough to buy a small country."

I heard his sharp intake of breath. "Done. Tomorrow night. Midnight. The abandoned vet clinic in Queens. Come alone. If I smell an Alpha, I'll boil your blood before you cross the threshold."

"He won't be there," I said. "He's busy building his future."

I hung up.

My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. I had just ordered my own execution.

The bedroom door opened.

I froze.

Brendan stumbled in, reeking of brandy and exhaustion. He stripped in the dark, tossing his suit onto the floor like shed skin.

I waited until his breathing deepened into the rhythm of sleep. Ten minutes. Twenty.

I crept out. Moonlight washed over him. He looked peaceful. Innocent.

I stood by the bed, watching him.

His hand shot out, clamping around my wrist like a bear trap.

I gasped.

His eyes were still closed. Sleep-reflex. His Alpha instincts sensing property in motion.

"Mine," he growled, a low rumble that vibrated through the mattress.

The Alpha's Command hit me. My knees hit the carpet. My head bowed, exposing my neck. It wasn't a choice; it was biology.

He pulled me closer, still asleep. His hand was a brand.

"Mine," he mumbled, nuzzling the air where my neck should be.

It wasn't love. It was inventory control. Keys? Check. Wallet? Check. Wife? Check.

A wave of revulsion crashed over me, hot and acidic.

I bit my tongue. Hard.

The copper taste of blood snapped the trance.

I yanked my wrist back. It took everything I had to fight the Command, like wading through waist-deep mud.

I scrambled backward, crawling to the bathroom. I locked the door and slumped against the cold tile.

My wrist throbbed. A red handprint was already blooming on my skin.

I can't do this, my wolf whined. He is Mate. Leaving is death.

Staying is erasure, I told her.

I closed my eyes and visualized a brick wall. I took the memory of him pulling me from the fire and shoved it behind the bricks. I took the memory of our wedding and bricked that up too.

I was building a tomb for my past. Because when I drank that poison, I needed Brendan Wiggins to be dead to me before I was dead to myself.

Three days until the full moon.

Three days to kill the wolf.