We were at the Grand Engagement Gala. The ballroom was filled with the elite of the werewolf society. Alphas from neighboring territories, wealthy business partners, and the Elders who held the keys to Jaxon's inheritance.

The air smelled of champagne, roasted meat, and the musk of a hundred wolves. It was suffocating.

"Smile," Jaxon whispered in my ear, his hand gripping my waist a little too tight. " The Elders are watching."

"I am smiling," I said through gritted teeth.

Then I saw her. Janice.

She shouldn't have been here. She was supposed to be in London. But there she was, standing near the buffet, wearing a red dress that screamed for attention. She caught my eye and smirked.

She raised a glass to me. Around her neck, hidden under a scarf, I saw the glimmer of a protective amulet. One bought with pack funds. I had seen the receipt on the tablet.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Jaxon's voice boomed. He possessed the Alpha Tone, a vocal resonance that demanded attention. The room went silent.

He pulled me to the center of the floor beneath the massive crystal chandelier. "Tonight, I officially present my future Luna. Elfrieda has stood by me through the tragedy of my brother's death. She is the epitome of loyalty."

He went down on one knee. The crowd gasped in delight. It was a perfect performance.

Task #400: The Public Proposal.

I looked down at him. I felt nothing but nausea. I opened my mouth to speak, to perhaps say no, to end this charade.

Snap.

The sound was like a gunshot.

My enhanced hearing picked it up a split second before anyone else. The metal cable holding the chandelier above us had snapped.

"Jaxon!" I shouted.

Gravity took over. The massive fixture, tons of crystal and steel, plummeted.

Time seemed to slow down. In a moment of danger, an Alpha's instinct is hardwired to protect his Mate above all else. It is biological law. He should have shielded me. He should have thrown me out of the way.

But Jaxon didn't look at me.

His eyes darted to the side. To the red dress.

Janice let out a theatrical scream, though she was well clear of the danger zone.

Jaxon lunged. He shoved me aside-not to save me, but to use my body as a leverage point to launch himself toward Janice.

I fell backward, hitting the marble floor hard.

The chandelier crashed down.

It didn't hit me directly, but it shattered upon impact. Thousands of shards of crystal exploded like shrapnel.

Agony. White-hot and blinding, it ripped through my right arm and shoulder.

"Argh!" I screamed.

The crystal wasn't just glass. It was lead crystal, reinforced with silver wiring for aesthetic shine. Silver. The poison of our kind.

A large shard, laced with silver wire, was embedded deep in my forearm. Smoke began to rise from the wound immediately. The smell of burning flesh filled the air. Silver burns a werewolf like acid, halting our rapid healing factor and causing excruciating agony.

"My arm!" I cried out, clutching the wound.

The ballroom was in chaos. Dust and debris filled the air.

"Janice! Are you okay?" Jaxon's frantic voice cut through the noise.

I looked up through the haze of pain. Jaxon was cradling Janice in his arms. She didn't have a scratch on her. She was sobbing fake tears into his chest.

"I was so scared, Jax," she whimpered.

He was checking her for injuries, his hands trembling. He hadn't even looked back at me.

"Jaxon..." I whispered. The silver was poisoning my blood. My vision blurred.

A pack warrior rushed over to me. "Alpha! The future Luna is hit! It's silver!"

Jaxon turned his head. His eyes were wild, dilated. For a second, he looked at me-bleeding, broken on the floor. Then he looked back at Janice.

"Get the car," Jaxon barked at the warrior. "Janice is in shock. She needs to get to the hospital immediately. Stress is bad for her condition."

"But Alpha, Elfrieda is-"

"I gave you a command!" Jaxon roared, using the Alpha Command. The warrior flinched, his wolf forcing him to obey.

Jaxon scooped Janice up and ran toward the exit. He left me. He stepped over the debris, stepped over the blood-my blood-and carried his mistress to safety.

I lay there, the poison spreading. The physical pain was blinding, but the pain in my chest was worse. My wolf, deep inside, let out a mournful howl and then went silent.

Darkness took me.

I woke up to the sterile smell of the pack hospital. Beeping monitors. The sharp scent of antiseptic.

"She's awake," a gruff voice said.

My father stood there. And Jamil. Jamil looked like he had been crying, or fighting, or both. His knuckles were bruised.

I looked down at my arm. It was heavily bandaged. I could still feel the phantom burn of the silver.

"Where is he?" I asked, my voice a rasp.

"Next door," Jamil spat. "Sitting by her bedside. She has a bruised ego. You have twenty stitches and silver poisoning."

I stared at the white ceiling. "Six months ago."

"What?" my father asked gently.

"Six months ago," I repeated, tears finally leaking from my eyes. "When Jaxon went on that 'business trip' to the coast... I miscarried."

My father gasped. In werewolf culture, a pup is a blessing from the Moon. To lose one is a tragedy.

"I called him," I whispered. "I called him ten times. He never answered. I went through it alone on the bathroom floor. I lost our pup because I was weak from stress, from him draining my energy."

I looked at Jamil. "He was with her. He was marrying her in Vegas while our child was dying inside me."

Jamil let out a low growl, his eyes flashing gold-the sign of his wolf surfacing. "I will kill him. I will tear his throat out."

He turned to the door.

"No," I said. It took all my strength. "No, Jamil."

"He deserves death!"

"He deserves worse," I said. I sat up, wincing as the silver poison throbbed. "He deserves to live with what he's done."

I reached for my left hand. My fingers were swollen, but I twisted the diamond ring. It stuck for a moment, then slid off.

I placed it on the bedside table. The metal made a hollow clink sound.

"Take me home," I said. "I am done with the Tate Pack."

Chapter 2

You might like