My True Luna

Lyra knew the necklace the moment she saw it around another woman's throat.

Her steps stopped.

So did her heart.

Across the enormous dressing chamber, Selene Ashford stood before a gilded mirror while two maids fastened the final hooks of her crimson gown. Dark hair spilled down her bare back, and diamonds glittered at her ears.

But Lyra saw none of those things.

She saw only the necklace.

Silver forged beneath a Blood Moon.

Seven blood-red stones surrounding a black diamond.

And hanging from its center, the ancient crest of House Blackthorn, a wolf with a crown between its fangs.

The Luna Necklace.

Darius's necklace.

No.

Her necklace.

"Where did you get that?"

The question came out softer than Lyra intended.

One of the maids froze.

Selene didn't.

She continued admiring herself in the mirror as though Lyra had asked about the weather.

Then her lips curved.

"Lyra." She turned slowly. "You came."

Lyra's wolf slammed against the walls inside her.

Mine.

The instinct was so violent that Lyra curled her fingers into her palms.

Three years ago, Darius had taken her beneath the ancient oak behind Blackthorn Castle. He'd held her against his chest while the pack celebrated the Blood Moon in the valley below.

Lyra could still remember his voice against her ear.

One day, I'll put the Blackthorn necklace around your throat myself.

Not yet, he'd told her.

The elders weren't ready to accept an outsider as their Luna.

His position was still unstable.

Their enemies were watching.

Just give me time.

And Lyra had.

Three years.

Three years of sleeping beside him.

Three years of tending the wounds he brought home from territorial wars.

Three years of attending council dinners as nothing more than Alpha Darius's "companion" because acknowledging that the Moon Goddess had made her his mate would complicate pack politics.

Three years of waiting.

Tonight was supposed to end that wait.

The Blood Moon Ceremony began in four hours.

Darius had summoned every important family in Blackthorn territory.

He had told Lyra this morning that everything would change tonight.

She had believed him.

God, she'd actually believed him.

Lyra crossed the room.

"Take it off."

The maids exchanged frightened glances.

Selene raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

"The necklace." Lyra stopped a few feet from her. "Take it off."

Selene touched the central diamond.

That casual movement hurt more than it should have.

"You don't like it?"

"You know exactly what that is."

"Of course I do."

"Then you know you aren't supposed to be wearing it."

Selene laughed.

Not loudly.

That would have been easier.

Instead, it was a small, pitying sound.

"Perhaps you should ask Darius who is supposed to be wearing it."

Lyra's stomach tightened.

"My mate wouldn't give you that necklace."

The room went completely silent.

One maid lowered her eyes.

The other suddenly became interested in smoothing the already perfect bedsheets.

Selene noticed.

Her smile widened.

"Your mate?"

Lyra hated the way she said it.

Like the words were childish.

Like Lyra was childish for believing them.

"Darius is my fated mate," Lyra said. "Whatever games you're playing won't change that."

"No. I suppose fate can't be changed."

Selene stepped closer.

"But titles can."

Lyra's wolf growled.

Selene's eyes briefly flickered toward Lyra's hands.

"Careful," she murmured. "It would be unfortunate if you lost control today of all days."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You really don't know."

"Know what?"

Selene stared at her.

For the first time, something almost resembling surprise crossed her face.

Then delight replaced it.

"Oh."

Lyra's skin went cold.

Selene turned toward the maids.

"Leave us."

They obeyed immediately.

Neither looked at Lyra as they hurried past.

The door clicked shut.

Lyra suddenly wished they had stayed.

Selene walked toward a table covered in velvet jewelry boxes.

"The ceremony is going to be beautiful," she said. "Darius spared no expense."

"Take off the necklace."

"Five hundred guests. Nine Alphas. Representatives from the Moon Council." Selene picked up a diamond bracelet. "I heard they've already started arriving."

"Selene."

"And that poor florist has been replacing white roses all morning because Darius insisted every arrangement be perfect."

Lyra grabbed Selene's wrist.

"Take. It. Off."

Selene looked down at Lyra's fingers.

Then back into her eyes.

"Why?"

"Because it belongs to the Luna of Blackthorn."

"Exactly."

The word struck harder than a slap.

Lyra released her.

For several seconds, she couldn't speak.

Then she laughed once.

It sounded wrong even to her.

"You expect me to believe Darius is naming you Luna?"

"I don't expect you to do anything."

"He wouldn't."

"Wouldn't he?"

"We're mates."

"And yet no one knows."

Lyra went still.

Selene moved closer.

"Three years, Lyra."

Each word landed precisely where Selene intended.

"Three years you've lived in this castle. Three years you've warmed his bed. Three years you've followed him around like a devoted little shadow."

"Enough."

"And after all that time, where is your mark?"

Lyra's hand flew instinctively toward the left side of her neck.

Bare skin.

The movement betrayed her.

Selene smiled.

A true mating mark was sacred.

Darius had bitten Lyra during their first night together, but he'd never completed the formal marking ritual before the pack.

Later, he'd explained.

Always later.

After the council accepted her.

After the border war.

After the harvest.

After his father's old allies were under control.

There had always been another reason.

Lyra had accepted every one.

Because when they were alone, Darius loved her.

At least she had thought he did.

"He was protecting me," Lyra said.

"From what?"

"Pack politics."

"How noble."

"You don't know anything about us."

"I know enough."

Selene walked to the mirror again.

She adjusted the necklace.

Lyra's wolf snarled so fiercely inside her that pain shot through her ribs.

Take it.

The wolf wanted blood.

Lyra wanted answers.

"Did Darius give it to you?"

Selene met her gaze through the mirror.

"Who else has the authority?"

"Answer me."

"I just did."

"No. You avoided the question."

Selene sighed.

"You always were more intelligent than people gave you credit for."

"Did he put that necklace around your neck?"

A pause.

"No."

Air returned to Lyra's lungs.

Selene continued before relief could settle.

"He had Beta Adrian deliver it to my family this afternoon."

Lyra's relief died.

Something hollow opened beneath her ribs.

"No."

Selene walked toward a writing desk.

"You don't have to believe me."

"I don't."

"Then perhaps you'll believe him."

She opened a drawer.

Lyra stared as Selene removed a cream-colored document sealed with black wax.

The Blackthorn crest was stamped across the bottom.

Lyra knew Darius's seal.

She'd watched him press it into wax hundreds of times.

Selene held the paper toward her.

Lyra didn't take it.

"What is that?"

"The agreement."

"What agreement?"

Selene's expression softened.

That false sympathy frightened Lyra more than her smugness had.

"The one deciding Blackthorn's future."

Lyra snatched the paper.

The first lines blurred.

She blinked and forced herself to read.

Alliance Covenant.

Blackthorn Pack and Ashford Pack.

Territorial cooperation.

Combined military forces.

Shared resources.

None of that surprised her.

Darius had spent months negotiating with Selene's father.

Then Lyra reached the final section.

Her breathing stopped.

In accordance with ancient pack custom, the alliance shall be sealed through the formal union of Alpha Darius Blackthorn and Lady Selene Ashford,

Lyra couldn't read further.

"No."

Her fingers tightened around the paper.

"Keep going," Selene said.

Lyra did.

She wished she hadn't.

Upon public proclamation before the Blood Moon, Lady Selene Ashford shall be recognized as the intended Luna of Blackthorn,

The document trembled.

Lyra searched for something.

Anything.

A forged seal.

A missing signature.

A sign that Selene had created the document solely to hurt her.

There, at the bottom, beneath lines of legal language, was the signature she'd seen almost every day for three years.

Darius Blackthorn.

Alpha of Blackthorn Pack.

Signed eleven days ago.

Eleven.

Days.

Lyra remembered that night.

Darius had come to her chambers after midnight.

He'd looked exhausted.

She had massaged his shoulders while he complained about negotiations.

When she'd asked whether something was wrong, he'd pulled her onto his lap.

"Trust me, little wolf."

She had kissed him.

Eleven days ago.

Had the ink already been drying then?

"You forged this."

Lyra barely recognized her own voice.

Selene chuckled.

"You know his signature."

"You forged it."

"And his Alpha seal?"

"I don't know what you did."

"Lyra."

"You've wanted Darius since we met. Everyone knows it."

"And everyone knows wanting him wasn't enough."

Selene came closer.

"So I waited."

Lyra crushed the document in her hand.

"For what?"

"For him to finally understand the difference between the woman an Alpha desires and the woman an Alpha needs."

Lyra slapped her.

The crack echoed through the chamber.

Selene's face snapped sideways.

Silence followed.

Lyra's chest heaved.

A red handprint slowly appeared on Selene's cheek.

When Selene turned back, there was no shock in her eyes.

She smiled.

"That felt good, didn't it?"

Lyra's blood ran cold.

"You should probably enjoy it."

Selene calmly touched her cheek.

"After tonight, striking Blackthorn's Luna will be considered treason."

Lyra stared at her.

"I'll hear it from Darius."

"I think you should."

"I'll ask him what this really is."

"Please do."

"And when he tells me you're lying,"

"He won't."

The confidence in Selene's voice stopped her.

Lyra hated that it stopped her.

Selene walked past her and opened the door.

"He's in the western council chamber."

Lyra turned.

Selene's fingers returned to the necklace.

"But Lyra?"

She waited.

Selene smiled.

"Congratulations."

"On what?"

"For finally understanding your place."

Lyra's wolf surged forward.

Her vision flashed silver.

Selene's smile vanished for the first time.

Lyra didn't notice.

She was already walking away.

Her heels struck the marble corridor hard enough to echo.

Servants carrying decorations moved quickly aside.

Four hours until the Blood Moon Ceremony.

Four hours until Darius had promised their lives would change.

Lyra clutched the alliance agreement so tightly its edges cut into her palm.

She didn't feel the blood.

She felt only the weight of another woman's necklace.

The necklace Darius had once promised her.

The necklace is currently resting against Selene's heart.

At the end of the western corridor stood two enormous doors.

Darius's voice came from behind them.

Lyra reached for the handle.

Then she heard her own name.

Her hand stopped.

Inside, Beta Adrian spoke quietly.

"What are you going to do about Lyra?"

Silence.

Lyra couldn't breathe.

Then Darius answered.

And the first five words turned her blood to ice.

"Lyra cannot know. Not yet."

Lyra stared at the necklace around Selene's throat.

For five years, she had imagined wearing it.

Not because it was beautiful.

Not because the ancient silver was worth more than most wolves would earn in a lifetime.

But because Darius had once held that necklace before her and said, "Only the Luna of Blackthorn will wear this."

Back then, Lyra had been foolish enough to hear a promise in those words.

Now the necklace rested against another woman's skin.

Selene touched the crescent pendant with two fingers.

"You've been staring for quite some time."

Lyra finally lifted her gaze.

"Take it off."

Selene's eyebrows rose.

"What?"

"You heard me."

For the first time, Selene's smile slipped.

Then amusement replaced it.

"You really don't know."

A cold sensation crept down Lyra's spine.

"Know what?"

Selene stepped closer.

She wore a floor-length crimson gown, the traditional color worn by a woman about to be presented to a pack.

Lyra had noticed the dress when she'd entered.

She simply hadn't allowed herself to understand it.

"The council meeting ended two hours ago," Selene said. "The elders approved the alliance."

"What alliance?"

"Blackthorn and Ashford."

Lyra's heart gave a hard thump.

Ashford.

Selene's maternal family controlled three of the southern trade routes. They had money, warriors, and enough political influence to turn a minor Alpha into a powerful one.

Darius didn't need their strength.

Blackthorn was already powerful.

But the southern council seat...

Lyra remembered Darius mentioning it weeks ago.

She swallowed.

"That doesn't explain why you're wearing his mother's necklace."

"His mother's?"

Selene laughed softly.

"Oh, Lyra."

The pity in those two words cut deeper than mockery.

"That necklace doesn't belong to Darius's mother. It belongs to the Luna of Blackthorn."

"I know."

"Do you?"

Lyra's wolf stirred beneath her skin.

Enough.

She had endured Selene's little games for years. The accidental touches whenever Darius was nearby. The private jokes. The stories about the childhood Lyra hadn't shared with him.

Lyra had ignored all of it.

Because she was Darius's mate.

The Moon Goddess herself had chosen them.

Whatever Selene wanted couldn't change that.

Lyra stepped forward.

"Darius gave you permission to wear it?"

"He didn't stop me."

"That isn't what I asked."

Selene's eyes hardened.

Then she smiled again.

"Why don't you ask him tonight?"

"I will."

"Good."

Selene moved to walk past her.

Lyra caught her wrist.

Selene looked down at her hand.

"Don't touch me."

"Then answer me."

The music from the ceremonial hall drifted through the corridor.

Hundreds of wolves were already gathering downstairs.

Tonight was supposed to mark Darius's fifth year as Alpha.

Lyra had spent weeks preparing for it.

She had selected the flowers.

Approved the guest list.

Negotiated personally with three neighboring packs when two Alphas threatened not to attend.

She hadn't done any of that because she wanted recognition.

She had done it because Blackthorn was Darius's life.

And Darius was hers.

Or so she had believed.

"What happens tonight?" Lyra asked.

Selene slowly removed Lyra's fingers from her wrist.

"The council expects Darius to announce our union."

Silence.

Lyra actually waited for her to laugh.

To admit it was another cruel joke.

Selene didn't.

Lyra's wolf surged violently.

Mate.

The word echoed through her.

Mate.

Darius was hers.

She could feel him even now, somewhere in the enormous estate.

The faint pull beneath her ribs hadn't disappeared.

A political union?

Impossible.

"He wouldn't."

Selene tilted her head.

"No?"

"No."

"How certain are you?"

"Completely."

Something flickered through Selene's expression.

Almost satisfaction.

"That's what makes this so embarrassing."

Lyra's nails bit into her palms.

"Darius would have told me."

"Perhaps he tried."

"He didn't."

"Then perhaps he didn't believe you needed to know."

The blow landed cleanly.

Lyra hated herself for feeling it.

Selene saw that.

Of course she did.

"You're lying."

"Am I?"

"Yes."

Lyra stepped closer until only inches separated them.

"My relationship with Darius is none of your concern. Whatever fantasy you've created because the council wants Ashford support ends tonight."

She reached toward the necklace.

Selene caught her hand before she could touch it.

Her smile vanished.

"Be careful."

Lyra looked at Selene's fingers around her wrist.

"Or what?"

For several seconds, neither woman moved.

Then Selene released her.

"You've always been strange, Lyra. You barely have a family name. No influential bloodline. No territory. No army. Yet you've walked around Blackthorn House for five years as though you're already Luna."

Lyra's jaw tightened.

"I never asked anyone to treat me as Luna."

"No. You simply performed the duties while waiting for Darius to give you the title."

Selene leaned closer.

"Didn't you?"

Lyra couldn't answer.

Because that was too close to the truth.

She and Darius had found each other five years ago.

She had expected him to announce their mate bond within weeks.

Then his father died.

Darius became Alpha.

There were border wars. Council disputes. Rogue attacks.

Every time the subject of formally recognizing her arose, there was another crisis.

Wait for me, Lyra.

Just a little longer.

After the council settles.

After the border negotiations.

After winter.

After the Alpha summit.

She had waited.

Because she loved him.

Selene's voice softened.

"Five years."

Lyra looked at her.

"You gave him five years, and he still hasn't made you Luna."

"That was our decision."

"Was it?"

"Yes."

"Then tonight shouldn't bother you."

"It doesn't."

The lie tasted bitter.

Selene smiled.

"Good."

Lyra turned away.

She needed Darius.

Not Selene's poison.

She took three steps before Selene spoke again.

"You won't find him in his office."

Lyra stopped.

"He's with the elders."

She kept walking.

"Lyra."

Something in Selene's voice made her turn.

Selene was holding a folded document.

Lyra hadn't seen where she'd gotten it.

"What's that?"

"The reason you should stop calling me a liar."

Lyra stared at the paper.

"I'm not interested."

"You should be."

Selene extended it.

Lyra didn't move.

Selene gave a tiny shrug.

"Fine. Go downstairs. Smile at all the guests. Stand beside him when the ceremony begins."

She lowered the document.

"And hear it from his mouth."

Lyra's stomach twisted.

She hated this.

Hated that some tiny part of her was afraid to walk away.

Darius couldn't betray their bond.

He couldn't.

Could he?

Lyra crossed the space between them and snatched the document from Selene.

The Blackthorn seal was at the top.

Her heartbeat slowed.

No.

She unfolded it.

AGREEMENT OF POLITICAL UNION.

The words blurred for a second.

Lyra forced herself to continue.

The agreement described an alliance between Blackthorn and Ashford.

Shared trade routes.

Military cooperation.

Voting support within the Moon Council.

Then she reached the fourth clause.

Her fingers went cold.

To cement the alliance between both bloodlines, Alpha Darius Blackthorn shall formally unite House Blackthorn with Lady Selene Ashford,

Lyra stopped reading.

"This could be forged."

"Of course."

Selene sounded bored.

Lyra looked further down.

Elder signatures.

Council witnesses.

Blackthorn's official stamp.

None of those mattered.

She searched for one thing.

And found it.

At the bottom of the page was a signature she knew better than her own.

Darius Blackthorn.

Lyra stared at it.

She had seen that signature thousands of times.

On treaties.

Letters.

Birthday cards.

Notes he'd left beside her pillow on mornings when Alpha duties dragged him away before she woke.

She would know every stroke anywhere.

Darius had signed this.

Her mate had signed an agreement promising himself to another woman.

Something inside Lyra became very quiet.

Selene took the document from her numb fingers.

"Still think I'm lying?"

Lyra said nothing.

"Don't look so devastated. Political unions happen all the time."

"I'm not devastated."

Her voice sounded strange even to herself.

Selene studied her.

Then she smiled.

"Of course not."

Lyra looked again at the necklace.

"When?"

"What?"

"When did he sign it?"

"Three weeks ago."

Three weeks.

Lyra almost laughed.

Three weeks ago, Darius had come to her room after midnight.

Exhausted.

He had rested his head in her lap while she ran her fingers through his hair.

She remembered asking what was troubling him.

Council business, he'd said.

Then he had pulled her into his arms.

Three weeks ago.

Lyra curled her fingers.

"Does he love you?"

For once, Selene seemed surprised.

Then her expression softened into victory.

"Would it change anything?"

"Yes."

Selene waited.

Lyra met her eyes.

"If he loves you, I'll know exactly what to do."

"And if he doesn't?"

Lyra glanced at the document.

"Then what he's done is worse."

Selene's smile disappeared.

Footsteps sounded at the end of the corridor.

Both women turned.

Beta Adrian approached quickly, dressed in ceremonial black.

His gaze moved from Selene to Lyra.

Then to the agreement in Selene's hand.

All the color left his face.

"Lyra."

She looked at him.

Adrian rarely seemed afraid.

He seemed afraid now.

That told her more than she wanted to know.

"Where is Darius?"

Adrian hesitated.

"Lyra, maybe you should,"

"Where?"

"The council chamber."

She walked past him.

Adrian caught her arm.

"Don't go in there."

Lyra slowly looked at his hand.

He released her immediately.

"Why not?"

Adrian's jaw flexed.

"Because there's a discussion happening that you don't have the full context for."

Behind her, Selene laughed softly.

Lyra didn't turn around.

"What discussion?"

"Darius needs to explain it himself."

"Wonderful."

She started toward the council wing.

"Then I'll give him the opportunity."

"Lyra."

She ignored him.

Her heels struck the marble floor faster with every step.

The mate bond burned beneath her ribs.

For five years, Lyra had believed that bond meant Darius could hurt her but never truly abandon her.

Now she understood how dangerous certainty could be.

She reached the council chamber.

Two guards stood outside.

They exchanged nervous looks.

That was enough.

Lyra walked toward the doors.

One guard stepped forward.

"Lady Lyra, Alpha Darius ordered that no one-"

She heard Darius's voice from inside.

Lyra froze.

The heavy doors muffled most of the conversation.

But not his voice.

Never his voice.

An elder said something she couldn't make out.

Then Darius answered.

"This decision has already been made."

Lyra's heartbeat slammed against her ribs.

Another voice spoke.

"What about Lyra?"

Silence followed.

Long enough to hurt.

Then Darius spoke again.

Low.

Controlled.

Unmistakable.

"Keeping Lyra beside me was never part of the future."

Everything inside her stopped.

Lyra didn't remember deciding to follow Darius.

One moment, she was standing in the eastern corridor, staring at Selene's retreating back.

The next, her feet were carrying her toward the council wing.

The document she had seen kept flashing through her mind.

Darius Blackthorn.

His signature.

Selene Ashford.

Political union.

Her fingers tightened around the edge of her dress.

There had to be an explanation.

Five years.

She had given Darius five years of her life.

Five years of waiting for him to stop hiding what they were.

Five years of hearing, "Soon, Lyra."

Soon, he would tell the elders.

Soon, the pack would know why their Alpha never chose a Luna.

Soon, she wouldn't have to leave his chambers before sunrise so the servants wouldn't see her.

And only three nights ago, Darius had stood behind her before the mirror, his hands resting on her waist.

"When this ceremony is over," he'd murmured against her hair, "everything will change."

She had believed he meant them.

Lyra almost laughed now.

Everything certainly had changed.

Voices came from the council chamber ahead.

She stopped.

"Darius, this is madness."

Beta Kieran.

Lyra knew that voice almost as well as Darius's.

The council doors were shut, but one hadn't caught properly in its frame. A thin opening remained.

She shouldn't listen.

She knew that.

Then Darius answered.

"The decision has already been made."

Lyra's heart thudded.

She moved closer.

"The elders making a decision doesn't mean you have to accept it," Kieran snapped. "You're the Alpha."

"And being Alpha means I don't get to do whatever the hell I want."

Lyra swallowed.

She could picture Darius without seeing him, the hard line of his jaw whenever the council challenged him, his dark eyes turning almost black.

Kieran lowered his voice.

"What about Lyra?"

Silence.

Every part of her went still.

"What about her?" Darius finally asked.

Three words.

They shouldn't have hurt.

They did.

Kieran swore.

"You can't seriously ask me that. She's your mate."

Lyra's eyes burned.

At least someone remembered.

"Lower your voice," Darius growled.

"Why? Because somebody might finally discover the great Alpha Blackthorn has spent five years hiding his own mate?"

A crash sounded from inside.

Lyra flinched.

Darius had probably slammed his fist against the table.

"Enough."

"No. Not this time."

Lyra had never heard Kieran challenge him like this.

"The ceremony is tonight," the Beta continued. "If Selene walks into that hall wearing your mother's Luna necklace, everyone will understand what it means."

Lyra's breath caught.

So Darius knew.

Until that second, some stupid, desperate part of her had still hoped Selene had taken the necklace without permission.

That perhaps the document had been forged.

That Darius would see Selene wearing it and rip it from her throat.

But he knew.

He knew.

"And what exactly would you have me do?" Darius asked.

"Tell the truth."

"You think the truth changes our position?"

"It changes Lyra's."

Another silence.

Longer this time.

Lyra pressed one hand against her stomach.

Something inside her chest felt too tight.

Kieran spoke again.

"Does she even know?"

Darius didn't answer.

"Damn it, Darius. Does Lyra know what you're planning to announce tonight?"

"No."

The word came quietly.

It hurt more than if he'd shouted.

Lyra closed her eyes.

Five years, and he couldn't even tell her himself.

"Then tell her before she walks into that hall," Kieran said. "She deserves at least that."

"I was going to."

"When?"

"After the council finalized the terms."

"They've finalized them."

"I know."

"So go to her."

Darius exhaled sharply.

"It's not that simple."

Kieran gave a bitter laugh.

"Funny. It seemed simple enough when you were sneaking into her room every night."

Lyra's cheeks burned.

"Kieran."

"She gave up the Red Moon appointment because you asked her to remain here."

"I know."

"She spent six weeks beside you after the silver poisoning."

"I know."

"She has defended you to elders who treat her like she's nothing more than some orphan you took pity on."

"I know!"

Darius's roar shook the door.

Lyra jerked backward.

For several seconds, neither man spoke.

Then Darius's voice came again.

Quieter.

More dangerous.

"You think I don't know what she's done for me?"

"Then why are you doing this?"

"Because knowing what she's done doesn't change what Blackthorn needs."

Lyra stared through the narrow opening.

She could see only a sliver of the room.

Part of the long black council table.

Kieran's shoulder.

Then Darius moved into view.

She nearly stopped breathing.

He was dressed for the ceremony already.

Black shirt.

Black trousers.

The silver Alpha insignia rested against his chest.

The man she'd loved for five years looked exactly as he had that morning when he'd kissed her forehead before leaving her bed.

How could someone look unchanged while destroying everything?

"Blackthorn needs the Ashford alliance," Darius said.

"And you need Lyra."

Darius's expression hardened.

"A pack has survived without an Alpha getting everything he needs before."

Lyra's nails dug into her palm.

Kieran stared at him.

"Is that what she is now? Something you want but can live without?"

Darius looked away.

That hurt too.

"Selene brings six thousand wolves, access to the western passage, and her father's army," he said. "If the eastern packs attack this winter, that alliance could be the difference between survival and burying half our people."

"And Lyra?"

Darius said nothing.

Kieran stepped closer.

"What happens to her after tonight?"

"She'll be protected."

Lyra's lips parted.

Protected.

Such a cold word.

As though she were a responsibility.

An inconvenience Darius intended to house somewhere comfortable once he was finished loving her.

"Protected?" Kieran repeated incredulously. "You think she'll stay here and watch another woman take her place?"

"She won't be replaced."

"Selene will wear the Luna necklace."

"A necklace doesn't determine what Lyra means to me."

"No. Your choices do."

Darius's eyes flashed.

Kieran didn't retreat.

"If you go through with this, you may lose her."

Darius's jaw tightened.

"You don't know Lyra like I do."

Something cold slid through her.

Kieran stared at him.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Darius turned toward the tall windows.

When he spoke again, his voice had lost its anger.

That somehow made the words worse.

"Lyra loves me."

Kieran gave a humorless laugh.

"That's your defense?"

"It's the truth."

"And you think that means she'll accept anything?"

Darius didn't respond.

Lyra waited.

Her heart seemed to beat inside her throat.

Say no.

Please.

Just say no.

Kieran's next question came slowly.

"Tell me something, then. Where exactly does Lyra fit into this future you've planned?"

Darius remained facing the window.

His shoulders were rigid.

For several seconds, there was nothing but silence.

Then he spoke.

"Keeping Lyra beside me was never part of the future."

The world stopped.

Lyra couldn't feel her fingers.

Couldn't feel the floor beneath her shoes.

Couldn't hear anything except those words repeating inside her skull.

Never part of the future.

Five years.

Five years she'd waited for their future to begin.

And Darius had apparently planned one without her.

Her wolf made a wounded sound deep inside her.

Mate.

Lyra clamped a hand over her mouth.

No.

She couldn't make a sound.

She wouldn't let him find her standing outside his door like some pathetic woman begging to hear that he'd changed his mind.

Inside the chamber, Kieran said something.

Lyra didn't hear it.

She stepped backward.

One step.

Then another.

Her vision blurred.

She turned before the first tear could fall and walked rapidly down the corridor.

She didn't hear Darius's next words.

If she had remained behind that door for only five more seconds, she would have heard them.

"Keeping her beside me in the shadows was never part of the future, Kieran. I was going to acknowledge her before the entire pack tonight."

Kieran stared at him.

"Then what the hell is Selene doing with your mother's necklace?"

Darius's face changed.

"What did you just say?"