Evander’s POVThe pack house was oddly quiet. I listened hard, expecting to find something wrong, but all I heard was the usual sounds of the servants going about their business. The chef cooking up my breakfast, the chambermaids giggling to one another in the halls – all normal, all usual. But something was off.And whatever it was felt like a bramble caught in my fur."Here you are, sir," one of the dining room staff says as she presents me with a heaping plate of food. My gaze immediately, involuntarily, shifts to the right, to look at the empty seat where my Luna should be."Please," Auroa begged, tears in her eyes. "You don't need to be this cruel."Cruel. I am many things, but I never thought myself that."Everything all right, sir?" my server asks, giving me a troubled, tentative smile. The entire house staff has been wary around me ever since the night I declared my intent to reject Aurora.Cruel.Maybe they have a right to be."Why has Nalani not come down yet?" I ask, my Lun
Evander’s POVI give the remnants of my woeful breakfast a disgusted look. I don't have time to have the chef make me something else. Nor do I want them to – not ever again. It seems it's time for me to hire a new kitchen staff.I'll make Ralfi do it.The thought amuses me as I leave the dining room behind. Unfortunately, it does nothing for me today. For now, I'll just have to do my patrol at the border hungry.My personal maid is waiting for me in the foyer, my jacket in her hands. Thank the gods at least Yvaine is consistent in her duties. She helps me on with my coat, then I exit the house.Ralfi is already outside, patiently waiting in the Jeep."Good morning, Evander," my Beta says as I climb into the passenger seat."Morning, Ralfi." I gotta be honest, I'm not feeling the "good" part of that sentiment. "I need a new kitchen staff. Hire a new team immediately."If he finds my request unusual in any way, he doesn't show it. He simply nods, acknowledging the directive.As we sit a
Evander’s POVWe ride in silence, and my Beta, always unfillable, concentrates on the road. I don't know what came over me back at the house, but I need to focus right now. I have an important task ahead of me. The safety of my people relies on our defense at the border. It is a duty I can never let slide."What's the situation at the border?" I ask to get my head back in the game."Since the Lycan Prince's visit, Lycan attacks have decreased, but we still have Werewolves, who were attacked by Lycans and became rogues, flocking to the pack's borders to seek refuge.""We'll do everything we can for them," I say, gazing out the window. "We may even get to invite some new members into the pack, and not just help them all move on. We could use some new Omegas, and I think the pack as a whole would like to see some more pups running around.""I'm pregnant with your child!" The ghost of her voice resounds in my ears, sending an icy chill down my spine."Are you all right?" Ralfi asks, brief
Evander’s POV"Where is Aurora?" I can't believe how much that question stings. I can't even look my mother in the eyes. The situation is too raw, too new."Decisions have a price," Aurora said to me more than once over the course of our marriage. I suppose the bill for my recent actions is coming due."Why are you home early?" I ask instead, feigning more concern than I actually feel. I'm sure everything with Tozen is fine. My mother is one of his closest advisors. But then again, with the King of Kings, you never know. "How did the meeting with the Alpha King go?"My mother backhands the question away as if it were of no importance. "Everything went fine. So well in fact, King Tozen no longer needed me at his side. He specifically instructed me to return home to ensure the deal with the Lycan Prince was successfully completed."I can't help but snarl at the mention of the Lycan Prince. That bastard. How dare he insist on taking Aurora with him! Marching right up to her, giving her t
Evander’s POVI can feel my mother's stare burning holes into the back of my head. I already know she's going to take me aside later to find out all about Aurora.But for now, the refugees need our aid and the staff at the way station cannot fulfill the promises I just made without help. We – myself, Ralfi, and my mother – get down to the business of improving the lives of these people.I check on the girl who approached me earlier and find that she has gotten her father the care he needs. It's depressing to learn that all he needed was a few water bottles.It took some hours, but by the time the day is done, everyone is fed and clothed, and they knew where they're going to sleep that night.As predicted, my mother cornered me after the last of the crowd was gone, herding me back to the far reaches of the way station where we wouldn't be overheard.“What is wrong with you?” she demands, and I know this is going to be worse than I imagined. “You said Aurora is no longer the Luna. How i
“I can't have two mates at the same time, Aurora. I'm rejecting our bond. I want a divorce.”Upon my Alpha mate’s declaration, my marriage and my whole life shattered into pieces. ***Today is my third wedding anniversary, I want to prepare a most memorable celebration to impress my husband and my mate.The candles are lit and the sunflowers I picked earlier today from our gardens sit in crystal bowls. I give our dining room, and then myself, one last glance. For the first time since I woke up this morning, I allow myself to fully exhale.Everything is perfect.As if on cue, I hear the crunch of my mate's boots on the path to our front door. Evander is a strict Alpha, often harsh, but he makes the same demands of himself that he expects from every member of the pack. Absolute punctuality is the least of it.My heart sings as each step brings him closer to me, and I can't help but shiver with delicious anticipation. Every choice that I made for tonight was done with him in mind. I can
The light is too bright. It penetrates my closed eyelids, beaming into my retinas, searing the back of my skull."Aurora?"A man's voice. "Evander?" Why does his name stick in my throat? "Turn off the light.""Aurora, listen to me. This is Dr. Oliver. You're in the hospital. I need you to open your eyes if you can.""Hospital?" I open my eyes as the doctor asked, blinking under the harsh glare. As the world comes into focus, my memories return. Our anniversary. Evander. Nalani.The rejection.The doctor's low baritone fades into the background as I recall the shambles of my marriage. I'm about to become a former Luna, and not because I'm passing the crown down to my heirs like I always dreamed, but rather because my mate and Alpha no longer have any need of me. I've loved Evander since the moment we met. I always know my love for him is greater than his for me.But I am proved ridiculously wrong. I am nothing more than a tool, one that can be easily discarded when useless.How... how
A sob from deep in the shadows at the end of the hallway catches my ear, and when I investigate, I find my personal maid, Sylvie, slumped down and sniffling in the corner.Upon noticing my arrival, Sylvie only cries harder. "I tried to stop them, ma'am, I did. But they wouldn't listen." She looks up then, glaring at the staff entering and exiting my room.I hear her words, but all I can see is the faint outline of a handprint of her round cheek, the red, distinctive marks of a full-on face slap. Aghast, I hunch down beside her. "Who did this to you?""I did."The voice sends a shiver of revulsion down my spine. Anger curls my upper lip and I rise to my feet, ready to face my enemy head-on. "Why did you do this, Nalani?"I examine her as she makes me wait – the newly coiffed hair, her skintight silk dress, strappy six-inch heels, and layers of makeup. She doesn’t look like someone who just woke up from a coma. In fact, the transformation from the poisoned woman lying in a hospital bed