Chapter 2

The blizzard was brutal.

I fell several times on the way, but I finally made it to the old place I'd stayed before Kaelen and I were mated. The door creaked open and the smell of mold hit me in the face.

I pulled the light cord a few times. The bulb flickered once and went dead.

I sighed, dragged a stool over, and tried to fix the wiring.

A flashlight beam swept in through the doorway.

Doctor Julian from next door was standing there, eyes wide.

"Luna Elena? Is that really you? I heard noise coming from over here."

He took one look at me and seemed to guess I wasn't in the mood to talk. He didn't ask questions.

He just pushed the flashlight into my hand.

"I've got a spare bulb. Let me put it in for you."

He grabbed a wooden chair, climbed up, and started screwing it in, chatting to fill the silence.

"Hell of a storm tonight. Have you eaten? I've got fresh soup at my place."

"You lost the pup not long ago, and now you've been out in this cold. A warm bowl would do you good."

My eyes stung. I almost cried right there.

A pack doctor I barely knew remembered what my body had been through. My own mate just thought I wasn't forgiving enough.

"No thanks. I already ate."

The bulb clicked on.

Julian steadied himself on the chair and climbed down. The old wood groaned under him.

I rushed forward to hold the chair steady. Then I heard a gasp behind me.

"Luna, you left home in such a hurry and it was for him?"

Cynthia stood in the doorway with three of the pack's biggest gossips behind her. She pressed a hand over her mouth, looking back and forth between me and Julian.

"Alone together with the lights out. In the middle of the night."

The three women exchanged looks, muttering just loud enough to hear.

"Betraying her Alpha. Right under his nose."

"And I thought she was the decent one. Guess not."

Julian's face went red. He jumped down from the chair.

"Don't twist this. Luna Elena just got here. I saw the lights were out, so I came over to change a bulb. That's it."

Cynthia raised her voice even louder.

"So the lights were out and you were already in here with her?"

"Luna, how could you do this to Alpha Kaelen?"

"Bullshit." I grabbed Cynthia's wrist and yanked her to the door. "Look. Door's wide open. Key's still in the lock. Say one more word and I'll slap the taste out of your mouth."

Cynthia blinked. Then the tears dropped, right on cue.

That two-faced act made Ember snarl inside my skull.

I was about to keep going when a massive hand clamped down on my shoulder and wrenched me back.

"Elena, so this is why you wanted separate rooms? For this pretty boy?"

Julian saw Kaelen and stepped forward immediately.

"Alpha Kaelen, it's not what you think."

Kaelen turned and glared at him.

"Shut your mouth. You're a doctor. You should know better. I haven't even begun dealing with you."

He swung back to me, disgust clear on his face.

"Elena, you'd throw away your honor just to spite me?"

"I thought you were just throwing a tantrum."

"But you couldn't even wait one night before running to another wolf."

"This isn't just about me. You've disgraced the entire pack."

I almost laughed.

I stood near another male for two minutes and suddenly I'd betrayed my Alpha and disgraced the pack. But Cynthia could cry on his shoulder for months and that was a misunderstanding.

I looked at him, cold and steady, one word at a time.

"I have nothing to hide."

"The door is open. My bag is still packed. The flashlight is still on."

"Ask the gate guard what time I got here and you'll have your answer."

Kaelen paused. His eyes drifted to the bag on the floor.

Then he looked around the room. The cobwebs. The dust. The bed frame made of stacked bricks.

Something in his expression cracked. He was almost swayed.

But Cynthia grabbed his sleeve, sniffling.

"Alpha Kaelen, after what Luna did to me last time, people still point at me and call me names."

More tears, right on the edge of falling.

Kaelen looked at me. Then at Cynthia. Something hardened in his jaw.

"Call the enforcers."

"Lock her in the dungeon. We'll sort this out in the morning."

Three enforcers rushed in and surrounded me.

My head was spinning.

"Kaelen, are you insane? You can see there's nothing between me and Julian."

Kaelen sighed. "Elena, I'm doing this for your own good."

He waved his hand. The enforcers grabbed me by the arms and dragged me into the dungeon.

Four concrete walls. Cold enough to see my breath.

I curled up in the corner. The old ache in my belly started up again.