Chapter 9

My pupils shrank.

I stared at the Moonstone.

The moment the illusions flickered to life, my world shattered.

He was projecting his memories. Our memories.

My most private, vulnerable moments, magnified for the entire pack to see.

I was in the kitchen, clumsily making his favorite meal.

My hands were covered in burns.

He walked in with Clara and didn't even look at me.

The food on the table grew cold, untouched.

Then came another memory: me at the Death Ravine.

I hid behind a tree with a broken rib, biting my sleeve against the pain.

All because he wanted a mate strong enough to hunt by his side.

I waited for him by the fireplace until I fell asleep, only to wake up the next morning and find his side of the bed still empty.

Scene after scene, each one a monument to my pathetic devotion.

The pack's laughter washed over me.

Every jeer was a poisoned barb digging into my skin.

"She acts so aloof, but look how desperate she is."

"It's actually pathetic, trying so hard for him."

"No wonder Kyle treats her like dirt. Who respects a doormat? Hahaha…"

I stood frozen, my blood running cold.

He stood below the Moonstone, backlit by its glow.

The face I once loved was cold now.

And in that haze, I remembered the day we first met.

I was the heiress to the fabled "Crescent Moon Pack."

A true Alpha, born to an ancient bloodline.

I had spent my life on our hidden lands in the Montana mountains.

Then the elders tried to arrange my marriage.

To the heir of the Nightshade pack.

An arranged marriage? For me?

I had run wild and free my entire life.

They thought a contract could chain me down.

Not a chance.