Chapter 2

Four guards materialize from shadows before I reach the north gate.

"Luna Catherine." Sebastian, Nathaniel's second, steps forward. "Alpha requests your presence."

His heartbeat is steady—seventy-two beats per minute.

I could change that.

"I'm no longer Luna, Sebastian."

His hand clamps on my shoulder.

Big mistake.

I let him drag me back—I need one more thing from this fortress anyway.

They haul me through the service entrance to the medical wing.

Perfect.

Nathaniel stands beside a gurney where Isabelle lies, the bracelet finally removed, her wrist wrapped.

"Strip her and prep her," Nathaniel says without looking at me. "I need two pints."

Two pints of vampire blood.

Do you have any idea what you're about to do?

"Alpha, I must protest—" Dr. Harrison begins. "Her blood type is incompatible—"

"She's RH-negative. The only match." Nathaniel finally turns to me. "Isabelle needs a transfusion."

Oh, this is delicious.

"No." I keep my voice flat. "Absolutely not."

"It wasn't a question."

They force me onto the table.

I don't resist—I want to see how far he'll go.

How much he'll take before he realizes what I am.

"Her medical file shows cardiac arrhythmia," Dr. Harrison tries again. "Unusual patterns—"

"Then monitor closely." Nathaniel moves to Isabelle's side. "Start now."

Cardiac arrhythmia.

Because my heart only beats once every thirty seconds, you idiot.

The needle pierces my vein.

My blood flows into the transfusion bag—dark, almost black, moving wrong.

Dr. Harrison freezes. "Alpha, this blood—"

"Is perfectly fine. Continue."

No, it's not fine.

It's vampire blood.

And you're about to pump it into your pregnant mistress.

I smile as darkness takes me—not from blood loss, but from choice.

Time to make my exit.

---

I wake in the morgue, not the recovery room.

Perfect.

Dr. Harrison declared me dead two hours ago—no heartbeat, no breath, cold to the touch.

Because I stopped pretending.

I hear voices outside.

"Just cremate the body," Nathaniel says, voice hollow. "No ceremony. She has no family."

No family?

I have the oldest vampire family in existence, you fool.

"Alpha, shouldn't we notify someone—" Sebastian begins.

"There's no one. Just... handle it."

The door closes.

I sit up in the darkness, pulling the sheet off.

My phone—hidden in my clothes—buzzes.

A: Transport waiting. Service exit. Thirty seconds.

Thirty seconds.

I move in silence, a shadow among shadows.

Out the service exit where a black car idles.

I slip inside.

"Lady Catherine." The driver bows his head—full vampire formal address. "The Elders are eager for your return."

"How's Isabelle?"

"Deteriorating rapidly. Vampire blood is... incompatible with werewolf pregnancy. The child will be lucky to survive the week."

Good.

"And Nathaniel?"

"Believes you're dead. Cremation scheduled for tomorrow."

"Let him cremate an empty box." I lean back, feeling my true power return with every mile from Blood Moon territory. "I want him to believe I'm gone."

"And then?"

"And then we prepare." I smile, fangs sharp in the darkness. "The Ashford family is coming out of hiding."

We drive for six hours.

Into the mountains.

To the ancestral estate I haven't seen since my wedding day.

Ashford Manor rises from the mountainside—black stone, gothic spires, older than any werewolf pack.

Three figures wait at the entrance.

My mother, Vivienne Ashford, ageless and elegant.

My uncle, Adrian Ashford, the family patriarch.

And Dominic Sterling—not quite vampire, not quite werewolf, but something in between.

My childhood friend.

My promised one.

Before Nathaniel.

"Catherine." Mother's voice is cool. "Nine years is a long time to play house with dogs."

"I had my reasons."

"Love?" Adrian scoffs. "Love is for mortals. We are eternal."

"I'm done with love." I walk past them into the manor. "Now I want revenge."

Dominic follows. "What did they do?"

"Everything." I turn to face him. "Nathaniel's mistress poisoned my hybrid child. She burned my evidence with silver oil. And Nathaniel took my blood to save her life."

Dominic's eyes flash red. "He forced a transfusion?"

"While I was restrained."

"That's a declaration of war." Adrian appears beside us. "By ancient law, you can claim blood vengeance."

"I don't want blood vengeance." I smile slowly. "I want something better."

"What?" Mother asks.

Dominic's smile matches mine.

Dominic didn't even need me to say a word; he already knew what I was about to do.

"I accept."