Chapter 2

"Swallow your pride, Lyra! You were a rogue when we found you. Don't forget it."

Damian's words were a hot brand, shattering the last of my illusions.

"This isn't about pride. It's about my status."

"Status?" He took a step closer, his voice turning harsh, like he was scolding a disobedient pup. "This is about the pack's survival. I can't let your ego endanger us. You're too emotional, Lyra."

The sacrifices I made, the life I gave, he dismissed as "ego."

"Fine." I nodded, my voice surprisingly calm. "I understand."

In their minds, Isla was better. Stronger.

And I was just a tool they could now throw away.

"I knew you'd understand," Damian's expression softened into a look of condescending relief. "Isla arrives this afternoon. I expect you to cooperate with her."

That evening, a sleek black car pulled up to the manor.

Isla stepped out, dressed in a brand-new shamanic robe, her long hair adorned with feathers and bones.

It was all for show.

But for a pack obsessed with tradition, it worked.

The second she was out of the car, Damian rushed to her.

They embraced for a sickeningly long time.

"She's here," Damian's sister, Elena, said from the doorway, her voice fawning over Isla.

"I see that."

"Isn't she beautiful?" Elena moved beside me, looking out the window. "And her power is so pure. Not like some magic I know. It's so… unsettling."

I ignored her.

Downstairs, the elders were greeting Isla with a roaring welcome.

"Isla! Welcome home, child!"

Home.

They were calling the woman who abandoned them six years ago "home."

When I came downstairs, they were gathered around Isla like she was a queen.

She saw me and her face broke into a perfect, victorious smile.

"You must be Lyra," she said, holding out her hands, her tone so familiar it made me want to gag. "Damian told me so much about you. I hear you handled all the… tedious little details for the ceremony."

I took her hands.

Her palms were soft. Uncalloused.

Not a flicker of true power.

My stomach dropped.

She was a fraud.

And Damian… did he know? Or did he not care?

"The garden behind the manor is so lush, it's like magic," Reina said excitedly.

"Really?" Isla looked at Damian. "Is that your doing?"

"It was Lyra. She healed the land with her magic," Damian said, but his tone was dismissive, like he was talking about something trivial.

"Oh," Isla glanced at me, her eyes full of contempt. "Earth-weaving? How… quaint." She paused, making sure everyone was listening. "But I've never seen it mentioned in any orthodox blood magic codex."

The room went silent.

"Perhaps it's some self-taught, backwoods parlor trick," she added, her voice dripping with meaning. "True power comes from a bloodline."

Self-taught. She was calling me a rogue with no roots.

"Isla is so right!" Elena chimed in immediately. "Who knows what side effects come with magic from a questionable source!"

A chill went down my spine.

When I was saving their pack time and time again, Damian had called me an "angel sent by the Moon Goddess."

Now, to make room for Isla, I was a "questionable source."

It was time for dinner.

I started to take my seat next to Damian, but Isla was already there.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Isla stood up, pretending to offer me the seat, but her eyes glinted with defiance. "I didn't know this was your spot."

"It's fine," Damian said, taking her hand and pulling her back into the chair. "Isla, you sit here. You're our guest of honor tonight."

"Lyra, you can sit down there," Reina said, gesturing to the far end of the table. "With the children."

I looked at the seat in the corner, then back at Isla, who was already chatting happily with the elders next to Damian.

"Actually, I'm a little tired," I said, turning for the stairs.

"Lyra, wait," Isla's voice came from behind me.

She walked up to me and spoke in a low voice only I could hear.

"I know losing the High Priestess role hurts. But you have to understand. Damian needs a mate who makes him feel powerful. Not a warrior who makes him feel weak."

She watched the color drain from my face.

"He told me he only kept you around because your power was useful. But a rogue with no bloodline could never be the Luna a true Alpha needs." She smiled sweetly. "Some positions can't be held with brute force."