Chapter 2

Fenris came home at eight o'clock sharp.

The scent of night lilies barged in with him—a smell I was long sick of.

His shirt collar hung open, and his cufflinks bore the Sterling family crest. He looked like he'd just stepped out of some carefully staged photograph.

"A gift from her?" I eyed the new cufflink on his wrist.

He paused mid-motion, placing the flowers he'd brought into the vase on the dining table. "Moiraine thought you might like this fragrance too."

I laughed lightly. "Then please keep that thoughtfulness far away from me."

His brow furrowed, his voice dropping. "Sienna, don't be like this."

I kept my back to him, my tone even. "Last night was my birthday."

"I know." He was silent for a moment before speaking. "It's just that the alliance gala... I had to be there."

"So you raised a glass at her side while I blew out candles alone?" I turned to face him. "Even Willow remembered it was my birthday."

He opened his mouth as if to explain, but in the end only managed: "I'll make it up to you."

"You can't make it up." I cut him off, my voice calm. "Unless you can turn back time to seven years ago—that night of the lunar eclipse."

His expression froze. "I haven't forgotten that."

"But you've forgotten the vow you made that day." I lowered my eyes. "You said you owed me your life, but it seems your 'life' only lasted until she came along."

Just as those words left my lips, urgent knocking came from outside the door.

Fenris was about to speak, but I was already walking to answer it. Greyson, the pack's second-in-command, stood outside, his face as cold as ever.

"Madam," he said stiffly, "Elder Patricia has called an emergency assembly. Please bring Willow to the Sacred Grounds immediately."

I hesitated. "Right now?"

His gaze swept over Fenris, betraying no emotion. "The Thorne Pack waits for no one."

...

The assembly hall at the Sacred Grounds blazed with firelight. The wolf pack's totem cast a massive shadow on the wall.

Nearly every core member of the Thorne Pack was present, including elders who rarely made appearances, seated prominently on the high dais.

Fenris's mother, Patricia, spoke first. Her smile was perfect—like a carefully carved mask.

"Moiraine is pregnant." She surveyed the crowd, barely containing her delight. "The Thorne Pack will finally have a true heir."

Applause erupted—enthusiastic and hollow.

I stood in the corner, Willow's small hand gripping my fingers tightly.

Fenris stood at Moiraine's side, his hand instinctively resting on her waist. The gesture was tender, his eyes holding a softness I hadn't seen in ages.

He looked at her the way he used to look at me.

"Now that the pack is gathered," Patricia continued, "it's time to make things official. Fenris will assume the Alpha position, and the child Moiraine carries will be the next heir."

The elders rose and solemnly read the declaration.

Applause rang out again.

Moiraine bowed her head slightly, her hand caressing her still-flat belly. "Thank you all for your blessings," she said sweetly.

Behind me, I heard someone whisper: "Moiraine is the only one worthy of being Luna of the Thorne Pack."

"He's finally rid of that Shadowclaw orphan."

Those two words—"Shadowclaw orphan"—pierced my skin like needles.

I was born into the lowly Shadowclaw clan and raised in an orphanage. They knew this. And they never let me forget it.

Patricia turned to me, her smile gracious. "Sienna, you should congratulate them as well."

I lifted my chin, the corners of my lips rising. "Of course. After all, a new chapter always requires someone to sacrifice the old one."

The hall fell into awkward silence for a few seconds.

An elder cleared his throat. "Now that a new heir is on the way, certain arrangements must be made." His gaze fell on Willow. "For the purity of the bloodline, this child... should no longer address the Alpha as her father."

I let out a cold laugh. "And what would you have her become?"

"A child from a distant branch of the pack." Patricia delivered the finishing blow with apparent gentleness. "A foster child, nothing more."

In that instant, a ringing filled my ears.

I could hear my own heartbeat, dull and heavy.

Fenris's lips moved. "Isn't this a bit—"

"Don't say anything." Moiraine gently took his arm, murmuring softly. "Now isn't the time."

I saw the movement of her fingertips—slender, soft, yet firmly wrapped around his wrist.

He didn't pull away.

I saw it clearly—he had surrendered.

I took Willow's hand and walked forward, meeting Fenris's eyes under the gaze of everyone present.

"As you wish," I said calmly to Patricia. "From this moment on, she is no longer Fenris Thorne's daughter."

Then I crouched down and held Willow by the shoulders, my voice gentle yet nearly breaking.

"Sweetheart, from today on, you can't call him Daddy anymore. Call him... Alpha Thorne, okay?"

Willow's eyes slowly reddened. She bit her lip and nodded hard.

She didn't understand what had happened. She only felt her mother's hands trembling.

Fenris stood frozen, his lips parted as if he wanted to say something, but he was pinned in place by the eyes around him.

No one spoke up for me.

Not a single person.

"Very good." Patricia smiled, satisfied. "Then it's settled."

I picked up Willow and turned to leave.

Moiraine's voice suddenly rang out from behind, warm and bright: "Sienna, that moonstone pendant around your neck is lovely. I've heard moonstone protects werewolf mothers during pregnancy. I wonder if you'd be willing to lend it to me?"

I stopped.

The pendant was a gift from Fenris—that night in the canyon, when he woke from the pool of blood, the first thing he did was take it off and place it in my palm.

I turned back, my smile cold as ice. "Whatever you want, he won't refuse you."

I unclasped the pendant and pressed it into her hand.

"It suits you perfectly."

She smiled, her eyes soft—like someone accepting the spoils of victory.

Fenris looked away.

I held Willow and walked out of the hall.

The moment the doors closed behind me, the laughter, the fragrance, the applause—all of it was sealed on the other side. Only the night wind and my own breathing remained.

My phone buzzed in my pocket.

Flight reminder: Seven days · Moonshade Bay.

I smiled to myself.

Seven more days, Fenris.

And then I won't wait for you anymore.