Damian Blackwood’s Omega assistant, Lyra Quinn, was pregnant. At the banquet celebrating the ninth anniversary of our Moon Vow, he brought her to the Blackwood pack house and sat her in the seat that should have been mine, the Luna’s. Breathing in the cloying, sweet scent of alfalfa milk on her, he spoke as calmly as if he were discussing the weather. “She’s a picky eater. Make sure her meals are never the same.” “She’s been having nightmares. Pack your things and move into the guest wing. I’m staying with her in the master bedroom tonight.” The hall was filled with Blackwood elders, the heirs of branch families, and the pack guard. Everyone knew the heir in Lyra’s belly mattered far more than a contract Luna who had gone nine years without a mark. I said nothing. I just picked up the suitcase I’d already packed and walked toward the front door. The butler tried to stop me, but Damian just laughed, a cold, sharp sound. “Let her go.” “A Luna with no family, no mark, and no pup—how long can she last away from Blackwood?” “I bet she’ll be back before the night is over.” The whole room erupted in laughter. They started placing million-dollar bets that I wouldn’t make it to dawn before I came back, crying and begging Damian to let me in. What they didn’t know was that the white Bentley waiting just outside the gates was there for me. This time, I was really leaving. … I was almost at the courtyard gate when Damian called out to me. “Elena. Leave the moon-mark bracelet. Lyra’s been having nightmares. The protection stone blessed by the Moon Temple should help calm her.” That bracelet was the only thing my parents had left me. A band of black obsidian set with a ring of pale moonstones. I looked up at him, heat rising behind my eyes. Damian only said, flatly, “Name your price.” How much was a nine-year, in-name-only marriage worth? I couldn’t be bothered to do the math. I only knew that last winter, during the hunt, I hadn’t given Lyra my sno......
