Alessia POV:
The smell of stale fryer grease was starting to feel like perfume compared to the scent of the Salinas manor. I scrubbed the counter until the laminate started to peel.
The bell chimed. I didn't look up, expecting a trucker wanting coffee.
"You look like a servant," a voice sneered.
I froze. It was Giuliana. My sister. The Beta female who was supposed to be loyal, steadfast, and protective.
I looked up. She was wearing a designer silk blouse that cost more than Sal made in a month. She looked at the diner around her as if it were a contagious disease.
"I am a servant, Giuliana," I said, wringing out the rag. "I serve burgers. It is honest work. Unlike what you do."
"And what do I do?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.
"You serve lies."
She slammed her hand on the counter. "You are embarrassing the family! An Omega daughter of the Salinas bloodline, wiping tables for humans? Come home. Father is furious about the annulment."
"Tell Father he can take his fury and choke on it," I said calmly.
Sal stepped out from the kitchen. He was a big man, balding, with a stained apron. He didn't know about wolves, but he knew trouble.
"Is there a problem here, Alessia?" Sal asked, holding a heavy spatula.
Giuliana looked at him like he was an insect. "Stay out of this, human."
"She's leaving," I said to Sal. "Right now."
Giuliana glared at me, her wolf surfacing in her eyes-a flash of amber. But we were in public. The Council laws were strict about exposing our nature to humans.
"You will regret this," she hissed. "When you are starving and alone, don't come crawling back to the pack."
She turned on her heel and stormed out.
"Family?" Sal asked.
"Not anymore."
Sal sighed and reached into his apron pocket. He pulled out a thick envelope.
"I know you're leaving tonight," he said. "I heard you booking the ticket on the payphone. This is your pay. And a bonus."
I opened the envelope. It was five hundred dollars. Too much.
"Sal, I can't-"
"Take it, kid. You have good eyes. Sad, but good. Go find somewhere that makes them happy."
I took the money. It felt warmer than any hug my mother had ever given me.
My shift ended at dusk. The boat to Dominica didn't leave until midnight. I had time.
My feet carried me to the old park on the north side of the territory. It was a foolish destination. It was where Dante and I had played as pups. It was where we swore to be mates before we even knew what the word meant.
I walked through the rusted gates.
The smell hit me instantly.
Moonflowers.
Hundreds of them.
Someone had planted pots of blooming moonflowers all along the path to the old gazebo. Their scent was intoxicating, a sweet, night-blooming perfume that wolves use for courting rituals.
Soft music played from hidden speakers. A string quartet. *Clair de Lune*.
My heart stuttered.
Dante stood in the gazebo. He was dressed in a tuxedo, looking devastatingly handsome. The moonlight caught the sharp angles of his jaw.
He saw me. The relief on his face was so raw it almost knocked me over.
"Alessia," he breathed.
"What is this, Dante?" I asked, staying at the bottom of the steps.
"I remembered," he said, walking down toward me. "I remembered you liked the moonflowers. I had the florists empty their stock."
"You're supposed to be with Chiara."
"I don't want to be with Chiara!" he shouted, the Alpha volume making the leaves tremble. "My wolf wants *you*. My soul wants *you*. The bond... it's driving me insane, Alessia. I can't sleep. I can't eat. All I smell is you."
He reached for me. His hand hovered inches from my face. The electricity-the static charge of the Mate Bond-crackled between us. My skin hungered for his touch. My inner wolf scratched at the walls of my mind, begging to be let out.
"Then why?" I whispered. "Why did you choose her yesterday? Why did you choose her for seven years?"
"Duty," he said, his voice breaking. "An Alpha is nothing without honor. She saved my life. I owe her a debt. But... I can pay her off. I can give her money, property. I can make her comfortable. But I want *you* as my Luna."
He was so close. I could smell the rain and cedar on him. For a second, I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe that love could conquer seven years of torture.
Then, the wind changed.
A sickly sweet, rotting smell drifted over us.
"Dante?" a voice whimpered.
We both turned.
Chiara stood at the park entrance. She was wearing a white nightgown, looking like a ghost.
And she smelled like an Alpha.
It was fake. I could smell the chemicals beneath it-a synthetic pheromone spray sold on the black market to trick potential mates. But to a desperate, guilt-ridden male like Dante, whose senses were already dulled by the conflicting pheromones and stress, it was confusing.
"Chiara?" Dante looked between us.
"You promised," Chiara sobbed, collapsing onto the grass. "You promised you wouldn't leave me alone! The shadows... they're coming for me!"
She convulsed. It was a performance worthy of an Oscar.
Dante looked at me. His eyes were pleading. *Understand me,* they said. *Wait for me.*
"Go," I said. My voice was ice.
"Alessia, I just need to get her to the hospital-"
"Go."
He looked at me one last time, then turned and ran to Chiara. He scooped her up in his arms, cooing soft words of comfort, letting her fake tears soak his expensive tuxedo.
He didn't look back.
I stood alone among the moonflowers.
Something inside me snapped. It wasn't a bone. It was the last tether of hope.
My inner wolf stood up. She shook her fur. She was no longer a small, beaten creature. She was massive. She was blindingly white. And she was done.
I turned my back on the gazebo, on the flowers, on the man who claimed to be my other half.
I walked toward the harbor. The darkness swallowed me, but for the first time, I wasn't afraid of the dark. I was the light.
*
