(Eirene’s POV)
The next dawn, Jareth didn’t come home. Instead, he sent a short mind-link message through the pack network:
[Eirene, remember you’re visiting the Elder Den today. I’m tied up with Alpha duties, so I sent my beta aide to escort you. Take care.]
I dismissed the link at once, refusing to respond.
Two whole hours passed. No one came. His so-called “beta escort” was nothing but a lie.
I nearly abandoned the trip altogether...until I remembered the two Moonbound relics from our arranged bond, still held at his parents’ manor. They were the last heirlooms left to me after my own parents’ deaths. Relics blessed under the Moon Goddess couldn’t simply be replaced.
So I went.
But the moment I stepped into the Darkhowl Elder Den, the air froze in my lungs.
Lucienne was there.
Laughing sweetly beside Nerielle, Jareth’s mother and the former Luna of the Darkhowl Pack. Lucienne wore shimmering spell-woven robes and resting against her collarbone was a gemstone pulsing with pale lunar light.
I recognized it instantly...the enchanted Moonshard Jareth had fought viciously for at the Nightfall Auction.
Before I could speak, Lucienne noticed me. Triumph flickered in her amber wolf-eyes. Then, with a voice dripping false innocence, she turned to Nerielle.
“Luna Nerielle, I really shouldn’t stay here… Jareth and I were once promised to each other. If Eirene finds out, she’ll be devastated.”
Nerielle snorted, folding her arms.
“Don’t worry about that cursed she-wolf.”
Her voice was as sharp as broken stone. “She brought doom to her bloodline...both her parents dead, her womb too weak to carry a five-moon pup. If not for her parents dying, I would have told Jareth to sever the bond long ago before she drags him into the grave with her.”
Then her expression softened when she turned back to Lucienne.
“The only thing that matters now is the pup you carry. If Eirene dares cause trouble, I’ll cast her out of this den myself.”
My breath lodged in my throat.
Lucienne… pregnant? With Jareth’s pup?
I stared at Nerielle, remembering how she once welcomed me as though I were her own daughter.
When I mated into the Darkhowls, their pack was nearly ruined. My family had poured silver, territory rights and Moonstone resources into saving them.
Lucienne, meanwhile, had fled the continent entirely.
Nerielle used to greet me with open arms.
Now, days after my parents’ funeral, she showed me her true face.
Bitterness twisted inside me.
I turned away, determined to ignore them and head upstairs. But I didn’t get far.
A harsh grip yanked me back.
Nerielle’s glare was venomous, her wolf rising behind her eyes. Lucienne stood beside her, smiling as though she were watching a show.
“Hit her. Twice.” Nerielle snapped at the housekeeper.
“Look at her...moping like a curse walking on two legs. You think we’re obligated to endure her attitude?”
The housekeeper obeyed instantly. Two sharp blows cracked across my face. My cheek seared with heat.
I ripped myself free, hatred burning in my chest like wildfire.
Nerielle saw the look in my eyes and only grew more furious.
“Wretched creature! How dare you glare at me? Planning to strike your Luna Elder? Beat her again...beat her until she learns her place!”
The housekeeper stepped forward.
But before she could hit me again, footsteps descended the stairs.
Jareth.
“Enough!” His voice sliced through the den. “Mother, she is my bonded mate. How can you treat her like this?”
He reached for me, trying to pull me into his arms with feigned concern as he examined the marks on my face.
I slapped his hand away.
Lowered my gaze.
Anything to hide the disgust clawing at me.
Since learning the truth, every touch from him felt like poison.
Jareth stiffened, then exhaled slowly. He turned to his mother.
“Let it go. Lucienne is staying in the den tonight. Didn’t you prepare a chamber for her? Take her to see it.”
Nerielle scoffed.
“Keep defending that cursed witch. One day she’ll drag you to your grave.”
She shot me one more hateful look before leading Lucienne toward the stairs.
As Lucienne passed me, she paused...and smiled.
A heartbeat later, with the grace of a puppet whose strings had snapped, she pitched backward...
tumbling down the stairs.
