When I got back from my patrol up north, I’d planned to stop by the Tucker family’s old estate to collect the few things I’d left behind six years ago. But when I pulled up, the wide driveway was packed with cars, and the old living room was crowded with people waiting for me.
The first person I saw was Cayson Tucker. It had been six years, and he looked even sharper than I remembered, glowing with the easy confidence of an alpha heir. He was sitting right beside Felicity Butler, their chairs pulled close enough that their shoulders brushed.
“Who knows what she’s like after all these years out in that bumfuck border outpost? Probably turned into some coarse, rough thing,” one of the delta guards muttered.
“Right? Living on the edge, doing all the dirty work chasing rogues—bet she doesn’t even look like a proper lady anymore,” another chimed in.
“Enough,” a soft voice cut in. “Madison made a mistake once, that’s all. It’s not your place to judge her. Six years is a long time, I’m sure she’s changed.”
I looked at the woman who’d spoken, and of course it was Felicity. She’d been the reason Cayson sent me away in the first place. She’d moved into the main alpha residence years ago, made herself comfortable in the space that was supposed to be mine, the future Luna’s space. It was almost funny.
My parents had both been high-ranking delta warriors for Silverpine Pack. They died in a rogue incursion when I was twelve, and they’d left me in the care of the Tuckers, the alphas of neighboring Ironpeak Pack. Back then, everyone knew the Moon Goddess had fated me to Cayson, their heir. It was all settled. Then Felicity showed up, and everything fell apart.
I still remember the day she framed me. All my things from my old room were tossed down the back stairs, ruined. When I confronted her, she showed up in front of Cayson and Luna Brooklyn with a swollen cheek, crying that I’d attacked her for no reason. “I’m just a Beta’s daughter, I know I don’t belong here,” she’d whimpered. “Of course Madison would suspect me, it’s my fault for being here.”
Cayson had snapped at me before I could get a word out: “Madison, how can you be so cruel? She’s just a guest in this house, how dare you bully her?” I’d been so angry I slapped her right there, and that was all the excuse he needed. “You’re too unruly to stay here. Go to the border outpost in the northern territory and think about your attitude for a while.”
He’d stood there by the car, all high and mighty, telling me to rein in my “warrior daughter” temper now that my parents were gone and I was dependent on his family. If I didn’t change, he said, he wouldn’t honor the fated mate arrangement when he came of age. I’d been broken back then, but I’d already known he wasn’t worth it. I’d gone willingly—my father had been stationed there once, I told myself it would be quieter, safer, than staying here with him.
“Madison’s just always had a strong temper,” Felicity went on now, her voice soft as silk. “I’m sure she’s just… adjusting to being back.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” another guard snickered. “Miss Felicity is the one who’s perfect for our future Alpha, isn’t she? Gentle, kind, nothing like that stubborn Madison.”
Felicity lowered her head, shoulders trembling like she was embarrassed. “Please don’t say that. Cayson and I care for each other, but… it’s not right, not while the fated bond is still between him and Madison. I’m just a Beta, I don’t deserve this.”
Cayson reached out and curled his hand around hers, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles, his alpha aura flaring just a little to soothe her. “Your place is right here with me. If she hasn’t fixed that terrible attitude after six years, she’ll stay at the border for good.”
I cleared my throat softly, stepping fully into the entryway so they could all see me.
“Who is that? She’s gorgeous.”
“Is she lost? This is the alpha’s private residence, after all.”
Cayson’s eyes locked on the old silver pack necklace I wore around my neck, the one my father gave me, and his brows shot up. “Madison… Harper?”
I nodded, slipping the violin case I carried off my shoulder and setting it gently on the coffee table.
The room went quiet for a beat, then someone whispered, “That can’t be her. She looks… she looks like she’s never lifted a finger in her life, not like someone who’s been living at the border for six years.”
Of course they were shocked. They’d all expected me to come back haggard, worn down by hard training and patrols, bitter and ugly from being abandoned. They thought I’d be desperate to crawl back into Cayson’s good graces. But the silk dress I wore was imported from across the continent, the violin I carried had been handmade by the best luthier in the Lycan royal territory. Nothing about me looked like the broken girl they’d sent away.
Felicity stepped toward me, her hand outstretched like she meant to hug me. “Madison, it’s so good to see you again—”
I pulled my hand out of reach before she could touch me, not bothering to hide the movement. Six years, and she still used the same tired act.
“I don’t have any sisterly bond with you,” I said coolly, then sat down on the empty sofa across from them and poured myself a cup of tea from the tray on the table.
I’d once thought she was a friend, once given her all my nicest things when she first came to the estate, hungry and out of place. I’d been so stupid.
Cayson’s jaw tightened, and I could feel his alpha aura flicker with irritation that I didn’t jump to please him. “Six years, and your temper’s still just as bad,” he said, his voice sharp with that commanding alpha tone he used to keep everyone in line. “What kind of future Luna acts like this? You clearly haven’t learned anything out there. If you’re going to keep this up, I’ll reject the bond right here and now.”
The hot tea stung my lower lip when I took a sip, and I dabbed at the corner of my mouth with a napkin, not saying a word.
Did he really think I still wanted to be his mate?
My parents died when I was twelve, and I’d been forced to move in with the Tuckers. I never wanted to be here, never begged for his charity. Back then, I was young, and I’d had a stupid crush on the only boy who’d been nice to me, relied on his care when I had no one else. I’d fallen for him slow, and everyone knew I’d be his mate after my coming of age ceremony. I’d believed it too, waited for him, loved him with everything I had.
Then Felicity, the poor, quiet Beta daughter from the Butler family, came to stay, and everything changed. Cayson’s attention wasn’t just mine anymore. His gentle smiles and soft words were for her too. When I confronted him, when I told him it hurt that he’d thrown our fated bond aside for his chosen mistress, he just told me to stop being unreasonable. “Alpha heirs can have more than one mate,” he’d said. “You need to be more generous.”
It felt like the ground had dropped out from under me. After that, I never gave him a real smile again. The distance between us grew until it was a canyon, and when he sent me to the border, he never sent me a single message through the mind link, never checked in to see if I was even alive. I’d died a little that day, the girl who loved him. And when I met Dorian, everything that was broken got put back together.
