Ember POV:
The banquet hall felt like a tomb as I walked toward the exit, but Karyn wasn't done with me yet.
"Wait!" she called out.
I froze. My instincts screamed at me to run, but I couldn't show weakness. Not anymore.
Karyn descended the stage stairs, her red dress swishing. She grabbed my arm, her grip bruising.
"We need a photo," she said, her voice loud enough for the reporters to hear. "To show the unity of the pack. The new Luna and her... humble servant."
A photographer flashed his camera in my face, blinding me.
Karyn leaned in close. I felt a wave of pressure hit me—her Pheromones. High-ranking wolves could use their scent to intimidate lower ranks. It smelled like rotting orchids, heavy and cloying. It was meant to make me cower, to force my neck bare in submission.
My knees trembled, but I locked them.
"Smile, trash," she hissed in my ear.
Chace walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. He didn't even look at me. He pressed a kiss to Karyn's cheek, right in front of the camera.
"Don't worry, Ember," Chace said, his voice low. "I'll make sure you're taken care of. You'll have a room near mine. For... late-night needs."
My stomach turned. He truly believed I would accept this. He thought I was so desperate for his love that I would be his dirty little secret while she wore my mother's ring.
"Let's go," Chace said, steering Karyn toward the door. "The limo is waiting."
He gestured for me to follow. Like a dog.
Outside, the night air was cool. A long black limousine idled at the curb. The driver opened the back door for Chace and Karyn.
I moved to follow them, but Chace stopped me with a hand on my chest.
"Not in the back, Ember," he said with a chuckle. "That's for the Alpha and Luna. You sit up front with the driver."
Humiliation burned my cheeks. I climbed into the passenger seat, the leather cold against my legs.
As the car pulled away, the glass partition between the front and back was open. I could hear everything.
"We need to discuss the alliance with the Northern packs," Karyn said. "My father says they will only respect us if we show strength."
"We have strength," Chace replied. "I am the strongest Alpha this pack has seen in generations."
"And what about her?" Karyn asked. I could hear the sneer in her voice. "What if she gets pregnant? I won't have a bastard pup challenging our children."
"Don't worry," Chace said dismissively. "She's an Omega. Her genes are weak. Any pup she has will be a runt. A servant, just like her."
I stared out the window at the passing trees. The moon was huge and bright, mocking me.
Deep inside my chest, something snapped.
For years, my mother had placed a seal on my core. She told me it was to hide my scent, to keep me safe from the people who killed her. But tonight, under the weight of Chace's cruelty, that seal was cracking.
Pain radiated from my sternum, hot and searing. It felt like liquid fire pouring into my veins. I gasped, clutching my chest.
"What's wrong with her?" I heard Karyn ask.
"Probably just carsick," Chace said. "She's always been fragile."
I bit my lip until I tasted copper. Fragile. That's all he saw.
I wasn't carsick. My wolf was waking up. And she was angry.
The car turned onto the winding road leading to the Pack House. I looked at the dark forest rushing by. I wanted to open the door and jump. I wanted to run until my paws bled.
But I had a plan. I had a King waiting.
"Ember," Chace called out. "Quit sulking. It's pathetic."
I didn't answer. I just watched the moon, waiting for the fire in my blood to consume me or set me free.
