Chapter 4
A low, deep growl rumbled through his chest, filling the room with his anger.
“What the fuck is this?” he roars as he flips through the images on her feed.
“Why would you do this? Why are you posting pictures on the internet of the two of us together?”
“I was just texting Melissa to let her know I am safe,” she blinks, making up a flimsy excuse as to why she was taking a photo of the two of them sleeping. “My sister worries. She texted me and I replied.”
I scream at him not to believe her serpent tongue, but he cannot hear me. Instead he listens to her story, frowning as her story falls from her mouth like rain. “My hand slipped as I was pressing send. I just wanted to show her where I was,” she
whimpers. “My feed must have been open and it automatically uploaded.”
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She lies so smoothly I almost believe her.
“Remove them, now!” he insists and she cowers. “What will people think if they see these? The pack doesn’t even know their Luna is dead and you are posting pictures of the two of us together.”
Her face falls, “But aren’t we together?” She blinks up at him with the false innocence as she extends her neck to
make her new mark more visible. “After last night I thought maybe…you called me your luna.
“I was drunk, Phoebe, and so were you. Do not misunderstand me,” his eyes fall on the mark and he frowns before looking away.
She turns her back to him and begins to cry openly, tears falling to the ground.
“You‘ re just using me. I know I’m just a lowly Omega, but I deserve respect too. I deserve consideration. Maybe it was a mistake to let me fall into your bed. It has caused me nothing but pain.
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Max‘ s face blushes red with shame. He
isn’t a bad man. He just gets lost sometimes and he did mark the poor girl.
He reaches forward and places a hand on her shoulder. “Phoebe, you need to understand, my situation is fragile,
especially right now. I don‘ t mean to hurt you but I don’t want to lie. I cannot make you my luna.”
He pats her shoulder and turns on the TV. “The mark will heal. We never said any official vows, so you will not feel any pain as I reject you.”
Her icy glare shoots daggers of frozen emotion towards the back of his head as her expression turns cold. This isn’t the gaze of a lowly, ignorant girl. It is the stare of a woman determined to get what she believes is hers.
Standing between them as if I could protect him the way he failed to protect me, I watch his back as he stands oblivious to
her anger. He’s too busy staring at the
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unfolding scene on the screen as the news reports the details of my death, informing the entire region of our demise.
“Reports confirm that a pack of rogues entered our Northern boundaries,” a tall reporter details as he stands in the middle of the field where I died. “Authorities conclude that Luna Valerie was vastly outnumbered, early estimates saying. approximately 30 rogues crossed the border headed straight for her location.”
“This was clearly a strategic attack,” our Beta responds, doing his best to mitigate the damage. “The Alpha Ball was only a mile away. Whoever did this wanted to send our pack a clear message.”
A wave of emotions crosses Max‘ s face as he watches the screen—Sadness, anger and regret mixing with horror and shame. “I was only a mile away from where she died,” he murmurs softly, reaching forward to touch the screen. “She
shouldn’t have been out there alone.”
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Reaching forward I place my hand on his shoulder to comfort him and briefly our old connection flares to life. I see what he is seeing, feel what he is feeling, but I am helpless to do anything to ease his heartbreak as he imagines what I
experienced, the scene of my demise
playing in a continuous loop through his
mind.
“I’m sorry, Val,” he whispers to the screen. “I should have been there for you.” A small, petty part of me wants to take joy in his misery as he slowly realizes the gravity of his mistakes.
“You‘ re right, Max,” Pinching my ghostly lips I chastise his foolishness. “You couldn’t have known, but you should have been there. That’s what mates do. They believe in one another.”
He has completely forgotten about Phoebe as he loses himself in his thoughts and a silent storm brews behind him as she fights to remain in control. Her mask of
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innocence slips and I see her for who she truly is.
A monster. A scheming, husband–stealing
monster.
“She wanted you to know it was her,” were the last words the Rogue had said right before he killed me. Her.
Did he mean Phoebe?
“Alpha,” Phoebe calls behind him. He
doesn’t respond, his eyes still glued to the
screen. “MAX!” she shouts again but he
doesn’t even flinch. He is too busy
reliving my final moments to hear her frustration.
“She’s dead, damn it,” she huffs, anger
lacing her words. “But I’m here!”
Phoebe‘ s face darkens as her hands shake in frustration.
Slowly she raises the remote control.
“I’m the only Luna you need,” she growls softly, her eyes flashing red.
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And the screen flickers off.
