Chapter 2
Anya hadn’t even finished speaking when she shook her head.
“I shouldn’t have doubted you. The Luna would never do something like that. I must have overthought it.”
Atticus’s eyes went colder.
He swept the memorial plaque off its stand and brought his heel down. The wood cracked.
I screamed. “Atticus, are you trying to get yourself killed?”
That plaque anchored the last thread of his soul.
With it shattered, his days were numbered.
My panic surged hot and useless.
He only let out a mirthless laugh, the corner of his mouth curling.
“Cut the hocus–pocus, Seraphina. Tell me -what will it take for you to hand over the Luna title to Anya?”
My throat tightened. I forced out two words. “Break the mate bond.”
Atticus’s brow knotted.
He rubbed at the vein beating at his temple.
“You know my father’s order. Unless ninety percent of Nightfall’s pack members agree, we don’t break the maté bond. You’re boxing
me in.”
I pressed my lips together and found a weary smile. “And you’re not boxing me in?”
He choked on that and said nothing.
Anya cupped her rounded belly and spoke softly into his silence. “Alpha, my pup can’t wait. We could meet the Elders tonight and ask. What if they say yes?”
After a long beat, Atticus pulled out his phone and told the butler to summon the pack.
Half an hour later, he stood before everyone with Anya tucked under his arm and announced, “I’m going to break the mate bond with
Seraphina.”
Silence fell like a dropped curtain.
Atticus’s uncle Soren slammed his palm on the table so hard that coffee splashed over the rim, “Absolutely not! If you break from Seraphina, it’ll be over our dead bodies!”
Voices rose in agreement.
“That’s right! Alpha, you’re not a kid. How can you be so bewitched that you’d throw away your Luna?”
They shook their heads, furious, and stormed out.
Rage flared in Atticus’s face.
He stabbed a finger at me. “What did you give them to buy them off? Why else would they all take your side?”
Anya’s eyes reddened. Her voice caught. “If the Luna won’t allow it, then forget it. Worst case, we’ll have the pup listed under her
name,”
Tears pattered onto the floor; her shoulders trembled.
Atticus pulled her tight and spoke like a vow. “Don’t worry, Anya. I’ll find a way.”
Chapter 2
22
I lowered my gaze to hide the dull ache in my eyes and went upstairs.
Before he died, Alpha Dorian charged me with one thing: as long as I remained Nightfall’s Luna, I had to keep Atticus alive.
Now the last wisp of his soul had scattered.
I would have to make a stronger batch of Moonbinding incense to keep what was left of him alive.
I took out my mother’s incense grimoire.
For three days and nights I didn’t sleep, turning pages until I found the only method left–use my heart’s blood as the catalyst.
When I drove the three–inch silver needle into my chest, I did not cry.
But when the Moonbinding incense balm in the bowl slowly thickened into a gel, my legs gave out and I folded to the floor, sobbing.
Back then, Atticus swore to me he was only getting close to Anya to regain his sense of smell; that she was a fool, and I was the one he truly loved.
I believed him, like a fool, and wore the title of “the Luna they all laughed at.”
Lost in the memory, I failed to notice when the crucible turned acrid with a scorched smell.
A voice sounded at my back. “Luna, let me help.”
I spun. Anya stood in the doorway and, in a quick, practiced motion, reached in to stir the balm.
My pupils constricted. “Give it to me,” I snapped.
She slipped away, a flicker of triumph in her eyes.
A sharp crack split the air; the mortar shattered to grit.
“What are you doing!”
Fury surged up my ribs, wild and choking.
Atticus rushed in at the sound.
His first glance went to Anya’s tear–bright eyes. “What happened?”
Anya held up a finger with a shallow nick and sobbed. “I only wanted to help the Luna, but I broke her things–and hurt myself.”
Something raw twisted in Atticus’s face.
He rounded on me and roared, “How long are you going to keep this up, Seraphina?”
