Chapter 4

The day after the Blood Oath Ritual, I went to collect the memorial stone I'd had someone carve for Sable.

I'd kept it a secret from everyone. It was a palm-sized moonstone, etched with my wolf's name.

I locked it away in a wooden box in the guest quarters, and I was the only one with the key.

When I lifted the lid, the chest was empty. I searched every corner of the room. In the end, I found it amid a pile of discarded old stuff.

The moonstone had split into three pieces. Sharp marks hacked over Sable's name, leaving only broken fragments of the letters.

Vanessa paused at the doorway when she saw me crouching down to pick up the shards. "Sienna, I didn't mean to break the stone.

"I knocked against the chest while sorting my things. It slipped out of my hands and then came apart."

I said calmly, "The box was locked."

She paused. "Maybe one of the servants left it unlocked while cleaning. When I saw your wolf's name carved on it, I felt upset, and my hand slipped." Her eyes filled with tears.

Rosalind stepped inside and took hold of Vanessa's arm. "Don't cry, Vanessa. It's nothing serious. Sienna, Vanessa is so sensitive. Why do you have to air all this out in the open?"

I gripped the three broken pieces of the moonstone, the sharp edges digging into my palm, but I was numb. "Rosalind, the chest was locked."

Rosalind frowned. "What do you mean? Are you saying Vanessa broke it on purpose?"

I didn't bother arguing with them any longer.

*****

That night, I called Councilor Marlowe over and held a family meeting in the den.

Rosalind sat at the head of the table, with Damon beside her.

Vanessa, her eyes teary, rushed in from Hollowridge and took her seat.

I set the stack of ledgers down on the long table and flipped open to the first page. "Over these three years, the funds taken from the shared Alpha and Luna stores for Vanessa's personal use would've kept her independent for a decade.

"Her old den, herbs, and debts owed by her relatives all came out of this shared account."

I flipped to the second page. "Here are the care logs from Silver Springs the night when the silver powder injured me.

"Vanessa was settled in a cleansing pool and treated with herbs nearly half an hour before I was carried inside."

I turned to Vanessa. "You kept telling everyone that after Cassius died, your inner wolf went dormant and you had nobody but Damon to lean on.

"But on the last full moon night, I watched you shift and run through the woods in Hollowridge."

Everyone went silent.

I pulled a small clump of fur from my sleeve and laid it on the table. "This got caught on thorns that night. It's yours. The healer checked it. Your wolf has never rested."

Vanessa's face drained of all color right away.

I kept going. "You are not helpless. You only refuse to use your own money.

"Cassius left you the former Luna's inheritance. It reached you three months after his passing. You had more than enough to live well."

Rosalind gripped the armrest tightly.

Damon shut his eyes for a moment.

Every excuse I'd made to cover for him all these years now turned against me, cutting deep.

Vanessa shot to her feet, covered her face, and rushed out.

Once everyone left, Damon stayed beside the long table.

I headed back to the guest quarters to gather all I'd collected through the years: contracts, account ledgers, and the last jar of moon spirit wine I'd prepared for Sable.

There was a noise at the door. Damon helped Vanessa in.

Vanessa wore his outer cloak, with a chain resting around her neck. Hanging from it was a moonstone pendant.

I got it at eighteen on the night when my inner wolf awakened. Sable's wolf sigil was carved on the surface.

I'd worn it for three years, until it was taken from me amid the chaos.

The pendant rested against Vanessa's skin. It felt like me, slowly stripped away, cherished by someone else, and finally claimed as their own over the three years.

After all the time of holding on, everything inside me shattered in that split second.

Damon followed my gaze, and his expression shifted.

Vanessa instinctively tucked the pendant into her collar.

Damon stepped forward. "Sienna, listen to me—"

Before he could finish, I walked over, reached out, and snatched back the pendant from Vanessa's neck.

Then I set the papers for severing our mate bond in the center of the long table.

I picked up my bag, walked past Damon, and headed for the door.

Behind me, Rosalind's voice turned icy. "Sienna, stop daydreaming. No Council would strip an Alpha's Luna of her position for you. Your wolf has been dormant. You'll be a nobody once you leave."

I didn't look back.