Chapter 2

"Open my room," I said.

The Beta guarding the second floor of the pack house blocked my path, holding my old key.

He glanced down the hallway, looking a bit uneasy.

"The Alpha said Serena overdid it with her spiritual power and needs to rest in quiet," he said.

I frowned, "This is my room."

"Not anymore."

From inside, I heard the soft clink of a glass hitting the table.

Serena stepped out, draped in my cloak, her feet slipped into the soft boots that used to belong to my mother.

Her hair was neatly combed, a silver moonstone necklace resting around her neck.

That necklace used to be locked away in my wooden jewelry box.

I lunged forward, but the Beta blocked my way.

"Serena, give me back my necklace," I demanded.

She lowered her head, her fingers tracing the moonstone.

"This one?" she asked. "Caleb said I was shaken last night and needed something soothing.

"Your room's cold and everything in it is old. I didn't want any of it at first, but this necklace goes so well with my scent."

I pushed past the Beta and reached for it. "That's my mother's keepsake."

Serena stepped back. But as her foot hit the threshold, her expression instantly shifted.

"Caleb!" she screamed. "Elara is trying to strangle me."

Before I could touch her, hurried footsteps sounded behind me.

Caleb grabbed the back of my neck roughly and slammed me against the wall.

My head hit the wooden wall, and everything went dark.

His hand pressed hard against my throat. "Are you done acting crazy?"

I clawed at his hand, choking out the words. "She took my necklace!"

Serena huddled by the door, her shoulders trembling. "I was trying to help you calm down during the full moon, Caleb.

"After I used up that calming extract last night, my head had pounded the whole night.

"If Elara doesn't want to help, fine. But why won't she even let me have a necklace?"

Caleb's grip tightened. "Serena saved everyone in the pack.

"And you, Elara? Besides sulking in jealousy, what else can you do?"

My throat was tight, but I stared Serena down. "You don't have any healing abilities. That extract was my formula."

The hallway suddenly went silent.

Serena blinked, tears spilling down her cheeks. "Why are you accusing me like this?

"I was registered with the Temple as a child; I do carry a faint healing scent.

"Are you suggesting the Temple falsified my records?"

She pulled a little badge out of her sleeve.

I recognized it: it was the beginner's badge from the Spirit Temple.

That badge only meant she had a soothing scent, not that she could heal a Feral.

Caleb glanced at the badge, and whatever doubt he had left disappeared from his eyes.

He let go of my throat, his voice colder than the snow outside. "You disgust me, Elara."

I leaned against the wall, coughing a few times. "I'm registered with the Spirit Temple too.

"My mother took me there before she died. The record is hidden in a compartment inside the necklace."

Serena's face went pale.

She immediately pressed a hand to her forehead, leaning against the doorframe.

"Caleb," she called. "My head hurts.

"Elara must have hidden something in the necklace. After I touched it, my wolf spirit's been acting up."

Caleb pulled her into his arms and unclasped the necklace. "The compartment?"

My heart jumped into my throat. "Don't touch it."

Sure enough, inside the moonstone was the record my mother left behind.

It was the only thing I had left to prove myself, the secret I'd never dared reveal.

Being a healer held no honor among wolves.

It meant being locked away in a tower, treated like a living blood bank.

All I ever wanted was to get the record back, leave this place, and disappear for good.

Caleb pressed his finger to the stone clasp.

Serena let out a soft gasp. "If there really is something inside, why didn't she show it earlier?

"Caleb, did she wait until I was at my weakest to use this against you?"

I shook my head. "I didn't."

"Then explain," Caleb said, dangling the moonstone in front of my eyes. "Why did you never tell me?"

I looked at him, and suddenly, I remembered the first time I helped him survive the full moon.

That night, he was locked in the basement, his claws raking deep gouges into the walls. None of the physicians dared to go near him.

I crawled in through the air vent, only for him to pin me to the ground, his claws slashing my shoulder open.

When he finally came to, he clung to me and said again and again, "Elara, don't leave me."

I never left him, not once.

I merely never told him my bloodline was something people would kill for.

"Because I was scared," I said.

"Scared of what?" he asked.

"Being used as a tool."

Caleb stared at me for a long moment, then let out a cold laugh. "Playing the victim won't work now."

He slammed his palms together hard, crushing the moonstone to fragments.

The thin slip of paper inside was instantly soaked by the melting snow, the ink bleeding and blurring in seconds.

I lunged forward, but the Beta grabbed my shoulder and held me back.

"No!" I shouted, my voice cracking.

Serena crouched down, picked up the biggest shard of the moonstone, and gently placed it in Caleb's palm.

"Don't be mad. I won't wear it anymore. It's my fault you two ended up fighting," she said.

Caleb tossed the shard down at my feet. "Apologize to Serena."

I didn't move. "You destroyed the last thing my mother left me."

"So what?" His gaze locked onto my face. "Keep this up, and I'll cast you out of the pack."

No one in the hallway spoke up for me.

Every wolf I'd ever calmed, every Omega who used to leave bread at my door after the full moon, all hung their heads.

I picked up the shards, gathering them one by one into my palm.

The jagged edges cut into my skin, and blood dripped onto the wooden floor.

I felt the mate bond in my chest tear, a tiny fracture opening up.

Caleb clutched his chest, his brows knitting together.

Serena hurried to support him. "What's wrong?"

Caleb looked at me, and for the first time, genuine confusion flickered in his eyes.

I clutched the shards to my chest and walked downstairs.

"From now on," I said. "I'm done soothing anyone."