Chapter 2

The crowd parted like the sea before him. Everyone lowered their heads, not daring to meet Adrian's gaze.

Adrian walked through the moonlight toward them. The light fell on him like it was meant only for him.

His long golden hair lifted in the night wind, revealing a jaw so sharp that it almost didn't look real.

His skin glowed cold in the moonlight, like marble, but somehow still warm.

His features were sharp and beautiful, his lips pressed together like an untouchable statue in the Sanctuary of the Silver Moon.

His eyes were deep amber, cold and flecked with gold. There wasn't any warmth in them. He always looked down on everyone.

With broad shoulders and a narrow waist, his tall, powerful build radiated strength. Every step he took seemed to control everyone's heartbeat.

He didn't look like he walked out of the crowd. He looked like he walked out of the moon itself.

The wind that came from his direction carried the crisp scent of cedar, like the fresh, clean aroma of newly split wood.

He didn't force his presence. It came off him naturally.

Everyone around him even breathed more quietly, afraid to draw attention.

I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms, forcing myself to stay steady.

He stopped right in front of me, so close that I could feel the tension in the air. The smell of frankincense and myrrh came from his collar. It was bitter, like burned resin and smoke.

He looked down at me. His eyes went to my face, and then dropped to my neck, right where the cord was.

His eyes narrowed. That amber scent, laced with pine and dewmist, seemed to pulse against the side of his neck in time with his heartbeat.

I caught the familiar scent that used to surround me, and my heart skipped a beat.

Then he saw the shattered moonstone on the ground. The scent vanished.

Then he turned to Vivian. Without so much as a frown, he reached out and absently ran his fingers through her hair, smoothing it down like calming an animal.

He didn't even bother to look at her, his voice full of offhand indulgence, like he was humoring a moody cat. "Enough."

It was enough to quiet Vivian instantly. She nestled obediently against his arm.

I spoke up, my voice steadier than I expected, "Lord Adrian, I never meant any disrespect, and I wasn't trying to take anything that wasn't mine. This necklace is my mother's keepsake. It was never supposed to be—"

He didn't even turn his head and said, light and easy, like it was nothing, "Get down."

I clenched my fists and held my ground. "That necklace belonged to my parents. They bled out for your family. It's the only thing they left behind."

"I said get down." His Alpha power slammed into me like a mountain. This wasn't his usual natural pressure. It was deliberate. And it was aimed only at me.

The cedar and frankincense in the air got smothered out. Only vetiver was left, that smell of damp earth and dry grass. It was the wild, primal essence of the wolf, raw and untamed.

My knees slammed into the stone, the sound of bone hitting rock echoing through the night.

I gritted my teeth, refusing to collapse. My fingers clawed into the cracks of the stone until blood seeped out, mixing with the moonlight into pale pink.

My vision blurred to black, and all I could hear was the pounding of my own heartbeat. But I refused to bow my head.

Vivian crouched down to look me in the eyes. She twirled a strand of her blonde hair. "Oh, dear Selene, don't be so sad. Honestly, you look natural like this. It's not much different from usual."

She stood up and leaned into Adrian's arms, her voice soft and teasing. "Adrian, don't be so hard on her. She didn't mean it. She wants things that were never hers.

"You know how it is. Someone who grew up with nothing will grab at anything good that comes near."

I knelt on the ground, ignoring Vivian completely, my gaze locked on Adrian. I spoke, slow and steady, "I used to have everything I thought was amazing."

I looked at him. His deep amber eyes were empty now, like burned-out black earth.

But I remembered what they once were. Years ago, under the same moonlight, when those eyes met mine, they reflected the wildfire that blazed through my youth.