Chapter 2

"Apologize to Lucy. Publicly," Blake ordered.

When I woke, he was standing by my bed, holding the Pack Access Token.

Julian was at the door. "You're confined to the treatment room unless the Alpha allows it."

I looked at the token in Blake's hand. "My file permissions?"

"Suspended," Blake said, tucking the token away. "The ritual was interrupted because you resisted. Lucy nearly had her soul collapse again."

Lucy sat by the window, draped in a silver-threaded shawl meant for the Luna, clutching a handkerchief. "Blake, don't be like this. Vivian just hasn't accepted me yet. She didn't mean to hurt me."

Adrian leaned against the doorframe. "If she didn't mean it, why did the ritual backfire? The healer said the Blessing of the White Wolf shouldn't have been cut off so messily."

I forced myself up. "The complete records?"

Julian sneered. "Records again. Lucy was lying there, and you were worried about tallying up her worth?"

I turned to Blake. "Put your command in the Pack Records. Include the apology and the re-evaluation of the Silvermoon Refugees' status."

Blake's brow furrowed. "Are you threatening me?"

"I'm following the rules," I replied.

"Vivian, don't test my patience," Blake warned.

Lucy gently tugged his sleeve. "Fine, I'll move out of the Luna room. It upsets Vivian to see me there. I don't want her to misunderstand."

The room went quiet.

Under the covers, I pressed my Luna Moonstone into my palm.

I thought, 'So she's already moved in.'

That room was the one Blake had personally taken me to see after my coming-of-age ceremony.

Back then, he traced the moon pattern on the door and whispered a promise. "When you're my Luna, this will be filled with the moonflowers you love."

Now Lucy sat there, wrapped in that room's shawl, playing the victim.

Blake's tone hardened. "Lucy isn't moving. Vivian, you will apologize to her in the Pack Hall today."

I lifted my head. "And if I refuse?"

"The Silvermoon Refugees' shelter will be removed from the barrier's protection," Blake said.

This time, I didn't ask. Because I heard the voices of my people through the Mindlink. They were asking why patrols were at the border and saying a child's medicine pouch had been taken. Blake knew where to hurt me. He always did.

I got out of bed, my knees weak. Julian didn't help. Adrian didn't move.

Lucy scrambled up. "Vivian, you're unwell. Do you want me to explain for you?"

I looked at the faint mark on her neck. "Aren't you in too much pain to stand?"

Lucy's eyes reddened again. "I'm just trying to help."

Adrian took a step forward. "Enough. Do you have to make her cry?"

*****

In the Pack Hall, everyone was watching.

Blake stood beside Lucy, his Alpha pressure bearing down on me. "Apologize."

I lowered my gaze. "Lucy, I'm sorry for questioning your illness last night, for demanding the records, and for making things difficult for Blake."

A murmur ran through the crowd.

Lucy pressed a hand to her chest. "I forgive you, Vivian. Please don't joke about my illness anymore. It really scares me."

Julian whispered to the scribe. "Write it down. Vivian offered a voluntary apology."

I looked at the scribe. "Write down the Alpha's original orders too. Otherwise, this record is invalid."

Blake's expression darkened. "You just won't learn."

"I'm learning," I replied.

I was learning to document every humiliation and to see his favoritism for what it was.

That afternoon, Lucy asked me to come to the Luna room to help with her Moon Festival dress.

She sat at my vanity, fiddling with a broken moonstone chain. "Vivian, Blake says you have the steadiest hands. Can you fix this for me? I want to wear it to the festival."

I took the chain. "This moonstone isn't yours."

Lucy smiled. "But Blake wants me to wear it. Who it belongs to doesn't really matter. What matters is who the Alpha wants by his side."

She placed a small vial on the table. Its rim smelled of bitter almonds.

I focused on the chain, using a copied token to access the inner cabinet.

One by one, the Moonshadow Crystal swallowed up the border patrol records, medical supply logs, and Wolfsbane withdrawal records.

Lucy kept talking. "Don't make that face. Strong people should give a little more. That's how you get people to like you."

I handed back the fixed chain. "Do you take the diluted Wolfsbane to treat a condition, or to make sure everyone keeps protecting you?"

Lucy's smile froze.

Julian's footsteps sounded outside the door.

She immediately clutched her chest, stumbling backward. "Vivian, you're scaring me again."

Julian burst in. "What did you do to her?"

I slipped the final transfer list of the Silvermoon Refugees into the wolf-head pendant and quietly answered the summon from the Nightfall Pack's contract rune.

That night, a black raven crossed the barrier, landing at my window.

The silver reply was one line. "The contract stands. The Royal Border opens if you speak."

I put the message away. Lucy's sobs echoed through the Mindlink.

Blake's voice was soft as he comforted her. "Don't worry. After the Moon Festival, I'll make sure she knows her place."