Chapter 5

By the time they let me out the next morning, my wound had gone septic.

I pushed open my door to find the main hall full of cameras — lighting rigs, production crew, a host and her assistants arranged around Father and Vivienne in the sitting room.

The tenderness on Father's face was something I hadn't seen directed at anyone in ten years.

Host: "As the Alpha of Ice-Moon Pack, you must have very little time to spend with your daughter. How have you managed to raise such a remarkable young woman?"

Father: "She's just naturally good. I only have the one daughter, and no matter how busy I get, I always make time for her."

Vivienne snuggled into his arm and pouted prettily. "My daddy is the best daddy in the whole world. I just wish he had even more time for me! Daddy, we haven't gone abroad at all this year!"

Father laughed, indulgent and a little helpless. "Alright, alright. After your birthday, I'll take you wherever you want to go."

I blinked. My chest felt hollow.

I had seen this scene so many times that it barely cut anymore. Not much, anyway.

But I couldn't help it. My mind drifted back — ten years, to when Mom was still here. I had been the one tucked under her arm, making ridiculous little demands, testing the limits of how much she would give me. The answer was always: everything.

She'd had a moonstone necklace she'd worn for as long as I could remember. I mentioned once that I liked it, and she took it off and fastened it around my neck without a second's hesitation.

"Take good care of this, my Rosalind. It belonged to your grandmother. I've worn it for so many years."

She had stroked my hair as she said it, and there had been something in her eyes I was too young to understand — a grief and a longing I couldn't name.

On the other side of the room, the host's voice shifted.

"Vivienne, do you think about your mother often? The late Mrs. Hartwell was known throughout the pack as the perfect Luna. We've heard that Vivienne hopes to attend the Luna Academy — is that ambition inspired by her mother's legacy?"

The air in the room tightened.

Mom's name was a forbidden thing in Father's house. Normally, a question like that would have made him explode.

But today was different. Today was Vivienne's first public appearance since her wolf had awakened. She had emerged as a low-ranking Omega, and Father was already laying the groundwork to position her as a future Luna — hoping that status, carefully cultivated, might one day attract a powerful mate.

Vivienne's expression fell into practiced sorrow. "I miss my mother every single day. I want to be a Luna who truly cares for the members of this pack — partly because I want to become someone as perfect and capable as she was."

She reached into her collar and drew out a necklace.

"This is the only thing she left me. Whenever I'm sad, I take it out and hold it, and I feel like she's still with me."

The moment I saw it, something detonated in my chest.

That was my necklace.

My mother's necklace. The one she had given me.

Vivienne had taken everything from me over these ten years. That necklace was the last thing I had left.

I crossed the room in four steps and tore it from her hands.

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