Chapter 2

Mara's POV

By the time I reach Moonridge territory, a messenger is already waiting at the guest lodge.

He hands me a sealed invitation stamped with the Holloway crest.

I break the seal.

HARVEST MOON GATHERING

BLOODLINE RECOGNITION OF THREE HOLLOWAY PUPS

The ceremony is tomorrow.

Our fifth mating anniversary.

Derek’s name is written first.

Under his are the names of the three pups.

And beside them—

Mine.

Luna Mara Holloway.

I stare at the invitation until the letters blur.

The messenger shifts uneasily. “Alpha Derek requested that you stand beside the pups during the recognition. The Elders and senior pack members will all be present.”

I look up.

“He asked for me?”

“With the Luna standing beside them, no one can question their recognition as part of the Holloway bloodline.”

That tells me everything.

Derek doesn’t need his mate.

He needs his Luna.

He needs me standing beside those three children so the whole pack can pretend this arrangement has my blessing.

I reach for the mind-link.

“Why is my name on the recognition summons?”

Derek answers almost immediately.

“Now that you know about the pups, there’s no reason to keep them hidden.”

His voice is calm. Too calm.

“The Elders will all be there tomorrow. If you stand beside them, the recognition will go more smoothly.”

“Take my name off.”

A pause.

“You’ll come.”

“No.”

“Mara.”

His tone hardens.

“I already arranged your return transport. Don’t embarrass the Holloway name over this.”

Over this.

Three she-wolves.

Three pups.

Three secret homes.

Five years of lies.

And to him, it is still just this.

I cut the mind-link before he can say anything else.

Then I turn the invitation over and write across the back.

I WILL NOT ATTEND.

I WILL NOT STAND BESIDE THEM AS LUNA AT THEIR RECOGNITION.

I hand it back to the messenger.

“Return this to Alpha Holloway.”

That afternoon, the lodge keeper knocks on my door.

A long garment box rests in her arms.

Inside is an ivory ceremonial cloak, soft and heavy, the Holloway crest embroidered at the collar.

There is a small card on top.

Fifth mating anniversary.

I’m coming to bring you home.

—Derek

My fingers pause over the fabric.

I once stopped in front of a tailor’s window because an ivory cloak caught my eye.

Derek noticed.

Of course he did.

For one stupid second, something old and weak inside me almost hurts.

I open the copied records from the private circle again.

Vanessa has posted a photo of herself, Madeline, and Tessa, each wearing a different ceremonial cloak.

Midnight blue.

Deep red.

Silver gray.

Vanessa writes beneath the picture:

[Derek brought four. We picked first.]

[Ivory was the only one left, so his Luna gets that one.]

Madeline replies:

[Think she’ll believe he chose it for her?]

I look down at the cloak in my hands.

Of course.

Three women choose first.

The Luna gets what is left.

Another image sits behind them.

A route plan.

I only glance at it once before my entire body goes cold.

Derek Holloway.

Vanessa Reed.

Madeline Shaw.

Tessa Grant.

Three pups.

Seven names.

A seven-day family trip through Moonridge territory.

Vanessa posts again.

[My son wanted to see Moonridge Lake, so Derek changed the route overnight.]

So he isn’t coming here just to bring me home.

He is bringing three women and three pups on a family trip.

I am only the last stop.

I take a closer look at the itinerary.

Moonridge Lake.

The wildlife grounds.

Forest camp.

The riverside overlook.

Family portraits on the final day.

My breathing slows.

I know this route.

Two years ago, when I first learned I was carrying Derek’s pup, I made it myself.

I stayed up late for three nights writing everything into a small leather book.

On the first page, I wrote:

FOR OUR PUP

The first places Mom and Dad will take you after you’re born.

I planned every stop.

Where we would rest.

Which trail would be easiest with a young pup.

Where we could watch the sunset.

Where we would take our first family portrait.

I gave the book to Derek with both hands.

He barely looked through it.

“We won’t need it.”

That was all he said.

I thought he simply didn’t care about traveling with a child.

I thought he simply didn’t want the pup growing inside me.

Now every stop I planned for our child belongs to his three.

I go back through the old message records from the nursery.

Tessa had noticed it too.

[Isn’t this Mara’s pup route?]

Derek replied:

[Her procedure is tomorrow.]

[She won’t need it after that.]

[The three pups will.]

I stop reading.

The seven days I planned for our pup now belong to his three pups.

Derek never hated family trips.

He never hated children.

He only hated the one I wanted with him.

I fold the ivory cloak back into its box.

When the lodge keeper returns, I hand it to her.

“Send it back to Alpha Holloway.”

She hesitates. “Luna, are you sure?”

“I don’t want anything from him.”

Before sunset, I leave the guest lodge.

I rent a small cottage beyond Moonridge’s main pack district, where travelers and wolves from other territories come and go without anyone asking questions.

I give no one the address.

Not the Holloways.

Not the Elders in Cedar Ridge.

Not Derek.

He can come to Moonridge.

He can bring his three women and three pups.

But he won’t know where to find me.