Chapter 2

Then I raised my head and looked Liam dead in the eye.

"And if I do mind?"

Something flickered across Liam's handsome face—hesitation, maybe. He tried to peel Chloe off him, but she went limp against his chest like clay, arms locked tight around his waist.

She pouted. "We've done it plenty of times on your own territory. Why the sudden gentleman act?"

She scoffed, then turned toward me with her chin raised in triumph.

"Didn't you say it yourself? Serena in bed is like a dead fish. Zero fun."

Liam shot me a nervous glance. "Just jokes. Just something I say to tease her."

I dug my nails into my palm and gave a light, indifferent, "Oh."

"Then I'll help you take her home."

"You'll *what*?" Chloe stared at me like she couldn't have heard right.

I lifted my chin and looked steadily at the two of them—the man and woman who'd trampled the Mate Bond without shame.

"You said your head hurts. Liam and I will take you home together."

Then, ignoring the pressure of an Alpha and a Beta bearing down on me, I stepped forward and took hold of her arm.

Liam blinked, then let out something like a laugh.

He reached out and brushed a finger down the tip of my nose, all indulgence.

"Well, well. My Luna finally got jealous? Little bit of temper isn't bad on you."

The gesture and the tone were unbearably intimate—as if the betrayal had never happened.

My stomach turned, but I kept my face still.

It made me think of the werewolf academy. A she-wolf had cornered me in the locker room once, shredded my clothes with her claws.

I'd stood there just like this—swallowing it, letting it happen.

It was Liam who'd shown up. Liam who'd flooded the room with Alpha dominance and cowed her.

He'd frowned, stripped off his black jacket, and dropped it around my shoulders.

*"You should have some fight in you. Act like a real wolf."*

The girl never showed her face at the academy again.

Liam always assumed it was his doing—the mighty Alpha, defender of his little Omega.

He never knew the truth: that the same girl had been caught mid-tryst with her Alpha by her own strict, church-going father. And that I was the one who'd led her father there.

She'd been forced off the territory. She never had another chance to bother me.

I was happy to let Liam play hero. That's why I never told him.

Chloe's voice yanked me back.

"Who said I'm going home? We planned to go three rounds tonight. That was just the warm-up. Next we do it in the car, then at the hotel."

She batted her eyes at Liam, coy. "You don't want to, Liam? Come on. In the car. Whole new scenery."

Liam's dark eyes flicked between us. Before he could open his mouth, I spoke first.

"Liam. We're going home. To the main house."

I held his gaze.

Right in front of me, Chloe slowly slid her stockinged leg up along his and locked her eyes onto his.

"Naughty little outfit," she purred. "I stashed it in the car. Miss out tonight and I'm not wearing it again."

Liam's pupils narrowed. Every trace of hesitation drained out of him and left only the animal underneath.

"Serena. You go home first."

He'd made his choice. His voice was flat, cold, final.

I let my eyes rim red and my face crumple, as if I were being torn in half.

"You're sure?" I whispered.

He nodded, then frowned, impatient.

"Do as you're told. Unless you want to be stripped of your Luna status."

I inhaled slowly, feigning the ragged breath of someone whose chest was cracking open.

Chloe covered her mouth and let out a small, wicked laugh.

"Don't tell me you want to stay and watch from the driver's seat? That'd be cruel. For an Omega like you."