Chapter 2

Rhys found me at dawn, sitting in ashes, sharpening a blade. The Beta looked like he hadn't slept either. "Wren. The Alpha wants you at the pack house. The Vale coven arrives tonight. Formal dinner." "Tell the Alpha to choke." "He's not asking." Rhys lowered his voice. "He wants every pack asset accounted for." Asset. That's what I was now. "Fine." I stood. "Let's go see what else he wants to break." The pack house had a west wing I'd practically lived in for ten years. My workroom. My anvil. My sketches pinned to every wall. The door was open. Everything was gone. Black velvet curtains sealed the windows. A chaise longue sat where my anvil had been. Crystal decanters of something dark red lined a shelf. "Relocated," said a voice like chilled wine. I turned. Seraphina Vale stood in my doorway. Pale gold hair. Red lips. Eyes like a winter lake, assessing me like livestock. "You must be the smith. The wolfless one." "Where are my things?" "Kaden said I could have any room I liked. This one faces north. Perfect for a daylight sleeper." She smiled with a hint of fang. "You're prettier than I expected. I see why he kept you." Kept. Past tense. "Enjoy the room," I said. "Those black scorch marks on the floor are moonsilver. It burns anything with a curse in its blood." I smiled back. "Try walking on them barefoot." Her smile faltered. Good. Dinner was a slow execution. Forty wolves and vampires at one long table. Kaden at the head. Seraphina at his right hand, where the Luna sits. Me at the far end with the omegas, barely visible. "To the treaty," Kaden said, raising his glass. "And to peace." Everyone drank. I didn't. "You." Lucien Vale's voice cut down the table. The vampire lord had silver hair and eyes that had watched centuries die. "My daughter says you work moonsilver." "I'm the only one who can. No wolf to burn." "How useful." He said it like a word for a well-trained dog. "Then you'll forge the wedding blade. Both crests. A symbol of unity." Every eye turned to me. Kaden didn't look up from his plate. "It would be an honor," I heard myself say. Liar. Liar. Liar. Seraphina's hand settled over Kaden's on the table. He didn't pull away. I left before dessert. Nobody noticed. The library was the only room still unlocked to me. The photo of Kaden and me at the Harvest Run, the one time he'd let himself be seen laughing beside me? Gone. The first dagger I ever forged for him, in its glass case? Gone. Even my reading chair had been replaced. He wasn't ending us. He was deleting me. Footsteps. His voice in the hall. "Is she still here?" "The library, Alpha," someone answered. "Get her out. Seraphina wants to tour the house, and I don't want complications." Complications. Ten years of loving him, and I'd been downgraded to a complication. I walked out before anyone could escort me. They were in the hallway. Him in black. Her in white. Like a wedding cake topper. "Wren." He didn't quite meet my eyes. "Don't worry, Alpha. I'm leaving. No complications." "Wait." Seraphina touched my arm with cold fingers. "Kaden says you put your heart into every piece you make." "I used to," I said. "Hearts are expensive. I don't waste mine anymore." I walked away. Behind me, she murmured, "She's in love with you." And he said, "She'll get over it." In my truck, I opened my banking app. Frozen. Every account. My cabin lease? Transferred to Blackwood Holdings. Then a message from the pack registry. Status updated: Wren Hale. Pack Asset, Artisan Class C. Travel beyond territory requires Alpha approval. He wasn't just erasing me. He was caging me. My burner buzzed. Dad: Papers are in progress. Where do you want to go? Somewhere with no moon, I typed. Another buzz. Rhys: Convoy to the Vale border. 2 AM. You're in car three. I didn't know it yet. But car three was where I'd learn exactly what I was worth.