Chapter 16

DEREK

I’d spent the last six years working myself to the bone. From the moment I woke up in the morning until the moment I fell into bed late at night, I worked.

It was a constant stream of meetings and phone calls. And when I wasn’t pouring over the pack’s financial reports or meeting with foreign dignitaries to secure trade, I patrolled. I trained.

Anything to keep from thinking about Mia. About those blissful months when I’d visit her bed at night. About how I’d failed her.

About how she’d died because of the callous way I’d treated her.

I had skipped every year’s Alpha Council meeting that required me to bring my Luna or date. It was painful for me to see other Alphas having a great time with their fated mates and lunas. Not when mine was forever gone.

But this year… Cassandra, who had been helping me to manage pack affairs—even though sometimes I had to fix her mistakes—had seen the invitation and pleaded that we go together.

I’d been so focused—and, frankly, exhausted—that I’d agreed. I hadn’t even looked up from my desk, just paused what I was doing and given her a gruff “Fine.”

And now here was Mia. Alive and well. Radiant, even. Stunningly beautiful with her shiny copper locks and those piercing grey-blue eyes.

The one person whose memory I was desperately trying to outrun.

She exuded competence, confidence, calm. She blended in so well with the Alphas and Lunas surrounding us that anyone would think she were one of them rather than the rogue I knew her to be.

The moment I saw her standing in the grand hall of the Alpha Council meeting, my world stopped. Every sound, every voice, every other presence blurred into nothing. It was as if the universe had split open, rewriting reality itself.

I had mourned her, suffered for her, allowed myself to be consumed by the guilt and emptiness she left behind. And yet, here she was—breathing, living, standing right in front of me.

At the side of the Moonstone heir.

And now she was in my arms.

When I saw her falling, my feet moved before I could process what was happening. And then there she was, real and whole, the warm, solid weight of her like a blanket on a cold winter’s night.

And her smell. Goddess, it was intoxicating. Sweet and briny. Fresh as the dew on a rose petal.

She flinched, pulling away as if I had burned her. The rejection sent a sharp sting through me.

Mason’s voice cut through the haze. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Mason. My longtime rival, the only other werewolf I wasn’t certain I could easily kill. He was standing too close to her, his stance too protective, too possessive.

Mia—or was it Elena now?—turned to him, her hand brushing his sleeve. “Mason, it’s fine. Let’s not cause a scene.”

Mason glanced down at her and they looked at each other with such easy affection that jealousy washed over me in a tsunami of feeling.

“MINE!” howled Erebus inside of me.

“What’s going on here?” I said out loud, my voice dangerously low. “What are you doing with my mate?”

“Your mate? She was at one time, but not anymore. And who’s fault is that? I bet that’s an interesting story. I’d love to hear how—”

Elena stepped forward with a quiet dignity and ran her hand down Mason’s sleeve, ignoring me completely.

Mason’s nostrils flared and I ran my tongue along my canines, spoiling for a fight. I wanted to vector my pain onto someone I knew could hurt me back.

“Mason,” she said, her voice level and clear. “We can discuss that later. At home.”

Home. At home.

I shook my head as if to clear it. I hadn’t heard what I thought I had. They lived together. There was no other possibility.

Rage surged through my veins. My muscles tensed as I imagined tearing him apart then and there. The thought of Mia—Elena—being with him, of her relying on him the way she used to rely on me, made me see red.

My eyes flicked to her, desperately searching for some sign of recognition, of the connection we once had. But she stood there, unreadable, as if she didn’t remember who I was. As if the months we spent together, the bond we shared, meant nothing.

Had she deliberately made me think she was dead just so she could go to Mason’s pack?

It was unthinkable. But there I was thinking it.

I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move. My feet were rooted to the spot.

Mason, ever the opportunist, placed a hand on the small of her back. “Come on, Elena. We’re done here.”

Just like that, they turned away from me, walking off as if I was nothing.

I wanted to go after them. I wanted to grab her, shake her, demand answers. But I forced myself to stand still, my hands shaking with restraint.

I decided to call Joe. Fortunately he picked up almost immediately.

“Joe.” My voice was cold and sharp as a steel blade. “Mia is still alive.”

“Mi..What?!”

“Find out where she’s been. Find out how she survived. Find out everything about her and…Mason, the Moonstone heir.”

CASSANDRA

Derek was still obsessed with Mia. Elena. Whatever her name was.

I had thought time would break whatever hold she had on him. I had stayed by his side, helped him rebuild himself, taken care of everything he was too shattered to handle. I had done everything right.

And yet, the moment he saw her, all of that disappeared.

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. No. I wouldn’t let this happen.

Not again.

Elena was supposed to be dead. Gone. A ghost of the past.

I had told those men to—they had sent me pictures. I shook my head. That could be dealt with later.

Here was Elena, standing before us like some kind of miracle, like she hadn’t left a mess of wreckage behind, like she hadn’t shattered Derek into a thousand pieces and left me to pick them up.

And now she was parading around under a new name, clinging to Mason as if he was her savior.

What had she told him? That Derek had abandoned her? That he had never loved her? That she was better off with another Alpha?

I could lose him to her. Again.

The thought made my blood boil. I had worked too hard, waited too long for her to waltz back in and unravel everything I had built.

I thought hard, considering my options. The Alpha Council meetings lasted two days, everyone staying at the hotel on-site. Which meant she’d be staying here, too.

After the meeting, I tracked down a staff member, slipping a pouch of cash into their palm. “Find out where Elena is staying. And if Mason—from the Moonstone pack—is sharing a room with her.”

The answer came back quickly. Elena and Mason weren’t sharing a room.

A slow smile spread across my lips. Perfect.

Derek was already seething, already losing himself to jealousy. He might not have wanted me the way I wanted him, but I knew him well enough to recognize the storm brewing behind his eyes. If I could push just a little further, if I could widen that crack in his resolve, I could turn that storm into a hurricane.

The next step was even easier. Another staff member, a little more money, and a simple instruction: “Put this in her pillow. Make sure she sleeps on it. Oh, and wear gloves.”

If Elena wanted to make a fool of me, I would destroy her first.

Derek wouldn’t want her once he saw her in a humiliating, disgraceful state. He would finally see her for what she was—an imposter, a fraud.

And then, he would have no choice but to turn back to me.