The night Alpha James was supposed to stand beside me before our entire pack, he kissed another woman in her wedding dress.
Chapter 3
I wore black to the assembly.
Not mourning black.
Armor black.
My father met me in the lobby of the Grand Council Auditorium and grabbed my arm.
“What are you wearing? James said you understood what you had to do.”
“Let go.”
“Emily—”
“Let go of me.”
Something in my expression made him obey.
James arrived moments later in a white suit with Lily hanging from his arm in pale pink. She lowered her head for the cameras and played frightened perfectly.
James stepped behind the podium.
“For the past week,” he began, “our pack has suffered from vicious rumors and damaging misunderstandings.”
He rested a protective hand on Lily’s shoulder.
She leaned into him.
“The truth is more complicated than the public has been led to believe. Emily Carter has agreed to explain the circumstances.”
James looked at me.
His tiny nod meant one thing.
Do what you’re told.
I stood.
The auditorium fell silent.
“For eight years,” I said, “I served this pack. I managed budgets, treaties, emergency planning, charitable programs, border logistics, and more crises than I can count.”
James’s smile faded.
“I did those things because I believed loyalty mattered. I believed promises mattered.”
I looked directly at him.
“Today I was asked to say I trapped Alpha James with a pregnancy and interfered in his relationship with Lily.”
Whispers spread across the room.
Lily stiffened.
James stepped toward me.
“Emily.”
I turned to the technician.
“Play file one.”
The giant screen came alive.
Two days before our ceremony.
James and Lily in the library.
Lily sat in his lap.
“Why do you have to marry her?” she whined.
“My family expects it,” James answered. “Her mother died for me. I’ll give Emily the title, keep her busy with the boring work, and you and I will have what matters.”
Gasps erupted through the auditorium.
James went white.
“Turn that off!”
The next screen appeared.
Lily’s messages.
You may have the ceremony, but I’m the one he loves.
Another.
He stayed with me while you were hurt. Doesn’t that tell you everything?
Another.
Enjoy playing Luna. You’re just his secretary.
Lily began crying.
“These are fake!”
“They came from your account.”
“I was upset!”
James lunged for the controls.
Silas rose from the front row.
He didn’t say anything.
He didn’t have to.
James stopped.
I faced the crowd again.
“Lily is not an innocent woman who accidentally became involved with a mated Alpha. James is not a victim trapped by obligation. They knew exactly what they were doing.”
Then James’s aura surged through the room.
“Enough!”
Several younger wolves recoiled.
He pointed at me.
“You’re carrying my child. You belong to this family.”
I felt every eye turn toward me.
The grief I had carried alone suddenly became unbearably heavy.
I pressed the remote.
My medical record appeared on the screen.
James read it.
His face changed.
“No.”
His voice was barely audible.
He looked at me again.
“No, Emmy.”
I held the podium because my hands had started trembling.
“I am not pregnant.”
James stumbled backward.
“What did you do?”
“I made a decision about my own future.”
“Our baby…”
“Do not.”
My voice broke.
“Do not suddenly pretend that child mattered more to you than I did.”
He dropped to his knees.
For years I had dreamed about James finally understanding how badly he hurt me.
Watching him collapse gave me no joy.
Only sadness.
“You left me standing alone in the rain,” I said. “You told me my pain was inconvenient. You demanded that I apologize to the woman you chose over me. You cannot spend years destroying a family and then mourn when the ruins finally become visible.”
He covered his face.
Lily stepped toward him.
“Jamie…”
He didn’t look at her.
I left the podium.
Ancient law allowed a Luna to sever a mate bond publicly when the Alpha had repeatedly violated its obligations.
I had never imagined using it.
But my mother had not died so I could spend the rest of my life afraid.
“I, Emily Carter, reject James Mercer as my mate and Alpha.”
James’s head snapped up.
“Emmy, please.”
“I release him from my heart, and I release myself from his claim.”
The bond tore through me like fire.
I nearly fell.
James screamed and collapsed.
My father rushed toward me.
“You selfish little fool! Do you know what you’ve done?”
His claws flashed.
He never reached me.
Silas stepped between us.
David hit the floor so hard the broken podium cracked beneath him.
The auditorium went silent.
Silas was six-foot-five, broad-shouldered, silver beginning at his temples, and normally one of the calmest men I knew.
At that moment, he looked terrifying.
“By authority of the Appalachian High Council,” he said, “this pack is now under formal audit for treaty negligence, financial mismanagement, and leadership misconduct.”
Nobody moved.
Silas looked down at James.
Then at me.
His expression softened.
“Ms. Carter, your car is waiting.”
I took his offered arm.
Behind me, James struggled to lift his head.
“Emmy.”
I stopped.
“Please don’t leave me.”
I looked back at the man I had loved for most of my adult life.
For once, I saw him clearly.
“Call Lily,” I said quietly. “I’m sure she’s afraid of the dark.”
Then I walked away.
