Chapter 2

Eleanor's POV

Edward and Claire were locked in a passionate embrace, their formal clothes scattered across the floor. Edward's hands were buried in her golden-brown hair, his mouth claiming hers. They were nearly naked, lost in each other completely.

The sound of the door opening made them break apart. When Edward looked up and saw us standing in the doorway, his eyes widened in shock. But underneath the surprise, underneath the guilt that flickered across his features, I saw something that destroyed me.

Need. Like she was the missing piece of his soul.

The crowd behind me erupted in whispers.

But I couldn't hear any of it over the roaring in my ears.

Seven years. Seven years of love, partnership, building something beautiful together. And it meant nothing. Nothing compared to the pull of a fated mate.

The room spun around me. My carefully planned celebration, my perfect evening showcasing our pack's strength, it had all become the stage for my complete and utter humiliation.

Every instinct screamed at me to run, to hide somewhere until this nightmare ended. But I was Luna of Pineridge Pack. I had responsibilities.

Taking a shaky breath, I turned around and walked back toward the crowd gathered outside the bedroom door. My legs felt like lead, but I forced them to move. Edward and Claire had broken apart the moment they realized they'd been caught, scrambling to cover themselves with whatever clothes they could grab.

"I'm sorry," I heard myself say, my voice surprisingly steady. "I'm very sorry everyone had to witness this."

The group of pack representatives stared at me with expressions ranging from pity to barely concealed fascination.

Joel stepped forward, his face pale. "Luna, perhaps we should—"

"Please escort our guests back downstairs," I cut him off gently.

But Charles wasn't moving. His face was flushed red with anger, and his eyes blazed as he stepped directly in front of me. "Is this how Pineridge Pack treats its guests? My daughter came here for a celebration, not to be... to be seduced by your Alpha!"

Seduced. The word hit me. As if Edward had planned this. As if he'd chosen this moment to destroy our marriage.

"Alpha Charles," I managed, my throat tight. "I deeply apologize. This is certainly an unexpected situation. I assure you we'll provide a satisfactory resolution."

Charles studied my face for a long moment, then nodded curtly. "I expect to hear a solution within some days. Otherwise, this matter will be brought before the council."

Other representatives began murmuring among themselves, shooting glances between me and the closed bedroom door.

Edward emerged first, his hair disheveled and his shirt hastily buttoned wrong. Guilt and confusion warred across his features as his eyes found mine. Behind him, Claire appeared, her golden hair mussed and her eyes carefully avoiding everyone's gaze.

"Alpha Edward," Charles's voice was ice. "We'll be leaving now. I trust you'll be in contact soon."

Edward opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out.

As they passed me, I caught that scent again, but now mixed with something else.

She smells like him now.

They hadn't just kissed. They'd claimed each other in the most primal way possible.

"I want them gone," I said quietly to Joel. "All of them. End the celebration."

"End it," I repeated when he hesitated. "Make polite excuses. Just get them out."

The next hour was torture. I smiled and thanked departing guests, accepted their polite condolences disguised as concern, and maintained the facade that everything was fine. All while my heart felt like it was being ripped from my chest.

"Eleanor," Luna Maggie from Emberhill Pack approached me as she prepared to leave. Her eyes held a knowledge that made my stomach clench. "If you ever need someone to talk to... someone who understands..."

I knew what she was offering. Maggie's mate had found his fated bond three years ago. She'd stayed, accepted the arrangement, and I'd watched her fade a little more each time I saw her.

"Thank you," I managed.

She squeezed my hand briefly. "It's not your fault," she whispered. "Remember that."

Finally, the last car disappeared down our driveway.

"Eleanor—" Edward started the moment we were back home.

The sound of my name in his mouth sent a wave of fury through me so intense my vision blurred. How dare he say my name with the same lips that had touched her?

"Don't," I snapped. My fists clenched so tight. "How could you? After everything you promised me. You said I was enough. You SWORE I was enough!"

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

A laugh escaped me. "Sorry? SORRY? You think 'sorry' means anything right now?"

"I need time to figure this out," he said.

I glaring down at him. My entire body shook with the force of my anger. "Time? You need TIME? What about me, Edward? What am I supposed to do while you 'figure this out'? I can't leave. I can't join another pack. No Alpha would want a marked Luna. I'm trapped here, watching you fall for someone else, with nowhere to go and nothing to call my own."

"That's not—"

"What about my future? My life? Everything I've sacrificed for Pineridge?" My voice cracked. "I gave you everything. I GAVE YOU MY ENTIRE LIFE!"

He reached for me, but I pulled away violently, baring my teeth with a low growl that surprised us both.

"Please understand," he begged, his eyes pleading. "The pull to her is so strong. I wanted to resist, but Zephyx... he wants her more than anything. It's like fighting against nature itself. But I need you to know I didn't plan this."

I face him. His brown eyes were wild with confusion and guilt.

"I didn't mean for it to happen," Edward said, his voice breaking. "The fated mate pull was too strong. I couldn't control—"

"Couldn't control yourself?" My anger exploded outward again. "You're an Alpha! You're supposed to have self-control! You humiliated me in front of everyone, Edward. You humiliated our entire pack!"

His face crumpled with pain. "Eleanor, I love you. This doesn't change what we have—"

"Love me?" The laugh that escaped me was bitter. "If you loved me, you wouldn't have done that to her in my territory, at my celebration!"

Edward took a step toward me, his hands outstretched. "Please, let me touch you. Let me hold you. We can work through this."

"Don't you dare." I backed away from him. "Don't you dare touch me after you've been touching her."

His hands dropped to his sides.

"Seven years, Edward." My voice started to shake. "Seven years of marriage, destroyed in one night. And not just destroyed privately, destroyed in front of the entire werewolf community."

By tomorrow, every pack in the region would know that Alpha Edward Harrington couldn't resist his fated mate. They'd know that his Luna of seven years wasn't enough.

"Now everyone knows you can't resist her," I continued. "That what we built together means nothing compared to some cosmic joke."

"That's not true—"

"Isn't it?" I stared at him. "Look me in the eye and tell me you don't want her. Tell me you don't feel that pull every second. Tell me you're not thinking about her right now."

Edward's mouth opened, then closed. His silence was answer enough.

I turned my back to him.

I heard him sigh, felt him turn away too. The distance between us in the house might as well have been miles.

"Make him choose," Seraphine snarled in my mind. "Force him to reject her."

But I couldn't. Because I'd seen his face when he looked at Claire. I'd felt the shift when they touched. He might try to choose me out of duty or guilt, but his soul had already made its choice.

I laughed bitterly. "Edward, tell me, what am I supposed to do when you're fucking her?"

Edward's eyes filled with tears he was too proud to shed. "Eleanor..."

I walked toward our bedroom. Our bed, where we'd made love just this morning. Where he'd whispered that he loved me.

"I can't look at you right now," I said without turning around. "I need space to think."

"For how long?"

"I don't know."

I closed the bedroom door behind me and finally, finally allowed myself to fall apart. I pressed my face into my pillow to muffle the sound, not wanting Edward to hear my breakdown.