"Done. It's yours." Fenris agreed without a second thought, his voice indulgent. "Whatever makes you happy. Forget a circlet—if you wanted the stars from the night sky, I would hunt them down for you."
"You're so good to me!" Selene's tears transformed into a radiant smile. She rose on tiptoe to press her lips to Fenris's jaw, her eyes sliding toward Lyra with the gleam of a predator claiming her kill.
The two of them walked away together, their intimate silhouettes searing Lyra's vision.
She stood frozen. Every drop of blood in her body seemed to turn to ice. A sharp, stabbing pain radiated from her chest—so intense she could barely stay upright. She sagged against the cold stone archway, the only thing keeping her from crumpling to the floor.
At ten summers old, her mother had died of a wasting sickness. Before her body was even cold, her father brought home Selene and Selene's mother. From that day forward, Lyra's world shattered. Her father was no longer hers alone. All his warmth and protection went to Selene. To please his new mate, he had destroyed every keepsake her mother left behind with his own claws.
She thought she would never trust another bond again—until she met Fenris Blackmoor during her first season at the Academy.
He was a light in the darkness, appearing when she was at her most lonely and lost. He sheltered her from storms, kept watch beside her through long nights, treated her like she was the most precious wolf in all the territories.
She still remembered the day he declared his intent. Cherry blossoms drifted down like pale snow. He stood in that rain of petals, clutching a bundle of her favorite white moon-lilies, his deep voice trembling with nerves. He said he had rehearsed his words countless times, terrified of saying a single wrong thing that might upset her. He said, Lyra, I will love you until the last moon falls and protect you for the rest of my life.
Back then, she was the scent he carried everywhere, the image he kept close to his heart, his den's ward-seal was set to her birth-moon. When he introduced her to his pack brothers, he would say with pride, This is my future mate.
She thought he would be her salvation for the rest of her days.
But the moment Selene appeared, everything changed. His tenderness went to another. His protection went to another. For another's sake, he pushed her into the darkness again and again.