"Don't worry, little moon."
"Everything I owe you—"
"I'll make it up to you. All of it. I swear on my wolf."
I drew a deep breath, letting my Alpha presence settle around me like a cloak of frost, and gently freed my arm from my den-mate's grip.
"Wait here for me."
I met her confused gaze, my eyes no doubt flickering with the gold of my wolf's rising fury.
"There's something I need to handle."
Before she could respond, I was already moving.
I walked straight to Rogan's table, my steps measured and deliberate. I picked up the goblet of moonpetal wine sitting before him, the same wine that should have sent him into convulsions, and threw it directly in his face.
The purple liquid dripped down his shocked features, staining his fine tunic. His expression—pure, slack-jawed disbelief—was almost worth the five cycles of lies.
I smiled, letting my canines show just slightly.
"What a coincidence."
"Rogan Ashfen."
"Of all the dens and taverns in our territory, you picked my pack gathering spot to parade your scent-betrayal. Should I compliment your taste in meeting places, or should I compliment—"
My gaze dropped to the empty wine goblet, the remnants of the supposedly deadly drink still glistening on its rim. The mockery rose like bile in my throat.
"—your miraculous recovery from that moonpetal allergy?"
"Rogan!"
I grabbed the second goblet of wine, ready to drench him again—but his hand shot out with Alpha speed and clamped around my wrist, his grip bruising.
"Selene!"
"Let me explain!"
I stared at the hand Rogan had clamped around my wrist—his ring finger still bearing the mating band that matched mine, the silver engraved with our bonded pack sigils. Watching the panic flicker across his face, the fury I'd barely managed to suppress came roaring back, my wolf snarling beneath my skin.
Before he could get another word out, I wrenched my arm free and swung.
The slap cracked across his face, the sound echoing through the den hall.
"How dare you strike him!"
The Omega scrambled up from her seat and shoved me hard, positioning herself in front of Rogan like a shield. Her voice was shrill, indignant, her scent spiking with false outrage.
"Who do you think you are?"
"You have no right to touch my Alpha!"