The Rogue Luna Memory

Chapter 2

Silas took another step, his shadow stretching long across the empty ballroom floor. Every instinct inside him screamed to pull his mate into his arms, but the sheer horror in her eyes kept him pinned in place.

​"I'm not lying, Sienna," Silas said softly. The scary red light in his eyes faded back to a hurt gold. "Look at your hand."

​Sienna looked down. On her ring finger sat a heavy silver band, carved with small wolf designs and set with a glowing black stone.

​She pulled at it frantically, but her fingers were slick with sweat, and the metal wouldn't budge. "Take it off! Take it off me!"

​"It only comes off if one of us dies," Silas said, his voice barely above a whisper. "You chose it yourself last week."

​"I don't care about last week!" Sienna backed away until her spine hit the cool marble of a large stone pillar. She felt trapped, like a deer cornered by a predator. "I don't know who you are! The last thing I remember is running through the mud on the northern border! I was starving, and your patrol wolves were hunting me!"

​Silas flinched as if she had slapped him.

​"That was six months ago," he said, taking a cautious step closer. "You came into my territory looking for shelter. I gave you a home. We spent months rebuilding your life, Sienna. You learned to trust me. You chose me."

​"No!" Sienna shook her head, tears of frustration stinging her eyes. "You're trying to mess with my head! You did something to me!"

​Before Silas could answer, the double doors of the ballroom burst open.

​Four heavy-armored pack guards rushed in, led by a tall man with sharp features and grey hair. It was Logan, the pack’s lead commander and Silas’s most trusted friend.

​"Alpha!" Logan called out, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. "The guests are panicking outside. What happened? Is the Luna under attack?"

​"Stay back, Logan," Silas commanded without taking his eyes off Sienna. "Nobody touches her."

​"She’s acting crazy, Silas," Logan warned, stepping closer. "The whole pack saw her push you. She humiliated you in front of every allied Alpha in the region."

​"I said stay back," Silas growled, a low, dangerous rumble rising in his chest that made even Logan freeze.

​Sienna watched the guards. She saw the way they looked at her—not as a queen, but as a dangerous threat. If she stayed here, she was at the mercy of this Alpha and his army.

​She looked to her right. A few feet away, a large set of glass doors led out to the balcony, overlooking the dark pine forest below.

​If I can get to the woods, I can run, her inner wolf whispered. In the trees, we are fast.

​"Sienna, please," Silas held out his hand, his eyes filled with a desperate plea. "Just let the pack doctor look at you. Something is wrong. Someone might have poisoned you tonight."

​"Stay away from me!" Sienna screamed.

​She turned on her heel, grabbed the heavy skirt of her bridal gown, and ran straight for the balcony doors.

​"Sienna, no!" Silas yelled.

​She slammed her body against the glass doors, pushing them open into the cool night air. The wind whipped her long hair around her face as she reached the stone railing. Below lay a hundred-foot drop into the raging river that circled the packhouse.

​Silas sprinted out onto the balcony, reaching for her dress. "Don't do it! You won't survive the jump!"

​Sienna looked back at him one last time, her eyes fierce and terrified.

​"I'd rather risk the river than stay with a stranger," she said.

​She kicked off her high heels, climbed onto the ledge, and threw herself into the dark abyss.