Chapter 3
737 Words
Over the next five days, Chloe's posts became more frequent.
Her posts showed the office at 1 a.m., a paper cut on her finger, and a cheap dinner gone cold.
She never named anyone. She only wrote:
Even a low-ranking she-wolf has to make it on her own.
If you want to stay close to the sun, you have to get used to the shadows trying to push you away.
Mara returned her to the basic rotations expected of an intern. But in Chloe's version of events, every ordinary assignment became proof that the Luna was punishing a low-ranking she-wolf.
I didn't demand that she delete the posts, and I didn't use my status to drive her out.
I was still waiting for Adrian to see the truth on his own.
He came home three days later and hurled the glass of water I'd handed him to the floor.
Shards burst across the floor beside the hem of my dress as his Alpha aura hit me like a breaking wave.
The pup's scent hadn't fully formed yet, just a faint trace of warmth lingering in my blood. Adrian's nostrils flared, and his gaze swept over the hand pressed to my abdomen, but his anger drove him to keep demanding answers. My mate mark burned in response.
He saw the signs, but he never understood them.
"Why can't you leave her alone? I saw her on her knees in the conference room today, cleaning the carpet by herself. Her hands were covered in cuts."
"I didn't assign that. Did you even check the schedule?"
"I saw her kneeling there with my own eyes!"
"So once you see her crying, the truth no longer matters?"
Dark gold crept into his eyes, a sign that his wolf was slipping out of control.
"When my sister was 16, she used to insist that no one was bullying her either."
I froze.
Amelia Blackwood, Adrian's sister, had died 19 years earlier. Years of ostracism by high-ranking werewolves had driven her to jump from the training tower.
Chloe had the same shoulder-length blond hair, the same two dimples, and the same habit of biting her lip and insisting she was fine.
"I understand why she reminds you of Amelia." Fighting through the discomfort in my abdomen, I walked up to him. "But I'm not one of the people who drove Amelia to her death. Find out what actually happened before you put your wife on trial."
"Then don't become like them."
The words came out too fast for him to take them back.
My mate mark dimmed at once.
My wolf let out a low whine in my mindscape and, for the first time, deliberately backed away from the mate it had chosen four years ago.
Regret flashed through Adrian's eyes. "Serena, that isn't what I meant."
"It is."
The next day, Mara, who had worked at Adrian's side for seven years, was removed as Chief Administrative Officer.
Adrian bypassed the normal promotion process and made Chloe the acting personal liaison, supposedly to "correct rank discrimination", and announced that she would attend the seven-week Westoria Alliance Summit in the Luna's place.
After the announcement went out, Mara sent me a single message.
Mara: I'm sorry, Luna. I failed to protect your place.
I replied with a message of my own.
Serena: That wasn't your place to protect. The person who should have protected it was my husband.
That evening, for the first time, I went to Adrian's penthouse myself instead of letting my lawyer speak for me.
"Stay here and investigate the schedules and access records." I stood in front of him and made myself perfectly clear. "Reverse Mara's punishment and transfer Chloe out of any role involving your private life. Adrian, I need you to choose our marriage right now."
He was silent for a long time.
"If you admit that you went too far with Chloe, I'll come home tomorrow."
Even now, he still expected me to apologize to the woman who had been trying to take my place.
I nodded.
"Then don't bother coming back."
After leaving the penthouse, I called Silvercrest legal counsel.
"Begin settling all our joint assets, withdraw the Silvercrest garrison, and prepare to dissolve the Luna oath."
The attorney asked, "Should we notify the Alpha?"
I looked down at the mate mark on my wrist. It no longer felt warm.
"No. He's already made his choice."
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