in's

is face. Marcus lay sleeping now, recovering from another night of too much wine. His

sliced through my sorr

t hall. All the pack that could stand was there, their faces contorted in rage and

I had loved for three year

o'd murdered

voice rough from hours of shocked

d since childhood, my closest friend. If there was anyo

e empty vial once more, allowing me to inspect it. "Her fingerprints are on the wine cup of Marcus. Her scent i

from my throat like a yell

. "With Marcus deceased, any offspring you produce wi

of such a thing. But doubt gnawed at me like cancer. She'd been remote, with

ued. "Pack law is precise in terms of t

serve as an example. The ol

y said to him. "I have t

low, and I braced myself to see my wife. The woman I had shared a bed with

had killed m

ned and shredded, red-brown hair knotted around her throat. But her green eyes smouldere

her to her knees in front of the alt

oman I'd thought I knew

voice shattering with desperation. "You know me.

ntended. "Because it seems to me of late that

ugh I'd struck her.

up the pack changes. Questioning the council's rul

ng to make our

pproached her slowly, as I would hunt prey. "Te

nothing! I'

your scent is on Marcus's cup. Tell me why

one is lying. Someo

nded. Who w

She looked at Kane, then back at me. "I. I

nate this on the Luna? Sounds like a desperate man trying to make a

, but murder didn't sit well with them. Now they looke

ped closer, his face serious. "Wh

aid stubbornly. "There

written in our pack's founding charter. When an Alpha dies without heirs,

cessors," Kane determined.

ad happened to me, and Marcus was deceased already; Sele

elene breathed, but her

same level. "When we have talked about having kids, you've always wanted to kno

or father would want to c

or father kills

nd something in her cracked. The tension on her shoulders

ted. "The man who promised to love me

t still belonged to her, but my mind could not turn a blind eye to re

derstood she had nothing to give. No evidence. No explan

"I don't know how to convi

d I could sense the anger rising like steam in a kettle. If I didn't

. "Killing an heir calls for death. But

er who would so much as consider betraying the pack. And then there was the altern

ger who bore Selene's face, and

time t

The pack won't give much more time. They've already be

rface, the need for immediate vengeance. If I was weak here, if I were seen as

l his own mate was an Alpha

the pack. "I'll give

m hung around nearby, not wanting to be out of eyesight of their Luna. Kane p

them in private. "But you

den. "Three years, Kane. For three years, I've loved th

hat trust in the wor

mhm

"But what if she is telling the

And

d, Corwin. Who else had access to her caches of poison? Who else

uctantly admitted. "More secretive. More. starved

e. And Selene was always ambitio

ise above her commoner roots, to show she was wor

Kane continued. "They have to know that justice

taken? What if she's

pt that responsibility together. But as it is, with what we

declare her innocent and curse the consequences. But I was Alp

ispered. "

. "Then you know wh

at the door. One of the guards

e's a rumor going around that you're going to let the

cold. "How lo

less. Elder Morrison's tryi

do something, Corwin. Bef

metal of weapons being prepared. My pack, my people, on the verge o

my voice dry in my thr

on my shoulder. "You're doing the right thing. History will j

o'd seen me through every disaster. "Because right n

ship," Kane stated softly. "That's what

ooked at my face and saw her death in it. Her shoulders squ

to a decision,"

evide

, resigned but not defeated. "But I see you'

len

this worse than it has to be. Don't even attempt to pretend

out and take her and run, to somewhere that we could start anew. But the weight of

," I whispered. "For the

he'd expected no o

t will b

cted in her green eyes. Not hate or betrayal, but pity. "I hope one day you find the truth, C

t me on the back. "It's done. Th

pack leader. I felt like a man who'd sig

I didn't want to explore, I was starting t

murdered an innocent woma

amed free, and I'd never