LUISA

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Even after the lies, my stupid heart still wanted to follow Trevor. Three years of loving him couldn’t be dissolved, even when I wanted it to.

But Tara? Her attention remained on Trystan, tugged by that dangerous mate bond between us.

I remained frozen, barely able to breathe.

“Luisa.” Trevor’s voice cracked further, and his brows lowered. “Just come with me, I’ll fix everything.”

That pleading expression made my skin ache. Maybe I wanted closure. Maybe I was just an idiot in love. I was about to move, and my muscles had already twitched.

Then a sound. Low. Deep. It ricocheted off the walls before sinking into my core. And Tara pricked her ears.

Trystan’s chuckle.

“Acting like you care about her now?” He snorted with a condescending smirk.

I whipped my head towards him. Trevor’s body tightened, betraying the flat expression on his face.

“A woman shows up at your house, with a gun. Calling my name. It didn’t take me long to know you had deceived another woman in my name.”

Deceived? Another woman? The words thundered in my skull. Again and again.

Trystan snapped his eyes to me. “What did he promise you?”

Trevor gritted, “Stop it.”

Trystan’s voice only got sharper—cruel. “Money? Love? Power?” He tilted his head. “Let me guess. Alpha’s daughter? Beta’s daughter?”

“Stop it.” Trevor’s jaw clenched harder.

“That’s what he does. Seduce women with influence. Hopes to marry them for power.”

That’s what I was? A power ladder? That’s why he had rejected me when I told him I was banished from my pack.

My chest felt empty, like my heart had stopped. I couldn’t breathe.

“You can leave now,” Trystan said to me, “ I’ll reach you, once I find a befitting punishment.”

Instantly, Trevor pulled me with him. His grip tight and desperate.

Stuck in a haze, I stumbled behind him. Tara’s attention remained in the room, clinging onto that mysterious thread we couldn’t explain how it formed.

Just days ago, I was just rejected by Trevor. Wolves cut off from the moon goddess weren’t meant to find mates. Yet, here I was, mated to Trystan.

Not until the early morning breeze licked my skin, did I realize I was outside the hospital.

Trevor faced me, his eyes searching mine like he was searching for the words my lips couldn’t say.

His lips parted, and all that came out was. “You can’t seduce him.” His breath came out fast and ragged. “He has a Luna. Whatever revenge plan you have, kill it.”

My broken gaze snapped up. “Revenge?”

“I saw the way you looked at him. Like you wanted him.”

I didn’t know if it was shame or anger, but my blood boiled like it was lava in my veins.

“After everything I just learned today.” My voice broke. “That’s all you can say to me.”

Silence, and Trevor dragged his hand through his hair, turned away slightly, before kicking at the air.

Don’t cry here. I muttered in my head. But the tears—hot, bitter—came anyway.

Trevor reached out. But before he could he pulled me in, and I shoved him back.

“Don’t touch me!”

“Luisa—.”

“That woman.” A bitter pause. “The woman I saw in your house. Does she think you’re Trystan too?”

“Of course not.” His words stumbled out, and he froze. “I can explain.”

My inside crumpled. “I don’t want your explanation.”

Of course, she wasn’t the fool—I was.

I turned. My legs moved fast to the tarred road where I hailed a cab. The car door slammed behind me.

“Just drive.”

And when the car moved, I finally broke down. My sobs filled the air of the small car. My body burned with pain, and it felt like I was dying.

Trevor had left me nothing—no love, no family. Tara didn’t share my grief; all her focus was on his brother, the one who might just take all I had left—my life.

********

Three days had passed by, and I was still holed up in this sorry excuse of a hotel. The walls reeked of stale alcohol, and the ceiling looked like it might fall on me anytime soon.

On the bed, I sat cross-legged, staring at the cash that I had spread on the bed. Picking up some notes, I separated them from the rest for tomorrow's lodging.

My fingers raked through the rest of the cash, and it was barely enough to get me by today and tomorrow.

“I need to find a job,” I said to myself, a groan bubbling in my throat.

A thought hit me, but before it could fully form I shoved it back. Not that—anything but that.

My eyes flicked to my phone. No calls or texts from Trevor or Trystan. I should have felt relieved, but I didn’t. Instead, a dark feeling clung onto me, like I was a prisoner on a death roll.

I sighed and rose. I need to find a job. Cleaning. Maid. Any job, as long as it paid.

Inside the shower, my mind was at war. I wondered if I should return to the bar, if I would see that stranger. I needed an explanation for the mark.

After the shower, I slipped into a black shirt and jeans. Into a tight bun, I packed my hair, and painted my lips red.

As I reached the door, a sound—a faint creak from the other side—and my stomach turned cold.

Please be Trevor.

My hands lingering on the doorknob, I inhaled. Even severed from the moon goddess, I mouthed the prayers. Though it felt hollow, I still clung to it.

The door swung open, and Tara stirred, pressing the walls of my chest like she wanted to get close.

It was Trystan, his broad shoulders blotting out what little light there was, his musky scent invading my lungs.

His face was expressionless. “Let’s talk about your punishment.” His voice brutal.

My heart thundered in my ears. Fear glazed over my skin like ice over a lake. As that pull in my chest twisted into dread, Tara whimpered.