chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

His reaction—the anger in his voice—surprised me even more. He wasn’t laughing or mocking me, nor did he seem merely upset. Just… mad. Frustrated.

“I don’t understand,” I blurted out. “You hate me, Alexander. If I’m the one to take the blame, thus protecting your reputation from harm, then why wouldn’t you jump at the opportunity?”

There was a long moment of silence. Alexander stared at me, his green eyes unreadable. I held his gaze, even though it was something I was not used to doing.

Then, finally, he spoke. “Our contract clearly states that only I can initiate a mutual rejection.”

He pulled open a drawer in his desk and reached in, retrieving a leather-bound folder that I knew all too well. He flipped to a certain page and extended it toward me. “Page three, clause B.”

I sighed exasperatedly but took the contract. Indeed, the clause he’d pointed to stated that only Alexander could end our “relationship.” I faintly recalled reading it at the time of signing, but I had been under so much pressure and clung to the naive hope that Alexander might eventually grow to love me. I hadn’t paid much attention.

“The only reason I married you,” he went on, rounding his desk and crossing to the small bar in the corner, “was to give the public a good impression. An Alpha who marries his fated mate is a better candidate for Alpha King, after all. And now, with the election coming up, I can’t risk losing favor.”

Right. So this was all about the upcoming Alpha King election. Alexander had always wanted the position. Now that the current Alpha King’s ten-year term was ending, new candidates would be campaigning soon. Alexander was one of them.

“Furthermore,” Alexander said, turning his back to me and pouring himself a glass of bourbon, “your father is still benefiting from Ashclaw’s support. Unless you’re planning to leave him high and dry with a debt he can’t repay.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. He was pouring himself a drink, his back turned to me, and speaking in a tone as if we were simply discussing business.

And I supposed, in a way, this *was* business. Maybe it hadn’t always been that way for me—I had once stupidly held onto the hope that my fated mate would fall for me—but it had always been a transaction to him.

“I’ll speak to my father. We’ll pay you back the money you gave him, and we’ll be even.”

“Go ahead. You’ve wasted enough of my time today. But don’t come crying to me and pretending to be all innocent again when he turns you down.”

I rolled my eyes and abruptly left without another word.

A few minutes later, I found myself in one of the sprawling gardens behind the mansion. This particular garden, with a gnarled old flowering cherry tree at its center and high hedges, was one of the few places in the mansion where I truly felt at peace.

Here, surrounded by the sickly-sweet scent of fallen cherry blossoms, I felt like I could breathe. Hardly anyone but me ever came here. The gardeners rarely tended to it, allowing little flowers and shoots of grass to sprout between the pebbled walkways. It was the one place here that felt like mine.

Not for long, though. Because soon, I would be leaving.

I dialed my father’s number and sat on the stone bench beneath the cherry tree.

“Ella,” my father’s voice answered after the third ring. “I was wondering when you might call. With the upcoming election, I was considering offering Alexander my public endorsement in exchange for more—”

“Dad, I want to divorce Alexander.”

“What? Why?”

“Because my wolf has gone dormant, and I’ll die in a year if he doesn’t mark me or reject me.”

“What are you talking about? I’ve never heard of an illness like that before.”

“Well, it’s true. If you want your daughter to live, you have to help me get out of this marriage. Because Alexander is definitely not going to mark me.”

My father sighed. “Ella… You know how important this union is. Whatever is going on between you two, you need to take the high road and remain diligent. I understand marriage is not easy sometimes—”

“We’re not just fighting, Dad. He hates me.”

“I know it feels that way sometimes, but you have to push through. Stormhollow needs Ashclaw’s support. Don’t cause any trouble that could impact our pack. Think of your mother’s legacy.”

My throat tightened at the mention of my late mother. She had died when I was just a baby, so I had never met her—but Stormhollow had been her pack. She was the only heir to Stormhollow, but when she married my father, he had taken on the title of Alpha. Such was the way of things in our world. Men were Alphas. Women were Lunas, props to hold up their male counterparts.

And right now… my life was less important than what two men wanted.

“Besides,” my father went on, “I just purchased a new diamond ring for Margaret for our wedding anniversary. I can’t lose our biggest stream of income now. Surely you understand…”

I almost laughed out loud at that. Margaret, my stepmother and the mother of my half-brother, Brian… She always loved lavish things. My father would gladly spend all of our family’s savings on gifts for her. Not me. Never me. I was just the daughter to be used up, even if it killed me. *When* it killed me.

“You really don’t care about me, do you?” I bit out, hurt and angry. “I’m telling you that I’m going to die, and you just care about the money.”

“You’re not going to die, sweetheart. You’re just being dramatic—”

Too frustrated to hear more, I abruptly hung up before he could finish. I hung my head in my hands and breathed deeply through my nose, trying not to cry. There had to be something I could do. Anything.

Suddenly, I felt a warm hand touch my shoulder. I didn’t need to look up to know it was Lilith. I leaned into her, letting her wrap her arms around me.

“I don’t want to die,” I whispered, my voice strained from the effort of holding back tears. “I want to live.”

Lilith sniffled, and when I looked up, her eyes were red and puffy. The sight made me want to cry even more.

“Is there anything I can do?” she asked.

“I don’t know. Alexander won’t mark me or divorce me, and I was stupid enough to sign a contract that disallows me from rejecting him myself. And my father just cares about the money. So right now, I’m royally screwed.”

Lilith made a little sound of distress.

“All I’ve ever done is give,” I whispered. “I give and give and give and never ask for anything in return. And now, the one time I don’t just want help but *need* it… I just get blamed, rejected, and pushed away by my own father and mate—the two people who should have my back no matter what.”

And now I was supposed to die for them, when they would never sacrifice a single thing for me. I laughed bitterly. “I’ve been so perfect, and yet neither of them will help me.”

“So stop being perfect.”

I looked up at Lilith, finding her staring down at me with a new intensity in her gaze. It took me by surprise.

“What?” I asked, sitting up straighter.

Lilith shrugged. “Do something crazy, something that will push Alexander away,” she mused. “If all you’ve ever done is be perfect, then no wonder he doesn’t want to reject you. So… make him *want* it.”

I blinked as Lilith’s words sank in. It had never crossed my mind to be the exact opposite of what Alexander wanted. Rather than being the sweet, gentle Luna who got walked all over and used, I could be a constant thorn in his side. I could make his life so miserable he would have no choice but to divorce me.

“I’d be… free,” I whispered, standing. “And my wolf would return…”

Lilith nodded and rose alongside me, taking my hands into hers. “I’ll help in any way I can. I won’t let you die, Ella. Not on my watch.”

At that, a tear finally slipped out—but it was a happy one. I laughed thickly and pulled Lilith into my embrace. “Thank you, Lilith. Thank you.”

Lilith leaned into me and held me tight, tighter than anyone had before.

“Sorry to interrupt this little moment, but you’ve got work to do, Ella.”

The sound of Gabriel’s voice instantly made me bristle. I pulled away from Lilith and turned to see both the