Chapter 3
The next day was our annual Blood Moon
Ceremony–the most sacred ritual in our
territory.
With Father’s health declining rapidly, I
had to lead the ceremony myself, with the
four Alpha heirs standing beside me.
Damon was still pissed about yesterday
and gave me the cold shoulder the entire
time. I couldn’t care less.
After our midday meal of venison and
wild herbs, I took a walk through the
gardens to clear my head.
That’s when I heard a familiar voice
drifting through the air.
“Damon, I made these honey–glazed elk
steaks myself. Try one and tell me what
you think.”
I followed the sound and saw Talia
holding a piece of meat up to Damon’s
lips.
He didn’t even hesitate–just took a bite right from her fingers, his face lighting up
with a smile I’d never seen before.
Talia giggled and wiped the juice from his mouth. They looked like the perfect
mates.
I was fighting back nausea and about to leave when several figures emerged from
the shadows–hunters, armed with silver
weapons.
I watched them warily. “Who are you?
What do you want?”
They exchanged glances, then charged
straight at me without a word, their silver
blades aimed to kill.
I’d trained with the four Alpha heirs for
years, but let’s face it–I sucked at combat.
Damon had already noticed the
commotion. I screamed desperately,
“Damon, help me!”
He instinctively started toward me, but
Talia threw her arms around him.
“Don’t leave me, Damon! I’m so scared!”
He hesitated.
That split second of hesitation cost me—a
silver blade sliced across my arm, and the
burning pain made me break out in a cold
sweat. Silver was poison to our kind.
I stared at him in disbelief. I never
thought he’d leave me to die.
I gritted my teeth. “Damon, what the hell
are you doing? Help me!”
Just then, Talia let out a bloodcurdling
scream.
“Ahhhh!”
One of the hunters had lunged toward
them with a silver dagger.
Damon immediately pulled her back to
safety, completely focused on protecting
her. He didn’t even notice another hunter
raising his silver blade to strike me down.
I squeezed my eyes shut, preparing for
the end.
But the killing blow never came.
I opened my eyes to find Rhett standing in
front of me, his claws extended, having
knocked the hunter’s silver weapon away
with one smooth motion.
Rowan and Leo rushed in to join the fight,
all three shifted into their wolf forms.
Within minutes, all the hunters were
captured.
Seeing their mission had failed, they
pulled out silver daggers and slit their
own throats. Blood splattered across my
clothes.
I stood there frozen, feeling completely
hollow inside.
I’d always thought that even if Damon
didn’t love me, we at least had our
childhood bond. Turns out when push
came to shove, he’d rather save Talia than
- me.
Rowan and the others had seen the whole
thing. The way they looked at Damon now
was… complicated.
Father was furious when he heard what
happened and ordered a full
investigation.
The Reed pack was too powerful to touch
directly, but Father’s anger had to go
somewhere. He put Talia under house
arrest.
That night, Damon stormed into my
chambers, pointing an accusing finger at
- me. “Princess Astra, Talia had nothing to
do with this! Why are you doing this to
her? This is obviously just petty revenge.”
He actually thought I’d orchestrated
Talia’s punishment out of spite.
I stared at him coldly. “Damon, do you
realize I almost died today?”
He shrugged it off. “But you’re fine, aren’t
you?”
“Besides, you’re the Princess. Plenty of
people would save you. But Talia only has
- me. You saw what happened–she almost
got killed by those hunters too. She’s a
victim here.”
“Go ask the Alpha King to lift her house
arrest. Now.”
Despite the throbbing silver burn in my
arm, I replied icily, “Not happening.”
Seeing my refusal, Damon’s chest heaved
with rage. “And you call yourself a
Princess? You can’t tell right from wrong,
good from bad. You’re completely
unreasonable.”
He stormed out.
For the next two days, Damon didn’t set
foot in the palace.
It wasn’t until the third day–the day of
the mating announcement–that he
reluctantly showed up for the ceremony.
