Chapter 2 - The Sister Who Wasn't As Cruel As She Looked
Sloan found me in the old greenhouse three days later.
I was trimming a rosemary bush with one hand while holding the baby monitor against my hip.
"You've been avoiding me," she said.
I didn't look up.
"I'm busy."
"You know I'm not doing this because I hate you."
My shears stopped.
I turned.
Sloan looked exhausted.
Her hair was tied back badly.
She wore no jewelry.
No moonstone earrings.
I noticed immediately.
"They're gone."
She looked down.
"I returned them."
I waited.
"Why?"
"Because I couldn't breathe wearing them."
That surprised me.
Sloan stepped inside.
"I heard him."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
"The way he talks about you."
I said nothing.
She swallowed.
"He says those things when he thinks you're not there."
"You heard him say I was a broodmare."
Sloan closed her eyes.
"Yes."
My grip tightened around the shears.
"How long have you known?"
"Not long."
"You still helped him."
Her eyes filled.
"I was afraid."
"Of him?"
"Of everything."
I stared.
Sloan had always been the softer one.
Our mother had died when we were teenagers.
I had become practical.
Sloan had become emotional.
After Father's death, she had stayed close to me.
At least, I thought she had.
Now I wasn't sure what anything meant anymore.
"Did he promise you my father's land?"
"No."
"The trust?"
"No."
"Then why?"
She looked at me.
"Because he told me you were dying."
I froze.
"What?"
"He said you had complications after giving birth."
"I was fine."
"I know that now."
"He told you I wouldn't survive."
Sloan started crying.
"He said he needed an heir. He said if you died, he would have to secure the pack through me."
The room seemed to tilt.
"Did you believe him?"
"I did."
"Why?"
"Because I wanted to."
The honesty hurt more than a lie.
She wiped her face.
"I was jealous."
I looked away.
"Of what?"
"You."
"Why?"
"You were Father's favorite."
I laughed once.
It wasn't funny.
"He loved us both."
"I know."
"You don't know."
She looked down.
"I know now."
Silence settled.
Then Sloan stepped closer.
"Marin, I don't want your mate."
I stared at her.
"You've been standing beside him."
"I know."
"You let him touch you."
"I know."
"You let him announce you as the next Luna."
She covered her face.
"I know."
I wanted to hate her.
Part of me did.
But there was something in her eyes that looked too much like regret.
"Why are you telling me?"
"Because Thanksgiving is not the only thing he planned."
I waited.
"He has arranged a private meeting with the council."
"When?"
"Seven days before Thanksgiving."
"What for?"
"To present evidence that you are unfit to remain Luna."
My jaw tightened.
"What evidence?"
"He says you're unstable after childbirth."
I almost laughed.
"What else?"
"He says you neglect your duties."
"While I work at the clinic, raise our daughter, and run this estate?"
"I know."
"What else?"
Sloan hesitated.
"He said you're hiding something."
My eyes narrowed.
"He suspects."
"Yes."
"Does he know about the recordings?"
"No."
"How do you know?"
"Because if he did, I'd already be dead."
The words hung between us.
Then Sloan whispered:
"I want to help."
"Why should I trust you?"
"You shouldn't."
That answer stopped me.
"I don't deserve your trust."
She looked at the baby monitor.
"But your daughter deserves a family that isn't built on lies."
I studied her.
For the first time, I considered that Sloan might not be my enemy.
She might simply be another woman trapped inside Cassian's plan.
"Then help me."
"How?"
I pulled a folder from beneath the greenhouse table.
"These are copies of everything."
Sloan stared.
"How long have you been collecting?"
"Since the earrings."
She looked at the photographs.
The broken lock.
The altered household inventory.
The messages from Cassian.
The recording transcript.
Her face paled.
"You planned this."
"I documented it."
"What happens at Thanksgiving?"
"I haven't decided."
Sloan swallowed.
"Can I tell you something?"
"Yes."
"He has someone else."
My heart stopped.
"Who?"
"I don't know her name."
"What does she look like?"
"Black hair. Gray eyes. She works at the northern estate."
"Why?"
"They meet there sometimes."
"Are they lovers?"
Sloan looked away.
"I don't know."
I felt the strange calm that always came after devastating news.
Maybe there was nothing left to lose.
"Find out."
Sloan nodded.
"I will."
She turned to leave.
"Sloan."
She stopped.
"If you're lying to me—"
"I know."
"You won't get a second chance."
"I know."
After she left, I sat with my daughter.
Her tiny fingers curled around mine.
I whispered:
"You will never grow up believing love means obedience."
My daughter yawned.
I smiled.
That night, Garrick arrived secretly.
He was older now.
His hair had turned silver.
But his back was straight.
He stood in my father's old office.
"You look like him."
"I feel like him."
He smiled faintly.
"That's dangerous."
"What did Father leave me besides Clause Eleven?"
Garrick placed an old wooden box on the desk.
"Open it."
Inside was a ring.
Black stone.
Silver Vain crest.
I frowned.
"What is this?"
"The command ring."
"I thought Father destroyed it."
"He wanted everyone to think he did."
"Why?"
"Because the Vain Guard does not exist on paper."
I stared.
"Twelve wolves."
"Twelve."
"Where are they?"
"Scattered."
"Why?"
"Your father believed the day would come when keeping them together would make them a target."
I touched the ring.
"They're mine?"
"They're yours by blood."
I looked at him.
"Would they really obey me?"
Garrick smiled.
"Your father never told them what to do."
"Then why swear loyalty?"
"Because they believed you would know when the right time came."
I closed my hand around the ring.
"The right time is coming."
Garrick nodded.
"I know."
Before he left, he gave me one final warning.
"Cassian has hired a blood-seer."
"For what?"
"To challenge your mating claim."
That was new.
"Can they sever a true bond?"
"Not a true one."
"Then what?"
"A manipulated one."
My stomach tightened.
"How do you know ours was manipulated?"
Garrick looked at me carefully.
"Because your father investigated Cassian before the mating ceremony."
"Why?"
"He found something."
"What?"
Garrick hesitated.
"His bloodline isn't what he claimed."
I stared.
"What does that mean?"
"It means Cassian Morell may never have been eligible to become Alpha of Iron Ridge."
The room went silent.
"Why?"
May you like
Garrick looked toward the window.
"Because his father wasn't his father."
