Chapter 4

It was Albert, the old steward who had served the Delgado Pack for forty years.

He had watched Dustin grow from a boy into the future Alpha. He had also witnessed every turn our relationship had taken.

Albert approached slowly, shaking his head.

"Lady Delia, why won't you explain? You sacrificed so much for him back then."

I smiled faintly.

"Do you really think an explanation would change anything? Dustin and I should have ended seven years ago."

Albert's brow furrowed.

"I'm afraid that one day, he'll regret this."

"He has nothing to regret. He has the Delgado Pack, the Alpha title, and the woman he loves. Everything he ever wanted."

Back then, I'd had no choice.

For Dustin's sake, I had accepted a mating arrangement with Marvin, who had been obsessed with me.

I'd never expected Dustin and me to find our way back to each other afterward.

But when he finally defeated Marvin, reclaimed his position as heir, and came for me himself, hope had bloomed in my chest despite everything.

I told myself that the love we'd shared since we were eighteen could survive anything.

That even if misunderstandings had carved a chasm between us, what we felt for each other would be enough to cross it.

But Dustin had never once given me the chance to explain.

I returned to my chamber and pulled an old bundle of painted portraits from the bottom of a wooden chest.

Every one held a memory of us when we were young and in love.

Dustin smiling at me beneath the summer sun.

His fingers secretly slipping between mine during a pack gathering.

His cloak draped over my shoulders when I'd fallen asleep beneath the Moonwood trees.

Then I took our bonding portrait from the wall.

Only two weeks ago, I'd stood beside him smiling, foolishly believing I had everything I'd ever wanted.

I dropped the old portraits and our bonding portrait into the hearth.

Flames curled around them.

Ten years of misplaced devotion.

It was time to let go.

Footsteps sounded behind me.

Gabriella entered.

Her gaze fell on the burning portraits, and a smile she couldn't quite hide touched her lips.

"Delia, I told Dustin I'm afraid of the dark. He said your chamber gets the most moonlight in the entire residence, so he wants me to move in here."

She tilted her head.

"Could you pack your things quickly? I'd like the room tonight."

This chamber held too many traces of the life I'd once imagined with Dustin.

I'd believed I would bear his pups here.

That I would grow old here.

That I would never have to leave.

I looked at the triumph on Gabriella's face and lowered my eyes.

"Fine. It's yours."

I packed quickly.

I left behind every jewel, cloak, and treasure Dustin had ever given me.

Everything that was truly mine fit into a single traveling chest.

I moved into an abandoned servants' chamber beside the main gates.

It would be easier to leave from there when the time came.

The moment I pushed open the door, dust rose thickly enough to make me cough.

The chamber was cluttered with broken furniture and discarded trunks. The narrow bed in the corner was nearly buried beneath old linens.

But I could endure it for one night.

That was all I had left.

Sometime before dawn, the temperature dropped sharply.

An icy wind howled through the forest beyond the walls like a wolf mourning beneath the moon.

Dustin returned to the stronghold with frost clinging to his cloak.

Albert approached and bowed.

"Young Alpha, Lady Delia has moved into the old servants' chamber by the gates. She hasn't been well. Perhaps you should..."

Dustin's expression darkened.

He strode down the corridor and kicked the door open.

I was sitting on the edge of the narrow bed, swallowing another dose of the healer's bitter draught.

Dustin stood in the doorway, jaw clenched, fury burning in his eyes.

"Delia Sullivan, what the hell is this supposed to be? Who are you performing for now?"

I looked at him, genuinely confused.

"Didn't you tell me to move out?"

"Gabriella wanted your chamber. She didn't tell you to crawl into a filthy hole like this."

His voice sharpened.

"Are you trying to make the entire pack believe I mistreat you?"

I smiled calmly.

"It doesn't matter where I sleep."

Dustin crossed the room in two strides.

He seized my wrist, knocked the vial from my hand, and pushed me onto the dusty bed.

Before I could react, his mouth came down on mine.

I couldn't turn away.

So I bit his tongue.

Hard.

Dustin jerked back.

The moment he released me, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

His touch disgusted me now.

His gaze turned lethal.

"Don't you dare wipe your mouth."

His voice dropped into a dangerous growl.

"Who do you think you are to look at me with disgust?"

His lip curled.

"I haven't even condemned you for letting another man have you first."

The words pierced straight through my chest.

Dustin had always known exactly where to hurt me most.

When I struggled to pull away, his hand caught the edge of my nightdress and tore the fabric aside.

The jagged scar across my lower abdomen was exposed.

I'd gotten it years ago, before Dustin had reclaimed his position.

A rogue wolf had lunged for him during an ambush, and I'd thrown myself between them while carrying Dustin's pup.

The wolf's claws had ripped across my abdomen.

Two of my ribs had been shattered in the attack.

Our five-month-old pup had died before the pack healer could save it.

I had nearly bled to death beside the forest road.

Dustin's gaze settled on the scar.

For one fleeting moment, something that looked almost like regret flickered in his eyes.

Then it disappeared.

His expression hardened again.

"You make sure this scar is always where I can see it."

His voice was bitter.

"Is that how you remind me that I owe you?"

I stared at him.

"Delia Sullivan, I don't owe you anything."

His words came colder with each breath.

"You're the most despicable person I've ever known. Don't you dare forget the filthy things you did back then."

I forced the tears back.

Then I laughed.

"You're right."

My voice trembled despite the smile on my face.

"I am despicable."

I looked straight into his eyes.

"I've never seen it more clearly than I do now."

A bitter laugh escaped me.

"Rotten right down to the bone."