Elara's lungs burned as she reached the bottom of the servant stairs. Every shadow looked like a claw. Every creak of the floorboards sounded like his heavy, rhythmic footsteps. She ducked into the coat closet, pressing her back against the cold stone wall, trying to force her breathing to stay silent.
In the dark, her mind betrayed her. It dragged her back to two weeks ago.
The sun had been setting over the pack lands, painting the sky in streaks of violet and gold. Caleb had taken her to the cliffside, the very spot where he had first told her he loved her. He looked so handsome in the fading light, his eyes soft and filled with a warmth that felt like home.
"You are my anchor, Elara," he had whispered, pulling her close. "No matter how loud the pack gets, or how much pressure the elders put on me, you are the only thing that is real."
She remembered leaning into his chest, listening to the steady thrum of his heart. It didn't sound like a liar's heart. It sounded like a promise. He had reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box, clicking it open to reveal a delicate silver anklet.
"For my Luna," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "A reminder that you belong by my side. Always."
That was the same day she had found the cloth.
She had been cleaning out the passenger side of his SUV later that night, looking for a stray earring, when her fingers brushed against something silk. She pulled out a crimson handkerchief, the silver embroidery of the Crescent Moon clan shimmering under the dome light. The scent hit her instantly—sweet, cloying, and totally alien.
When she showed it to him, Caleb didn't even flinch. He didn't have a "tell." He just laughed softly, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and told her it was a sample for her grandfather's business.
"My grandfather has the scent of the High Alphas, Caleb," she had argued, her brow furrowed. "This smells... different. Like it belongs to a girl."
"You are overthinking, beautiful," he had murmured, kissing her deeply until her doubts melted into the heat of his touch. "It is just business. Don't let the clan politics get in your head. I love you."
Now, crouched in the dark closet, Elara felt like she was suffocating. That "love" was a weapon he used to blind her. He had been grooming her to stay quiet while he built a life with someone else right under her nose.
A heavy thud echoed from the floor above. Then another.
"Elara," his voice drifted down the stairs, amplified by his wolf spirit. It wasn't the sweet, caring husband from the cliffside anymore. It was the Alpha. "I know you can hear me. We need to talk about what you saw."
He wasn't asking. He was tracking.
Elara realized with a jolt of terror that she was still wearing the silver anklet he gave her. It wasn't a gift. It was a wolf ring, one used as a GPS to track ones location,A tether.
She reached down, her fingers trembling as she fumbled with the clasp. She had to get it off. She had to disappear before the man she loved turned into the man who would kill to keep his secret.