Chapter 3
Kane’s hand froze in midair, still holding mine.
He clearly hadn’t expected to see Selena’s mark on the Luna’s own dressing room.
“What is this?”
I answered calmly. “Selena said the Luna’s gowns and jewelry belong to pack property. I can’t handle them freely. Every time I need to open the dressing room, I have to submit a request to her. She approves it, I get the lock opened. After I take what I need, she puts on a new one.”
Kane’s frown deepened.
For a moment, a faint, foolish hope flickered in my chest. Maybe seeing it with his own eyes would finally make him understand what my life had been like all these years.
I used to be the youngest priestess in the Moon Temple. At seventeen, I could conduct purification rites alone. Alphas from other packs bowed to me when they came. Kane chased me for three full years. He stood outside the temple in a blizzard for seven nights straight. He crossed Death Valley just to bring me a single Silvermoon Bloom.
He said that once I became his Luna, I wouldn’t have to guard that cold temple anymore. He said he’d make me the most respected Luna in the Blackwood Pack. He said he loved me.
I believed him.
For him, I took off my priestess robes. I let him mark me.
Seven years later, I couldn’t even choose my own clothes.
Kane stared at the lock in silence for a long time.
That tiny ember in my chest, the one I should have let die long ago, wavered with his silence.
Then he looked away.
“Selena’s methods are indeed strict.”
I watched him, waiting.
Kane sighed, almost sounding helpless.
“But she’s doing it for your own good.”
That ember died.
“You spent years in the Moon Temple. You’re not familiar with pack customs. One mistake, and the whole pack loses face.” He gripped my arms, looking down at me. “Selena keeps these things for you because she’s afraid you’ll slip up.”
I couldn’t help asking, “So locking up the Luna’s dressing room is because I’m incompetent?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Impatience flickered across his face, but he kept his voice soothing.
“Why do you always have to make everything so dramatic? They’re just a few gowns, a few accessories. If you want something, just tell Selena.”
I let out a quiet laugh.
That was exactly what I’d done for seven years.
Before the Moon Prayer, I’d submit my gown request two weeks early. She’d approve it the night before. For the Border Council meeting, she locked the jewelry case over a color mismatch and made me wear wooden hairpins the maids found last minute. The other pack members mocked me for being shabby. Kane scolded me in public for not caring about Blackwood’s image.
I’d explained it countless times.
He never believed me.
Even now, with the evidence right in front of him, he still found excuses for her.
Not because the truth wasn’t clear.
But because I was the one who got hurt.
Kane saw I wasn’t speaking and took it as acceptance.
He pulled out a dark wooden box and opened it to reveal a necklace set with moonstones.
“Stop sulking.” He lifted the necklace, his voice softening. “You’ve been good lately. I bought this specially for you. Let me put it on.”
He moved behind me to fasten it.
I stepped back half a step without thinking.
His hand stopped in the air. Surprise flickered in his eyes.
“What, you don’t like it?”
“It’s beautiful.” I said. “I’m just tired.”
Kane studied my pale face and finally let it go. He put the necklace back in the box, as if granting me a great favor.
“Fine. We’ll do it tomorrow then. I’ll have this lock removed tonight. From now on, the dressing room is yours to manage. And I’ll have Selena return your Luna authority gradually.”
He patted my hair, smiling with satisfaction.
“As long as you stay obedient like today, I’ll give back everything that belongs to the Luna.”
I nodded submissively. “Okay.”
Kane pulled me into his arms. “The moon is beautiful tonight. How about we have a drink?”
My gaze went past his shoulder to the moon outside.
Soon. Only an hour left.
“Okay.” I nodded. “Actually, I have something I want to tell you too.”
