EZRA
I had kept Ayla’s real identity from the entire pack for a reason, including my mother and my brother. The only people who knew about it were my Beta and the soldiers who had followed me to the Blood Moon Pack. While I trusted Sam with my life, I had to threaten those soldiers with their families to make them swear an oath of silence.
If word got out that I had spared someone who dared to defraud me into mating with her, I would be considered weak for not beheading her that very instant. Under normal circumstances, that was what I was supposed to do, but my beast was so feral and untamable that I didn’t know what would happen if it got out of control.
The last time I lost total control of it, I murdered over forty innocent people. Both men and women. I was cursed, and I might have to live with this curse for the rest of my life if this scam here couldn’t conceive and bear a child for me.
She had taken away my only cure, and now, painfully, I had to keep up with the lies and save her.
"Mother." I took a step forward, my eyes staring confidently into hers. "My mate is a very shy girl, and she hates attention. Standing under the moonlight while everyone watches would be too overwhelming for her."
"But it’s a blessing!" she exclaimed, opening her arms wide as she looked around the large crowd already gathered around us, eager to see the glow of the twin crescent moon mark. "We all deserve to see it. Don’t you all think?"
"Yes, Queen Mother. Yes!" the crowd chanted.
For the very first time since I was thirteen, when my father had almost caught me stealing a fried chicken thigh I had hidden in my pocket, a hint of anxiety hit me.
Think, Ezra. Think. How do I get out of this situation?
Although I could forcefully take her away from here without showing the crowd, it would be highly unreasonable.
"Yes, Sister. Show us the crescent mark."
A petite blonde girl with blue eyes approached, walking one step at a time, her finely toned legs visible through the high slit of her pink dress.
I recognized her from the video Ayla’s stepmother had played at the pack square of the Blood Moon Pack.
Calista. My original bride.
My gaze darted towards Ayla, and I saw how the hairs on the back of her neck had risen in fear. For some reason, instead of loathing her for putting me in this position, I had the desperate urge to protect her, to ease her tension.
As I returned my attention to Calista, I wondered what she was doing here since she wasn’t the Luna of her pack, but I pushed that thought aside, replacing it with a new one that could save Ayla.
My eyes scanned Calista from head to toe. They seemed to have the same figure.
"Fine. She’ll show you all the twin crescents as requested." My voice carried across the room as I wrapped my arm around Ayla and drew her closer to me. "But her face will be covered with a robe to hide her embarrassment."
Ayla shot her gaze at me in shock. Through my peripheral vision, I could see how wide her eyes had grown, but I ignored her. I had a plan.
"That’s fine," the queen mother said as she moved her wrist, making her bangles jingle. "As long as we get to see it."
"Give us a few minutes, then," I muttered before turning my attention to the original Calista. "You may want to give your sister a hand."
A smirk curled on her lips as she followed behind Ayla and me. I led them straight to my bedroom, where Ayla’s ripped blue dress still lay on the floor.
The moment we entered, Calista folded her arms across her chest, malicious venom oozing from her eyes as she spoke. "You managed to deceive the Lycan King into marrying you. How do you plan to deceive the whole crowd into believing you are the Gemini wolf? That you are me?"
"You know I didn’t do it! You know the pack council, Ryan, our parents, and even you set me up, Calista!" Ayla yelled, and I could feel how deeply angry and frustrated she was through the mate bond.
Calista scoffed, a humorless laugh escaping her. "Oh, have you finally stopped deluding yourself into believing you were Calista? You so desperately wish you were the Gemini wolf, but you’re not, and that frustrates you. You are nothing, Ayla. Nothing!"
"Fuck you, Calista. Fuck the Gemini wolf. I do not care about any of it. Not the position of Luna Queen. Nothing!" Ayla gnashed her teeth as she stormed towards Calista, the rage burning in her eyes making it evident that she was determined to tear her apart.
Calista, in turn, bared her fangs and extended her claws from their beds, ready to attack Ayla with them. She had the greater advantage, and the desperate urge to protect Ayla kicked in.
"Enough!" I growled, stepping between the two of them.
Ayla stopped immediately, her chest heaving up and down.
As I stared between the two of them, a realization I hadn’t considered before came naturally to me. By default, and with the advantage of her sacred wolf, Calista was far stronger than the wolfless Ayla.
How could Ayla have successfully stabbed her without a fight? And there were disturbing scars which I planned to address later on Ayla’s back.
Something wasn’t adding up.