E


    I couldn’t speak as I looked up into those familiar green eyes. Alexander smelled like his usual scentbined with fresh sweat and earth, but there was something else there, too-the coppery scent of dried blood.


    Was he injured? Was I injured?


    I didn’t have time to dwell on it before Liam, standing behind me and dusting the hay off his shirt, said, “What the hell happened?”


    Alexander’s face, which had momentarily been a mask of shock and maybe even a hint of relief, hardened. He set me down. I was d to find that my legs were indeed not broken; there wasn’t even a scratch on me.


    “I was just wondering the same thing,” he said, ncing first at me, then at Liam, then up-toward the open hay door I had just fallen out of.


    Liam opened his mouth to say something, but was quickly cut off by a shrill scream.


    “E! Oh, Goddess, E! Are you alright?”


    We all turned to see Sophia running around the corner of the barn, her hair disheveled and her eyes wide. She’d gone pale and was out of breath from having climbed down the barndder and run over in a rush.


    “Did she push you, E?” Liam pointed at Sophia. His eyes were practically red with rage.


    I turned to her, looking her up and down. She certainly seemed surprised-and although we never got along, she had never done anything so heinous as to try to injure me before.


    But my suspicions remained.


    “I felt something shove my back,” I said slowly, deliberately. “Sophia was the only other one up there with me, and I doubt the cows know how to climb adder.”


    Sophia’s eyes began to water as she clutched at her pearl ne. “I would never do such a thing!” she cried out. She whirled toward Alexander. “Alex, you have to tell them! You know me! I wouldn’t-”


    “Enough.” Alexander held up his hand, and it was then that I noticed he was indeed covered in blood-most of it not his own. It was caked in his hair, his eyebrows, trailing down his neck as if it had sprayed down on top of his head.


    It must have been an intense battle, and a small part of me couldn’t help but feel relieved that he had walked out of it alive.


    Sophia made a little sound of worry and began wringing her hands.


    Alexander then said in a surprisingly calm and even voice, “Sophia, did you push E?”


    Sophia sputtered. “No! Absolutely not. It was an ident. The wind caught her dress-I saw it.”


    I narrowed my eyes. The wind… It had felt like two warm hands shoving against my lower back. Unless the wind could suddenly grow hands…


    “She’s lying,” Liam said, his voice taking on a dark edge as he turned to Alexander. “She pushed your mate, Alpha. With intention to harm, if not kill. What are you going to do about it?”


    Alexander nced at Liam, and I could practically hear the gears whirring in his head.


    Obviously, he had to act appropriately in front of the Board. They were all watching now-a small crowd had gathered


    around us.


    But Alexander would never suspect his darling Sophia of such a crime.


    In his eyes, she was as innocent as amb. And those crocodile tears she was crying only further served to exonerate her.


    It was moments like this that had sent my wolf into her sorrowful slumber.


    My fated mate wouldn’t stand by me. He would always trust others more than he trusted me, especially when it came to Sophia.


    The very thought made my heart turn bitter and ck. Maybe once, I would have stepped down and let Sophia get away with something like this. But not now. Not when my very life was on the line in more ways than one.


    “She did push me,” I said firmly. I turned to Alexander and looked at him. Only him. “I felt her hands on my back. She was the one who suggested we go into the hayloft, and she pushed me.”


    Green eyes blinked at me from behind a blood-spattered face. For a moment, there was no sound save for Sophia’s soft whimpers and the gentle breeze blowing through the treetops. Enough to knock over a pitcher of iced tea, perhaps, but an entire person?


    Highly unlikely.


    And Alexander knew it.


    After a long moment, Alexander turned to Sophia. I half expected him to set her free, but surprisingly, he gestured for one of the pack guards toe over.


    “Please escort Sophia back to her house,” he said calmly.


    Sophia’s mouth dropped open. “But—”


    “Go,” Alexander cut her off.


    Of course he would only send her home, I thought bitterly; her father spoiled her. This wasn’t a real punishment. But I kept that to myself.


    As the guard escorted a whining Sophia away, Liam took a step closer. His eyes shed, his face still dark with anger. I’d never seen a look like that on him before. Never.


    “If you want the Board’s approval, I’d rmend you start trusting your Luna more,” he growled before brushing past Alexander and returning to the pic.


    Alexander stared after him, jaw ticking. It was then that I noticed his leg—he had arge gash across his thigh, his leathers torn straight through around that area. It wasn’t too deep, but it was enough to make me wince just looking at it.


    “You’re wounded,” I said, taking Alexander’s arm. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”


    Alexander huffed but didn’t argue as I led him back to the house. In the barracks, he sat down on a chair by the firece while I gathered some warm water, antiseptic, and bandages. I perched on a footstool in front of him and carefully dabbed at his wound with the water, cleaning away some of the dried blood.


    “You’re dragging the cloth through the wound,” Alexander grunted.


    “You’ll live,” I said coolly. Once I was finished, I poured some of the alcohol on a gauze pad and began to dab gently at the gash. Thankfully, it didn’t seem deep enough to need stitches, and Alexander’s Alpha healing had already begun to mend the damaged flesh around the edges.


    “You should stay off of this leg for the rest of the day,” I chided gently as I worked. “Give it time to—”


    “I know how to handle my own wounds.”


    Alexander’s jab made my teeth clench, but I continued working. I couldn’t tell if he was jealous or bitter or just being surly for the sake of it, but I refused to indulge him.


    “Being passive aggressive will get you nowhere,” I said without looking at him. “Whatever you have to say, just say it directly.”


    “Fine. Your affair with Liam is too obvious. It’s going to negatively affect my reputation and the election.”


    My hands stilled as I wrapped Alexander’s leg. His reputation? That was all he cared about, wasn’t it? Not the fact that his precious childhood friend had likely pushed me out of a hayloft.


    “Nothing has happened between me and Liam,” I said, tying off the bandage with a jerking motion. “Ever since he got here, I have been respectful and nothing more than friends.” I stood so I was now towering over Alexander. “It’s you who has had another woman in the picture since the beginning of our marriage.”


    Alexander blinked up at me. “What are you talking about?”


    “Oh, don’t y dumb. Sophia,” I said, tossing the leftover bandages into the first aid kit. “You take her to the Spring Market every year. You’ve never invited me. Not even once. Not even in front of the Board you care about so much. Not until Liam, out of pity, offered to take me instead.”


    I shook my head and forcefully grabbed the bowl of bloody water, causing some to slosh out onto the stone floor. “For years, you have always chosen her over me. You allow her to walk all over me, to boss me around for banquets, to treat me like a servant in the home that I should be in charge of. I am your Luna, Alexander. But not to her. To her, and maybe even to you, I’m just the ceholder.”


    By the time I finished my speech, I was breathless. Alexander stared at me, and for a long moment, he didn’t move or speak.


    Then, slowly, he pushed himself to his feet and walked over to me. His scent wrapped around me-bourbon and woodfire smoke. Sweat, earth, and blood.


    I gritted my teeth as I looked up at him, preparing myself for another insult. Perhaps he would tell me I was being foolish. Perhaps he would even tell me that I was right-that Sophia was the real Luna in his eyes.


    But I was surprised to see that his face had softened somewhat, and those green eyes flicked down to my cheeks.


    And it was then that I realized my face was wet from tears.