Chapter 3

• Dallas’s POV
• The call tone sliced through the quiet room. An international number flashed on my communicator with a cold light that made my gut twist. I knew that number. It belonged to the Moonmender, the one who had taken a piece of my rib five years ago in exchange for saving Damian’s life.
• Why would he call me now? Our agreement should have ended long ago.
• My hand drifted to my abdomen. A phantom ache flickered along the place where that bone had once been. Inside me, my wolf Serena stirred with a low warning rumble.
• “Do not answer,” she said. “Nothing good comes from him.”
• I hit decline before the call could fully connect.
• “Probably spam from overseas,” I said lightly.
• Damian’s ears tilted in my direction. He caught the tension in my voice. “If scammers can reach you, your number is compromised. I will arrange a new line for you tomorrow.”
• I opened my mouth to object, but his comm-link chimed. Eveline.
• Serena’s growl deepened. “Her again.”
• Damian’s gaze flickered with guilt. He muted the call and said, “The council needs me. Stay here.” Then he left with a purposeful stride.
• The silence he left behind pressed against my chest. His scent, warm and sharp, lingered in the air.
• I looked down at my own communicator, connected to Frostclaw’s observation node. Damian thought it was nothing more than a harmless interface. He had no idea it could monitor his location and audio feed.
• I hesitated, knowing full well I was choosing pain, then tapped in.
• The image settled on Damian seated at the bar, staring out the wide window. He looked exhausted, his shoulders heavy, unaware that the silver wind chimes I once folded for him were gone from our home.
• His voice came quietly through the feed. “I will come back to you soon.”
• Then Eveline spoke, her laughter smooth and sweet in a practiced way.
• “Damian, tomorrow is the jewel unveiling. Take me with you. They say the Heart of the Ocean series is Sunny’s work. And Sunny is you, right?”
• Damian stiffened. His ears flicked back.
• Eveline continued, her tone coaxing. “You created that famous design years ago. Everyone knows it. No one has seen Sunny, and every major piece has your touch. It must be you. So tell them tomorrow. Tell them I am your inspiration. Let them know I am Sunny.”
• Serena snapped straight up in my mind. “She dares. She wants to steal what is yours.”
• Damian hesitated. Only a second. Only a breath.
• Then he said, voice low, “Very well. Tomorrow I will present you as Sunny.”
• Eveline squealed with delight. “I knew it. You always give me what I want.”
• My vision wavered. Serena’s fury crackled beneath my skin.
• “He will give away your name,” she said. “Your work. Your pride. He would let her wear your skin if she asked.”
• I cut the feed with shaking fingers.
• I could not sit there and watch him hand over everything I had created.
• My pulse thundered. My wolf urged me on. “Do something.”
• I dialed the international number. The Moonmender answered on the third ring, his voice as sharp and cold as it had been five years ago.
• “Dallas Ashforde. You hung up on me. Shall I repay the insult? Perhaps I should take a rib from Ravenwood tonight.”
• Serena went still, alert, dangerous. “Do not let him provoke you.”
• “I need your help,” I said, keeping my tone steady.
• A soft laugh drifted through the line. “You feared nothing for love back then. What has changed?”
• “Stop talking. Will you take the deal or not?”
• A pause. Then: “Agreed.”
• I laid out what I wanted. Every step. Every detail. My hands trembled only after I ended the call.
• The door opened. Damian returned, his scent pushing into the space before his body appeared. His wolf was alert, something unsettled in the way he looked at me.
• “Dallas,” he said. “You cannot attend the unveiling tomorrow.”
• Serena bristled. “Ask him why. Make him say it.”
• I lifted my chin. “Why?”
• His gaze slid away. “Sunny’s identity must remain hidden. After tomorrow, I will give you anything you want.”
• He left again, unwilling to meet my eyes.
• My nails dug into my palms so hard that blood gathered in the crescents. I did not feel the sting. Only the heaviness of five years spent building him, loving him, offering every piece of myself.
• My communicator chimed. The Moonmender had sent the invitation.
• Serena lifted her head with a quiet, vicious satisfaction. “Good. Let us take back what is ours.”
• Sleep came only in fragments that night. My wolf paced restlessly within me, unable to quiet down.
• At dawn, I put on a ceremonial Frostclaw cloak in a simple pearl white. My movements were calm, but Serena pressed close beneath my skin, ready.
• The Bloodfang estate was already full when I arrived. Wolves of high rank and noble blood filled the hall with anticipation.
• Eveline stood at the center of it all, her arm looped through Damian’s. She laughed softly at something he said, her confidence bright and careless.
• Damian looked at her with a tender warmth that had once belonged to me.
• Serena whispered, “Let him look. Today he sees what he has thrown away.”
• I walked into the hall with my head held high. My steps were steady. My heartbeat was not.
• Damian turned toward the movement. The smile he wore for Eveline disappeared. His expression shattered into shock and then anger. He pulled free of her grip and crossed the distance in strides that echoed across the marble.
• His hand closed around my wrist. His claws pressed lightly against my skin.
• “Who allowed you to come here?” he asked, voice low.
• Serena pushed forward inside me, fierce and unbowed.
• “No one,” I said, meeting his gaze without blinking. “And I came for what is mine.”