Ragnor

"I called you three here to discuss your coronation coming up in a few days," Father’s voice filled the dimly lit, wood-paneled study, each word carrying a heavy weight.

"And to discuss another urgent matter of importance."

I shifted in my seat, wondering what Father was about to spring on us.

Urgent matter? What could it be this time? Terror inquired, pushing to the surface.

I suppressed him, holding him back while turning Father’s words over in my mind.

Reign arched a brow as he watched Father lift the glass of cognac from his large oak desk — that broad slab of wood that stood like a wall between him and us.

His shoulders were less tense than they had been when he first walked in. He leaned back against the sofa he had dropped onto, one ankle crossed over his knee.

Next to him, Ryker’s feet shuffled against the red rug. He tugged at the collar of his shirt awkwardly while the clock on the wall counted the seconds. Tick. Tick. Tick.

The thick whiskey glass met the desk with a dull thud. "Since that godforsaken murderer will only be your mate for a few months, courtesy of the moon goddess — and who knows what she was thinking — I have taken steps."

She was thinking we deserved her, Terror argued.

Stop it, I commanded, placing a firmer leash on him. The last thing I needed was Father sensing any weakness in me where Candace was concerned. I could not afford to be weak.

"I have spoken to the priest about how we can appease the moon goddess through rituals and appeal to her regarding the mate bond," Father continued, his gaze sliding from Ryker to Reign and then settling on me.

"Since that would be the case, Deidre will also be crowned as Luna at your coronation."

My brows knitted in confusion and from the corner of my right eye, I caught Reign and Ryker exchanging a glance, their eyes wide.

"What about the Prikaya bond?" Reign questioned, his hazel eyes flickering with caution as he shrugged. "I’m all for bending rules anytime, pops, but do we really want to provoke the old lady up there?"

"What I am saying," Father ground out, his voice low and clipped, "is that you will have two Lunas at your coronation. Deidre and that wretched murderer. There is no way I would allow the cursed girl who destroyed our family to remain as Luna."

I should have been relieved. That would mean Deidre would still be ours — wasn’t that what I had always wanted? Candace would be removed in a few months, sent back to being a nobody in the pack, and Deidre would take her rightful place by our sides.

But relief didn’t foood my chest, I sucked in a breath as my thoughts spiraled one after the other. Why was Father the one deciding this?

He had done the same thing when choosing Dylan as our Beta without consulting us. It felt suffocating — how many decisions would he make for us before handing over power?

"I don’t think it’s a good idea," Reign mused, his fingers toying with the black stud on his right ear as he gazed up at the ceiling.

"There has never been anything like that in the history of our pack, pops. Two Lunas? That’s a storm of rivalry and tension waiting to break loose over the entire pack."

That was undeniably true. The last thing we needed was to destabilize the pack by forcing through a law like that.

That’s not the real reason you’re against this, and deep down, you know it, Terror accused.

I dismissed him with an irritated scowl.

Whether or not I wanted Candace was irrelevant. Whether her golden eyes sparkled in laughter or swam with tears, none of it mattered anymore. The days when any of it mattered were long behind us.

Still — two Lunas? There had never been such a thing in this pack, or any other that I had read of in our history. Why couldn’t we simply wait until Candace was gone and crown Deidre then? It would be only four months and a few weeks now.

Father’s brows lifted in amusement. "What is this reaction? I thought you three would be overjoyed. Isn’t Deidre the woman you all love? The woman you wanted to marry? I carved out a way for my sons, and I would think you’d have more gratitude for that."

"We’re considering it, Father," I replied, keeping my voice measured. "It’s an unprecedented pack law, and—"

His fist crashed down on the desk, sending a tremor rolling through the room. The walls seemed to vibrate from the force of it as Father’s voice rose, his broad frame shaking with fury.

"What is there to consider?! How many more times will we revisit this conversation over that Sinclair girl? She killed your brother! What else do you fucking need?" He cursed, his eyes wide with anger.

"Your mother’s health has deteriorated ever since we lost River — she is a shadow of herself — and it is all that cursed slave’s doing. What is wrong with the three of you?! Do you want the girl who murdered your brother carrying your heirs? Our grandchildren?!"

"Hell no!" Ryker spat, surging to his feet, his lip curled in revulsion. "Only Deidre will bear our heirs. Right?"

He was right. Why were we hesitating? Every pack law was new at some point after all.

"Right," Reign said, rising slowly. "The only reason Candace is Luna is because she had the nerve to invoke that law."

"Exactly," Father said gruffly, the storm in him ebbing. "We should revise the constitution and strike that law from it entirely."

"Yes, Father." My shoes pressed firm against the rug as I stood.

"That will be all."

As my brothers and I walked out of the study, Ryker bounced with a slight spring to his step, a tangle of emotions briefly crossing his face before it cleared.

"This is for the best. Deidre was always meant to be our Luna before that girl twisted everything around." He said it with a wide smile, though his hands were curled into fists at his sides, a slight detail I didn’t miss.

"Yeah. Best," Reign echoed in a flat tone.

"Did you hear that Dylan will be our Beta?"

Reign stopped walking and swung his gaze to meet mine. "Not Victor?"

"Deidre already told me," Ryker shrugged, unbothered by the fact that our Beta had been selected for us.

"Dylan of all people?" Reign scoffed, his tone razor-edged with sarcasm. "A housefly would serve the role better, just saying."

"We don’t have a choice. Father has decided." I straightened my leather jacket.

Then it hit me, a sweet, soothing scent wound through the corridor and into my nostrils.

Mate, Terror growled.

Candace wasn’t here. So why was her scent— I drew in a slow breath, subtle enough that neither of my brothers would notice, and my eyes snapped to Reign.

No. He wouldn’t have. I inhaled again, deeper this time, letting her scent wrap around my senses before I could stop myself. Then my jaw tightened. My blood ran hot.

I parted my lips to ask him why her scent was clinging to him like a cloak when a familiar voice rang down the hallway.

"My loves."

Deidre was sauntering toward us, wrapped in a pink silk dress that swayed around her as she ran, her dark hair flowing down her shoulders in waves.

I watched her reach for Reign’s hand, watched him lean down to murmur something against her ear — and the question I had not yet asked sat heavier in my chest.

There was no way two Lunas could both hold the full power of the pack. One would be a Luna in name alone while the other would be the true Luna. The question was which one it would be.

Deidre, or Candace?

I dragged my eyes back to my brother’s, studying the fake smile he flashed Deidre.

Had Candace pulled him in — or had he broken the vow we made? There was only one way to find out.