Kabanata 5: Chapter 5

Clara’s pov

I left the mating scroll deliberately.

As my moonflight tears through the atmosphere, I catch a final glimpse of the island's far shore—where Caleb's grand moonbond ceremony rages under false pretenses.

He'd spent half a lunar cycle planning this charade, making me believe his alpha oath was true. He even forced me to "supervise" as he transcribed the scrolls—two sets, I now realize.

The ones sent to pack elders bear Juliet's name, not mine.

No wonder the bridal fitting and ritual planning excluded me: Caleb never intended to claim me as his luna.

My fingers trace the two-meter tapestry I stitched for a year—each of the hundred lunar symbols dyed in my blood.

I watched his performance in cold fury, remembering when his every lie triggered a guilty ear twitch.

When we were to pose for our pack union portrait, he pleaded work—yet I caught him at the amusement park, nuzzling Juliet on the ferris wheel.