CHAPTER 44: LIKE MINDS 1

HAZEL

The moment we stepped out of the garden, my mother’s composure shattered.

Her hand shot out and gripped my arm with enough force to bruise. Her nails dug through the silk of my sleeve, and before I could even process what was happening, she yanked me forward so violently I stumbled.

"You fool," she hissed. Her voice was low but seething with fury. "You absolute fool."

I tried to pull away but her grip only tightened. We were out of sight now, tucked behind the hedge that lined the path back to the main driveway. Hidden from the guards. Hidden from Fia’s crying eyes and Cian’s prying guards.

"What are you talking about?" I kept my voice steady even though my heart had started racing. My mother had been angry many times before. But this was different. This was rage.

She shoved me back, and I caught myself against the stone wall. The impact knocked the breath from my lungs.

"We threw away a diamond," she said. Each word was clipped. Sharp. "We threw away a diamond and kept the trash."

I stared at her. "What?"

"Fia." My mother’s face twisted with something between disgust and desperation. "That omega. We gave her power. We gave her everything and we kept nothing for ourselves."

My confusion turned to disbelief. "Mother, what are you saying?"

"She’s not suffering here!" My mother gestured wildly back toward the house. Toward the gardens where we’d just been. "Did you see? You needed to see it. The way... Did you see the way he looks at her? The way he protects her?"

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. The sound came out sharp and bitter. "Mother, are you delusional? He doesn’t care about her. He said it himself. She’s an obligation. A responsibility forced on him by the mate bond."

"You’re blind," my mother snapped. "You’re blind if you think that’s all it is."

"There were welts on her arms." I stepped forward and met her eyes directly. "Red angry welts all over her skin. She was suffering. She. Is. Suffering. And you didn’t see her face when I told her about Milo. She broke. Completely broke. That omega is miserable here and Cian doesn’t give a damn about her."

My mother shook her head. "No. She probably has welts because the environment is still new. Because she is still settling. That’s normal. Omegas have the worst immune system. That’s expected. But he was tending to her, Hazel. He was caring for her. The way he spoke to me. It was protective. If he did not care, he would not be that way. I am not blind. His pack, his business. Miss me with that bullshit."

"Or maybe he just wanted you out of his business," I shot back. "You said as much. His pack, His business. Those were his exact words, right? Alphas have pride, Mother. You said that yourself. He’s not going to let us dictate how he treats his Luna, even if she’s trash."

My mother’s hand came up fast. I saw the movement but didn’t register what was happening until her palm connected with my cheek.

The slap echoed in the quiet space between us.

I stood there stunned. My face stung where she’d hit me. Heat spread across my skin and I could already feel the shape of her hand starting to form in red.

"How dare you," I whispered.

"How dare I?" My mother’s voice rose slightly before she caught herself and lowered it again. "How dare you lose Cian Donlon. How dare you let that omega take what should have been yours."

"I didn’t let her do anything." My own anger was starting to build now. Starting to push past the shock of being struck. "I had a choice. I gave her Cian. She has him because I did not want him. You helped me, remember? You helped me get rid of him. So what is going on ow? What terrifies you?"

My mother’s eyes flickered. For the first time, I saw it clearly. Not just her anger. Not just her bitterness.

Fear.

It cut deeper than any slap.

She didn’t answer right away. Didn’t shout or deny what I’d said. She just stood there with her hand still raised, shaking slightly as if the force she’d used had rattled her more than me.

"What terrifies me?" she repeated softly.

The words seemed to drain her. Her shoulders sagged. Her breathing grew shallow.

"I thought we were safe," she said. "I thought with you free, and Fia sent off in your place... I thought we’d dodged a curse. But I was so wrong. You would have had everything if you had married Cian. But no. We gave that away. My love for you blinded me to reason."

"Oh, please," I said flatly, "if anything, you should be thanking me. You’re acting like Fia is suddenly about to become a maiden of the Moon Goddess just because Cian put you in your place. Knowing you, you probably said some shit to him. What did you say?"

"Forget that." Mother argued.

"There we have it," I scoffed.

"Hazel! She is in the Luna suite of this pack," my mother snapped. "Eating from gold plates. Probably being served by the highest-ranking omegas in the pack. That was supposed to be you."

"And? She’s sitting in a fancy cage. That’s all."

My mother stared at me like she wanted to tear the certainty right out of my body.

"You didn’t see what I saw," she said slowly. "The way he stood when he spoke of her. His body was angled—guarded. I’ve seen that before. I saw it in your father when anyone even breathed wrong in... in... Fia’s mother’s direction. That is not how an Alpha speaks of someone he despises. An Omega he despises."

"What I saw," I shot back, "was a woman breaking. A woman who is one nudge away from a complete mental collapse. Her mate bond...goddess given trash by the way... is eating her alive. This pack hates her. Cian barely tolerates her. She’s alone. And she knows it."

"If you think she’s weak," my mother said. "That will be your downfall."

"No," I said, stepping closer. "I think she’s finished. Unlike you, mother, I do not let my enemies rise before I clip their wings."

"The pack won’t let an outsider rise. Especially one that infiltrated their ranks with deceit. She has no allies. No power. Just a title wrapped around her throat like a noose. And Cian? You heard him. The only loyalty he has to her is because the goddess forced it."

"I’m disappointed in you," my mother said quietly. The words hurt more than the slap had. "I thought you were smarter than this. I thought you would understand what could be at stake if I am right."

"I understand perfectly." I straightened my spine and lifted my chin. "If I wanted Cian Donlon, I could have him. He is but a man with a cock for brains. But I do not want him. And I do not care about Fia. I’m telling you to sit back and watch me. I will be the bride of an equally powerful Alpha. I will actually be wanted, though. You’ll see."