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I woke a few seconds before the Beta. Before I could think of alerting him of my awareness, his emotions hit me. Look, I won’t lie like I didn’t feel bad about what happened last night, but disgust and remorse were far from what I felt.

Fear was my concern. The moment the bond formed, I felt my bond with Markis shattering. His fury and rage flowed through our connection right before it broke completely. He knows I’m mated to another.

I left the Beta’s cabin and immediately came to find Moira. Without turning my car off, I park it in front of the store. I wasn’t worried about the shop not being there. Moira knew I was coming back.

The little bell over the door chimes. I scan the antique store until I spot Moira in her childlike form. Her two curly pigtails hang down her back. Her pecan brown skin and baby face stare back at me as if she does not know who I am. I storm over to her.

“What the hell were you thinking?” I shout.

Moira’s brown eyes widen before they water. Is she crying? A dark-skinned woman comes around the corner and grabs the little girl.

“Have you lost your mind?” the woman shouts at me.

I’m confused until an elderly lady steps around the dark-skinned woman, a smirk planted on her face.

“You have to excuse her,” the older woman says to the lady. “She had a very eventful night.”

The woman turns her nose up at me before grabbing her daughter’s hand and walking past me.

“I’m sorry,” I shout at their backs. They don’t stop to acknowledge my apology. The bell chimes over their heads as they leave the shop.

“Someone is in a bad mood.”

I swing around to glare at Moira.

“Are you fucking kidding me? I came to you for help.”

She calmly lifts her shoulders to her ears before dropping them back down. “And I helped. You needed to break the soul tie with your ex without killing yourself in the process. Is it not broken?” She turns and walks toward her register.

I follow behind her. “Markis knows I broke the bond. He’s going to come for me.”

She stops behind her counter, picking up a beaded necklace. She examines the turquoise beads thoroughly before hanging it on a necklace display on top of her counter.

“He was always going to come for you, Huntress.”

Rubbing my forehead, I shut my eyes and hope for patience. “I know that, Moira,” I growl as I look back at her. “But he was too focused on revenge. I had more time.”

“And you still have that time. He can no longer rip your secrets from your memories. Not to mention the other part of his plan.”

She looks at me with a pointed look. She’s right, with the bond broken, there is another part of his plan that will be delayed.

“What am I supposed to do?”

She places her elbows down on the desk in front of her, leaning forward she smiles at me. “That is for you to figure out. I just bought you more time.”

Ugh! I knew coming to this shop was a bad idea. Yes, Moira solved part of the problem, but did it have to be with me being mated to the Beta. The memory of his disgust and regret plays through my head again.

Figuring I would not get any more help from Moira, I turn to leave.

“Huntress,” she calls out to me. I turn around to face her. “Sacrifices will have to be made. Your job will be to figure out who will be the sacrificial lamb.”

With those ominous words floating around my head, I start my trek back home.

I stopped by the grocery store in town before heading back to my cabin. I have a feeling things are going to get hostile for me and Marley again. The pack will not accept this mating thing.

“Marley, come help me with these bags,” I call out as I step into the foyer with my arms weighed down with groceries.

“I got it.”