The Luna Queen's Rebirth (Ellie and Dominic) novel Chapter 457

Chapter 457

I was still shrugging out of my coat when the door creaked open again behind me.

I didn’t jump. I’d been waiting for it.

“You can drop the act now,” I said, turning to face her. “Since it’s just us.”

Vivian pulled the veil back from her face slowly, like she was savoring the reveal. Her smile hadn’t changed since the banquet, that same satisfied curl at the corner of her mouth, same cold eyes that never quite matched the false warmth she let seep into her voice.

“And what act would that be?” She folded her arms.

“The devoted priestess.” I gestured vaguely to the veil, the fine dress, all of it. “You couldn’t sit through a single Moon Goddess ceremony without throwing a hissy fit when we were kids. Do you really expect anyone, even your new adoptive family, to believe that you’ve suddenly become pious enough to change your name and don a veil?”

Something flickered across her face, there and gone before the smile came back sharper than before.

“Devotion doesn’t have to be sincere to work,” she said. “It just has to be convincing. And it was, wasn’t it? Dominic believed it.”

I remained silent as she stepped further into my kitchen, trailing one finger along the back of a chair. “That was all I needed,” she went on. “A couple of nights alone with him, and his guard was down enough to get a mark on his neck.”

“Your bond isn’t complete,” I pointed out.

Her lips curved. “It won’t stay that way for long. Once he marks me back, you’ll be nothing but an unwanted memory from his past. Something he’ll spend the rest of his life wishing he could erase.”

I quirked a brow. “Is that so?”

“Of course,” she said, “it’s a little more complicated with you still around. His wolf is still partially bound to you and won’t let go. If you were to die before I had marked him, it would have ruined him entirely.”

She clicked her tongue. “But with the bond half in place, I can finally get rid of you.” She dropped her hand to her side, reaching toward the folds of her gown. “It won’t tear him up quite as much. He’ll survive the process, and so will his wolf. And once you’re gone, why wouldn’t he just mark me to fill the void?”

“He hates you,” I said. “You do know that, right?”

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