My husband’s mother, Luna Vivienne, ran away with me. She slipped into my room that night, undid my stays, and pressed cold coins against my inner thigh. Her lips grazed my ear. “We leave tonight. Keep these on your body.” It all started because my husband’s father, Alpha Dominic, brought home a mother and daughter. The older woman was his mate. He declared she would replace his wife, Luna Vivienne, and take her place. The younger one,the daughter,just so happened to be my husband’s mate. So that same night, Vivienne crept into my room, her voice barely a whisper: “Pack your things. We leave tonight.” By the next morning, the Pack House stands hollow. Nothing left but two raging men and two weeping women, tearing each other apart inside an empty shell of an estate. — Alpha Dominic Blackmoor,my husband’s father,comes home today. He brings two strangers with him. Their scents are unfamiliar. Sharp. One is a woman who still carries the ghost of youthful beauty; the other can’t be older than seventeen or eighteen. Mother and daughter,the resemblance is unmistakable. I stand behind Luna Vivienne, eyes lowered. My husband, Grayson, stands across from me, but his gaze locks onto the younger girl like a moth pinned to a flame. The want rolling off him is suffocating. None of it is for me. *”The way he’s looking at her,he has NEVER looked at us like that!”* Sage, my wolf, snarls inside me. *”I’ll rip her throat out. I’ll—”* *”Not now. Shut it.”* She paces and rages beneath my skin, her fury so violent I have to clench my fists to keep my hands from shaking. “Vivienne,” Alpha Dominic says, gesturing toward the older woman. “This is Selene. She is my mate. From today forward, she will serve as the new Luna of Blackmoor Pack.” Vivienne’s smile doesn’t falter. Not even a flicker. She actually steps forward, reaching out to clasp Selene’s hand in both of hers. “Welcome. You must be exhausted from the journey.” The smile is flawless. Gracious. Warm. But I notice,her scent gives away nothing. Not a single fluctuation. She is burying her emotions so deep even a wolf can’t sniff them out. Alpha Dominic looks pleased. He turns to Grayson. “This is Mia. Selene’s daughter. She is the mate the Moon Goddess has chosen for you. It’s time to let Elena go and accept her.” Grayson’s face goes red. Not from shame,from excitement. His eyes are glued to Mia, wide and hungry, and he nods. Hard. Something slams into my chest. White-hot, searing,like a branding iron pressed straight against my heart. Sage lets out a low, guttural keen inside me. *”No! He’s OURS! I won’t allow this!”* But I am invisible. A dusty old portrait mounted above the fireplace in the great hall,present, but never worth a glance. Alpha Dominic wants to replace his Luna. His son wants to replace his mate. Two mating ceremonies in one night, right here in the Blackmoor estate. How festive. Vivienne’s voice lifts half an octave, bright with celebration. “How wonderful! Both the Alpha and the future Alpha have found their fated mates,a true blessing from the Moon Goddess. This will strengthen the Blackmoor bloodline immensely.” She turns to the head butler. “Marcus, have the kitchen prepare a feast tonight. And open that bottle of Château Margaux we’ve been saving,the one from twenty years ago.” Then she catches my hand. “Elena, don’t just stand there. Go to the vault. Pull out those jewels and gowns that arrived last month,the Cartier necklace, the Dior couture,and let Selene and Mia each pick a few pieces. Only the best.” I look up and meet her eyes. They are full of warmth. Radiant, even. Like sunlight on a spring morning. So why do I feel ice crawling down my spine? I nod woodenly. “Yes, Luna.” I turn toward the vault. When I pass Grayson, he doesn’t look at me. Every atom of his attention is fixed on Mia. His scent floods my senses as I walk by,pine, leather, and… *want.* Raw, blazing want. Not for me. Never for me. Mia’s cheeks are flushed pink, her lashes trembling, her gaze pulling him in like gravity. He wants her. She wants him right back. So what does that make me? *”Nothing, apparently! And he’s nothing either. Why won’t you leave him? I couldn’t care less about this pathetic excuse for a mate. Go find a real one!”* Sage paces inside me, agitated. I open the vault’s heavy iron door and step inside. I stand there for a long time. My entire value in this Pack has been reduced to one thing: keeping the Pack House running smoothly and eventually becoming a quiet, obedient Luna. Now his real mate has arrived. *”Elena, stop thinking like that. Your worth doesn’t come from him. Walk out of here,or better yet, go back out there and show them what happens when they cross us!”* Sage growls. I can’t answer her. I move deeper into the vault, my fingers trailing over velvet-lined jewelry cases and couture gowns sheathed in garment bags. These things are worth more than my birth pack’s entire treasury. Vivienne wants the best. I open a case and lift out a Cartier necklace dripping with rubies. The stones catch the dim light and throw it back in my eyes like tiny sparks of pain. I carry it out of the vault the way you’d carry a piece of hot iron,at arm’s length, burning your palms anyway. The welcome banquet fills the estate’s great hall. Every high-ranking member of the Pack is there, glasses clinking, laughter rising. But their reactions aren’t uniform. Beta Marcus wears a professional smile, though his hand pauses for just a beat while pouring wine. A cluster of older she-wolves exchange a loaded glance,the kind that says *here we go again.* Warrior Captain Derek stares at his plate like the steak holds state secrets. Alpha Dominic and Grayson sit at the head of the long table, the mother and daughter tucked close beside them, all smiles and easy conversation. Vivienne glides between them, personally filling glasses and passing dishes, her smile never dimming for a single second. She looks genuinely happy. *”These shameless— I’m going to be sick. You should dump that platter right in their faces,”* Sage spits. I hand the jewelry and gowns off to an Omega attendant and slip back to my seat without a word. The steak and roasted vegetables on my plate go untouched. A few whiskeys in, Alpha Dominic’s tongue loosens. He launches into a dramatic retelling of rogue skirmishes in the northern territories. “Selene’s husband was a Pack warrior,killed during a rogue siege. He was one of my most trusted brothers. And Mia, a young she-wolf with no one left in this world,having Grayson accept her as his mate is the greatest honor Blackmoor can offer.” He speaks like he’s bestowing charity on the needy. Like he’s some kind of saint. Grayson nods along, gazing at Mia with something that looks dangerously like tenderness and protectiveness all tangled together. The burn in my chest surges again. My stomach turns inside out. I excuse myself quietly and retreat to my room in the east wing. *Good,* Sage mutters. *I can’t stand his scent for one more second.* Later that night, I hear footsteps. Soft ones. They stop outside my door. Rain,the beta I brought from my birth pack. We grew up together. “Elena, it’s late. You should get some rest.” I don’t answer. A knock. Light. Not Rain’s knock. My pulse spikes. I rise to my feet. My nose catches the scent drifting under the door,white tea and cold fir. Familiar. “Who’s there?” The voice on the other side is barely a breath. “It’s me.” Vivienne. I freeze for a second, then cross the room and pull the door open. She stands in the corridor. The warmth from earlier,the radiant smile, the gracious hostess,all of it is gone. Stripped away like a mask after the final curtain call. Moonlight carves her features into something sharp and cold, her eyes glinting like the edge of a blade. For a split second, I catch a flash of silver deep in her pupils. Her wolf. *Her wolf,* Sage goes rigid. *She’s stronger than we thought. Much stronger.* Vivienne slips inside and shuts the door behind her in one fluid motion. My heart hammers. “Vivienne…” She spins around, closes the distance between us in two quick strides, and seizes my wrist. Her grip is iron,shocking, inhuman,the kind of strength that doesn’t belong to an ordinary she-wolf. Her voice comes fast and low: “Elena, pack your things. We’re leaving. Tonight.” —
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