The hospital corridor stretched before me like a tunnel of dread. I could hear raised voices from the entrance—Diana's strong, protective tone and Lexi's venomous replies. My heart hammered against my ribs as I quickened my pace, my father's silver pendant clutched tightly in my hand.

"You will not enter this hospital," Diana commanded, her voice carrying the weight of her former Luna status. "Not today. Not ever."

I turned the corner just as Lexi's laughter sliced through the air—high and brittle, like breaking glass.

"Your son's mate?" she sneered, her perfect features twisting into something monstrous. "That pathetic little wolf who can't even keep Lorenzo's attention?"

Something in her eyes changed then—a flicker of madness that made my blood run cold. I'd seen that look before, in the eyes of rogues who'd lost their grip on reality.

"Diana, step away!" I shouted, but my warning came too late.

Lexi's body contorted violently, bones cracking and reforming with a sickening sound. Her shift wasn't fluid like a normal werewolf's—it was jagged, wrong. Fur erupted from her skin in patchy clumps, her face elongating into a snout that seemed too large for her skull.

"What is she?" someone screamed from the hospital reception.

Diana stood her ground, her back straight despite the horror unfolding before her. "Valentina, run!"

But I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't tear my eyes away from the nightmare Lexi had become.

Her wolf form lunged forward with unnatural speed, jaws snapping for Diana's throat. The former Luna raised her arms defensively, but she was no match for the feral creature before her.

Blood sprayed across the pristine hospital walls. Diana's body crumpled to the floor, her eyes wide with shock, her throat torn out in a single brutal strike.

"No!" I screamed, rushing forward as Lexi's wolf stood over Diana's body, blood dripping from yellowed fangs.

I dropped to my knees beside Diana, pressing my hands against the wound in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding. Her blood was warm and slick between my fingers.

"Valentina," she whispered, her eyes finding mine. "Be strong... for the pack..."

Her final breath escaped her lips, and I felt something inside me break.

The hospital staff scattered, screaming. Security guards appeared at the far end of the corridor, their faces pale with shock.

I rose slowly to my feet, Diana's blood staining my hands and clothes. Lexi's wolf circled us, leaving bloody pawprints on the sterile floor.

"By the Ancient Law of the Moon Goddess," I said, my voice surprisingly steady despite the rage and grief tearing through me, "I demand a Blood Tribunal."

The words hung in the air like a death sentence. A Blood Tribunal was immediate—an execution for the murder of a pack member. Especially one of Diana's standing.

The warriors hesitated, looking uncertainly between me and the still-shifted Lexi, who had begun to pace like a caged animal.

"Seize her," I commanded, pointing at Lexi's wolf form. "She has murdered the former Luna in cold blood."

The guards moved forward cautiously, silver-tipped nets ready in their hands.

"That's enough!"

Lorenzo's voice cut through the chaos like a whip. He strode through the hospital doors, his face a mask of cold fury.

"Stand down," he ordered, positioning himself between Lexi's blood-soaked wolf and the advancing guards.

I stared at him in disbelief. "She killed your mother, Lorenzo. In front of witnesses."

His eyes met mine briefly before dropping to his mother's body. Something flickered in their depths—grief, perhaps, or guilt—but it vanished so quickly I might have imagined it.

"Lexi is suffering from Rogue Madness," he announced, his voice taking on the unmistakable resonance of an Alpha command. "She is not mentally competent to stand trial."

The guards froze, caught between my demand for justice and their Alpha's orders.

"Rogue Madness?" I echoed incredulously. "She's been back for days! This was calculated murder!"

Lorenzo's eyes flashed dangerously. "Enough, Valentina. You will not speak of this again."

He turned to the guards. "Take Lexi to my private quarters. She needs rest and care."

"Your quarters?" I whispered, horror washing over me. "Not the cells?"

Lorenzo stepped closer, lowering his voice so only I could hear. "If you know what's good for your father, you'll drop this now."

My blood turned to ice. My father lay helpless in the ICU, his life hanging by a thread—a thread Lorenzo could cut at any moment.

"The pack needs stability," Lorenzo continued, his voice carrying to the others. "Not hysteria. My mother's death is a tragedy, but we must be rational."

As the guards led Lexi away—not in chains but with gentle hands—I stood frozen in a pool of Diana's blood, my hands still stained red with her life.

Lorenzo's eyes met mine one final time. "Clean yourself up," he ordered coldly. "And remember your place."

He turned away, following Lexi and the guards toward his private wing of the pack house.

I remained on my knees beside Diana's body, my white dress soaked crimson, my heart hardening into something I no longer recognized.

I followed Lorenzo through the sterile corridors of the pack hospital, my stained dress leaving crimson footprints behind me. Diana's blood had dried on my hands, cracking as I clenched my fists. The ICU loomed ahead—where my father lay helpless, where Lorenzo would feel most powerful.

"Justice!" I screamed, my voice echoing off the tiled walls. "She murdered your mother in cold blood! You saw it happen!"

Lorenzo didn't even flinch. He strode through the automatic doors of the ICU with the confidence of a man who knew he'd already won.

"Lower your voice," he snapped, turning to face me. "This is a place of healing."

"Healing?" I spat the word back at him. "Your mother is dead!"

Something flickered in his eyes—grief, perhaps, or guilt—but it vanished so quickly I might have imagined it. He gripped my arm, his fingers digging painfully into my flesh as he dragged me toward my father's room.

"You need to calm down," he hissed, shoving me through the doorway.

My father lay still on the bed, his chest rising and falling with mechanical precision. The steady beep of monitors and the soft hiss of oxygen were the only sounds in the room. I'd spent countless hours here, reading to him, holding his hand, praying for any sign of recovery.

Lorenzo released my arm and leaned against the doorframe, studying me with cold calculation.

"Let me be perfectly clear," he said, his voice dangerously soft. "If you pursue this Blood Tribunal nonsense, I will personally review all 'unnecessary' uses of pack resources."

My blood turned to ice as his meaning became clear.

"Your father has been on life support for three years," he continued, gesturing to the machines keeping my father alive. "Three years of expensive treatments, round-the-clock care, special medications... all for a Gamma who will likely never wake up."

"You wouldn't," I whispered, though I knew he would.

"I'm the Alpha," he replied simply. "I decide what's best for the pack. And right now, what's best is Lexi's return, not some vendetta over an unfortunate accident."

"It wasn't an accident!" I screamed, lunging toward him only to stop short when he stepped closer to my father's bed.

"Choose wisely, Valentina," he said, his hand hovering near the life support machines. "Justice for Diana... or life for your father."

I stared at him in horror, realizing the trap had been set long ago. My father's sacrifice for Lorenzo had become my chain.

"Submit," he commanded, his Alpha tone pressing down on me like a physical weight.

My knees buckled. The mate bond I'd fought to honor for three years now became the instrument of my torture. I felt my wolf whimper inside me, the pain of rejection fresh and raw.

"Submit!" Lorenzo roared, his Alpha command crashing over me.

I collapsed to the floor, my forehead touching the cold tiles beside my father's bed. Tears streamed down my face as I fought against the command.

"I submit," I choked out, the words burning my throat.

Lorenzo crouched beside me, gripping my chin and forcing me to look at him. "Good girl. Now, you will release a statement. Diana's death was a tragic accident caused by a rogue intruder."

"A lie," I whispered.

"The truth," he corrected coldly. "Unless you'd prefer to explain to the pack why we're terminating your father's care."

I closed my eyes, feeling something inside me break. "I'll do it."

---

The pack buzzed with whispers as I walked through the main hall later that day. My statement had spread quickly—the official lie that would protect Lexi and condemn an imaginary rogue.

"Luna?" A hesitant voice called from behind me.

I turned to find Beta Marcus Reid approaching cautiously, his eyes darting around to ensure we were alone.

"I saw the blood on her," he said quietly, his voice barely audible. "On Lexi. After the... incident."

My heart raced. An ally? Someone who believed me?

"The pack is restless," he continued. "We know something isn't right. But without your testimony against the Alpha..."

I swallowed hard, feeling the weight of my father's life on my shoulders.

"Stay away from me," I said flatly.

Marcus blinked in surprise. "Luna?"

"You heard me." I turned away, forcing myself to walk steadily despite the trembling in my limbs. "Stay away."

As I walked away from Marcus, I felt the isolation closing in around me. The pack's unrest was growing—I could feel it in the way they watched me, in the whispers that followed me through the halls.

But my father's life hung by a thread that Lorenzo controlled. And as long as that remained true, I would remain alone in my fight for justice.

Behind me, I could hear Marcus calling my name, his voice growing more desperate as I continued walking away.

The summons came three days after Diana's murder. I was sitting beside my father's bed, watching his chest rise and fall with mechanical precision, when the message arrived through the pack link.

"Luna Valentina," the young Delta messenger said, her eyes downcast. "Lexi requests your presence in the Alpha suite."

My stomach twisted. The Alpha suite—Lorenzo's private quarters where he'd installed Lexi like a queen while her blood still stained the hospital floors.

"I'll go," I said, pressing a kiss to my father's forehead before rising.

The walk to the Alpha suite felt like marching to an execution. Pack members scattered from my path, their eyes filled with pity or judgment. I couldn't tell which was worse.

The door to the suite swung open before I could knock. Lexi stood there, resplendent in a silk robe that clung to her curves. Her golden hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her red lips curved into a predatory smile.

"Valentina," she purred, reaching out to touch my cheek with one manicured finger. "Come in."

I flinched at her touch but forced myself to remain still as I entered what should have been my home—the Luna's rightful place.

"Sit," she commanded, gesturing to a chair across from her.

I remained standing. "What do you want, Lexi?"

Her laugh tinkled like breaking glass. "What do I want? Oh, Valentina. I think I've made that abundantly clear."

She circled me slowly, her fingers trailing across my shoulders. "Poor Diana," she sighed. "So stubborn. She was the only one standing between me and what's rightfully mine."

"You killed her in cold blood," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

"And Lorenzo chose me anyway." Lexi's eyes gleamed with triumph. "Even with your pathetic mate bond, he still chose me. A murderer, as you say."

She leaned in close, her breath hot against my ear. "Because I'm worth choosing, while you're just... there."

Her hand slid down to my throat, pressing lightly against my pulse point. "Did you really think he would ever want you? The Moon Goddess made a mistake with you two."

I jerked away from her touch. "You're insane."

"Am I?" She smiled, all teeth and malice. "I got exactly what I wanted. Diana's dead, Lorenzo's mine, and you're... well, you're still nothing."

---

"Your vitals are good," Elena said quietly as she checked my blood pressure. "But you're not sleeping enough."

I lay on the examination table in the pack hospital, staring at the ceiling. Three days had passed since Lexi's taunting, and I'd barely left my father's side except for this mandatory check-up.

"I'm fine," I lied.

Elena's eyes met mine, and I saw something there—a determination that matched my own. She reached for her tablet, ostensibly reviewing my charts.

"Your father's condition remains stable," she said, her voice pitched just loud enough for the recording devices. "We're adjusting his medication slightly."

As she leaned over to check my father's IV line, she pressed something small and cool into my palm.

"Don't look at it now," she whispered, her lips barely moving.

I closed my fingers around the tiny data chip, keeping my expression neutral as Elena straightened up.

"That's all for today," she announced to the room at large. "Make sure you rest, Luna."

---

Back in my small office, I locked the door and pulled out the data chip Elena had given me. My hands trembled as I inserted it into my tablet.

The screen flickered to life, displaying medical scans and brain activity readings. I recognized them immediately—Lexi's intake exams from her return to the pack.

"She's completely stable," Elena's recorded voice explained. "No signs of Rogue Madness or any other psychological condition. Her prefrontal cortex activity during the... incident... shows calculated planning, not frenzied behavior."

I sank back in my chair, clutching the tablet to my chest. Evidence. Real evidence that could expose Lexi's lie and Lorenzo's betrayal.

But what could I do with it? Lorenzo controlled the pack link, the security forces, my father's life support...

I closed my eyes, remembering the frequency—the private mind-link channel my father and I had used when he was Gamma. A channel that extended beyond pack boundaries to our most trusted trackers.

With trembling fingers, I reached for my communication crystal, focusing on the familiar frequency.

"Tracker," I whispered into the crystal. "I need you."

The reply came almost instantly, a gruff voice tinged with concern. "Luna Valentina? What's wrong?"

"I need the Memory Stone," I said, my voice strengthening with resolve. "The one from my father's old office."

A pause. "That's... that's forbidden territory now."

"I don't care." I pressed my fingers to the crystal, pouring my desperation into the connection. "Find it. Bring it to me."

"Even if I could," the tracker responded cautiously, "what would you do with it?"

I thought of Diana's blood on my hands, of Lexi's taunting smile, of Lorenzo's betrayal.

"I'm going to show the pack the truth," I said. "Even if I can't speak it aloud."