The next morning, my knees still ached from crawling across rose petals. The pack house was quiet as I slipped into Megan's quarters, armed with cleaning supplies. The scent of her vanilla perfume lingered in the air, making my stomach turn.

"Make sure you get every corner," Tessa had instructed with a smirk. "Our future Luna deserves a spotless room."

I scrubbed the marble floor on my hands and knees, my raw skin stinging with each movement. The floorboard near the bed caught my attention—it was slightly raised, as if something was underneath. My heart quickened as I pried it open with my fingernails.

A phone. An old burner phone, the kind rogues used to avoid pack tracking.

My fingers trembled as I picked it up. It was dead, but I tucked it into my pocket anyway. Throughout the day, I continued working, waiting for a moment alone to charge it.

That evening, locked in my closet-sized room, I plugged the phone into an old charger I'd salvaged from the trash. The screen flickered to life, and my breath caught in my throat.

Messages. Dozens of them, archived from five years ago.

"The payment is confirmed," one read. "Make sure the attack looks convincing. We need video evidence."

Another: "Film the bitch naked. Make it look like she's submitting willingly."

My hands shook so badly I nearly dropped the phone. The sender was listed only as "King," but the recipient was clearly Megan.

"The Alpha's mate will be ruined," another message said. "Once he sees her betraying him, he'll have no choice but to reject her."

The room spun around me. Five years of suffering, of silence, of crawling on the floor like an animal—all because of this. Because Megan had orchestrated everything.

I clutched the phone to my chest. Finally, proof. Finally, someone would have to listen.

---

I hurried through the pack house the next day, the phone hidden in my apron pocket. Gamma Marcus would be in his office now—he was Axl's second-in-command, perhaps he would listen where others wouldn't.

The hallway stretched endlessly before me. Pack members averted their eyes as I passed, but I didn't care anymore. The weight of the phone against my hip felt like hope.

Voices drifted from around the corner. I froze.

"The Luna position requires strength," Axl's voice carried clearly. "Not weakness."

"Flora has been... difficult," Marcus replied cautiously.

"She's been nothing but a disappointment," Axl said, his voice hardening. "A wolfless traitor who couldn't even protect herself during a rogue attack."

My blood ran cold.

"Do you think she'll ever speak again?" Marcus asked.

Axl's laugh was hollow. "I prefer her silent. A wolfless bitch has nothing of value to say anyway."

I pressed myself against the wall, my heart hammering so loudly I feared they would hear it. Marcus wouldn't help me. No one would defy the Alpha.

---

Desperation drove me to his office that afternoon. I had to try. Even if it meant facing him directly.

Axl sat behind his massive oak desk, his red eyes narrowing as I entered without knocking. "You dare interrupt me?"

I pulled out the phone with shaking hands, holding it up like a shield.

"What's that?" he demanded, rising from his chair.

Before I could respond, the door burst open. Megan stumbled in, her face contorted in pain.

"She pushed me!" she cried, collapsing dramatically to the floor. "She attacked me!"

Axl moved faster than I could track, catching Megan in his arms. "What happened?"

"She came at me with that phone," Megan sobbed, pointing at me. "Said she'd destroy us both."

"That's not true!" I tried to scream, but only silence emerged.

Axl's eyes flashed dangerously as he looked from Megan to me. Without hesitation, he snatched the phone from my hand and smashed it against the wall. Pieces scattered across the floor like my shattered hopes.

"Enough!" he roared, advancing toward me.

His hand closed around my throat, lifting me until my feet barely touched the ground. Black spots danced in my vision as his grip tightened.

"Megan carries my heir," he growled, his face inches from mine. "If you ever threaten her again—if you ever even look at her wrong—it will be the last thing you do."

I clawed at his hand, gasping for air. Megan watched from behind him, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

"The pack doctor confirmed it this morning," she said softly. "We're having a son."

Axl's grip loosened slightly, but his eyes remained murderous. "You're lucky I need you alive to serve as an example to other Omegas."

He released me suddenly, and I crumpled to the floor, gulping air. The phone lay in pieces nearby, its secrets destroyed forever.

"Get out," he ordered. "And if you ever try to harm my mate or my child again, there won't be enough left of you to bury."

I crawled backward, my lungs burning and my heart breaking all over again. The truth had been in my hands, and now it was shattered beyond repair.

As I reached the doorway, Megan's voice followed me: "Oh, and Flora? Happy anniversary."

The morning after my confrontation with Axl and Megan, I awoke to a pack announcement that made my blood run cold.

"The annual Luna's Ball will proceed as scheduled," Axl's voice boomed through the pack house speakers. "All ranking members are expected to attend."

I pressed my palm against my mouth to stifle a gasp. The Luna's Ball was traditionally hosted by—and named for—the Luna of the pack. For five years, I'd been excluded, but the announcement continued.

"Additionally," Axl's voice hardened, "to ensure our visiting Alphas receive proper service, Flora will assist as staff."

Tessa burst into my room, her eyes gleaming with malicious delight. "You heard? You're going to be a servant at your own ball." She tossed a package onto my bed. "Your uniform."

Inside lay a black dress so short it barely qualified as clothing—a maid's outfit straight from a bad movie. The kind designed to humiliate.

"Axl wants you to wear this," Tessa said, her voice dripping with satisfaction. "No shoes. No jewelry. Just this."

My fingers trembled as I touched the cheap fabric. This wasn't just service—it was deliberate degradation.

---

The night of the ball arrived with cruel inevitability. I stood at the entrance of the grand hall, the ridiculous uniform clinging to my body, my feet bare against the cold marble floor.

"Remember your place," Marcus muttered as he passed. "Don't embarrass the pack."

I nodded mechanically, my throat constricting around words I couldn't say.

The hall glittered with chandeliers and polished wood. Pack members wore their finest formal attire, mingling with visiting Alphas from neighboring territories. And there, at the center of it all, stood Axl in his ceremonial Alpha attire—with Megan draped across his arm like a trophy.

My breath caught as I saw what hung around her neck: the Luna's ancestral moonstone necklace. The sacred artifact passed down through generations of true Lunas, the symbol of the Moon Goddess's blessing.

It should have been mine.

"Ah, Alpha Jensen," Axl's voice carried across the room as he guided Megan toward a group of visiting Alphas. "Allow me to introduce my future Luna."

Future Luna. The words sliced through me like silver blades.

Megan's fingers caressed the moonstone as she smiled. "It's an honor to wear the ancestral stone. Axl says it suits me better than it ever suited... well."

Their laughter followed me as I moved through the crowd with a tray of champagne flutes, invisible except when someone needed a drink.

---

"Psst, little Omega."

I turned to find Alpha Donovan of the Riverside Pack blocking my path near the kitchen entrance. His eyes raked over my body, lingering in places that made my skin crawl.

"You're the one they call the Silent Luna, aren't you?" He stepped closer, his breath reeking of alcohol and entitlement. "I've heard about you. The Alpha's little pet."

I tried to step around him, but he grabbed my wrist.

"No wolf scent," he murmured, leaning in to sniff my neck. "Just as they said. A broken toy."

His hand slid up my arm, then down to my waist, pulling me against him. "Does your Alpha share his toys, I wonder?"

Panic surged through me. I twisted away, but his grip tightened.

"Let go," I tried to scream, but only silence emerged.

His hand slid lower.

A crash shattered the moment as I dropped my tray. Glass shattered across the floor, drawing attention.

Axl appeared in the doorway, his eyes narrowing at the scene.

"Alpha Donovan," he said coolly. "Is there a problem?"

"She's feisty," Donovan chuckled, not releasing me. "I like that."

Axl's expression didn't change. Instead, he laughed—a cold, hollow sound that cut deeper than any blade.

"She's just a clumsy Omega," he said dismissively. "Do what you want, just don't break the furniture."

---

I escaped to the gardens, gasping for air that wouldn't come. The moon hung heavy and full in the sky, bathing everything in silver light.

My hands shook as I gripped the stone balustrade. Inside, Megan wore my necklace and claimed my title while I was handed from one predator to another like property.

I looked up at the moon, feeling something stir within me—not just Serafina, but something deeper. A resolve.

I couldn't leave quietly. I couldn't just run.

The mate bond gave Axl power over me—the power to command my silence, to control my body, to destroy my spirit piece by piece.

But there was one way to break that power.

One way to sever the tie that bound us.

The pack meeting was scheduled for tomorrow morning. All members would be present. Including me.

Including the Alpha who thought he owned me.

I straightened my spine, feeling something cold and determined settle in my chest.

"I, Flora Gibson," I whispered silently to the moon, "reject you, Alpha Axl Morrison..."

The words felt like power on my tongue, even if no sound emerged.

Tomorrow, I would find my voice. Or die trying.