For one heartbeat, I thought I was saved.

The next second, my blood turned to ice.

Because I watched Vivienne enter from a door on the other side — and throw herself straight into Cain's arms.

He bowed his head and held her. A tenderness surfaced on his face that I had never seen in seven years of marriage. His gaze swept past the glass wall, but he didn't see me at all.

He couldn't see me.

It was a one-way observation wall, crafted with forbidden pack magic. I could see everything on his side with perfect clarity. All he saw was a solid stone wall.

Vivienne had planned this.

That sliver of hope turned to dust.

Laughter erupted behind me from the rogues.

"Not screaming anymore, Luna? That's your Alpha on the other side of the glass, isn't it? Watching your man hold another woman while you get the shit beaten out of you — Vivienne really knows how to put on a show."

When they'd laughed enough, one of them crouched and tossed my phone in front of me.

"Oh, right. Vivienne set up a little game for you."

"Call your Alpha. If he picks up, we let you go — and Vivienne disappears forever. If he doesn't pick up, well—"

The rest was swallowed by their laughter.

They grabbed my hand and forced it onto the phone, triggering the call.

The ringtone echoed through the sealed room, hollow and empty.

Through the glass, I watched Cain's phone light up in his pocket. He frowned slightly, gently pushed Vivienne aside, and murmured, "Why is Wren calling now…"

He reached for the phone.

Vivienne's eyes went red instantly.

"You pushed me away." Her voice trembled with hurt. "You say you love me, but you can't even hold me without pushing me aside?"

She paused, bit her lip, as if summoning enormous courage for what came next.

"You think I don't know? Every time you sleep with her, you're thinking of me."

The words carried through a sound charm embedded in the wall of my cell — every syllable, crystal clear.

My mind went blank.

Every full moon, Cain and I shared a bed. It was the only intimacy we still maintained as mates. He was ice-cold toward me in every other way, but on those nights he was the opposite — fervent, almost unrecognizable.

I never knew that every time he held me, he was thinking of another woman.

He'd poured every forbidden desire he had onto my body.

I froze. On the other side of the glass, Cain froze too.

Vivienne took his hand and slowly guided it to the back of her neck — the marking spot.

She looked up at him, her voice equal parts seduction and ultimatum.

"Cain, I can't spend the rest of my life just being your soul's match."

"If you don't mark me, I'll find another Alpha who will."

The phone kept ringing, stretching those seconds into an eternity.

I watched Cain's eyes flicker — hesitation, conflict.

Then he killed the call, lowered his head, and sank his teeth into the back of Vivienne's neck.

He marked her.

In the same instant the rogues descended on me, Cain completed his mark on Vivienne.

She let out a sigh of pure satisfaction and leaned against his chest. Her gaze drifted toward the glass wall — she couldn't see me, but she knew I was watching.

And I was on the floor beneath the rogues' fists and boots, screaming for help that wouldn't come, silver burning my wrists raw, wolfsbane keeping my wolf silent as death.

One wall apart.

Heaven and hell.

When the blows landed, I stopped fighting.

I stared at the ceiling. Tears ran down in silence.

When I woke, the room was empty.

The silver cuffs had been removed at some point. Two deep burn scars ringed my wrists.

I dragged myself up, numb, and stumbled back to the pack house.

Locked myself in the bathroom. Turned on the cold water.

It ran over a body covered in wounds. It didn't wash away a thing.

My phone buzzed three times.

The first was from Cain:

[Stay in the pack and behave. I'm away for a week on business.]

The second was from Vivienne.

Two photos — a private beachfront villa Cain had booked for her on the southern coast. Blue ocean, golden sun.

I curled in on myself, retching until there was nothing left to bring up.

Only scalding tears remained.

The third message was from the Alpha Council:

[Luna Wren, the Mate Bond dissolution process is complete. The bond will sever automatically at tomorrow night's full moon.]

The bond dissolution… finally done.

Cain and I were both free.

I was letting him go. And letting myself go.

With trembling hands, I packed the last of my belongings and picked up the moonstone pendant the butler had returned.

The pendant held witch-forged magic — capable of replaying any event from the past ten days.

I captured every moment from last night's cell — and every moment from the wolfsbane punishment before it — stored them in full, and left them as a parting gift for Cain.

I took one last look at the front gates of the Ashford Pack house, turned around, and set out on the road back to Kingsley Pack.

At the same moment, those recorded images sent shockwaves through every pack that saw them.