I sat rigid beside Marcus at the morning pack meeting, my face a carefully crafted mask of serenity. Every cell in my body screamed to flee, to howl my anguish to the moon, but I remained poised—the perfect Luna everyone expected me to be.

Lyra paced restlessly within me. *How can you sit next to him? I can smell her on him.*

*We need to be strategic,* I replied silently. *We need to know everything before we act.*

Marcus's voice boomed across the meeting hall as he addressed the gathered pack members. "The Northern territory expansion is proceeding as planned. Beta Liam will oversee the construction of the new training facilities."

I nodded and smiled at appropriate moments, my jewelry designs spread before me as if I were fully engaged in planning the upcoming ceremonies. Inside, I was numb, replaying yesterday's scene in an endless, torturous loop.

As the meeting concluded and pack members began to disperse, Marcus leaned toward Beta Liam and Gamma Rhys, lowering his voice. "I need to speak with you both about the ceremonial necklace."

My pencil stilled against the paper. The ceremonial necklace—the one I'd been expecting for our fifth anniversary, the one I'd been sketching designs for just yesterday.

"Is it ready?" Liam asked, his voice hushed.

"The craftsman delivered it yesterday," Marcus replied, a hint of excitement in his tone that twisted the knife in my heart. "It's exquisite—exactly what I wanted for the occasion."

"Your Luna will be pleased," Rhys commented, and I detected an odd tension in his voice.

There was a pause—brief but heavy.

"It's not for Victoria," Marcus said, his voice dropping even lower. "I'm giving it to Amber. It's time to make changes around here."

The pencil snapped between my fingers. The sound, though small, drew their attention. I quickly gathered my sketches, avoiding their eyes.

"Excuse me," I said, my voice miraculously steady. "I just remembered an urgent design issue I need to address for the Blackwater Pack's ceremony."

Marcus nodded dismissively, already turning back to his confidants. "Of course, dear."

The endearment, once treasured, now felt like acid on my skin.

I walked—didn't run, walked—from the meeting hall, maintaining my composure until I reached the corridor. Then my steps quickened, my breath coming in shallow gasps as Lyra's growls grew louder in my mind.

*He commissioned a sacred mate necklace for her,* she snarled. *The ultimate desecration.*

I leaned against the cool stone wall, fighting for control. The necklace was more than jewelry—it was a symbol of eternal commitment, blessed by the pack elders, infused with ancient magic. For Marcus to give such a sacred item to his mistress...

"Luna Victoria?"

I straightened immediately, schooling my features. Beta Liam stood before me, concern evident in his eyes.

"Are you unwell?" he asked, studying my face.

"Just a momentary dizzy spell," I lied smoothly. "Nothing to worry about."

Liam shifted uncomfortably, not meeting my eyes. "I... I wanted to make sure you were alright after leaving so suddenly."

Something in his demeanor—a mixture of guilt and unease—caught my attention. Did he know? Of course he knew. He was Marcus's Beta, his closest confidant.

Lyra's voice was calculating in my mind. *He's uncomfortable. Use it.*

"Liam," I said softly, touching his arm. "You've always been loyal to this pack—to both your Alpha and Luna."

He swallowed visibly. "Always, Luna."

"Then perhaps you can help me with something," I continued, my mind racing ahead. "I've been conducting an audit of our ceremonial archives. Some... inconsistencies have emerged."

His brow furrowed. "Inconsistencies?"

"Nothing alarming," I assured him with a gentle smile. "But I need access to the security records to verify some details. For the protection of the pack's assets, you understand."

Liam hesitated, conflict clear on his face.

"I would ask Marcus," I added, "but he's so busy with the territory expansion. I wouldn't want to burden him with administrative concerns."

After a long moment, Liam nodded. "I can lend you my credentials for the archive system," he said quietly. "Just... be discreet."

"Of course," I replied, my heart racing with grim triumph. "This is about protecting what matters most to all of us."

As Liam walked away to retrieve his access card, I felt Lyra's savage satisfaction merge with my own growing resolve. The sacred mate necklace was meant to be mine—a symbol of our unbreakable bond. Instead, it would become the first piece of evidence in my carefully constructed revenge.

And Marcus would never see it coming.

The pack house corridors were eerily silent as I slipped through the shadows, my footsteps barely audible against the polished stone floor. It was well past midnight—the time when even the night patrol would be changing shifts, creating a perfect five-minute window of opportunity.

Lyra was alert within me, her senses heightened. *Be careful. If anyone catches us...*

'No one will,' I assured her, though my heart hammered against my ribs.

I reached the security hub—a small, temperature-controlled room filled with humming servers and glowing monitors. Beta Liam's access card trembled slightly in my hand as I swiped it through the reader. The light flashed green, and the door unlocked with a soft click.

I'd never been in this room before. As Luna, I'd never needed to be. The irony wasn't lost on me that my first visit was to gather evidence against the very mate I had sworn to honor and support.

*There,* Lyra directed my attention to the main console. *The mind-link logs.*

Every Alpha had the ability to communicate telepathically with pack members—a sacred gift from the Moon Goddess. But what many didn't know was that the Silverstone Pack, paranoid after a betrayal generations ago, recorded all official mind-links through their security system. Marcus had shown me this feature once, proud of his pack's technological advancement.

Now it would be his undoing.

I logged in with Liam's credentials, navigating quickly to the archive. My fingers flew across the keyboard, searching for any communication between Alpha Marcus Blackwood and Amber Rodriguez. The system hummed as it processed my request.

Results flooded the screen—dozens of exchanges, dating back months.

'Meet me at the sacred pool. No one will disturb us there.'

'Wear that red dress I like. Nothing underneath.'

'I've made sure Victoria will be occupied with the Blackwater Pack's ceremony preparations all afternoon.'

Each message was timestamped, each one a dagger in my heart. But I couldn't afford to feel the pain now. I inserted a small drive into the console and began downloading everything—the conversations, the coordinates of their meeting places, the scheduled times.

A noise in the corridor made me freeze. Footsteps. Coming closer.

*Hurry,* Lyra urged.

The download completed with seconds to spare. I pocketed the drive, logged out, and slipped from the room just as the footsteps rounded the far corner. Pressing myself into an alcove, I held my breath as a night guard passed, oblivious to my presence.

Back in our private quarters—quarters that now felt tainted by Marcus's betrayal—I spread the evidence across my hidden journal. Maps of the pack territory with the sacred grounds marked in red. Timestamps of each rendezvous. Transcripts of their intimate conversations.

'Tomorrow, while she's at the council meeting, I'll show you just how much I've missed you.'

'The Luna suspects nothing. She's too trusting, too naive.'

The words blurred as tears filled my eyes, but I blinked them away. This wasn't the time for weakness. This was the time for meticulous planning.

*He took her to our sacred grounds,* Lyra snarled, her rage burning through me. *Where we performed our mate ceremony.*

"I know," I whispered, arranging the evidence chronologically. "And he'll pay for that desecration."

With trembling hands, I reached for my phone. It was time for the call I'd been dreading—the one that would make all of this real.

My mother answered on the second ring, her voice warm and familiar. "Victoria? It's late, darling."

"Mother," I said, my voice breaking despite my best efforts. "I need your help."

There was a pause, and when Selene Sterling spoke again, her tone had shifted from maternal warmth to the steely resolve of the Moonrise Pack's Luna. "What has he done?"

The dam broke. Through quiet sobs, I told her everything—the messages, the video, the sacred necklace meant for Amber, the mind-link logs revealing their meetings on hallowed ground. With each revelation, my mother's breathing grew more controlled, more dangerous.

"You'll come home immediately," she said when I'd finished, no question in her voice. "I'll contact Elder Roman from the Lycan Council at first light. The rejection papers will be drafted by tomorrow evening."

"No," I said, surprising myself with my steadiness. "Not yet. I need to plan this carefully. When I reject him, I want it to destroy him completely."

A moment of silence, then a sound I hadn't expected—my mother's approving laugh. "You truly are my daughter. Very well. What do you need from me?"

As I outlined my requirements—legal counsel, sanctuary preparation, strategic timing—I felt Lyra's savage satisfaction merge with my own growing resolve. Marcus believed me naive and trusting. He would soon discover just how dangerous I could be.

The mate bond between us throbbed painfully in my chest—a reminder of what once was, and what had been irreparably broken. But as I studied the evidence spread before me, another emotion began to eclipse the pain.

Anticipation.