Katarina POV:

The tack room smelled of cedar and polished leather. It was usually my favorite smell. Today, it smelled of betrayal.

I walked in to put my gear away and stopped.

On the main display hook, where my custom saddle usually sat, there was a new helmet. It was velvet, black, and encrusted with small diamonds. On the side, in silver thread, was the De Luca crest.

A note was attached: For Aria. So you can ride like a Queen.

He gave her the crest. The symbol of the Pack. He was practically declaring her Luna in everything but name.

I felt a wave of nausea. I needed to run. I needed to feel the wind to clear the scent of her cheap perfume from my nose.

I bypassed Obsidian. Alessandro had probably contaminated him with her scent already.

Instead, I chose Fury.

Fury was a chestnut mare, young and unpredictable. She fit my mood perfectly.

I tacked her up quickly. I grabbed an older saddle from the back, one I hadn't used in years but looked sturdy enough.

I led Fury out to the jumping course. The sky was grey, threatening a storm.

"Let's go, girl," I whispered.

We started at a trot, then a canter. The rhythm of the horse's hooves soothed me. Thump-thump, thump-thump.

I pushed her into a gallop. The wind whipped my hair back. For a moment, I wasn't the rejected wife. I wasn't the frozen Luna. I was just speed and muscle.

"Jump!" I commanded.

We cleared the first fence easily. Then the second.

The third fence was a double oxer. High and wide.

We approached it fast. Fury gathered her legs. We launched into the air. We were flying.

SNAP.

The sound was like a gunshot.

Mid-air, the girth strap holding the saddle to the horse snapped. The saddle slid sideways violently.

I lost my balance. Gravity took over.

I fell.

I hit the ground hard. The impact knocked the air out of my lungs. I heard the sickening crunch of bone before I felt the pain.

Then, the agony exploded in my right leg.

"Ah!" I gasped, curling into a ball in the dirt.

Fury ran to the other side of the field, spooked.

I tried to move my leg, but a searing, burning heat shot through my thigh. It wasn't just the break. It felt like fire was eating my flesh.

I looked down at my riding pants. The fabric was torn. Blood was seeping out, dark and red.

But the wound... it wasn't healing.

Wolf regeneration is fast. A broken bone should knit in hours. A cut should close in minutes.

This wound was sizzling. Smoke was rising from it.

Silver.

I dragged myself toward the saddle lying in the dirt. I examined the broken buckle.

The metal where it had snapped wasn't just worn. It had been filed down. And coated in a dark, glittering paste.

Liquid silver.

Someone had sabotaged the saddle. Someone wanted me to fall. And they used silver to ensure I wouldn't heal, to ensure the pain was excruciating.

"Help..." I tried to Mind-Link, but the pain was scrambling my focus.

I looked toward the house. Through the haze of agony, I saw them.

Alessandro and Aria were on the patio. He was laughing, holding a glass of wine. She was giggling, pointing at the clouds.

They were so far away.

It took an hour for a patrol guard to find me.

By the time I was in the Pack infirmary, my leg was swollen to twice its size. The doctor, a Beta named Dr. Lewis, looked pale as he cleaned the silver out of the wound.

"This... this shouldn't have happened, Luna," he stammered. "The silver... it's deep."

The door banged open. Alessandro walked in. He held a bouquet of lilies. Not the rare night-blooming ones I grew. Cheap, supermarket lilies.

"What happened?" he asked, sounding annoyed rather than worried. "I was in a meeting."

"The saddle broke," I gritted out, gripping the sheets. "It was sabotaged. With silver."

Alessandro's eyes flickered. He didn't look surprised.

"Don't be dramatic, Katarina," he said, tossing the flowers onto the bedside table. "Equipment fails. You shouldn't have been riding Fury. She's too wild for you."

"It was filed down, Alessandro," I hissed. "Someone tried to kill me."

"It was an accident," he stated firmly. "Stop trying to blame the staff for your own recklessness. I have to go. There are border disputes to handle."

He turned on his heel and walked out. He didn't touch me. He didn't ask about the pain.

I lay there, the silver burning in my blood.

That night, my hearing picked up voices in the hallway.

"The buckle was tampered with, Alpha," Mark's voice. Low. Serious. "I found traces of the silver paste in the trash bin near the East Wing guest rooms."

Aria's room.

"Silence it," Alessandro's voice commanded.

"Alpha?" Mark sounded shocked. "She tried to cripple the Luna. This is treason."

"I said silence it!" Alessandro hissed. "If the Elders find out, they'll skin her alive. It was just a prank gone wrong. Katarina is tough. She'll heal. Maybe a broken leg will teach her some humility. She walks around here like she owns the place."

"She does own the place, sir," Mark said quietly.

"Just do as I say, Mark. Bury it."

Tears finally leaked from my eyes. Hot, angry tears.

He knew. He knew she tried to maim me. And he was protecting her.

He wanted me broken. He wanted me humble.

I looked at the ceiling. The burning in my leg was nothing compared to the ice spreading through my heart.

"Okay, Alessandro," I whispered into the dark. "You want a war? You just started one."

Katarina POV:

Three days later, I walked.

It hurt. Every step sent a jolt of lightning up my thigh, but the silver was gone, and the bone had mostly knit. I refused the wheelchair. I refused the crutches.

Tonight was the Pack Charity Auction. It was the social event of the season. Every high-ranking wolf from the neighboring territories would be there.

Alessandro had sent a message earlier: I will pick you up at 7. Wear the blue dress. It's modest.

I looked at the blue dress hanging in my closet. It was high-necked, long-sleeved. It was the dress of a dutiful, invisible wife.

I took a pair of scissors and shredded it.

At 7:00 PM, Alessandro's car idled in the driveway. I did not go out.

Instead, I called Mark.

"Gamma," I said. "Escort me."

Mark arrived at my door in five minutes. When he saw me, he stopped dead. His mouth opened slightly.

I was wearing red.

It was a gown of blood-red silk, backless, with a slit that went up to my thigh-the injured one. I wore no bandages. The faint, pink scar from the surgery was visible, a badge of survival.

"Luna," Mark breathed. "You look... dangerous."

"Good," I said. "Let's go."

We arrived at the venue separately from the Alpha. When I walked in, the room went silent.

The red dress was a scream in a room of polite pastels. I held my head high, my arm linked with Mark's. I saw heads turn. I smelled the confusion and admiration of the other wolves.

Then, the doors opened again.

Alessandro entered. Aria was clinging to his arm.

She was wearing white. A flowing, lacey thing that looked like a wedding dress.

The audacity took my breath away. She was parading as the Luna.

Alessandro saw me. His eyes widened. He scanned the red dress, the exposed skin. His nostrils flared. He was angry. Possessive. But mostly angry that I had disobeyed.

He marched Aria over to the head table, seating her in my chair.

I didn't make a scene. I simply walked to the table, pulled out the chair next to Mark, and sat down.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the auctioneer announced. "Tonight's final item. The Heart of the Blue Moon."

A hush fell over the crowd.

A staff member brought out a velvet case. Inside sat a necklace. A massive blue sapphire surrounded by diamonds. It was said to be blessed by the Moon Goddess herself. It was a traditional gift for a Luna.

"Oh, Alessandro!" Aria squealed, loud enough for half the room to hear. "It matches my eyes! I want it!"

Her eyes were brown.

Alessandro smiled at her, that savior smile. "Anything for you, princess."

"Bidding starts at one hundred thousand," the auctioneer said.

"Two hundred," Alessandro called out, raising his paddle.

"Three hundred," a voice said.

It was me.

Alessandro whipped his head around. "Katarina? What are you doing?"

"I like the necklace," I said coolly. "Four hundred."

"Stop this," Alessandro hissed. "You're embarrassing me."

"Five hundred thousand," I said to the auctioneer.

"One million!" Alessandro shouted. The room gasped.

He was bidding against his own wife. Using Pack funds to buy a Luna's necklace for a Rogue mistress.

"One point five million," I said calmly.

"Two million!" Alessandro roared. He looked at me with pure hatred. "Stop it, Katarina."

"Three million," I countered.

"Five million!"

The room was buzzing. This was madness. Five million could build a new hospital wing.

"Six million," I said. I raised my paddle.

The auctioneer looked at his screen. He frowned. He tapped a few keys.

"I'm... I'm sorry, Luna De Luca," the auctioneer stammered. "Your bid is... rejected."

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"The payment method linked to your paddle... it's been declined. Code Red. Alpha Override."

I looked at Alessandro.

He was smirking, holding his phone. He hadn't frozen the Pack accounts-he couldn't do that without a Council vote. But he had used his Emergency Alpha privilege to lock my personal access, citing 'mental instability.' It was a nuclear option, one that would trigger an audit later, but right now, it crippled me.

"It seems my wife has forgotten her place," Alessandro announced to the room. "She is a bit... unstable lately."

He turned to the auctioneer. "Five million. Sold."

He walked up to the stage. He took the necklace.

He didn't bring it to me.

He walked back to the table, stood behind Aria, and clasped the heavy sapphire around her neck.

"Beautiful," he whispered.

Aria beamed, touching the jewels. She looked at me and smirked. It was a victory lap.

The humiliation burned hotter than the silver. Everyone was staring at me. The rejected Luna. The woman whose husband just publicly replaced her.

I didn't run. I didn't cry.

I stood up.

I walked over to their table. I leaned down, bringing my lips close to Alessandro's ear.

"Enjoy the necklace, husband," I whispered. "It will look beautiful around her neck when I rip it off."

I turned and walked out. The silence in the room was deafening.

But inside me, the silence was breaking.

Deep in my soul, Winter opened one icy blue eye.

Katarina POV:

I stayed in my room for two days.

Alessandro thought I was sulking. He thought I was broken.

I was working.

I didn't need to drill holes in the walls; I wasn't an amateur. I used the security override codes Mark had 'accidentally' left in the file to activate the dormant surveillance nodes in the East Wing.

I sat in front of my laptop, watching the feeds.

Camera 4: The Kitchen.

Aria walked in. The shy, stuttering girl was gone. She walked with a swagger.

"You!" she pointed at a young Omega maid. "This soup is trash. It's cold."

"I'm sorry, Miss Aria, I can heat it-"

Aria slapped the bowl out of the maid's hand. Hot soup splattered over the girl's apron.

"Lick it up," Aria sneered. "That's what dogs do, isn't it?"

The maid started to cry, bending down to clean the mess. Aria laughed and kicked the girl in the ribs.

I recorded it. Save to Folder: Evidence.

Camera 2: The Alpha's Study.

Alessandro was pacing. Aria was sitting on the desk, swinging her legs.

"The Elders are asking questions about the five million, Alessandro," he said, running a hand through his hair. "My father is furious."

"Tell him it was an investment," Aria said, examining her nails. "Or tell him to mind his own business. You're the Alpha, aren't you? Or is your daddy still in charge?"

Alessandro stopped. "Don't speak about my father like that."

Aria hopped off the desk. She walked over to him, softening her face instantly. She became the victim again.

"I'm sorry, baby. I just hate seeing you stressed. You're so strong. You deserve to do whatever you want." She kissed his chest. "You saved me. Remember?"

Alessandro deflated. The savior complex kicked in. "I know. I know."

The door to my bedroom burst open.

I slammed the laptop shut.

Alessandro stood there. He looked disheveled.

"You've been in here for two days," he said. "Get dressed. The Rossi Pack is hosting a dinner. We have to go."

"I'm not feeling well," I said coldly. "Perhaps Aria can wear the Luna's sash tonight? She seems to enjoy my jewelry."

"Stop it," he snapped. "You're coming. I need you to... I need you to look perfect. Like usual."

"Perfect," I repeated. "That's all I am to you. A prop."

I stood up, walking toward him. "You know she's lying, Alessandro. You know her parents aren't dead. I found her records. They live in Ohio. She has credit card debt. She's not a tragic orphan."

Alessandro looked away. "I know."

I froze. "You know?"

"I know some of it is... exaggerated," he admitted. "But she had a hard life, Katarina. She needs me."

"She is manipulating you!"

"She makes me feel needed!" he shouted. "You? You don't need anyone. You're perfect. You're rich. You're strong. You never cry. You never ask for help. Being with you is like being with a... a mirror. It's exhausting."

He stepped closer, his voice dropping to a cruel whisper. "You don't need me, Katarina. But she would die without me."

I stared at him. The man I had loved since I was sixteen.

"You are pathetic," I said. "You don't want a mate. You want a pet."

His phone buzzed. He checked it. His face softened.

Aria: I'm scared of the thunder. Please come hold me.

It wasn't even raining.

"I have to go," he said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. He tossed it onto the bed.

"Wear that tonight. It's an apology."

He left.

I opened the box. It was a silver bracelet. Thin. Cheap. The kind you buy at a mall kiosk.

"An apology," I scoffed.

I threw the bracelet into the trash can.

Then, I sat back down at my laptop. I plugged in a USB drive.

I pulled up a new audio file I had intercepted an hour ago. It was a phone call between Aria and a contact named "Rico."

Audio Playback:

Aria: "He's such an idiot, Rico. I have him wrapped around my finger. He spent five million on a necklace! I'm going to pawn it next week."

Rico (Male voice): "Good girl. Get the cash. And the codes to the vault. Then we leave."

Aria: "I know. I just have to get rid of the Ice Bitch first. The saddle didn't work. I need something stronger."

I gripped the USB drive. My knuckles turned white.

"You want something stronger, Aria?" I whispered, my eyes glowing a faint, icy blue. "I'll give you something stronger."

Next week was the Alpha Summit. Every leader in the region would be there.

It was the perfect stage for an execution.