The invitation arrives on cream-colored paper, the Former Luna's seal pressed into crimson wax. Tea. Tomorrow afternoon. Just the two of us.

I stare at it until the words blur. This isn't a social call. It's an interrogation.

---

The Former Luna's sitting room smells like jasmine and judgment. She pours tea with practiced grace, her movements precise as a blade. I sit across from her, my hands folded in my lap to hide their shaking.

'Sugar?' she asks.

'No, thank you.'

She adds three cubes to her own cup, stirring slowly. The spoon clinks against porcelain, each sound deliberate. 'Lainey takes her tea the same way. Sweet. Refined.'

I don't respond. There's nothing to say to that.

'She's quite remarkable, isn't she?' The Former Luna continues, her eyes never leaving my face. 'So generous. Saving my son's life, funding the treaty gala. The kind of Luna this pack deserves.'

My throat tightens. 'I've tried to serve the pack well.'

'Have you?' She sets down her cup. 'Tell me, Avery. Where were you the night of the rogue attack? Five years ago, when Sebastian nearly died?'

The question lands like a punch. 'I... I was at the Wood Pack.'

'Doing what?'

'Taking care of my mother. She was sick.'

'And yet Lainey was here. Donating her blood. Saving Sebastian.' Her voice sharpens. 'Strange, isn't it? That you would end up as his mate when she's the one who gave him life?'

I want to tell her the truth. That I'm the one who donated blood, who begged Elena Cross to keep it anonymous because I was nobody. But Sebastian's words echo in my head. Get stronger. Stop being weak.

If I admit it now, I'll sound desperate. Like I'm making excuses.

'I don't know what Lainey told you,' I say carefully, 'but—'

'She showed me proof. Medical records. Signed documents.' The Former Luna leans forward. 'What do you have, Avery? Besides my son's mark on your neck?'

Nothing. I have nothing.

The silence stretches between us like a chasm. She reads my face, and I watch her decision crystallize. Her expression hardens into something cold and final.

'I think,' she says, 'it's time we corrected a mistake.'

---

The storm hits at midnight. Rain hammers against the windows, and thunder shakes the pack house foundations. Sebastian left hours ago to patrol the eastern border—reports of rogue activity, Marcus said. He'll be gone all night.

I'm reviewing supply reports when the mind-link comes through.

'Luna.' Derek's voice, hesitant. 'I need to speak with you. It's about Lainey. It's urgent.'

I should ignore it. Every instinct screams danger. But if Derek has information about whatever Lainey's planning next, I need to know.

'Where?'

'The library. Please. Come alone.'

The library is dark when I arrive, lit only by a single lamp. Derek stands by the window, his back to me. Rain streams down the glass behind him.

'What is it?' I ask.

He turns, and something's wrong with his eyes. They're too bright, too desperate. 'I'm sorry,' he says.

'Sorry for what?'

He gestures to the table. There's a glass of water there, condensation beading on the sides. 'You should sit. This is... it's complicated.'

I don't sit. 'Just tell me.'

'Please.' His voice cracks. 'Just... have some water. And sit.'

The wrongness intensifies, but I'm tired. Tired of fighting, tired of being afraid. I pick up the glass and take a sip.

The taste hits wrong immediately. Bitter. Metallic.

Wolfsbane.

I drop the glass. It shatters, water spreading across the floor like blood. 'What did you—'

My legs give out. Derek catches me, and I try to fight, but my body won't respond. The wolfsbane works fast, turning my muscles to water.

'I'm sorry,' he says again, and he sounds like he means it. 'I'm so sorry.'

He lowers me to the floor. My vision blurs. I watch through a haze as he pulls off his shirt, as he tears my dress at the shoulder. The fabric rips loud in the quiet.

No. No, no, no.

I try to scream, but nothing comes out. The wolfsbane has stolen my voice, my strength, everything.

Derek positions himself beside me, his face twisted with guilt. 'She said it was the only way,' he whispers. 'She said you'd understand eventually.'

Footsteps echo in the hallway. Multiple sets. Coming closer.

The library doors slam open.

Lainey stands in the doorway, the Former Luna and three pack elders behind her. Her eyes go wide, her hand flying to her mouth in perfect shock.

'Oh my God,' she breathes. 'Avery, what have you done?'

More footsteps. Heavier. I know that tread.

Sebastian appears behind the elders, rain-soaked and furious. His eyes find me on the floor, my dress torn, Derek shirtless beside me.

Everything stops.

'She seduced me,' Derek says, his voice hollow. 'She said she needed to feel wanted. That being wolfless made her desperate for any wolf's touch.'

The lie hangs in the air like poison.

Sebastian's face goes blank. Completely, utterly blank. It's worse than rage. Worse than anything.

'Sebastian,' I try to say, but the wolfsbane steals the words. All that comes out is a broken sound.

Lainey steps forward, tears streaming down her face. 'She's broken the sacred mate bond. She's betrayed you. Betrayed the pack.'

The Former Luna's voice cuts through the chaos. 'The law is clear. A Luna who breaks the mate bond must be rejected and exiled.'

Sebastian's eyes meet mine. For one second, I see something flicker there. Recognition. Understanding.

Then it's gone.

'Everyone out,' he says, his voice dead. 'Now.'

The dungeon smells like iron and old fear. My head throbs where it hit the stone floor when the guards threw me in. The wolfsbane is still in my system, making everything fuzzy at the edges.

I don't know how long I've been here. Hours? Days? Time moves differently in the dark.

Footsteps echo down the corridor. Heavy boots. Multiple sets. The cell door screeches open, and hands grab me, hauling me upright. My legs barely hold.

'Move,' someone growls.

They drag me up stone stairs, through hallways I used to walk freely. Pack members line the walls, their faces twisted with disgust. Someone spits. It hits my cheek, warm and humiliating.

The Great Hall is packed. Every wolf in the territory must be here, crammed into the space, their anger a living thing pressing against my skin. The Council sits at the high table—seven elders, their expressions carved from granite.

Lainey stands to the side, her face a perfect mask of sorrow. Derek won't look at me.

They force me to my knees in the center of the hall. The stone is cold through my torn dress.

'Avery Wood.' Elder Thorne's voice booms across the space. 'You stand accused of adultery, breaking the sacred mate bond, and treason against the Pierce Pack. How do you plead?'

My voice comes out hoarse. 'Not guilty.'

The hall erupts. Wolves howl their rage, the sound battering against me like fists.

'Silence!' Thorne slams his staff against the floor. The noise dies to angry muttering. 'The evidence speaks clearly. You were found in a compromising position with Derek Henry. Your dress torn. His shirt removed. The scent of guilt thick in the air.'

'I was drugged,' I say. 'Wolfsbane. I didn't—'

'Lies!' someone shouts from the crowd.

Lainey steps forward, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. 'I wish it were lies. I wish my sister hadn't betrayed us all.' She pulls something from her bag—a small vial filled with dried herbs. 'But the betrayal goes deeper than one night of weakness.'

My stomach drops.

'These are scent-masking herbs,' Lainey continues, her voice trembling. 'The same herbs Avery used three years ago to infiltrate this pack. To deceive Alpha Sebastian. To steal the Luna position through fraud.'

The hall explodes again. This time Thorne doesn't call for silence.

'She's a spy,' Lainey says, raising her voice above the chaos. 'Sent by rival packs to weaken us from within. To corrupt our Alpha's judgment. To destroy us.'

'That's not true!' I try to stand, but the guards force me down. 'I never—Sebastian knew—'

'Alpha Sebastian was deceived,' the Former Luna says, rising from her seat beside the Council. 'Manipulated by a wolfless omega who used dark magic to cloud his judgment. My son is a victim here, just as we all are.'

The crowd roars approval. I see it in their faces—they want blood. My blood.

'The law is clear,' Thorne says. 'The penalty for adultery and treason is death.'

Death.

The word echoes in my skull. This is it. This is how it ends.

The dungeon is colder the second time. Or maybe I'm just numb.

I don't know how long I sit there before I hear him. His footsteps are different from the guards'—measured, controlled. The cell door opens.

Sebastian.

He stands in the doorway, backlit by torchlight. I can't see his face.

'Everyone out,' he says. The guards leave without question.

We're alone.

He steps inside, and the door closes behind him. In the dim light, I finally see his expression. It's carefully blank, but his jaw is clenched so tight I can see the muscle jumping.

'You know I didn't do it,' I say. My voice sounds dead even to my own ears.

He moves closer, crouching in front of me. His hand reaches out, fingers brushing my cheek where someone spit on me. 'I can smell the wolfsbane. The fear. No arousal. No desire.' His voice is low, meant only for me. 'I know.'

Hope flares in my chest. 'Then tell them. Tell the Council—'

'They have proof, Avery. Documents. Witnesses. The scent-masking evidence.' His hand drops. 'Even if I vouched for you, they'd override me. The pack wants blood.'

'So that's it?' Anger cuts through the numbness. 'You're just going to let them kill me?'

His eyes flash. 'Trust me.'

'Trust you?' I laugh, and it sounds broken. 'You're asking me to trust you while I'm locked in a dungeon waiting to die?'

'Yes.' He stands, backing toward the door. 'Trust me, Avery. No matter what happens next.'

'Sebastian—'

But he's already gone.

The message arrives at dawn. A guard brings it to the Council, and within an hour, the entire pack knows.

Victor Kane, Alpha of the Northern Coalition, has sent an ultimatum. Purge the traitor Luna, or he'll consider it an act of war. He's already mobilizing his forces.

I hear it through the dungeon walls—the shouting, the panic. The pack is terrified. And they blame me.

When they come for me this time, I don't fight.

The Great Hall is even more crowded than before. Wolves pack every inch of space, spilling out into the corridors. Visiting dignitaries from allied packs line the walls, their faces grave.

Sebastian stands at the center, and the sight of him steals my breath. He's in full Alpha regalia—black leather, silver clasps, the Pierce Pack crest emblazoned across his chest. He looks like a king.

He looks like a stranger.

They force me to my knees in front of him. The entire pack watches.

'Avery Wood.' His voice fills the hall, cold and absolute. The Alpha tone makes every wolf in the room flinch. 'You have betrayed this pack. Betrayed your mate. Betrayed everything we stand for.'

I look up at him, searching his face for something—anything—that tells me this is part of a plan. That he meant what he said about trust.

His eyes are ice.

'I, Sebastian Pierce, Alpha of the Pierce Pack—' His voice cracks like thunder. The bond between us pulls taut, sensing what's coming. '—reject you, Avery Wood, as my mate.'

The bond doesn't just break.

It shatters.

Pain explodes through my chest, white-hot and all-consuming. It feels like someone's ripping my soul out through my ribs. The mark on my neck burns, the skin blistering and peeling away.

I scream.

The sound tears from my throat, raw and animal. I can't stop it. Can't control it. The agony is everywhere, in every cell, every nerve.

Through the haze of pain, I see Sebastian's face. For just a second, his mask cracks. I see anguish there, mirroring my own.

Then it's gone.

'Get her out of my territory,' he says, his voice flat. 'Exile her to the Rogue lands. And if anyone kills her—' His eyes sweep the crowd. '—they answer to me. She's not worth the effort.'

The guards grab me. I can't stand. Can't breathe. The pain is still tearing through me, the severed bond screaming.

As they drag me toward the doors, I look back one last time.

Sebastian stands alone in the center of the hall, surrounded by his pack. He doesn't look at me.

He doesn't look at anything.

The last thing I see before the doors close is Lainey's smile.