The morning sun filtered through the small basement window, casting weak light across the concrete floor where Mia and I had spent our first night in the servant's quarters. My arms still burned from the silver exposure, angry red welts crisscrossing my skin. But there was no time to tend to my wounds—Angelique had made it clear I was to serve breakfast at precisely 7:30.

I knocked softly on the Luna Suite door, balancing the heavy breakfast tray. The door swung open to reveal Angelique in a silk robe, her perfect hair already styled, her makeup flawless.

"You're late," she snapped, though I'd arrived exactly on time.

"I'm sorry, Miss Lawson." I kept my eyes downcast as I entered, setting the tray on the dining table where Elias and Adler already sat.

"Coffee, Alpha," I murmured, placing the steaming cup before Elias. He didn't acknowledge me, his attention focused on Adler, who was describing some video game victory.

"And for you, Miss Lawson." I extended the second cup toward Angelique.

She smiled sweetly, then deliberately knocked my hand as she reached for it. Scalding coffee cascaded over my already burned arm. I bit back a cry of pain.

"How clumsy," she tutted. "Look at the mess you've made."

"I'm sorry," I whispered, setting the cup down with shaking hands.

"Clean it up," she ordered, then turned to Elias. "Oh, Elias, do you like my new ring?"

She extended her hand, and there on her finger gleamed the Luna ring—his grandmother's heirloom that he'd placed on my finger ten years ago. The diamond caught the light, mocking me.

"It suits you," Elias replied, his eyes warm with admiration. "Much better than it ever suited..."

He didn't finish the sentence, but his gaze flicked dismissively toward me.

"Adler needs new training gear," Angelique continued, stroking her son's hair. "The Alpha's son deserves the best."

Elias beamed at Adler. "Of course. Whatever he needs."

The boy preened under the attention, shooting a triumphant glance at me. "I'm going to be the strongest wolf in the pack."

"Better than that," Elias ruffled his hair. "You'll be my heir."

---

The training ground stretched before us, a muddy expanse where pack members gathered for the monthly assessment of the pups' progress. Mia clung to my hand, her small body trembling.

"It's okay, baby," I whispered. "Just do your best."

She nodded, her eyes wide with fear. I knew what Elias thought of her—weak, unworthy of his bloodline. But she was only eight, still years away from her first shift.

"Next up," called Marcus, the Beta. "Adler versus Mia."

My heart sank. The matches were supposed to be friendly demonstrations, but I knew better.

"Mommy," Mia whimpered.

"Go on," I encouraged her gently. "Remember what we practiced."

Mia stepped onto the field, her small frame dwarfed by Adler's already imposing figure. He was bigger than most children his age, encouraged to use his size to intimidate.

"Begin!" Marcus shouted.

Adler wasted no time. He shifted instantly into his young wolf form—a russet-colored creature with bared teeth. Before Mia could even attempt to shift, he lunged.

His teeth sank into her shoulder. Mia screamed, blood blooming across her shirt.

"Stop!" I cried out, but no one moved to intervene.

Adler pinned her to the ground, his jaws still locked on her flesh. Mia's cries grew weaker as she struggled beneath him.

"Good job, Adler!" Elias's voice boomed across the field. "That's the killer instinct I want to see!"

The pack members watched in silence, their expressions carefully neutral. None would defy their Alpha by showing sympathy to his rejected mate's daughter.

"Release her," I pleaded, stepping forward.

Elias's head snapped toward me, his eyes flashing with anger. "The match isn't over until I say it is."

"But she's hurt—"

"Silence!" His voice dropped into the Alpha tone, that supernatural command that no wolf could resist.

The force of it hit me like a physical blow. My knees buckled instantly, sending me crashing to the mud. The weight of his command pressed down on me, forcing my body to submit against my will.

"Crawl to them," Elias ordered, his Alpha tone vibrating through my bones.

I fought against it, but my body betrayed me. On hands and knees, I crawled across the muddy ground to where Adler still held Mia pinned.

"Clean his paws," Elias commanded, his voice carrying to every member of the pack.

With trembling hands, I reached for the hem of my dress.

"No, Mommy, no," Mia sobbed.

Adler released her, standing over me with a triumphant smirk. I dabbed at the mud on his paws with the fabric of my dress, tears blurring my vision.

"This is what happens when you interfere," Elias whispered, bending close so only I could hear. "Your weakness is a disease, Marilyn. And it's infecting our daughter."

As I knelt there in the mud, something inside me—something that had been dormant for ten long years—stirred again. And this time, it didn't go back to sleep.

The night air carried a chill as I carried Mia back to our basement quarters, her small body limp in my arms. The bite marks on her shoulder had stopped bleeding, but something was terribly wrong. Her skin burned with unnatural heat beneath my touch.

"Mia? Baby, can you hear me?" I laid her on our thin mattress, brushing damp hair from her forehead. Her eyes fluttered open, glassy with fever.

"Mommy," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "It hurts."

I pressed my lips to her forehead, and the heat nearly scorched me. Wolf Fever. The dreaded condition that affected pups before their first shift—a lethal infection that could burn through an unshifted wolf's system within hours.

"Mia, stay with me." I rushed to our small bathroom, soaking a cloth in cold water. "We'll get through this."

I placed the cool compress on her forehead, then closed my eyes, reaching for the mind-link that connected me to Elias.

*Elias! Mia needs the pack healer. She has Wolf Fever.*

Nothing. Not even the echo of an empty connection. Just... wall.

*Elias!* I pushed harder, desperation clawing at my throat. *Your daughter is dying!*

The wall remained, solid and impenetrable. He had blocked me out—deliberately severed our mental connection. I knew where he was, what he was doing. Angelique's triumphant smile flashed in my mind as I remembered her words at breakfast: "Elias and I have special plans tonight."

My hands trembled as I returned to Mia's side. Her breathing had grown more labored, her small chest rising and falling rapidly.

"I need... the healer," she whimpered.

"I know, baby." I stroked her hair, forcing steadiness into my voice. "I'll find a way."

But there was no way. The pack healer wouldn't treat anyone without the Alpha's permission—especially not for expensive treatments like the ones Mia needed. And Elias had made it clear where his priorities lay.

I watched my daughter's face as another spasm of pain crossed it. The silver burns on my arms throbbed in sympathy with her suffering. Ten years of submission, of enduring Elias's cruelty, of believing I deserved it because I couldn't shift—all of it crystallized into a single, clarifying moment.

I would not let my daughter die because of his indifference.

"Mia, I'm going to get help," I whispered, pressing a kiss to her burning forehead. "I'll be right back."

I slipped out into the night, my heart hammering against my ribs. The pack garage stood at the edge of the property—a large building where Elias kept his collection of vehicles. If I could just get to the old supply truck...

The garage door creaked as I eased it open, moonlight spilling across the concrete floor. The truck sat in the corner, keys hanging from the ignition—Elias never bothered locking it on pack land.

"Please start," I murmured, climbing into the driver's seat. My hands shook as I turned the key. The engine sputtered once, twice, then roared to life.

I drove back to our quarters, parking as close to the door as possible. Mia was worse when I returned—her skin mottled with angry red patches, her consciousness fading.

"We're leaving, baby," I whispered, gathering her into my arms. "Hold on to me."

As I lifted her into the passenger seat, securing her with the seatbelt, I looked back at the Pack House. Lights blazed from the Luna Suite windows. Somewhere up there, Elias and Angelique slept in the bed that had once been mine.

I was leaving more than just a home. I was choosing to become a rogue—a wolf without a pack. For most, it was a death sentence. But for Mia, it was her only chance.

"Where are we going?" Mia's voice was faint as I pulled away from the Pack House.

"To safety," I promised, accelerating toward the territory border.

We had barely made it a mile when the pressure hit—a sudden, crushing weight inside my skull.

*WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?* Elias's voice thundered through my mind, the force of his rage making me swerve on the road.

*Mia is dying,* I responded, fighting to keep my thoughts steady. *She needs help.*

*RETURN TO THE PACK HOUSE IMMEDIATELY!* His Alpha command vibrated through every cell in my body.

My nose began to bleed, warm liquid dripping onto my shirt as I continued driving. The pain was excruciating—the price of disobeying a direct Alpha command.

*I said RETURN!* The mental shout was so powerful that spots danced before my eyes.

I wiped the blood away with the back of my hand, my grip tightening on the steering wheel. "I'm sorry," I whispered to Mia, though she couldn't hear the mental exchange.

The distance between us and the Pack House grew with every second, and with it, Elias's hold on me weakened. He could still reach me through our bond, but the commands lost their crushing force as miles stretched between us.

*You will pay for this betrayal,* his voice snarled in my mind, growing fainter as we approached the territory border. *No wolf leaves my pack alive.*

I glanced at Mia's fevered face, then at the dark road ahead leading to the unknown. There was no going back now.