The blue light of my monitor cast shadows across my face as I put the finishing touches on the encrypted CAD files. My fingers moved with practiced precision, saving the final version of the Moonlight Stronghold's design to my secure drive. Years of work, countless sleepless nights, all distilled into these digital blueprints that would transform our pack's territory into an impregnable fortress.

My wolf, Luna, paced restlessly in my mind. *Something feels wrong*, she whispered.

"It's just the pressure of the deadline," I murmured, rubbing my tired eyes. "The Summit is in three days."

A notification chimed from my phone, breaking my concentration. I frowned, annoyed at the interruption. Probably another message from Dominick about his "border dispute meetings" that had kept him away for days.

But it wasn't.

From: Silver Crescent Apothecary

Subject: Payment Declined - Joint Alpha Account

I tapped the screen, confusion giving way to disbelief as I read the details.

"Payment for Wolfsbane Contraceptive Tonic Grade A declined due to credit limit reached."

My hand froze above the phone. Wolfsbane contraceptive? We'd been trying for an heir for months. Every full moon, we'd...

*He wouldn't*, Luna growled, her presence suddenly alert in my mind.

But the evidence was right there on my screen. The pack's most restricted substance, one that guaranteed sterility for months after ingestion. Something no Alpha pair trying for an heir would ever touch.

"Get up," I whispered to myself, my voice steady despite the tremor in my hands. "Check the security feeds."

I moved to my secure tablet, the one only I could access with my Luna biometrics. My fingers flew across the screen, entering the override codes that would give me access to the Pack House's private wing cameras.

"Where is he?" I muttered, scanning the empty corridors.

Then I found him. In my office.

My stomach twisted as the feed loaded. The timestamp showed it was from earlier today—when I'd been in meetings with the construction team.

Dominick stood behind my desk, his hands gripping the edge as Catalina Weaver, the new administrative assistant, knelt before him. Her fingers worked at his belt while he tilted his head back in pleasure.

"Fuck yes," his voice came through the audio feed. "Zaniyah's designs will make us untouchable at the Summit."

Catalina looked up at him, her lips curved in a smug smile. "And she has no idea?"

"None." Dominick laughed, the sound hollow and cruel. "She thinks I'm handling border disputes. Meanwhile, I've got her precious blueprints."

My eyes widened as I watched him move to my private safe—the one containing the original physical copies of my work. The combination spun in his fingers with practiced ease.

"How did you get my combination?" I whispered to the screen.

"Watch and learn," Dominick said to Catalina, as if teaching her a valuable lesson. "The key to a successful marriage is knowing your mate's patterns better than they do."

The safe clicked open. My heart shattered as I watched him lift out my original sketches—years of work, my life's achievement.

"Once I present these as my own at the Summit," he continued, his voice dripping with satisfaction, "the Council will have no choice but to elevate our pack's status. And Zaniyah? She'll be demoted to what she's really good at—being a breeding mare."

Catalina's laughter cut through me like glass. "And if she refuses?"

"She won't." Dominick's smile was cold. "She's too loyal. Too trusting."

Luna snarled, her rage burning through my veins. *Kill him. Kill them both.*

"No," I whispered, forcing myself to breathe evenly. "Not like this."

Hours later, I heard the front door open. The scent hit me immediately—sex masked by cheap musk, the kind Catalina wore. My wolf clawed at my throat, demanding retribution.

"Zaniyah?" Dominick called out, his voice artificially light. "Still working?"

I closed my laptop, sliding it under a stack of innocuous papers. "In here," I called back, my voice carefully modulated to sound tired but not suspicious.

He appeared in the doorway, his Alpha aura diminished somehow. Was it guilt? Or simply that his power had always been a reflection of mine?

"Long day?" he asked, loosening his tie.

"You have no idea," I replied, smiling through the knife in my heart.

He moved closer, and I fought the urge to recoil from his scent. "Are the files ready for my presentation?"

"Of course." I nodded, meeting his gaze steadily. "I uploaded the final version to your cloud server."

It was a lie. The master key remained safely on my personal drive, inaccessible to anyone but me.

"Perfect." He smiled, relief evident in his eyes. "You're the best mate an Alpha could ask for."

I leaned forward, pressing my lips to his cheek in a gesture that made my skin crawl. "Anything for you, Alpha."

As he pulled away, satisfied with his deception, I made my decision. I couldn't just leave—not yet. A clean break would be too easy for him. Too merciful.

I would destroy him publicly, where there could be no hiding from the truth.

"The Summit will be quite the event," I said softly, watching recognition flicker in his eyes.

"Yes," he agreed, oblivious to the storm brewing behind my smile. "It certainly will."

The first rays of dawn filtered through the blinds as I slipped into the soundproof safe room beneath the Pack House. My hands still trembled slightly, but my resolve had hardened overnight into something unbreakable.

Raven was already waiting, her dark eyes sharp with concern. As Gamma of our pack, she'd always been my fiercest protector—and today would be no different.

"You look like hell," she said bluntly, rising to embrace me.

"Thanks," I managed a weak smile. "I feel worse."

I pulled out my tablet, fingers hovering over the screen. "I found something last night."

Raven's expression darkened as the security footage played. Her growl reverberated through the small room, her wolf rising close to the surface.

"That filthy bastard," she snarled, pacing like the predator she was. "And Catalina—that opportunistic little—"

"Save it," I cut her off, my voice steadier than I felt. "We need proof that can't be disputed."

Raven's eyes narrowed. "What do you need?"

"Everything. The original timestamps on my drawings, the security footage metadata, access to the Summit's AV system." I pulled up the blueprints on my tablet. "And most importantly, a way to broadcast this during his presentation."

Raven's lips curved into a vicious smile. "I've been waiting for years to catch him slipping. Come on, let's get to work."

For hours, we worked in silence, downloading footage, extracting metadata, and setting up the digital trap that would expose Dominick's betrayal to the entire werewolf hierarchy.

"Done," Raven finally announced, sliding a sleek black tablet across the table. "Everything's loaded and ready. One button, and your precious mate's lies go viral."

I took the tablet, feeling its weight like a weapon in my hands. "Thank you."

"Always." Raven squeezed my shoulder. "Now go destroy him."

---

The Grand Alpha Summit hotel loomed before us, a towering glass structure that reflected the morning sun like a warning. Dominick stood beside me, his Alpha aura carefully cultivated to project confidence. Too carefully.

"Ready to make history?" he murmured, his hand possessively at the small of my back.

I smiled, the expression not reaching my eyes. "Oh, I'm counting on it."

The lobby buzzed with activity—Alphas from every major pack mingling with their entourages. The air was thick with competing scents and alpha pheromones, a invisible battlefield of dominance.

"Alpha Rice," greeted a passing Beta, bowing slightly. "Your presentation is highly anticipated."

"Indeed it is," Dominick replied smoothly. "My Luna and I have prepared something revolutionary."

I spotted her across the room—Catalina, draped in a conservative black dress that screamed "pack assistant." But it was what hung around her neck that made my blood run cold.

The Luna's Amulet—my grandmother's gift, passed down through generations of she-wolves in my family. The sacred symbol of my position.

A sudden gust of air from an opening door shifted Catalina's scarf, exposing the silver pendant with its distinctive crescent moon design. My fingers tightened around the strap of my purse until my knuckles turned white.

*Kill her. Take it back.* Luna snarled within me.

"Not yet," I whispered, maintaining my composure even as rage threatened to drown me.

Dominick followed my gaze, a flicker of unease crossing his features before he masked it with a smile. "Ah, there's the Lycan King's representative. Come, we should pay our respects."

---

The pre-summit mixer was in full swing when a hush fell over the crowd. The air seemed to thicken, heavy with an alpha presence so powerful it made lesser wolves instinctively lower their gazes.

Lycan King Antonio Kelley strode into the room like he owned it—which, technically, he did. His midnight-black hair was swept back from a face that could have been carved from granite, all sharp angles and cold perfection. But it was his eyes that captured me—golden amber that seemed to see straight through pretense.

Every wolf in the room responded to his presence, their bodies tensing in primal recognition of a predator at the top of the food chain.

Dominick practically vibrated with the need to impress him, stepping forward with an extended hand. "Your Majesty, Alpha Dominick Rice of the Silver Crescent Pack. It's an honor—"

Antonio walked past him without acknowledgment, his gaze sweeping the room until it landed on me.

Something electric passed between us—a recognition that had nothing to do with pack politics and everything to do with something deeper, more primal.

"You're staring," Dominick hissed in my ear, his fingers digging painfully into my arm. "Stop it."

I hadn't realized I was looking at Antonio until Dominick spoke. The Lycan King's lips quirked slightly, as if amused by something only he understood.

"Is there a problem, Alpha Rice?" Antonio's voice was deep, with an edge that made Dominick flinch.

"No, Your Majesty," Dominick stammered. "My Luna was just—"

"I can speak for myself," I interrupted, meeting Antonio's gaze directly.

Something flashed in those golden eyes—approval, perhaps. Or interest.

"Can you?" Antonio asked softly. "How refreshing."

The ladies' lounge was a sanctuary of marble and soft lighting, a place where pack females could retreat from the testosterone-heavy atmosphere of the Summit. I stood at the sink, splashing cold water on my face to calm the storm raging inside me.

The door swung open with deliberate force. Catalina's reflection appeared in the mirror behind me, her lips curved in a predatory smile. She moved with the confidence of someone who believed they'd already won.

"Zaniyah," she purred, leaning against the counter beside me. "You look... tired."

I dried my hands slowly, refusing to give her the satisfaction of seeing me rattled. "Is there something you need, Catalina?"

She touched the Luna's Amulet hanging around her neck—my amulet—her fingers caressing the silver crescent moon with possessive familiarity. The sight of it against her throat made Luna snarl within me.

"Just checking on you," she said, her voice dripping with false concern. "These events can be so draining. Especially when you're... struggling with certain responsibilities."

I met her gaze in the mirror. "What responsibilities might those be?"

Her smile widened, revealing teeth too sharp for comfort. "Oh, you know. The ones that require fresh, fertile blood." She adjusted the amulet, making sure I couldn't miss it. "The pack needs an heir, doesn't it? Dominick's been so patient, but even he has his limits."

My heart hammered against my ribs, but I kept my expression neutral. "And you think you're the solution?"

"I'm what he needs now." She leaned closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "He's already planning to annul your mating bond. Something about barrenness being grounds for rejection? I'm sure you understand."

Luna thrashed within me, demanding retribution. *Kill her. Take back what's ours.*

"Is that what he told you?" I asked, my voice steady despite the rage building inside me. "That he's rejecting me for barrenness?"

"Among other things." She examined her reflection, adjusting her hair with practiced vanity. "He says you're too focused on your little drawings to be a proper Luna."

I smiled then, a cold expression that made her confidence falter slightly. "You should be careful with that amulet, Catalina. It's been in my family for generations. It might not take kindly to... unauthorized wearers."

She touched it again, her fingers trembling slightly. "Dominick gave it to me. Said it suited me better."

"Did he?" I stepped closer, letting my Luna aura flare just enough to make her eyes widen. "Enjoy it while you can."

---

The main assembly hall buzzed with anticipation as Alphas and their entourages filed in. The massive screen behind the stage displayed the Summit's logo—a wolf's head surrounded by a crescent moon.

I took my seat in the front row, watching Dominick pace backstage, straightening his tie for the tenth time. He caught my eye and winked, completely oblivious to what was coming.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the moderator announced, "please welcome Alpha Dominick Rice of the Silver Crescent Pack, who will present his revolutionary Moonlight Stronghold concept."

Applause filled the hall as Dominick strode onto the stage, his Alpha aura carefully cultivated to project confidence. He gestured grandly to the screen behind him.

"Honored Alphas and Elders," he began, his voice carrying through the hall. "For years, our packs have faced threats from rogues and rival territories. Today, I present a solution that will change how we protect our kind."

He clicked a remote, and the screen illuminated with my designs—the intricate fortifications I'd spent years perfecting. My life's work displayed for all to see, with his name attached.

"I spent nights drafting these fortifications," he continued, pointing to the detailed schematics. "Every angle, every defensive position, designed to maximize our wolves' natural strengths."

Murmurs of approval rippled through the audience. Elder Helena Cross nodded appreciatively from her seat in the front row.

"The Moonlight Stronghold represents the future of pack protection," Dominick said, his confidence growing with each positive reaction. "And with your funding, we can begin construction immediately."

He reached for the digital stylus that would sign the funding request—a ceremonial gesture that would officially submit the project to the Lycan Council.

That's when I stood up.

"That is a lie, Alpha Rice."

My voice cut through the hall like a blade. Gasps erupted around me as every head turned in my direction.

Dominick froze, the stylus suspended in mid-air. His face cycled through shock, disbelief, and finally settled on forced amusement.

"My Luna is unwell," he announced to the room, his Alpha tone vibrating with command. "She's been working too hard on my behalf. Perhaps she needs to—"

"I'm perfectly well," I interrupted, my voice steady and clear. "And I'm here to tell you that those designs were not created by Alpha Dominick Rice."

The room fell silent. Even the Elders leaned forward in their seats.

Zaniyah," Dominick's Alpha tone intensified, his eyes flashing with warning. "Sit down. Now."

I remained standing, my gaze never leaving his. For the first time in our relationship, I felt stronger than him.

"No," I said simply.