The hissing started soft, almost gentle. Then the mist descended.

Fine particles caught the sunlight streaming through the glass walls, turning the air into a glittering fog. Pretty, if you didn't know what it was. My wolf knew. She howled inside my mind, a sound of pure terror that made my knees buckle.

"Ava—" I reached for her, but the first touch of silver dust on my exposed skin stole my breath.

It burned. Not like fire. Worse. Like acid eating through flesh, burrowing into bone. I looked down at my hands and watched red welts bloom across my palms, blisters rising and bursting in seconds.

I screamed.

The sound echoed off the glass, bouncing back at me from every direction. My wolf whimpered and retreated so deep I could barely feel her presence. The mate bond, that golden thread connecting me to Adriel, flickered weakly in my chest.

Ava collapsed beside me.

"No, no, no—" I dropped to my knees, ignoring the way the silver-laced floor seared through my dress. Ava's face had gone gray, her breathing shallow and rapid. Her eyes rolled back, showing only whites.

The temperature climbed. The midday sun beat down through the glass ceiling, turning the solarium into an oven. Sweat mixed with blood on my blistered skin. The silver dust kept falling, coating everything, suffocating us.

"Ava, stay with me." I pressed my hands to her chest, feeling her heart stutter beneath my palms. Too fast. Too irregular. Her wolf was dying, I could sense it—the silver poisoning severing the connection between woman and beast.

I had to get help.

I threw myself at the mate bond, grabbing that golden thread with everything I had. *Adriel!* I screamed his name mentally, pouring every ounce of desperation into the link. *Adriel, please, your mother—we need help—*

I hit a wall.

Not just distance. Not distraction. A deliberate, solid barrier. He'd blocked me. Blocked our bond.

*Adriel!* I screamed again, clawing at the psychic wall. *Please, she's dying—*

The wall cracked, just slightly. His voice filtered through, cold and annoyed. "Do not disturb me. I am handling Alpha business."

Alpha business. While his mother lay dying on a silver-dusted floor.

Then I felt it—a wave of sensation that didn't belong to me. Pleasure. Raw and unmistakable. A woman's giggle, breathy and satisfied, echoed through the fractured bond.

Halle's giggle.

The wall slammed shut. Complete silence. He'd severed the connection entirely.

I knelt there, hands still pressed to Ava's chest, and felt something inside me crack. Not the bond—that was already broken, had been breaking for months. Something deeper. Something that had been holding me together.

Movement outside the glass caught my eye.

Halle pressed her face to the pane, her expression gleeful. She was laughing, I could see her mouth moving, though I couldn't hear the sound through the reinforced walls. Her hands came up to frame her face, and the chain around her neck shifted.

The pendant swung free.

I froze, despite the pain screaming through every nerve. Despite Ava's failing heartbeat beneath my palms. Despite the silver eating away at my skin.

The Moonstone Pendant.

Pale blue stone set in ancient silver, carved with the symbols of the Moon Goddess. Every Luna of the Silver Moon Pack had worn it for three hundred years. My grandmother had worn it. Ava had worn it. I should have been wearing it.

Adriel had told me it was being polished. That it would be ready for the Pack Run ceremony. That I would wear it with pride.

He'd lied.

He'd given our pack's most sacred heirloom to his mistress. Not just cheated. Not just betrayed the mate bond. He'd symbolically stripped me of my position, handed my authority to another woman, and let her use it to torture me.

To torture his own mother.

Halle tapped the pendant against the glass, her smile widening. She mouthed something. I couldn't hear it, but I could read her lips.

"Mine now."

Ava's heart stuttered again beneath my hands. Her breathing had gone shallow, barely there. The silver mist kept falling, and the sun kept burning, and my mate—my Alpha—was in bed with the woman who was killing us.

I looked down at Ava's gray face, then back at Halle's triumphant smile, then at the Moonstone Pendant gleaming against her throat.

Something shifted inside me. Not breaking. Hardening.

If we survived this—when we survived this—everything was going to change.

Ava's body went rigid beneath my hands.

Not the stillness of unconsciousness. Worse. Her spine arched, muscles locking, tendons standing out like cords beneath her skin. A convulsion. The silver was attacking her heart.

"No." The word ripped from my throat. "No, no, no—"

I grabbed her shoulders, trying to hold her steady, but she thrashed against me. Her eyes rolled back, showing only whites. Foam flecked her lips. The silver dust kept falling, coating her face, her hair, burning through her clothes.

The pillar. There was a support pillar near the center of the solarium, casting a thin shadow. Not much. But something.

I hooked my arms under Ava's and dragged. My blistered hands screamed. The silver-laced floor tore through my dress, searing my knees. I didn't care. I pulled her into that sliver of shade and threw myself over her body.

The silver dust landed on my back instead. On my shoulders. In my hair. Each particle a tiny brand, burning, burning, burning.

My wolf stirred.

Not the frightened whimper I'd felt before. Something else. Something I'd never felt from her in all my years as Luna.

Rage.

Pure, murderous, bone-deep rage.

She didn't retreat. She surged forward, pressing against my consciousness, and for the first time in my life, I heard her growl. Not in fear. In fury.

*Kill,* she snarled. *Kill her. Rip out her throat. Make her pay.*

The violence of it shocked me. My gentle wolf, who'd never challenged anyone, who'd always submitted to pack hierarchy, wanted blood.

I wanted blood.

Ava convulsed again beneath me. Her heartbeat stuttered against my chest, irregular and weak. The mate bond with Adriel was a cold, dead thing, but I could still feel pack bonds, and Ava's was fading. Dimming like a candle in the wind.

"Hold on," I whispered against her hair. "Please, Ava. Hold on."

Footsteps outside. Heavy. Running.

I lifted my head, squinting through the silver haze. Shapes moved beyond the glass—large, dark figures. Not the Beta guards. These were bigger, broader, moving with a predator's grace.

One of them stopped. His head turned toward the solarium.

Then he was running. They all were.

"Stand down!" Marcus Stone's voice, sharp with authority. "Alpha's orders—the solarium is off-limits!"

The lead warrior didn't slow. He was massive, easily seven feet, with shoulders that could break through walls. His eyes—I could see them even through the glass—glowed amber.

Lycan.

"I said stand down!" Marcus moved to block him.

The warrior's hand shot out. He grabbed Marcus by the throat and threw him aside like he weighed nothing. Marcus hit the ground hard, gasping.

The warrior's fist slammed into the glass.

The reinforced wall spiderwebbed. He hit it again. Again. The other warriors joined him, their combined strength shattering what was supposed to be unbreakable.

Glass exploded inward.

Fresh air rushed in, sweet and clean and perfect. I gasped, filling my lungs, feeling my wolf surge with relief.

The lead warrior vaulted through the opening. His eyes found me immediately, then dropped to Ava's convulsing form. His expression went hard.

"Healer," he barked over his shoulder. "Now."

He moved toward us, hands outstretched.

"Wait." My voice came out hoarse, raw. "Don't touch us yet."

He froze. "Luna, you need—"

"Smell us." I shifted, still shielding Ava but exposing our silver-dusted clothes. "All of you. Smell us. Remember it."

The warrior's eyes narrowed. Then understanding flickered across his face. He leaned in, inhaling deeply. His nostrils flared.

"Silver dust," he said. "Wolfsbane traces. And..." His expression darkened. "Jasmine. Expensive perfume. Recent."

"Halle Perry's perfume," I said. Each word hurt. "She locked us in here. She activated the vents. She watched us die."

The other warriors had gathered at the broken wall. The lead warrior gestured them forward. "All of you. Witness this. Smell them. Remember every detail."

They came, one by one, their faces growing grimmer with each inhalation. Six warriors. Six witnesses to attempted murder.

"Now get us to the hospital," I said.

The lead warrior scooped Ava up like she weighed nothing. Another reached for me, but I shook my head. "I can walk."

I couldn't. My legs gave out after three steps. Strong arms caught me, lifted me. The world blurred as we moved, fast, faster than any human could run.

The Pack Hospital materialized around us. White walls. Bright lights. The sharp scent of antiseptic cutting through the lingering smell of silver and jasmine.

"Critical patient!" The lead warrior's voice boomed through the corridor. "Silver poisoning, cardiac distress!"

A woman appeared—tall, dark-haired, with the confident stride of someone who'd seen everything. Head Healer Elena Rivers. I recognized her from pack gatherings.

Her eyes swept over Ava, and her expression went cold and professional. "Trauma room one. Now."

They disappeared through double doors. I tried to follow, but hands held me back.

"Luna, you need treatment too," someone said.

Elena reappeared. "Get her in room two. Full burn protocol. I'll be there in five minutes."

"I need to stay with Ava—"

"You need to let me save her life." Elena's voice was firm but not unkind. "I can't do that with you in the way."

They guided me to another room. Laid me on a bed. Someone tried to clean the silver dust from my skin, and I hissed at the pain.

Elena came in, moving fast, her hands glowing with soft green light. Healer magic. She pressed her palms to my burns, and the pain eased slightly.

"Ava?" I asked.

"Critical. The silver attacked her heart. I've induced a magical coma to slow the poisoning, but..." Elena's jaw tightened. "It's bad, Luna. Very bad."

She reached for a syringe. "This will help you sleep—"

"No." I caught her wrist. "No sedatives."

"Luna, you need rest—"

"I need to be awake." My voice came out harder than I'd ever heard it. "Treat the burns. Nothing else."

Elena studied me for a long moment. Then she nodded and set the syringe aside.

She worked in silence, her magic knitting the worst of the damage. When she finished, she helped me to a chair beside Ava's bed.

Ava lay still, too still, her skin gray beneath the oxygen mask. Monitors beeped steadily, tracking her failing heart.

I took her hand. The skin was cold, papery.

"He will pay," I whispered.

Not a question. Not a hope. A promise.

My wolf growled her agreement, and for once, we were perfectly, terribly aligned.

The hospital wing doors slammed open three hours later.

I didn't look up. I knew that footfall, heavy and confident, the stride of someone who owned everything he touched. The scent hit me next—wine, expensive cologne, and underneath it all, jasmine. Halle's jasmine.

Adriel burst into the room, his face a mask of concern that would've fooled me yesterday. Maybe even this morning.

"Alondra!" His voice cracked with what sounded like panic. "Moon Goddess, I came as soon as I heard—"

He moved toward me, arms outstretched.

I flinched.

The movement was instinctive, violent. My chair scraped backward, and I pressed myself against Ava's bedside, putting her body between us. My wolf snarled, a sound that never made it past my throat but rattled through my bones.

Adriel froze. Hurt flashed across his face. "Alondra, what—"

"Don't." The word came out raw. "Don't touch me."

His expression shifted, confusion replacing concern. "I don't understand. There was an accident, a maintenance issue with the solarium—"

"An accident." I tasted blood. I'd bitten my lip without realizing it. "Is that what she told you?"

"Halle explained everything." He stepped closer, and the jasmine scent grew stronger. It was in his hair. On his skin. "She tried to get you out, but the doors were jammed. She had to run for help—"

"She locked us in." My voice shook. "She activated the vents. She wore the Moonstone Pendant while she watched us burn."

Adriel's face went blank. "That's... you're confused. The silver poisoning—"

"I mind-linked you." The words came faster now, harder. "I screamed for help. Your mother was dying, and you blocked me."

Something flickered in his eyes. Guilt, maybe. Or calculation.

"I was in a training session," he said. "Alpha business. I couldn't be disturbed—"

"You were with her." I stood, my legs trembling but holding. "I felt it through the bond. I felt everything."

His jaw tightened. The false concern melted away, replaced by something colder. "You're hysterical. The trauma has made you—"

"Your mother almost died because you were too busy screwing your mistress to answer your Luna's call for help."

The words hung in the air between us. True and terrible.

Adriel's face darkened. His Alpha aura rose, pressing against my skin like a physical weight. When he spoke, his voice carried that special resonance, the one that made wolves submit whether they wanted to or not.

"Silence, Luna!" The Alpha Tone crashed over me like a wave. "You are hysterical!"

My wolf yelped and cowered. My knees buckled. The mate bond, that golden thread I'd been trying to ignore, flared to life and yanked me down. I couldn't speak. Couldn't move. My body locked in place, frozen by the combined weight of his rank and our bond.

I knelt there, trembling, hating him. Hating myself more for being unable to resist.

Then I heard it.

A growl.

Low. Deep. Bone-vibrating.

It didn't come from me. It came from the bed behind me.

Ava's eyes snapped open.

Not the warm brown I knew. Silver. Brilliant, metallic silver that seemed to glow in the dim hospital light. Her frail body tensed, and despite the oxygen mask, despite the IV lines and monitors, she sat up.

The growl grew louder.

Adriel stumbled backward. "Mother—"

"Kneel." Ava's voice wasn't loud. It didn't need to be. It carried a weight that made the Alpha Tone sound like a child's tantrum. Ancient. Absolute. Undeniable.

Adriel's legs gave out. He crashed to his knees, his face going white with shock.

The pressure on me vanished. I gasped, sucking in air, my wolf surging back to consciousness.

Ava swung her legs over the side of the bed. Elena rushed forward, but Ava waved her off. Those silver eyes never left Adriel's face.

"You used your Alpha Tone on your mate," Ava said quietly. "On the woman your mistress tried to murder. On the Luna who begged you for help while I was dying."

"I didn't know—" Adriel's voice cracked. "I didn't know you were—"

"Lycan." The word fell like a stone. "Yes. I hid it to protect you. To give you a chance to be worthy of the title you inherited."

She stood, and despite her hospital gown, despite the silver burns still healing on her skin, she looked like a queen.

"You have failed."

Ava turned to Elena. "Summon the Council of Elders. Immediately."

Elena's eyes widened, but she nodded and moved toward the door.

"You can't—" Adriel tried to stand, but Ava's silver gaze pinned him in place. "I'm the Alpha. I forbid—"

"You forbid nothing." Ava's voice cut through his protest. "Lock down this wing. No one enters or leaves without my permission."

The Lycan warriors from the rescue stepped into the doorway. Six massive figures, their eyes glowing amber in the fluorescent light.

Adriel looked at them, then at his mother, then at me.

For the first time since I'd known him, I saw fear in his eyes.

Good.