I stayed in my room through breakfast. The smell of bacon and coffee drifted up from the dining hall, but I couldn't face them. Couldn't face her.

Macie brought me water and tried to get me to eat something. I shook my head. My hands throbbed under the fresh bandages she'd wrapped this morning, tight and clean. She'd worked in silence, her jaw clenched so hard I thought her teeth might crack.

"You need to see this," she said finally, pulling out a small device from her apron pocket. It looked like a compact mirror, but when she opened it, silver light pooled in the glass.

A recording device. Lycan tech.

"I'm going down there," she said. "To the dining hall. She's wearing it today."

I didn't need to ask what she meant. The Luna Stone. Of course Alondra would wear it. She'd won, hadn't she?

"Don't do anything," I said. My voice came out hoarse. "Please, Macie. Just record it."

Her eyes flashed—not her human eyes, but something deeper. Her wolf. For a second, I saw the Gamma she really was, the warrior hiding beneath the maid's uniform.

"I won't touch her," Macie said. But the way she said it made me think she wanted to.

She left. I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at my ruined hands. The tattoos were still there, dark lines against pale skin, but they felt dead. Empty channels with nothing to carry.

Time crawled. Then Macie was back, her face flushed, the device clutched in her fist.

"She paraded it in front of Elder Simmons and Elder Kara," Macie said, her voice shaking. "Told them River gave it to her because she's his true mate. His true Luna."

I closed my eyes. The mate bond pulsed in my chest, a sick, twisted thing that wouldn't let go.

"I got it all," Macie said. "Every word. Every smile."

Good. The Lycan Court would need evidence.

A commotion outside made us both freeze. Voices. Shouting. Not the panicked kind from yesterday's rogue attack, but something else. Something controlled.

I moved to the window. Below, a sleek black vehicle rolled through the pack gates. It looked wrong here, too modern, too clean against the rustic pack houses and dirt roads. The kind of car that cost more than most wolves made in a year.

It stopped in the center of the courtyard.

Four figures stepped out. They wore dark suits, not the casual clothes pack members favored. Their movements were precise, coordinated. Enforcers. I recognized the way they carried themselves—the same way Macie moved when she forgot to play weak.

The lead figure was tall, broad-shouldered, with silver streaking his dark hair. Even from here, I could feel his authority. It pressed against the air like a weight.

Marcus Blackwood. The Lycan King's right hand.

"They're here," Macie breathed beside me. "Protocol Zero worked."

River emerged from the pack house, his Alpha aura flaring. He looked confident, almost pleased. He probably thought they were here to help with the rogue problem. To praise him for his leadership.

He had no idea.

I watched Marcus extend his hand. River shook it, all smiles. They talked—too far away for me to hear, but I could read River's body language. Relaxed. Proud.

Then Marcus said something that made River's smile falter.

They moved inside. The other Enforcers followed, their eyes scanning everything. One of them looked up at my window. Our gazes met for a heartbeat before he looked away.

"We need to get you out," Macie said. "Now, while River's distracted."

"Out where?"

"To them. To Marcus." She was already moving, pulling a cloak from my closet. "You're the victim here, Julie. They need to hear your side."

My side. As if I had one. As if anyone would believe the weak, useless Luna over their powerful Alpha.

But Macie was already wrapping the cloak around my shoulders, careful of my hands. "There's a back staircase. It leads to the kitchens. We can slip out through the service entrance."

"River will know—"

"River is busy explaining to a Lycan Enforcer Captain why his wards failed and his territory was breached." Macie's voice was hard. "He's busy trying to justify why he destroyed sacred Lycan artifacts. Trust me, he's not thinking about you right now."

She was right. She was always right.

We moved through the pack house like ghosts. The back staircase was narrow, dark. My hands screamed with every step, but I bit down on the pain. We passed the kitchens—empty, everyone drawn to the spectacle in the main hall—and slipped out into the cold morning air.

The black vehicle sat thirty yards away. One of the Enforcers stood beside it, arms crossed. When he saw us, he straightened.

Macie pulled back her sleeve, revealing a mark on her wrist. A silver wolf, the symbol of the Lycan Court.

The Enforcer's eyes widened. He nodded once, sharp and quick, then opened the vehicle's back door.

"Get in," Macie said. "Marcus will want to see you."

I climbed inside. The interior was dark, quiet. The door closed behind me with a soft click.

Through the tinted windows, I could see the pack house. Somewhere inside, River was talking to Marcus. Somewhere inside, he was sealing his own fate.

And he still didn't know what he'd destroyed.

The tent smelled like antiseptic and something sharper—magic, maybe, or just the metallic tang of my own blood. Elena Frost worked in silence, her fingers gentle as she unwrapped Macie's bandages. Each layer peeled away felt like losing skin.

Marcus stood behind her, arms crossed. Two other Enforcers flanked the entrance. Their faces were carved from stone, but I saw the way their jaws tightened when Elena finally exposed my hands.

"Goddess above," Elena breathed.

My hands looked worse in the light. Fingers bent wrong, bones pressing against skin at angles that made my stomach turn. The tattoos—those beautiful, intricate channels—were fractured, broken lines that led nowhere.

"This was intentional." Elena's voice shook. "Every bone. Every joint. Someone knew exactly what they were destroying."

"An Alpha did this." Marcus's words came out flat, cold. "To a Spirit Walker."

Elena looked up at him, her eyes wide. "You knew?"

"The King briefed me before we left." Marcus moved closer, studying my hands like they were evidence. Which, I supposed, they were. "Julie Gibson. The Ghost Enchanter. The sorceress who saved River Morrison's life and built his pack's defenses from nothing."

One of the Enforcers swore under his breath.

Macie stepped forward. She'd been quiet until now, standing in the corner like she always did. But when she moved, it wasn't with a servant's shuffle. It was with a warrior's stride.

She pulled back her sleeve, revealing the silver wolf mark. "Gamma Macie Thorne, assigned to Julie Gibson's protection detail by order of the Lycan King."

Marcus's eyebrows rose. "You maintained cover for five years?"

"Yes, sir." Macie pulled out the recording device. "I have evidence. Audio and visual documentation of the abuse, including yesterday's attack and the destruction of sacred Lycan scrolls."

She handed it to Marcus. He opened it, and silver light spilled out. River's voice filled the tent, harsh and cruel. *You've always been selfish. Weak. Useless.*

Then my screams.

Marcus closed the device with a sharp click. His face had gone dark, dangerous. "Where is Alpha Morrison now?"

"In the main hall," Macie said. "With his... companion."

"Good." Marcus turned to the other Enforcers. "Secure the perimeter. No one leaves this territory until I say so."

They left. Elena began wrapping my hands again, her touch feather-light. "I can't heal this here," she said quietly. "You'll need the Court's resources. The ritual chamber."

I nodded. I'd known that already.

A commotion outside made us all freeze. Voices—high, sweet, familiar.

Alondra.

Marcus stepped out of the tent. I followed, Elena's hand on my shoulder to steady me. Alondra stood in the courtyard, the Falcon's Eye gleaming at her throat. She'd changed into a different dress, something soft and pale that made her look innocent. Fragile.

"Captain Blackwood," she said, her voice trembling just right. "I'm so glad you're here. We've been so frightened since the rogue attack. River's been doing everything he can to protect us, but—"

"The wards failed," Marcus said. His tone was neutral, but I heard the trap in it.

Alondra's eyes widened. "Yes. It's been terrible. Julie—our Luna—she was supposed to maintain them, but she's been so... distracted lately. River thinks she might have let them fall on purpose."

"Interesting theory." Marcus moved closer. "Tell me, Miss Dunn, what do you know about ward maintenance?"

"Oh, I don't know much." She laughed, light and airy. "Just what River's told me. Something about runes and—" She touched the Falcon's Eye. "This amulet. He said it was important for the protection spells."

Marcus went very still. "Protection spells."

"Yes." Alondra smiled. "The runes carved into it are supposed to amplify the defensive magic, aren't they? River explained it to me last night."

The air in the courtyard changed. Even Alondra seemed to feel it, her smile faltering.

"A rogue she-wolf," Marcus said slowly, "rescued from a border skirmish three weeks ago, knows about runic amplification and defensive spell matrices."

Alondra's face went pale. "I—River told me—"

"River Morrison doesn't know the first thing about rune magic." Marcus gestured to one of the Enforcers. "Detain her. I want a full background check and a truth serum interrogation."

"What? No!" Alondra backed away, but the Enforcer was faster. He caught her arm, and she twisted, her sweet mask cracking. "You can't do this! River will—"

"River Morrison is about to have much bigger problems," Marcus said.

A bell rang. Deep, resonant. The pack meeting bell.

River's voice boomed across the territory, amplified by his Alpha command. "All pack members to the central grounds. Now."

Marcus looked at me. "Can you walk?"

I nodded.

"Then let's go watch an Alpha destroy himself."

The central grounds were packed. Every member of the Blood Moon Pack stood in a circle, their faces confused, worried. River stood in the center, his Alpha aura blazing so bright it hurt to look at.

He saw me and smiled. It wasn't kind.

"Julie Gibson," he said, his voice carrying to every corner of the grounds. "Step forward."

I did. My legs shook, but I made them move. Macie walked beside me, her hand hovering near my elbow.

River's smile widened. "I, River Morrison, Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack, reject you, Julie Gibson, as my mate and Luna."

The words hit like a physical blow. The mate bond convulsed in my chest, twisting, tearing. Pain radiated through every nerve.

But I didn't fall.

I lifted my head. Met his eyes.

"I, Julie Gibson," I said, and my voice didn't shake, "accept your rejection, River Morrison."

The bond snapped.

Power flooded through me. Not the broken, fractured magic I'd been living with. Real power. Ancient power. The kind that had been locked away, suppressed, hidden for five years.

My eyes burned. I felt them change, felt the violet light of my true bloodline blaze to life.

The ground trembled.

River stumbled back, his face going white. Around us, pack members gasped, some falling to their knees.

"What—" River's voice cracked. "What are you?"

I smiled. It felt like breaking free.

"I'm the sorceress who saved your life," I said. "I'm the Spirit Walker who built your pack's power. I'm the daughter of the Lycan Court you never deserved."

The ground shook harder. Cracks spider-webbed across the courtyard.

And River Morrison, Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack, finally understood what he'd destroyed.