The shrill ring of my phone pierced the darkness at 3:00 AM, jolting me from a fitful sleep. I fumbled for the device on my nightstand, my heart already racing. Only one call comes at this hour.

"Olivia Spencer," I answered, my voice steady despite the adrenaline flooding my system.

"Beta Olivia, we've got a reported drowning victim in Puget Sound," came the urgent voice of one of our pack's sentries. "Witnesses say someone went under near the north pier about twenty minutes ago."

I swung my legs over the side of the bed, already mentally calculating the critical window. "I'll be there in ten minutes. Alert Ty to meet me at the equipment room."

"Already done, Beta."

I moved with practiced efficiency in the darkness, pulling on thermals and layering them with my diving gear. The clock on my wall ticked mercilessly as I grabbed my bag and headed for the door.

The equipment room was my sanctuary—a place where I held authority and purpose. Underwater body recovery was more than just a job; it was a sacred duty. I'd just finished checking my oxygen tanks when the door burst open with enough force to rattle the metal shelves.

"Where do you think you're going?" Daniel's voice filled the space, his Alpha tone vibrating with authority.

I straightened, meeting his gaze steadily despite the way my stomach twisted. "There's a drowning victim in the sound. I need to—"

"I don't care," he cut me off, stepping aside to reveal Adrianna hovering in the doorway. "We have a more pressing matter."

Adrianna stepped forward, her perfectly manicured hand resting on Daniel's arm. Even in the dim light, I could see the smug satisfaction in her eyes.

"I lost my locket," she said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "It's extremely valuable—sentimental, really. It was my grandmother's."

I glanced at the clock on the wall. Fifteen minutes had passed since the call. "I'm sorry to hear that, but we have a potential drowning victim—"

"The locket is in the shallow area near the marina," Daniel interrupted. "You'll retrieve it first."

I felt my professional demeanor cracking. "Daniel, someone could be dying out there. The longer we delay—"

"Are you questioning me?" His eyes flashed dangerously, and I felt the weight of his Alpha status pressing down on me.

"The chain of command is clear," he continued, his voice dropping to that commanding tone that made my wolf whimper inside me. "As Alpha, I order you to recover Adrianna's locket immediately."

I swallowed hard, feeling the familiar burn of humiliation. Eight years of this—eight years of being forced to submit to a man who resented every breath I took.

"And if I refuse?" I whispered, already knowing the answer.

Daniel stepped closer, his voice low and menacing. "Then you'll no longer be Beta of this pack. Ty will be exiled—his training record marked as unsuitable for any pack in the region."

The threat hung in the air between us. Ty was just twenty-one, with his whole future ahead of him. I couldn't let my pride destroy that.

"Fine," I conceded, the word tasting like ash in my mouth.

Twenty minutes later, I stood at the edge of the dock, the icy water of Puget Sound lapping against the wooden pilings below. The temperature gauge on my wrist read forty-three degrees—cold enough to kill a human within hours.

"I'll need the exact coordinates," I said, adjusting my comms unit.

Adrianna leaned against the railing, her phone clutched in her hand. "It's somewhere near the third buoy. I was wearing it when I took the jet ski out yesterday."

I nodded to Ty, who stood nearby looking miserable. "I'll be back soon. Keep an eye on the rescue coordinates in case we need to redirect after I retrieve the locket."

The water hit me like a thousand needles as I dove in, my dry suit offering only minimal protection against the bone-deep chill. I switched on my underwater light, its beam cutting through the murky darkness as I descended.

"Find it quickly," Adrianna's voice crackled through my comms. "We wouldn't want the drowning victim to suffer any longer than necessary."

I ignored her, focusing on the seabed below. The mud was thick here, visibility poor. Finding a small locket would be challenging enough without the time pressure.

"Oh, Olivia," Adrianna's voice came again, casual and cruel. "Did I mention I heard the victim was wearing a custom dress? Something about a gift from Paris?"

My blood turned to ice in my veins. My mother was visiting from Paris just last month. She had mentioned wanting to see the sound at night...

"Is it someone's mother out there, I wonder?" Adrianna continued, her voice taking on a singsong quality that made my skin crawl. "How terrible that would be."

Panic clawed at my throat as I scanned the murky bottom, my professional training warring with the sudden, terrifying doubt. Could it be? No, it couldn't. My mother was safe in Paris.

But what if?

The cold seemed to seep deeper into my bones as I continued the search, Adrianna's words echoing in my mind.

The water pressed against me like a vise as I continued my search, Adrianna's taunts echoing in my mind. My underwater light cut through the murk, illuminating small pockets of the seabed. Still no sign of the locket.

"Find it yet?" Adrianna's voice crackled through my comms, dripping with impatience.

"Not yet," I replied, trying to keep my breathing steady. The cold was seeping through my dry suit, numbing my fingertips despite the thermal layers.

I moved deeper, my fins stirring up clouds of silt that further reduced visibility. The third buoy should be nearby. I swept my light across the bottom, when suddenly my right fin caught on something.

"Damn," I muttered, trying to pull free.

The movement only made it worse. Whatever had snagged me was pulling tighter. I reached back with my hand, feeling along my equipment. My primary regulator line had wrapped around a jagged piece of metal debris—probably from an old boat wreck.

"Olivia?" Ty's voice came through the comms. "Everything okay?"

"Fine," I lied, not wanting to distract him or give Adrianna satisfaction. "Just checking something."

I tugged harder, but the line had become tangled in a mess of fishing net and rusted metal. My heart rate spiked as I realized I was trapped. The oxygen gauge on my wrist showed I had less than fifteen minutes remaining.

"Olivia?" This time it was Daniel's voice, cold and demanding. "What's taking so long?"

"I'm working on it," I replied, struggling to keep my voice calm as I worked at the tangle.

The regulator line was now wrapped around my backup oxygen tank as well. Panic fluttered in my chest as I realized how serious this had become. I was running out of time.

"Is it someone's mother out there, I wonder?" Adrianna's voice slithered through my comms again. "How terrible that would be."

My hands trembled as I fought with the debris. The darkness seemed to press closer, and my oxygen levels were dropping faster than I'd anticipated.

"Olivia!" Ty's voice cut through my panic. "I'm coming in."

"No!" I gasped. "Stay there. That's an order."

But even as I spoke, I heard the splash above me. Ty had disobeyed a direct order from Daniel to dive in after me.

"Your oxygen levels are dropping," he said when he reached me, his voice steady despite the danger. "We need to move fast."

He assessed the situation with a quick glance, then pulled a diving knife from his belt. With practiced precision, he began cutting through the tangled lines.

"Hold still," he instructed, his voice calm but focused. "I don't want to cut your equipment."

I watched as he worked, admiration mixing with fear. Ty had been training with me for less than a year, but his instincts were impeccable. Daniel would be furious that he'd defied orders, but right now, I didn't care.

"There," Ty said after what felt like an eternity. "You're free."

He grabbed my arm, and we ascended quickly toward the surface. When we broke through, I gulped in the cold night air, my lungs burning.

"What the hell are you doing?" Daniel's voice boomed from the dock. "Get back down there and find that locket!"

"Not until we check the drowning coordinates," I said, my voice stronger than I expected. "Someone could be dying out there."

"You're defying an Alpha command," Daniel snarled, his eyes flashing in the darkness.

"I'm doing my job," I replied, meeting his gaze steadily. "And so is Ty."

Without waiting for permission, I pulled out my GPS and punched in the original coordinates. "Let's go," I told Ty.

We swam to the location, the water feeling slightly warmer after our ascent. This time, we descended together, our lights cutting twin paths through the darkness.

"Search pattern delta," I instructed Ty. "We'll work outward from the center point."

The bottom here was different—rockier, with more marine life clinging to the surfaces. We moved methodically, our lights sweeping across the seabed.

"There," Ty pointed suddenly.

I followed his gesture and saw it—a dark shape partially buried in the sediment. We approached carefully, and I felt a chill that had nothing to do with the water temperature.

It was a body. Or what remained of one.

"Female," I said quietly as we examined the skeletal remains. "Been down here for at least a week."

The bones were scattered, partially covered in barnacles and sea grass. Fish had been feeding on the soft tissue, leaving behind only the hardest parts.

"We need to recover everything we can," I said, my professional training taking over despite the grimness of the task.

As we carefully collected the remains, placing them in our recovery bags, I couldn't shake the feeling that something about this discovery would change everything.

"Olivia," Ty said suddenly, his voice tight. "Look at this."

He held up what appeared to be a piece of fabric, partially decomposed but still recognizable as part of a dress.

"It's custom-made," he said quietly. "Look at the stitching pattern."

I took it from him, my heart sinking as I recognized the distinctive embroidery along the edge—the same pattern my mother had described when she'd told me about the dress she'd gifted to Daniel's mother.

The body bag felt heavier than it should have as Ty and I lifted it onto the dock. Water dripped from our gear, forming puddles on the wooden planks as we secured the remains. My hands trembled slightly as I unzipped the bag, the fabric clinging to my gloves.

"Let's document everything before we move the remains," I said, my voice steadier than I felt.

Ty nodded, his expression grim as he pulled out his camera. "I'll start with the external examination."

I gently brushed away debris from what remained of the victim's clothing. The fabric was partially decomposed, but certain features stood out clearly—the distinctive embroidery along the collar, the unique stitching pattern I'd seen countless times before.

"No," I whispered, my breath catching in my throat. "It can't be."

Ty looked up from his camera. "What's wrong?"

I traced the embroidery with my fingertip, the pattern so familiar it made my stomach twist. "This dress... my mother showed me the design when she visited last month. She'd made it as a gift."

"For who?" Ty asked, though I could see in his eyes he already suspected the answer.

"For Daniel's mother," I said, my voice barely audible over the gentle lapping of waves against the dock. "She said it was a special design—one of a kind."

The implications hit me like a physical blow. The victim wasn't just anyone—it was the former Luna of our pack, Daniel's own mother.

"Oh god," I murmured, gathering the fabric carefully. "We need to notify Daniel immediately."

As if summoned by my words, headlights swept across the parking lot above the dock. Daniel's SUV screeched to a halt, and he stormed down the ramp, Adrianna trailing behind him.

"What the hell is going on?" he demanded, his Alpha tone making the air vibrate. "You were supposed to find Adrianna's locket, not waste time with some anonymous corpse!"

I stood slowly, clutching the fabric sample in my hand. "Daniel, I think you need to see this."

"Not until you explain why you defied my direct order!" His eyes flashed dangerously in the darkness.

"Daniel," I said again, my voice softer but firm. "I believe we've found your mother."

The words hung in the air between us. For a moment, everything went still—even the waves seemed to stop their gentle rhythm against the dock.

"That's impossible," he said finally, his voice hollow. "My mother is visiting her sister in Vancouver."

I held out the fabric sample. "This is the dress my mother designed for her. The one she was wearing when she left three weeks ago."

Daniel stared at the fabric, his face draining of color. "No," he whispered. "No, it can't be."

Adrianna stepped forward, her eyes wide with mock sympathy. "Oh my god, Daniel. How terrible!"

But I caught the flicker of something else in her expression—calculation, not compassion.

Daniel's denial lasted only moments before reality seemed to crash down on him. His knees buckled slightly, and he gripped the railing for support.

"This is your fault," he hissed suddenly, his head snapping up to glare at me. "If you had listened to me—if you had found Adrianna's locket first like I ordered—we might have reached her in time!"

The accusation hit me like a physical blow. "Daniel, we were delayed by almost an hour searching for the locket. By the time we reached the coordinates—"

"Excuses!" he roared, his Alpha voice making several pack members who had gathered at the scene flinch. "You're the professional diver, the Beta! You should have found a way!"

I stood my ground, even as his words cut deep. "The water conditions were treacherous. We did everything we could once we reached the coordinates."

"Liar!" Daniel's face contorted with rage and something else—fear. "If you had been competent, my mother would still be alive!"

The pack members exchanged glances, some looking uncertain, others openly suspicious. I could see the seeds of doubt taking root in their expressions.

"Daniel," I said quietly, "we need to focus on recovering all the remains and notifying the authorities."

"No," he snarled, pointing at me with a trembling finger. "You need to admit your failure. Your incompetence cost my mother her life!"

Adrianna stepped closer to Daniel, her hand sliding possessively around his arm. "Maybe if Olivia had been more efficient," she suggested softly, "this tragedy could have been avoided."

I watched as the pack's eyes turned toward me, some filled with questions, others with outright accusation. The weight of their collective judgment pressed down on me like a physical force.

"Daniel," Ty spoke up, his young voice steady despite the tension. "Beta Olivia did everything by the book. The delay wasn't her fault."

"Be quiet!" Daniel snapped. "You're just her apprentice. You don't know anything!"

The whispers began then—low murmurs that rippled through the gathered pack members. I stood straight-backed and proud, but inside, something cold and heavy settled in my chest.

The discord had begun.