The marble floor was cold beneath my raw, bleeding knees. I scrubbed harder, trying to erase the mud stains from the entrance hall, though my hands trembled with exhaustion. Above me, the Shadowfang Pack's grand Luna Ceremony was in full swing—crystal chandeliers casting golden light over polished wooden floors, expensive wine flowing freely as Thaddeus's loyalists celebrated his official claiming of Virginia Simmons as his Luna.

My back ached from the weight of silver chains wrapped around my torso—not enough to kill me, just enough to remind everyone that I was nothing more than an omega prisoner in what was once my home.

"Look at her," a passing she-wolf whispered to her companion, her expensive gown rustling as she deliberately stepped around me. "The pathetic little wolfless freak."

They thought I couldn't hear them. They thought wrong.

Six months ago, I had been Scarlett Andrews, eldest daughter of the Moonstone Pack, with my own wolf—a magnificent silver-white creature with ethereal blue eyes. Now I was... nothing.

The worst part wasn't the physical pain. It was the hollow ache in my chest where my wolf should be. Where our bond should be.

As I dipped my brush back into the bucket of soapy water, a sudden voice slithered through my mind.

*Scarlett.*

I froze, my fingers tightening around the brush handle. The mate mind-link—faint and corrupted though it was—still connected us.

*You should see Virginia in her Luna gown,* Thaddeus's voice continued, dripping with malice. *She looks like a true Luna should. Not like some broken, wolfless freak.*

I pressed my forehead against the cool marble, trying to block him out.

*Do you know what they're doing right now?* His voice grew softer, more intimate. *I'm standing at the altar, claiming Virginia as mine before the entire pack. And you... you're scrubbing floors like the worthless omega you are.*

The brush clattered from my hand as agony ripped through me—not physical pain, but something deeper, more primal. The mate bond, twisted and poisoned though it was, still responded to his rejection.

*A weak, wolfless freak like you is utterly unworthy of being my mate.*

His words sliced through me like silver blades. I bit my lip until I tasted blood, determined not to give him the satisfaction of hearing me beg.

The mind-link severed abruptly, leaving me gasping on the floor.

---

The pack meeting hall buzzed with activity the next morning. I hadn't slept—couldn't sleep—the mate bond's pain throbbing through my veins like poison.

I stood outside the heavy oak doors, listening to Thaddeus's voice drone on about pack finances and territory expansions. My heart hammered against my ribs as I pushed the doors open.

"Thaddeus King!" My voice cracked through the sudden silence. "You stand there talking about pack loyalty while you've built your entire reign on lies!"

The room fell deadly quiet. Every eye turned to me—some shocked, others amused by the spectacle of the broken omega interrupting their Alpha.

"Scarlett." Thaddeus's voice was ice. "You forget your place."

"I forget nothing," I spat, stepping forward. My legs trembled but held me upright. "The Moonstone Pack gave you everything—our resources, our territory, our loyalty—and you destroyed us for it."

Laughter rippled through the crowd. Someone called out, "The traitor pack got what they deserved!"

"They were never traitors!" I screamed, my voice breaking. "You framed them! You slaughtered my family—three generations of loyal pack members—based on lies!"

More laughter. More jeers.

"Enough." Virginia's voice cut through the noise like a blade.

She stepped forward, resplendent in her new Luna robes, a cruel smile playing on her perfect lips. Then she opened her mouth and let out a sound I'd never heard before—the Luna tone, a frequency that bypassed all resistance and commanded absolute obedience.

My knees buckled instantly. The Luna tone hit me like a physical blow, forcing me to the ground.

"You forget your place, omega," Virginia purred, circling me slowly. "Let me remind everyone why you're really here."

She crouched beside me, her perfectly manicured nails digging into my shoulder.

"You didn't lose your wolf in battle," she announced to the room, her voice dripping with false sympathy. "Thaddeus severed your bond himself."

The room went silent again.

"He laced your wounds with wolfsbane after you took those silver bullets for him," she continued, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Person. All. By. Himself."

She leaned closer, her lips brushing my ear. "And he enjoyed every moment of it."

The world tilted sideways as her words sank in. Thaddeus hadn't just betrayed me—he'd deliberately destroyed the one thing that made me who I was.

"He watched you scream for hours as the wolfsbane burned through your bond," Virginia whispered, her eyes gleaming with malicious delight. "He said it was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard."

Around us, the pack members laughed and jeered, but their voices seemed distant, underwater.

I looked up at Thaddeus, standing tall and proud at the head of the table, and saw not even a flicker of remorse in his eyes.

In that moment, something inside me—something deeper than the wolf bond—finally shattered completely.

The revelation hit me like a physical blow. Thaddeus hadn't just betrayed me—he had deliberately destroyed my wolf bond with wolfsbane. The mate who was supposed to protect me had poisoned me instead.

I stumbled back to my tiny omega quarters, my legs barely supporting me. The walls seemed to close in as I collapsed onto the threadbare mattress, my body shaking with silent sobs.

"He enjoyed it," I whispered to the empty room, Virginia's words echoing in my mind. "He enjoyed watching me scream."

Something dark and primal stirred within me—not my wolf, who was gone forever, but something deeper. Something that had survived even the destruction of my bond.

Vengeance.

I waited until the pack house fell silent, counting the minutes as guards changed shifts. My hands trembled as I slipped from my room, the silver chains around my torso clinking softly. I'd learned to move with them, to make them part of my silence.

The storage rooms were located in the east wing, where Thaddeus kept his family's belongings. I'd seen him enter the combination countless times when I was still his supposed mate-in-waiting. 04-17-22—Derek's birthday.

The door clicked open under my touch.

Moonlight filtered through dusty windows, illuminating boxes stacked against the walls. I moved carefully, my breath shallow. Derek's belongings were in the back—the youngest King brother who had always been kind to me.

"I'm sorry," I whispered as I lifted a small wooden box carved with his initials. Inside lay a collection of his favorite things—a silver pendant, a leather-bound journal, a vial of his favorite liquor.

My fingers closed around a small crystal figurine—a wolf that he'd shown me once, saying it reminded him of my own. "You have the same fierce eyes," he'd said.

Now I would use his treasures to end his brother's tyranny.

I worked through the night, grinding herbs I'd stolen from the pack healer's supplies with the silver from my chains. The wolfsbane was old but potent—enough to coat the crystal wolf without detection.

"No one will suspect," I murmured as I wrapped the poisoned gift in silk and tied it with a ribbon bearing the King family crest. "Not until it's too late."

---

The pack family gathering was held in the main hall three days later. I stood in the shadows, watching as Thaddeus played the part of the benevolent Alpha, his arm around Virginia's waist.

"Today we celebrate family," he announced, his voice carrying across the room. "The strength of the Shadowfang Pack comes from our bonds—our loyalty to each other."

The irony made bile rise in my throat.

I moved forward with my head bowed, the poisoned gift clutched in my hands. "Alpha," I said, my voice deliberately submissive. "I've made something for you and Luna Virginia to honor your union."

Thaddeus's eyes narrowed with suspicion, but greed won out. He extended his hand.

Before he could take it, Derek appeared beside him. "What's this?" he asked, curiosity bright in his eyes as he reached for the crystal wolf.

"NO!" I lunged forward, but it was too late.

Derek had already lifted the figurine to examine it more closely. His finger brushed against the poisoned surface, then absently touched his lips.

Time seemed to slow.

Derek's smile faltered. He licked his lips, then frowned. "It tastes... bitter."

The color drained from his face as the wolfsbane took effect. He stumbled backward, clutching his throat.

"What have you done?" Thaddeus roared, catching his brother as he collapsed.

I backed away, horror washing over me. "It wasn't supposed to be him—"

Derek's body convulsed in Thaddeus's arms. Foam flecked his lips as he gasped for air that wouldn't come. His eyes found mine, wide with confusion and betrayal.

"Scarlett..." he wheezed before going still.

Chaos erupted. Guards seized me, dragging me to my knees as Thaddeus howled in rage. Through the commotion, I caught Virginia's satisfied smirk.

---

"Bring her to the dungeons," Thaddeus snarled, his face contorted with grief and fury. "She will pay for this."

The guards dragged me down flights of stairs I'd never known existed beneath the pack house. The air grew damp and cold as we descended deeper.

"Strap her up," ordered a rough voice I didn't recognize.

Rogue mercenaries—Thaddeus had brought outsiders to handle his punishment.

They stripped me of my clothes and bound me to a wooden frame, my arms stretched wide. Silver hooks pierced my flesh, sending waves of agony through my body.

"She killed my brother," Thaddeus said, his voice eerily calm as he approached with a heavy whip. The leather was black with age and stained dark brown at the tips. "She will understand what true pain is."

The first lash came without warning. Wolfsbane soaked into my wounds, burning like acid in my veins.

"Please," I gasped as he raised the whip again.

"Please what?" he whispered, leaning close. "Please stop? Or please kill you?"

His smile was terrible to behold.

"Both," he said, and brought the whip down again.

The silver hooks tore at my flesh as I twisted against the restraints. Blood trickled down my arms, mixing with sweat and tears. Three days of torture had left me barely conscious, my body a map of wounds that refused to heal.

"Change!" A guard barked from the corridor.

I listened to their footsteps, counting the seconds as they exchanged positions. The new guard was heavier, his breathing labored from climbing the dungeon stairs. He'd be slower. I had to be faster.

"Now or never," I whispered to myself.

I summoned what little strength remained and yanked my right arm free, ignoring the scream of pain as skin tore. Blood poured from the wound, but adrenaline dulled the agony. With trembling fingers, I unfastened the buckle around my left wrist.

"Hey!" The guard's boots thundered toward me.

I lunged for the door, my naked body streaked with blood and silver burns. The guard's hand grazed my shoulder as I darted past him, his curses echoing behind me.

The dungeon corridors blurred as I ran, my lungs burning. I'd memorized this route during my months as Thaddeus's prisoner—the service passages that led to the eastern perimeter of pack territory.

"Stop her!" someone shouted.

I burst through a service door and into the cold night air. The forest loomed ahead, dark and promising. Freedom or death—I wasn't sure which I wanted anymore.

The cliff edge appeared before me, a jagged line against the star-filled sky. Below, the river roared over rocks and rapids, its surface gleaming silver in the moonlight.

I stopped at the edge, wind whipping my hair across my face. Behind me, torches flared as guards pursued.

"Three generations of Moonstone wolves destroyed," I whispered, "and I couldn't save a single one."

I took a deep breath and stepped backward off the cliff.

For one moment, I was flying—free from pain, free from betrayal. Then the river slammed into me, its icy embrace stealing my breath. Water filled my lungs as the current dragged me under, tumbling me against rocks and branches.

"Let it end," I thought as darkness closed in.

---

Warmth. That was the first sensation that penetrated the darkness.

Then scent—pine needles, earthy herbs, and something else... something familiar yet forgotten.

I forced my eyes open to blurring vision. A fire crackled nearby, casting dancing shadows across stone walls. I was lying on soft furs, my body covered with blankets that smelled of woodsmoke and healing herbs.

"Easy," a deep voice murmured. "You're safe now."

Safe? The word seemed foreign, impossible.

I tried to sit up, but pain lanced through my side. A gentle hand pressed against my shoulder.

"Don't move. Your ribs are broken, and silver poisoning is still in your system."

I turned my head slowly toward the voice. A man sat beside me, grinding herbs in a stone mortar. Firelight illuminated his profile—strong jawline, concerned eyes that seemed to hold ancient knowledge.

"Who..." My voice cracked, throat raw from screaming during torture.

"Rest," he said simply, continuing his work.

I drifted in and out of consciousness as he tended to my wounds. Each time I woke, he was there—applying poultices, changing bandages, murmuring words I couldn't quite grasp.

On what must have been the third day, I finally managed to stay awake long enough to study him properly. He moved with quiet confidence, his hands gentle despite their obvious strength. There was something in his movements that reminded me of...

"An Alpha," I whispered.

He paused, looking up with surprise that quickly masked itself.

"Yes," he said simply. "But not like the ones you know."

"Where am I?"

"Beyond Shadowfang borders. In a cave I've made my home."

"Why did you save me?"

He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he set aside his mortar and reached for something beside him—a shirt.

Without a word, he pulled it over his head, revealing his back and left shoulder.

My breath caught in my throat.

There, etched into his skin, were three distinct claw marks—ancient scars that had healed decades ago but remained visible nonetheless.

"This is why," he said quietly.

"I don't understand."

He turned to face me fully, his expression solemn. "We've met before, Scarlett. When we were six years old."

The world seemed to tilt beneath me as memories flooded back—a pack gathering, rogues attacking, a young boy pushing me behind him...

"It was you," I whispered, horror and realization dawning simultaneously. "Not Thaddeus. It was you who saved me."

He nodded slowly.

"But Thaddeus took credit," I continued, the truth rearranging every memory I had. "He let me believe..."

"He let you believe he was your savior," Saint said softly. "While I was unconscious from these wounds, he stole my place in your memory."

The foundation of my entire life crumbled as I stared at the scars on his shoulder—proof of a truth that changed everything.