The healer arrives like a bolt of lightning, shattering the charged silence that had settled over the room.

His nose twitches over the goblet, a menacing growl rumbling from deep within his chest. "Westland moonvine dust," he snarls.

"This dosage-had she drunk it last night, waking at all is a lunar blessing. Expect skull-pains for two moons. I'll mix a willow-bark poultice."

The room seems to shrink under the weight of his pronouncement, and a suffocating silence follows

I tilt my head, letting my pelt pale to an ashen hue, a mask of vulnerability.

"Why would Isla do this? If she craved Marquis Thorne over alpha Morgan, she could have asked Father-I would have yielded. Why defile our pack's mating ritual?"

My voice cracks with pain, a howl of anguish that rips through the silence.

"What of our manor's honor? If Thorne reports this to the Royal Pack. do you want silver collars, Mother?"

Stepmother Hazel's eyes blaze with fury, her face contorted into a mask of hatred.

"Aurora, as elder sister-" she begins, her voice dripping with venom.​

"Spare me," I snarl, my eyes narrowing into slits.

"You want me to lie: say I begged Isla to take my place? To let her get my mating and my dowry?"

Aunt Rowan, the mate of House Everen, spits at Hazel's feet, a show of defiance.

"You dare ask the true luna to crouch? You've starved her of alpha favor for years, and now this treachery!"

Her voice is a thunderclap, shaking the very foundations of the manor.

"My sister left Aurora a dowry of moonstones and silver-you'll not let Isla paw it!"

Hazel bares her throat in mock submission. "This is Hamilton manor business, Everen. The Beta is away; I rule here."

I rise to my full height, blocking her path like a mountain.

"Which dowry did Isla take? The one with my mother's moonstone comb? Or the rags you stuffed for her?"

Hazel flinches, her mask slipping for a moment.

"Sisters share-" she stammers, her voice weak.​

"Lies!"

Aunt Rowan's howl shakes the rafters.

"My sister's dowry holds royal gifts! You'll return every piece, or I'll howl to the Royal Pack."

I rest a hand on her shoulder, a silent gesture of gratitude.

Turning to the priestess, I ask,

"Alpha Morgan waits outside, yes?"

When she nods, I square my shoulders, steeling myself for what's to come. "Fetch him. I have words for the alpha."​

Grayson Morgan strides in like a force of nature, his battle-scared pelt glinting in the light.

I bare my throat in a show of submission, a sign of trust.

"My stepsister stole my mating. If you'll have me, I'll wear your luna's mark."

He bows, a sign of respect. "I honor your father's war scars. But are you sure-"​

"Positive," I growl, my eyes locked on Hazel's.

"But first, help me reclaim what's mine. The dowry Isla stole. it holds a moonstone vital to my mother's spirit."

In Thorne Manor's great hall, where the moonlit mating ceremony still lingered, Isla Hamilton and Marquis Asher Thorne had just sealed their bond.

As they turned to enter the alpha's manor, my aunt and I stormed across the threshold.

"Hold, Marquis," I howled, my voice echoing off the stone walls.

Asher's head snapped up so violently it was as if he'd been struck.

The gathered pack members froze instantly, their bodies going rigid as if turned to stone.​

"What witchery is this? Why is the first daughter here?" a wolf howled, his voice echoing through the hall, filled with confusion and disbelief.

The sound sent a shiver down the spines of everyone present.​

Isla tore off her veil with a dramatic flourish, her movements erratic as she stumbled into Asher's embrace.

Her eyes were wild, a mix of fear and desperation.

"My alpha," she whimpered, her voice trembling, and her nails dug so deep into her palm that blood began to seep out, staining her skin.​

Asher wrapped a possessive arm around her, but his gaze locked on me, unflinching and cold.

His eyes were like chips of ice, devoid of any remorse.

"What do you want, Aurora?" he demanded, his voice low and menacing.​

I bared my teeth in a humorless grin, my lips curling back to reveal sharp canines.

"You were to mate Hamilton Manor's first daughter-me. Yet you show no shock at finding my stepsister in my place. Did you know she'd stolen my gown?"

Isla lunged forward, her face contorted into a mask of false innocence.

"Sister, you were drunk! You ranted about hating the mating, so I-"​

"Lies," I cut her off sharply, my voice ringing out like a whip.

"You begged to share my manor, claiming dread of mating alpha Morgan. Then you served me moonvine soup-all to steal my place." My eyes burned with anger as I stared her down, remembering every detail of her betrayal.​

Asher nuzzled Isla's neck, a low growl vibrating from his chest.

"She acted out of loyalty. You refused the mating, so we-"​

"Silence!" I roared, my voice filled with fury.

I hurled a carved box at his feet with all my might.

The box crashed to the ground, and inside, a trove of moonlit love letters and a wolf's - head amulet spilled out.

"I found these in Isla's manor. Your words, Marquis-'my moonlit mate, my only true alphaess.' Did you write them in your sleep?"​

Isla's pelt turned ashen, and her scent reeked of panic, a sharp, acrid odor that filled the room. "They're. they're forgeries! Sister wants to destroy us!"

she shrieked, her voice rising in hysteria.​

Aunt Rowan stepped forward, her claws clicking menacingly on the stone floor.

"Forgeries? That amulet bears the Thorne pack's lunar sigil. How did it end up in your bedroom, pup?"

Her voice was cold and accusatory, leaving no room for denial.​

The crowd erupted in snarls, their eyes flicking back and forth between Asher's guilty stance and Isla's trembling form.

"You two plotted this from the start. Now you'll pay for defiling a sacred mating ritual."​

Asher's alpha aura flared, a powerful wave of dominance that washed over the room.

But I stood my ground. "I came for what's mine: the truth. And your promise to compensate Hamilton Manor for this treachery."​

"Pup - protecting herbs?"

The crowd's murmur rose like a distant howl, filled with speculation.

"You two mated in secret-Isla carries your heir, doesn't she? That's why you drugged me," I accused, my voice cutting through the noise.​

Isla's fur bristled, and her growl cracked with desperation.

"Lies! I only wanted-"​

"Enough." I cut her off, my voice leaving no room for argument.

I summoned the healer with a wave of my hand.

"We'll settle this now. Doctor, check her womb for the alpha's litter."

In my last life, she had hidden her pregnancy till the first moon; this time, I was determined to rip their secret into the light.​

Isla's eyes flashed red, a sign of her growing desperation.

"You'd defile me like this? I'd rather die!"

she screamed. She lunged for a stone pillar, her movements wild and reckless, but my guards were quick to react, pinning her down before she could do any harm.