Ivy POV

I didn't stop running until my bare feet hit the polished marble outside the Luna's Suite. I shoved the heavy oak doors open, my chest heaving.

The acrid stench of wolfsbane mixed with a sharp, metallic odor hit my nose instantly. In the center of the grand room, my adoptive mother, High Luna Josephine, lay pale and frail against the pillows. Standing over her was the loyal Omega maid, Kortney, holding a porcelain bowl filled with a steaming, pitch-black liquid to Josephine's lips.

"Stop!" I screamed, lunging forward.

I slapped the bowl out of Kortney's hands. It shattered against the polished oak floor. The moment the black liquid touched the wood, it hissed violently, sending up plumes of stinging white smoke.

Kortney shrieked, stumbling back. "Miss Ivy! What are you doing? That's the Luna's medicine!"

"That is high-grade liquid silver," I snarled, my eyes locked on the burning floor. If Josephine had swallowed that, it would have permanently blinded her and completely destroyed her already weakened Inner Wolf.

I didn't waste another second. I grabbed a pair of heavy shears from the vanity and climbed onto the bed.

"Ivy, my sweet girl..." Josephine whispered, her voice trembling with exhaustion.

"Trust me, Mother," I said softly, before driving the shears into her luxurious velvet quilt. I ripped the fabric open, pulling apart the pristine white cotton.

Kortney gasped, covering her mouth.

Crawling blindly through the stuffing were over a dozen mutated leeches. They were thick, black, and grotesquely bloated with Luna blood. These parasites had been slowly draining Josephine, injecting micro-doses of silver toxin into her system to keep her Inner Wolf dormant. It wasn't a rare wasting disease. It was a calculated assassination.

I grabbed the remaining shards of the broken bowl and poured the last dregs of the liquid silver directly onto the nest of parasites. They writhed and stiffened, dying instantly in the toxic puddle.

"Gather these disgusting corpses," I ordered Kortney, my voice cold and authoritative. "Bury them deep under The Ancient Pear Tree in the courtyard. Tell no one."

As Kortney scrambled to obey, I knelt beside the bed and took Josephine's freezing hands. Tears welled in her beautiful eyes as the horrifying truth dawned on her.

She thought I was the illegitimate daughter of her Alpha husband, Carlton, and his vicious mistress, Jackie. She didn't know the dark truth I had carried since my past life: Jackie, a terrified wolfless woman, had stolen me as an infant to replace her own stillborn, hiring Rogues to slaughter my true parents—Northern Lycan guards. Jackie had no maternal bond with me. When I was six, she deliberately abandoned me in the rotting, Rogue-infested borders of The Dead Lands.

It was Josephine who had tracked my scent. Josephine who had brought me back from the brink of death. She was the only mother my soul recognized.

"Jackie did this," Josephine breathed, her voice hardening as she stared at the dead leeches. The submission that had clouded her eyes for months vanished, replaced by the fierce, undeniable aura of a High Luna.

"Where is Falon?" I asked suddenly, scanning the room.

"She asked for the afternoon off," Josephine replied, her brow furrowing.

A chilling realization washed over me. Falon, the Omega maid in charge of the bedding. In my past life, shortly after Josephine's death, Falon's bloated body was found floating in The Moon Lake. Jackie had silenced her to cover up the leeches.

"Falon isn't coming back," I said quietly, squeezing Josephine's hands. "Jackie bought her, and now Jackie will dispose of her. Mother, you have to fight back. Use your Luna authority. I won't let her hurt you ever again."

Josephine nodded slowly, her grip on my hands tightening with newfound resolve.

I left the Luna's Suite as the afternoon sun began to dip, casting long, bloody shadows across the estate. The first battle was won, but the war was just beginning.

I walked back to my bedroom, my mind calculating the next strike. Tonight, Alpha Derrick Mason and his wife were arriving for a grand banquet to celebrate my engagement to their third son, Denver.

I stood by my window, staring out at the darkening courtyard. I knew exactly what was coming. Denver Mason, fresh from his first shift and arrogant with his new Dire Wolf power, despised the idea of mating a "wolfless" girl like me. Tonight, he and my malicious half-sister, Denisse, would execute their trap. They planned to pump wolfsbane gas into my room, drag my unconscious body out to the Ancient Pear Tree in the courtyard, toss a filthy, stinking servant on top of me in the dirt, and frame me for infidelity right there in the open where every guest could witness my shame.

In my past life, that night had ruined me.

But this time, I was ready. I traced the faint, invisible outline of the pear blossom birthmark on my forehead. Let them come. I was going to tear their arrogant little plot to shreds.

Ivy POV

I didn't have to wait long. A soft knock echoed through my bedroom, and the delicate bead curtain parted. Darcie, Denisse’s Omega maid, stepped in, holding an ornate velvet jewelry box.

"A gift from Miss Denisse for your engagement, Miss Ivy," Darcie said, bowing low.

She played the part of a respectful servant perfectly, but her scent betrayed her—a sour, pungent reek of deceit and nervous sweat. I recognized the velvet box instantly. It belonged to Dixie, my father’s third concubine. Denisse had stolen it to frame me for theft alongside infidelity, ensuring I would be completely ruined.

"How thoughtful of my sister," I smiled, taking the box without a hint of suspicion.

The moment Darcie scurried out and closed the door, a sickly-sweet mist hissed from the air vents. Wolfsbane.

Beside me, Kaya gasped. Her Inner Wolf, highly sensitive to the toxic herb, immediately succumbed. She crumpled to the velvet rug, unconscious. The gas flooded my own lungs, and the familiar dizziness crashed over me. My vision swam. My limbs went slack.

But even as the darkness pressed in, something fought back.

A strange warmth pulsed in my chest—faint, foreign, nothing I had ever felt in my first life. It pushed against the wolfsbane haze, not enough to stop it completely, but enough to keep a sliver of my consciousness from drowning. I still couldn't move. I still couldn't open my eyes. But somewhere deep in the fog, a single thread of awareness held firm.

The Goddess's gift. It had to be. I had felt this warmth once before, when I first woke in my old bedroom, when I realized I had been sent back. At the time, I had been too shocked to question it. But now, lying paralyzed on the rug, I understood. The Moon Goddess had given me more than a second chance. She had planted something inside me. Something that was only beginning to stir.

I didn't know what it would become. I didn't know if it would save me or simply let me witness my own ruin. But it was more than I had ever had in my first life. And right now, it was all I needed.

I let my body go completely limp, my eyes shut, my breathing shallow. Through the haze, I heard the door creak open.

Two masked servants crossed the room. Rough hands grabbed my arms and hauled me up from the floor. I kept my body slack, my head lolling, as they carried me out into the cool night air.

They dumped me onto the damp earth beneath the Ancient Pear Tree. The smell of rotting leaves and wet dirt filled my nose. The warmth in my chest flickered weakly, keeping that single thread of awareness from snapping.

"Disgusting wolfless trash," a voice sneered from above me.

I kept my eyes shut, but I knew that arrogant tone anywhere. Denver Mason. He reeked of his newly awakened Dire Wolf, his Alpha ego practically suffocating the small, dimly lit clearing. He despised the idea of mating a girl who couldn't even use the pack's mind-link, viewing my very existence as an insult to his bloodline.

"Strip her," Denver ordered. "Make it look like she rolled around in the dirt with him. I'll go fetch the guests."

Footsteps crunched on the dead leaves as Denver turned his back to head toward the Grand Dining Hall. I heard the trembling, heavy breathing of Johnny, a wolfless estate servant, as he knelt beside me in the damp leaves. His shaking fingers fumbled at the collar of my pale dress.

The warmth in my chest surged.

My eyes snapped open.

Before Johnny could even register the icy glare of his prey, I moved. Years of brutal, blood-soaked warrior training under the legendary Gamma Gunnar surged through my muscles. I lunged upward, my hand clamping around Johnny's throat like a steel vise. With ruthless precision, I dug my fingers into his vagus nerve.

He didn't even have time to choke. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed into the dirt like a sack of stones.

I lay there for a moment, breathing hard, staring up at the bare branches of the Ancient Pear Tree silhouetted against the moon. The warmth in my chest was still there, steady now, like a second heartbeat I had never noticed before.

It was real. Whatever the Moon Goddess had done to me when She sent me back—it was real. I had no other explanation. I had been completely wolfless in my first life. No senses. No resistance. No warmth. But now, something had changed. Something was growing inside me, buried so deep that even the wolfsbane couldn't reach it.

I didn't know what it meant yet. But if the Goddess had given me a weapon, I was going to wield it.

I pushed myself up, brushing the soil from my dress. Watching Denver's retreating silhouette in the distance, a cold, lethal smile touched my lips. I swore to the Moon Goddess right then and there that this arrogant Alpha would pay dearly for his stupidity.

Dragging Johnny’s unconscious body deep into the thickest bushes, I grabbed Dixie’s jewelry box and melted into the shadows. I moved swiftly toward the Grand Dining Hall, slipping onto the dark terrace. With my White Wolf senses slowly awakening, the thick glass doors were no barrier to my hearing.

Inside, the banquet was suffocatingly opulent. The heavy, dominant scents of powerful Alphas and Lunas clashed in the warm air.

"Carlton, where is dear Ivy?" Luna Jean Mason asked, her voice laced with genuine curiosity and warmth.

My father, Alpha Carlton, stiffened. His Inner Wolf rumbled with irritation at my absence, feeling his pride wounded in front of his esteemed guests. "She is... still preparing, Jean. You know how girls are."

"Preparing?" Elder Augusta scoffed from the head of the table, her gray eyes flashing with disdain. "A wolfless disgrace lacks the basic discipline of our Pack. Josephine spoils her too much."

Across the table, Jackie and Denisse exchanged a fleeting, triumphant glance. They were practically vibrating with smug anticipation, waiting for the orchestrated scream from the courtyard that would declare me a ruined, filthy thief.

I stood in the darkness of the terrace, the stolen jewelry box cool against my palm. Let them bask in their false victory for a few more minutes. I turned my back on the glittering hall and slipped away into the night.

Ivy POV

I stood in the suffocating darkness of the terrace, the cool velvet of Dixie’s stolen jewelry box resting in my palm. Through the thick glass doors of the Grand Dining Hall, the heavy, dominant scents of powerful Alphas clashed with the sudden, shrill shriek of a low-ranking Omega.

"It's gone! My emerald jewelry box is gone!" Dixie wailed, her voice piercing the elegant hum of the banquet. "There's a thief in the estate! Or a Rogue!"

My father, Alpha Carlton, stiffened. His Inner Wolf released a low, irritated growl that vibrated through the glass. To have a theft declared in front of Alpha Derrick and Luna Jean Mason was a humiliating blow to his pride.

"Perhaps if our estate manager wasn't a wolfless incompetent, our borders would be secure," Ella, the fourth concubine, sneered, seizing the perfect moment to undermine Jackie. Jackie’s face flushed with barely concealed rage, but lacking an Inner Wolf, she could only swallow the insult to maintain her fragile authority.

Before the bickering could escalate, Denver Mason stepped forward. He puffed out his chest, radiating the arrogant, oppressive aura of a newly shifted Alpha. "Alpha Carlton, for the safety of your esteemed guests, I suggest an immediate search of the grounds. We cannot let a thief roam free."

Carlton’s jaw tightened, but he nodded, signaling the Pack Butler. "Take the Warriors. Search everywhere."

A cold smile touched my lips. The trap was set, but I was no longer the prey.

I didn't linger on the terrace. Relying on the heightened agility of my dormant White Wolf blood, I slipped back into the shadows. I moved swiftly toward the thicket where I had left Johnny. But as I approached, the sour, nervous scent of deceit hit my nose. Darcie, Denisse’s Omega maid, was creeping through the bushes, sent to check if the "adulterous" scene was ready.

I didn't hesitate. I materialized behind her, striking the nerve at the base of her neck. Darcie crumpled instantly. I dragged her limp body next to the unconscious Johnny near the ruined boundary wall, tossing Dixie’s velvet box directly into her lap. The perfect scapegoats.

With my alibi secured, I scaled the thick branches of a nearby oak tree just as the search party, led by a frantic Denisse, marched into the courtyard.

"Look! Over there, by the Ancient Pear Tree!" Denisse gasped with feigned horror, pointing a trembling finger at the dark corner. "I saw a shadow!"

The Warriors rushed forward, raising their lanterns. The golden light illuminated the damp earth, the rotting leaves, and absolutely nothing else.

Carlton’s eyes narrowed. A suffocating wave of Alpha command rolled off him, pressing heavily against Denisse. "Are you playing games, Denisse? There is nothing here."

Denisse turned deathly pale, her eyes darting frantically around the empty dirt. "I... I must have been mistaken, Father. The shadows..."

Below me, Denver looked as if he had been slapped. His Inner Wolf was pacing wildly in his mind, his scent spiking with utter confusion and rising panic. He had watched his men dump me here. He *knew* I was supposed to be lying in the dirt.

Desperate to deflect Carlton’s mounting fury, Denver cleared his throat. "Perhaps the thief fled toward the water. Alpha Carlton, why don't we escort the guests to the Moon Lake? The water lilies are blooming, and it will calm the evening's tensions."

Carlton, eager to smooth over the embarrassment, agreed. The group turned their backs on the pear tree and headed for the lake.

I dropped silently from the oak branches and sprinted through the hidden garden paths.

By the time the heavy footsteps of the Alphas and Lunas crunched on the gravel near the Moon Lake, the clouds had parted, bathing the water in brilliant, silver moonlight.

"Oh, my," Luna Jean breathed, her voice filled with sudden wonder.

I knelt gracefully at the edge of the water, dressed in a pristine, pale blue gown. A dozen small, floating candles drifted on the gentle ripples around the sleeping lilies, casting a warm, golden glow on my face. The crisp, clean scent of lilies and rain—my true scent—wafted through the cool autumn air, completely untainted by wolfsbane or deceit.

"Ivy?" Dixie gasped, her eyes wide with shock.

Denisse and Denver froze, looking at me as if I had crawled out of a grave. The color drained entirely from Denver's handsome face, his jaw slackening in sheer disbelief.

Hearing my name, I slowly turned my head. I blinked, letting my eyes widen in soft, innocent surprise as I looked up at the crowd of powerful wolves, my hands still gently cupped in the posture of a devout prayer to the Moon Goddess.