Ivy POV

"Ivy?" Carlton's voice was a low, dangerous rumble, laced with the suffocating weight of his Alpha aura. He stepped forward, his jaw tight. "What is the meaning of this? You abandon your duties to our esteemed guests to play in the dirt?"

I didn't flinch. Keeping my eyes lowered in a picture of perfect, submissive innocence, I gently set the last floating candle onto the rippling water.

"Forgive me, Father," I murmured, my voice soft but carrying clearly in the crisp autumn air. "Tonight is the full moon. The Moon Goddess's power is at its absolute peak. I came here to pray for the health of our High Luna Josephine, and for the continued prosperity of the Russell Pack."

A heavy silence fell over the lake. The oppressive Alpha aura rolling off Carlton instantly dissipated, replaced by a flicker of surprise.

Luna Jean Mason stepped forward, her eyes softening with genuine warmth. "Such a pure, devoted heart," she praised, turning to Carlton. "You are truly blessed, Alpha Carlton. A girl who honors the Moon Goddess and her Luna above her own vanity is a rare gem."

Denisse’s face twisted into an ugly sneer, her eyes flashing red with jealousy. "Devoted? Or just desperate for attention to mask her wolfless incompetence?"

"Denisse," Jean said, her tone cool and sharp enough to slice glass. "Piety is never incompetence."

Denisse snapped her mouth shut, her cheeks burning with humiliation.

Beside her, Denver Mason was staring at me as if seeing me for the very first time. The silver moonlight illuminated my pale blue gown, but it was my scent—the crisp, intoxicating blend of lilies and rain—that had him hooked. His newly shifted Dire Wolf, which had previously viewed me with disgust, was now pacing restlessly in his mind, thoroughly captivated.

Puffing out his chest, Denver approached me, a charming, arrogant smile playing on his lips. "It is a beautiful gesture, Ivy. Perhaps I could join you in your prayers?"

I felt a surge of pure, venomous hatred at the sight of him, remembering the agonizing ruin he had planned for me in my past life. But I kept my expression perfectly serene.

"Thank you, Denver," I replied, my tone polite but freezing cold. "But prayers to the Goddess require absolute silence and solitude."

Denver’s smile faltered, his Alpha pride stinging from the public rejection. Before he could push the matter, the heavy crunch of boots on gravel shattered the quiet night.

"Alpha Carlton!"

The Pack Butler emerged from the garden path, flanked by two Warriors. They were dragging two limp figures through the dirt. With a rough shove, they dumped them at Carlton's feet. It was Darcie, Denisse’s Omega maid, and Johnny, the wolfless servant Denver had hired.

"We found them unconscious near the ruined boundary wall," the Butler reported, holding up a familiar velvet box. "They were attempting to flee the territory with stolen goods."

"My emerald box!" Dixie shrieked, lunging forward. "I knew it! Filthy little thieves!"

The color drained entirely from Denisse and Denver’s faces. They stared at the unconscious servants, sheer panic replacing their earlier arrogance. They realized instantly that their meticulously crafted trap hadn't just failed—it had completely collapsed on top of them.

If Darcie woke up and spoke, Denisse was ruined.

Moving with desperate, frantic speed, Denisse rushed forward and slapped Darcie hard across the face. The sharp crack echoed over the lake.

Darcie gasped, her eyes fluttering open in a daze.

"You treacherous, ungrateful wretch!" Denisse screamed, unleashing the full, suffocating weight of her high-rank Female aura. It slammed into the low-level Omega, forcing Darcie to her knees. "You stole from my family to elope with this Mason Pack filth? Confess your sins right now, before the Alpha tears you limb from limb!"

Darcie looked up, her eyes wide with terror. She saw the murderous warning in Denisse’s gaze. She was a sacrificial lamb, and if she didn't take the fall, Denisse would ensure her death was slow and agonizing.

"I... I did it!" Darcie sobbed, trembling violently under the aura. "I'm sorry! We just wanted to run away!"

A terrifying, guttural snarl ripped through the air. Alpha Derrick Mason’s eyes glowed a lethal, glowing gold. The idea that a servant of his Pack was involved in a petty theft and elopement on Russell territory was a humiliating stain on his honor.

"You dare shame the Mason Pack?" Derrick roared.

He didn't even use his hands. Derrick stepped forward and delivered a brutal, bone-shattering kick to Johnny’s ribs. The wolfless man flew backward, crashing into the dirt. Johnny coughed violently, spraying dark blood onto the grass, his fragile body completely broken by the Alpha's wrath.

Denver scrambled backward, his face ashen, desperately trying to distance himself from his own hired pawn. "Father, I swear, I knew nothing of his disgusting behavior!"

I stood quietly in the shadows of the weeping willows, the scent of lilies masking the cold, calculating smile on my lips. Johnny was bleeding out, terrified and desperate. And a desperate rat would always bite the closest hand to survive.

Ivy POV

Johnny coughed up another mouthful of dark blood, his fragile wolfless body trembling violently under Alpha Derrick’s suffocating aura.

Luna Jean Mason stepped forward, her elegant features twisted in a frown. "Speak, servant. What exactly happened here?"

Terrified of being torn apart, Johnny scrambled backward, his eyes darting wildly before landing on the sobbing Darcie. "It was her!" he shrieked, pointing a bloody finger at the Omega maid. "She stole the box! She threatened to frame me if I didn't help her run away! I had nothing to do with it!"

Darcie gasped, too paralyzed by Denisse’s previous threat and the crushing class divide to defend herself. She just wept into the dirt.

Alpha Carlton’s jaw tightened. His Inner Wolf sensed the holes in the wolfless man's frantic story, but with the esteemed Mason Alphas watching, he needed to bury this humiliating Russell Pack scandal immediately.

"Enough," Carlton commanded, his Alpha's Command rolling over the lake. "Butler, drag this thieving Omega to the Dungeon. The Elders will deal with her."

From the shadows of the weeping willows, I watched with cold satisfaction. My Inner White Wolf was dormant, but my instincts were razor-sharp. Darcie and Johnny were nothing but pathetic scapegoats, entirely unaware that I had orchestrated their downfall.

But Denisse wasn't satisfied. Seeing her grand plot to ruin me end with a mere servant's punishment, her jealousy flared. She needed the final nail in my coffin—the forged love letter she had ordered Darcie to plant in Johnny's pocket.

"Wait, Father!" Denisse stepped forward, feigning deep concern. "The study... important Pack territory maps and documents are kept there. What if they stole more than just jewelry? We must search them thoroughly to ensure no Pack secrets are leaked."

Alpha Derrick released a low, warning growl, his Inner Wolf deeply offended that a Russell female was demanding to search a Mason servant. But Carlton, eager to prove his Pack's security, nodded.

The Pack Butler quickly patted down the weeping Darcie, finding nothing. He then moved to the trembling Johnny. Reaching into the man's inner coat pocket, the Butler pulled out a folded piece of parchment.

"A document, Alpha," the Butler announced.

"Read it aloud," Carlton ordered, his tone leaving no room for argument.

The Butler unfolded the paper. Instantly, his face flushed a deep, embarrassed red. He stammered, his eyes darting nervously toward the Mason family, completely unable to speak.

Before Carlton could bark another order, Dixie, sensing blood in the water, snatched the letter from the Butler's hands. The low-ranking Omega had suffered under Jackie and Denisse for years, and she wasn't about to miss an opportunity.

"Oh, my!" Dixie gasped with exaggerated shock, her eyes gleaming maliciously as she read the words aloud for the entire lake to hear. *"My dearest Denver, my body aches for your touch. Meet me beneath the Ancient Pear Tree tonight. I am entirely yours."*

A deathly silence fell over the lake.

"What?!" Alpha Derrick roared. He ripped off his heavy leather riding boot and swung it brutally against Denver’s head. "You dare sneak around with a Russell she-wolf behind our backs? You bring shame to the Mason Pack!"

Denver stumbled, clutching his bleeding lip. "Father, I swear I've never seen that letter!"

Jackie, her face ashen, rushed forward. "It's a setup! Someone is framing my daughter!"

But Carlton had already snatched the letter from Dixie’s hands. I watched his eyes scan the neat, elegant handwriting. Then, his nostrils flared.

In the werewolf world, scent was absolute. When I knocked Johnny out, I hadn't just changed the signature from 'Ivy' to 'Denisse'. I had meticulously coated the parchment in Denisse’s distinct, pungent rose scent, completely erasing my own crisp lily aroma.

The undeniable stench of roses hit Carlton’s nose, confirming the horrifying truth. The handwriting was hers. The scent was hers.

Blind with rage and absolute humiliation, Carlton turned to Denisse. He didn't speak. He simply raised his hand and delivered a vicious, Alpha-strength slap across her face.

The sharp crack echoed like a gunshot. Denisse was thrown backward, crashing hard onto the cold stone pavement by the lake. Blood instantly welled at the corner of her mouth, and a nasty bruise began to form on her forehead.

"You shameless, disgusting wretch," Carlton snarled, his eyes glowing with lethal fury.

Denisse clutched her swelling cheek, sobbing hysterically as the reality of her ruined reputation crashed down upon her. She had no defense. The trap she built for me had snapped shut on her own neck.

Standing quietly in the silver moonlight, smelling faintly of pure lilies and rain, I allowed a small, chilling smile to touch my lips.

Ivy POV

The sharp crack of Carlton’s slap still echoed over the Moon Lake. Denisse lay crumpled on the cold stone pavement, her pristine dress ruined, the pungent scent of her rose pheromones souring with sheer panic.

"Alpha Carlton, please!" Jackie shrieked, throwing her wolfless body onto the hard ground. She crawled toward him, her eyes darting frantically before locking onto me with pure, venomous hatred. "Someone is framing her! Look at Ivy! She was out here alone!"

I didn't flinch. I simply widened my eyes, letting my crisp, innocent scent of lilies and rain waft gently into the night air. I was the despised, wolfless fifth daughter. The idea that I could perfectly forge a high-rank female's handwriting and extract her exact scent was laughable.

Before Carlton could even entertain Jackie's desperate deflection, Alpha Derrick Mason unleashed a terrifying roar. He delivered another brutal kick to Denver’s ribs. "You pathetic fool!"

The suffocating weight of Derrick’s Alpha aura pressed down on the courtyard. Johnny, the fragile wolfless servant, completely broke under the crushing pressure. He sobbed hysterically, blood dripping from his chin. "It was her! Miss Denisse gave me the letter! She paid me to plant it! I swear to the Moon Goddess!"

"Shut up! You lying filth!" Denisse shrieked. Losing whatever shred of dignity she had left, she lunged at the bleeding servant, scratching and kicking him like a rabid dog.

"Disgusting," Elder Augusta spat, her gray eyes filled with absolute revulsion. Her Inner Wolf was thoroughly nauseated by the display. She slammed her heavy cane against the stone. "Carlton, you will clean up this humiliating mess. If you do not properly discipline this shameless she-wolf, I will strip her of her title and banish her to rot in The Dead Lands."

Without another word, the highest Elder of the Russell Pack turned and marched away, taking Denisse’s last pillar of protection with her.

Alpha Derrick’s chest heaved. Desperate to salvage the Mason Pack’s honor from this sordid scandal, he glared at Carlton. "There is only one way to fix this. A forced mating. Denver will take her as his wife immediately."

Carlton’s eyes flashed with calculation. He desperately needed the Mason Pack's military alliance to counter his growing political rival at the Royal Court, Alpha Fernando Navarro of the Southern Blood Pack. "Agreed," Carlton said firmly.

"No!" Denisse screamed, scrambling backward. Her Inner Wolf, bloated with arrogance, recoiled at the thought. "I will not marry this coward! I am going to be a royal! I am going to marry Alpha Prince Darius Wright!"

Luna Jean Mason let out a sharp, grating laugh that cut through the night. "A royal? With your reputation, you belong in the gutters."

Humiliated beyond measure in front of his esteemed guests, Carlton’s fury boiled over. He stepped forward and delivered a second, Alpha-fueled backhand across Denisse’s face. She flew backward, her head cracking against the hard stone edge of the lake. Blood spilled from her split lip.

"You dare reject my command?" Carlton roared.

Alpha Derrick sneered, his pride deeply wounded by the rejection. "Clearly, your she-wolf is entirely unworthy of the Mason Pack." He delivered one final, disgusted kick to Denver. "Get up. We are leaving."

Carlton watched in silent panic as his crucial political alliance evaporated into the night. He turned back to Denisse, raising his hand to strike her again.

"Have mercy!" Jackie cried, throwing herself over her bleeding daughter. "She and Prince Darius are deeply in love! She still has value!"

"A loving mother breeds a ruined daughter!" Carlton spat, his voice dripping with venom. He leaned down, mercilessly shattering Denisse’s delusional dreams. "Darius is no conquering hero. He is returning to the capital as a defeated criminal. And even if he weren't, Former Luna Queen Florence has already arranged for him to take Adamaris Navarro as his Chosen Mate. After tonight, you aren't even fit to be his lowest mistress!"

Denisse’s face drained of all color. She shook her head frantically, her Inner Wolf whining in absolute, soul-crushing despair.

Carlton threw the dirt-stained, forged letter directly into her bleeding face and stormed off toward the estate.

Standing quietly in the shadows of the weeping willows, I allowed a cold, mocking smile to touch my lips. Carlton didn't know the half of it. My past life had taught me exactly what was coming. Darius wouldn't just return defeated; he would be stripped of his military power entirely. Denisse’s grand royal fantasy was dead, and her nightmare was only just beginning.