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.

Ivy POV

As Carlton’s heavy footsteps faded into the night, the suffocating weight of his Alpha aura finally lifted from the Moon Lake. For a moment, there was only the sound of Denisse’s pathetic sobbing.

Then, Dixie, who had been cowering near the willows, let out a sharp, cruel laugh.

"A royal?" the low-rank Omega sneered, stepping out of the shadows to look down at the ruined girl. "You couldn't even secure a Mason, you delusional little whore. Look at you now. You're nothing but trash."

Denisse snapped. A feral, agonizing shriek tore from her throat as her Inner Wolf, driven mad by the ultimate humiliation, took over. She lunged at Dixie, and the two women crashed hard onto the cold stone pavement.

It wasn't a graceful fight. Dixie, accustomed to hard labor and possessing the brute strength of a working Omega, easily overpowered the pampered girl. She grabbed a fistful of Denisse’s perfectly styled hair and dragged her nails viciously across her cheek, screaming curses at both Denisse and her mother.

"Stop it!" Jackie shrieked, her face pale with panic. Being entirely wolfless, she had no physical power to separate them. She could only rely on her stolen matriarchal authority. "Unhand her, Dixie, or I swear to the Moon Goddess I will have you whipped until your bones show!"

Fearing Jackie’s lingering influence over Carlton, Dixie reluctantly let go. She spat on the ground near Denisse’s feet before scurrying away into the dark.

Denisse was left a broken, muddy mess. Her lip was bleeding, her forehead was swelling, and her opulent dress was shredded. Jackie dropped to her knees, trembling with rage as she held her daughter. "I will find the bitch who set us up," Jackie hissed, her eyes wild. "I will tear her to pieces."

Slowly, Denisse pushed herself up. Her bloodshot eyes darted around the courtyard until they locked onto the shadows of the weeping willows. Onto me.

"You," Denisse snarled, stumbling toward me. The pungent, sour stench of her panicked rose scent clashed violently with my crisp lilies. "You forged that letter! You stole my scent!"

I widened my eyes, the absolute picture of innocence. "Me?" I asked softly, my voice trembling just enough. "Denisse, I am wolfless. I don't even have an Inner Wolf to use the mind-link. How could a weakling like me extract a high-rank female's pheromones and perfectly mimic your elegant script?"

She froze. The logic was flawless to her. She had no idea that in my past life, desperate to be useful to Darius, I had endured agonizing assassin training to master the art of forgery and scent manipulation. To her, I was just the useless fifth daughter.

"I'll kill you anyway," Denisse spat, raising a trembling, dirt-stained hand.

"Enough," Jackie snapped, stepping forward with her usual imperious glare. She looked at me, expecting the terrified, submissive girl I used to be. "Ivy, help your sister back to her room. Now."

In my past life, I would have bowed my head and obeyed. Tonight, I simply looked at the wolfless woman who had stolen me from my true parents. I didn't say a single word. I didn't even blink. I just turned my back on them and walked away, leaving Jackie gasping in sheer, unprecedented shock at my defiance.

When I returned to the Luna's Suite, the suffocating stench of wolfsbane was gone, replaced by the soothing aroma of medicinal herbs. Josephine was sitting up against the pillows, her pale face drawn with sorrow.

"I heard the commotion," Josephine murmured, her voice frail. "Ivy, my sweet girl... it is a tragedy you lost the Mason match. Denver would have been a strong protector."

I sat on the edge of her bed and took her cold hands. "Mother, Denver despised me for being wolfless. He conspired with Denisse tonight to throw a servant into my bed and ruin me."

Josephine’s eyes widened, her breath hitching. "The Masons... they would stoop so low?"

"Jackie and her brood will not stop until we are all dead," I urged, squeezing her fingers. "You must use your Luna authority. You have to take back the estate."

Josephine shook her head, a tear slipping down her cheek. "I have no strength left, Ivy. Not since I lost my pup. My spirit died with that stillborn boy."

I stared at her broken, defeated posture, my chest tightening. She didn't know. She had no idea that her baby hadn't died. Jackie had bribed the midwife, swapping the healthy infant to secure her own position. That boy was Blake Russell, the Pack's eldest son and a formidable Dire Wolf warrior. And in my past life, Jackie had murdered him with silver powder right before his wedding to keep the secret buried.

If Josephine didn't fight, Blake would die again. I looked into her grieving eyes, realizing that the only way to awaken the fierce, protective Luna within her was to shatter the lie she had lived for over twenty years.