I was reviewing the pack's mind-link communications when I felt it—that familiar tingle of connection that meant someone was using the private channel reserved for pack leadership. My fingers froze over the crystal communication stone as Dahlia's voice filtered through, not meant for my ears but impossible to ignore when she was broadcasting so loudly.

"Alpha, I can't wait for our private training session tonight," her voice purred through the link. "I've been practicing those moves you showed me last time. I think I'm finally ready to take it to the next level."

There was a pause, and then her voice again, lower this time. "Our special connection feels stronger every day. It's like the Moon Goddess herself is pulling us together."

My stomach twisted into knots as I sat frozen at my desk. The mind-link was supposed to be sacred—reserved for pack emergencies and official business. Not for... this.

"Kenna?" Emma's small voice pulled me from my thoughts as she toddled into my office, her favorite wolf plushie clutched in her tiny hands. "Mommy sad?"

I quickly closed the communication window and forced a smile. "No, sweetheart. Mommy's just working."

But as Emma settled into her usual spot beside my chair, I couldn't ignore the hollow ache spreading through my chest. Three years of marriage, and I could still feel Archie's emotions through our mate bond—but lately, those emotions had grown increasingly distant. Cold.

I reached for the small wooden box hidden beneath my desk drawer, the one containing my collection of moon stones. Each one represented a moment when our mate bond had fractured—a promise broken, a lie told, a moment when Archie had chosen someone or something over me. With trembling fingers, I added another stone to the jar, the ninety-fifth one.

"It's nothing," I whispered to myself, though my wolf whimpered in disagreement.

The next morning, I was overseeing the pack's weekly supply inventory when my phone buzzed with notifications. The pack's social network was exploding with activity—unusual for a Thursday morning.

"What's happening?" I asked Beta Ryan as he entered the supply room.

His expression was carefully neutral. "Luna, you should probably check your phone."

My heart sank as I pulled up the pack's photo-sharing platform. There, at the top of the feed, was Dahlia—her hair artfully tousled, lips curved in a triumphant smile as she posed in Archie's private office. But it wasn't her pose that made my blood run cold.

Around her neck gleamed my silver crescent moon necklace—the sacred symbol of my Luna status, passed down through generations of Silvermoon Lunas. On her wrist sparkled the matching bracelet, the one Archie had placed on me during our mating ceremony.

"I just thought it would look nice for the photos," she had written in the caption. "Alpha said I could borrow them. Don't they look better on me?"

The comments below were a mixture of shocked emojis and hesitant congratulations. No one dared openly question why an Omega was wearing the Luna's ceremonial jewelry, but their silence spoke volumes.

"Did you know about this?" I asked Ryan, my voice deadly quiet.

"No, Luna," he replied, his eyes downcast. "I would have informed you immediately."

Another moon stone joined the collection that evening—the ninety-sixth.

That night, I waited in our private chambers, my back straight and my expression carefully composed as Archie finally returned from his "border patrol." The scent of Dahlia clung to him like a second skin.

"We need to talk," I said as he loosened his tie.

"About what?" he asked, not meeting my eyes.

"About why your Omega is wearing my ceremonial jewelry and sending you private messages about your 'special connection.'" I kept my voice level, though my wolf was snarling beneath my skin.

Archie's expression hardened. "You're monitoring private communications now? That's beneath you, Kenna."

"And you sharing sacred pack symbols with an Omega is beneath you," I countered.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You're being paranoid and possessive. It doesn't look good on you."

"Paranoid?" I echoed, disbelief coloring my tone. "She's deliberately undermining my position as Luna, and you're letting her."

"She's just trying to fit in," he said dismissively. "Not everything is a conspiracy."

I reached for our mate bond, seeking the connection that had once been so strong. Archie's wolf should have responded—should have at least acknowledged my concern. But there was nothing but silence.

"She wouldn't dare wear those symbols if you hadn't given her permission," I said quietly.

Archie's jaw tightened. "I'm tired, Kenna. We can discuss this another time."

As he turned away, dismissing me as easily as he'd dismissed my concerns, I felt something crack inside me. Two more moon stones joined the collection that night—numbers ninety-six and ninety-seven.

In the darkness of our bedroom, I stared at the ceiling and wondered how many more stones it would take before our bond shattered completely.

The monthly pack meeting was held in the great hall, where generations of Silvermoon wolves had gathered to witness pack business. Today would be no different—except that I intended to make history.

I stood at the entrance, watching as pack members filed in, their eyes carefully avoiding mine. The tension in the air was palpable. Everyone knew something was brewing between their Alpha and Luna.

When Archie entered, Dahlia was two steps behind him, her eyes downcast in a perfect picture of submission. The sight of her made my wolf snarl beneath my skin.

"Let's begin," Archie announced, taking his place at the head of the circle. "We have territory reports and—"

"Before we proceed," I interrupted, my voice carrying across the suddenly silent hall, "I have something to address."

Archie's jaw tightened. "This isn't the time, Kenna."

"I think it is." I stepped forward, my Luna aura flaring around me. "Three years ago, under this very roof, you made sacred vows to me and to this pack. You swore to honor our mate bond above all else."

Murmurs rippled through the assembly. No Luna had ever publicly challenged an Alpha like this.

"You also made a promise," I continued, my voice steady despite my racing heart. "You said that when our bond was wounded one hundred times, you would release me."

Archie's eyes flashed dangerously. "You're out of line."

"I'm exactly in line," I countered. "So I'm asking you now, before our entire pack—will you honor your vows? Or will you continue to let our bond deteriorate while you parade your Omega through our home wearing my sacred symbols?"

The silence that followed was deafening. Even the oldest pack members looked shocked. No one challenged an Alpha this way.

Then Archie's Alpha aura exploded outward, crushing and suffocating. "KNEEL," he commanded, his Alpha tone reverberating through the hall.

My knees buckled against my will. The mate bond allowed him this power over me—a power he'd never used before.

"You will show respect to your Alpha," he growled, his eyes glowing with fury. "You will bare your neck and acknowledge your place."

I fought against the command, my wolf howling in protest, but the Alpha tone was too powerful. Slowly, painfully, I lowered my head, exposing my neck in submission.

"Better," he said coldly. "Now, we will proceed with the meeting."

* * *

That evening, I waited in our private chambers, the wooden box open on the bed between us.

"What is this?" Archie demanded, his anger still simmering from the public humiliation I'd orchestrated.

"Ninety-seven stones," I said quietly. "Ninety-seven moments when you wounded our bond."

I lifted a small white stone. "This one was our first anniversary. You forgot, but I didn't."

His face remained impassive, but I saw the flicker in his eyes.

"And this one," I continued, lifting a gray stone, "was when you missed Emma's first shift ceremony because you were 'training' with Dahlia."

Archie's expression hardened. "This is ridiculous."

"It gets worse," I said, lifting a black stone. "This was when you let her wear my ceremonial jewelry. And this—" I held up a red stone that seemed to pulse with my anger, "—was today, when you used your Alpha tone to force me into submission before our entire pack."

With each stone I named, Archie's face grew paler. "You've been keeping track of all this?"

"I promised myself I would remember every moment," I said softly. "Just as you promised to release me when we reached one hundred."

I closed the box, leaving three empty spaces in the velvet lining. "We're almost there, Archie. Just three more betrayals until you have to let me go."

He stared at the box, his expression unreadable. Then, without warning, he grabbed it and stormed toward the door.

"This is insane," he snarled. "I won't participate in this childish game."

"Then reject me properly," I called after him. "Perform the ceremony and set us both free."

But he was already gone, the door slamming behind him.

I felt my wolf retreating deeper into my consciousness, withdrawing from the mate bond that had once been our greatest strength. She was preparing for the end—for freedom.

Through our bond, I felt the exact moment when Archie shifted into his wolf form, his human consciousness giving way to pure animal instinct. He was running, fleeing from the pack house, from me, from the truth of what he'd done.

And as his presence faded into the distance, I felt something inside me harden into resolve. Three more stones. Just three more wounds before I would be free.

My wolf curled up in the darkest corner of my mind, waiting for the final betrayal that would set us both free.

The morning sun had barely crested the horizon when the mind-link exploded with activity. Urgent messages flooded the pack channel, voices overlapping in panic.

"Luna Kenna attacked the Omega!" someone shouted through the link.

"She used her Luna aura!" another voice added. "Dahlia's badly hurt!"

My blood ran cold as I bolted from my bed, my wolf instantly alert. "What's happening?" I demanded, reaching for my robe.

Before anyone could answer, I felt it—the unmistakable pull of my Luna authority being questioned. Someone was challenging my position, and not just anyone.

I raced outside to find a crowd already gathering at the edge of our territory. Pack members parted silently as I approached, their eyes wide with shock and something else—judgment.

In the center of the clearing lay Dahlia, her body curled in a protective ball, face streaked with tears and dirt. Blood trickled from a small cut on her forehead, and her clothes were torn strategically—enough to look damaged but not enough to appear staged.

"What happened here?" I asked, keeping my voice steady despite my racing heart.

Dahlia whimpered, pressing herself deeper into the ground. "She—she came at me," she whispered, her voice breaking perfectly. "Said I was trying to take her place. Then her Luna aura just—it hit me like a physical blow."

Two younger pack members stepped forward hesitantly. "We saw it," one of them offered, not meeting my eyes. "Luna Kenna's aura flared. It knocked Dahlia back several feet."

My wolf snarled in disbelief. I hadn't even been near the territory boundary this morning.

"That's impossible," I said firmly. "I was in my quarters until five minutes ago."

"But we saw you," the second witness insisted, pointing to the ground where footprints led from the forest edge to where Dahlia lay. "Your scent is all over the place."

Of course it was. These prints had been made days ago during my morning runs.

Before I could respond, a familiar presence filled the clearing. Archie arrived, his Alpha aura pulsing with authority and concern. My heart leapt—surely he would see through this charade.

But he didn't even look at me.

"Dahlia," he breathed, dropping to his knees beside her. "Are you hurt? Tell me what happened."

His hands gently brushed the dirt from her face, his touch tender in a way he hadn't shown me in months.

"I was just walking," she sobbed, clinging to him. "Luna Kenna appeared from nowhere and—and her aura attacked me. She said terrible things, Alpha. About us. About what we share."

Archie's jaw tightened, his eyes flashing dangerously—not at her lies, but at me.

"Archie," I started, stepping forward. "You can't possibly believe—"

"Enough!" he roared, his Alpha tone making several pack members flinch. "Can't you see she's injured?"

Without another word, he gathered Dahlia in his arms, cradling her against his chest like precious cargo.

"Take her to the pack hospital," he ordered Beta Ryan. "Get Healer Morris immediately."

"Archie," I tried again, reaching for our mate bond. "This is obviously staged. Look at the evidence—"

He turned to me, his eyes cold and distant. "Control yourself, Kenna. Your jealousy is becoming a liability to this pack."

The words cut deeper than any physical wound could have. My wolf howled in anguish as another crack formed in our bond.

As Archie carried Dahlia away, her head nestled against his shoulder, I felt something inside me harden. Another moon stone joined the collection that night—the ninety-eighth.

But Dahlia wasn't finished.

By evening, her face was everywhere—on pack communications, on werewolf social networks, even reaching neighboring territories. Tearful videos showed her bandaged and broken, her voice trembling as she detailed my "unstable" behavior.

"The Luna has been threatening me for months," she claimed to the camera, her eyes wide with practiced fear. "But I never thought she'd actually attack me."

The comments section exploded with outrage directed at me.

But it was her next post that made my blood freeze.

"I was going to wait," she said softly to the camera, her hand resting protectively over her stomach. "But with everything happening... I need to tell the truth."

She held up what appeared to be a medical report, the Silvermoon Pack seal visible in the corner.

"I'm carrying Alpha Archie's heir," she announced, tears streaming down her face. "And Luna Kenna knows it. That's why she's been trying to eliminate me."

My phone buzzed incessantly as pack members and neighboring Alphas demanded explanations. Doctored pregnancy tests appeared alongside the medical report—all bearing official pack seals that I knew had never been authorized.

"She's lying," I whispered to Emma as we sat alone in our quarters, but the damage was already spreading like wildfire.

My wolf retreated deeper into my consciousness, preparing for what was to come. Two more stones remained before freedom—before rejection.

But as I watched Dahlia's carefully orchestrated performance unfold across every screen in the territory, I wondered if freedom would be enough to heal what she had broken.