Elyse POV

The next morning, the Alpha's study smelled of stale coffee, old parchment, and the sour edge of Jace's cedar scent.

He sat behind his massive mahogany desk, rubbing his bloodshot eyes. The Pack Elders had kept him up all night, grilling him over his blatant disrespect toward me and his blatant favoritism of Ciera. He was exhausted, his guard completely down. It was the perfect hunting ground.

I walked in, my posture the very picture of a submissive, dutiful Luna. I set a mug of black coffee in front of him, along with a thick stack of papers.

"What is this, Elyse?" he grumbled, his Inner Wolf, *Titan*, letting out a low, agitated rumble in his chest.

"Quarterly tax reports and the new portfolio allocations," I lied smoothly, keeping my voice soft. "The Pack accountants need your signature before lunch. I've already highlighted where you need to sign."

I spread the documents out, strategically fanning them so the dense financial jargon covered the true nature of the bottom page. Only the signature line of the Rejection agreement was visible. My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird, my bandaged hand sweating, but my face remained a mask of calm.

Jace groaned, pressing his fingers to his temples. He didn't even glance at the text. He just wanted the headache to end. He picked up his silver pen.

The nib hovered a millimeter above the paper. *Just do it,* I prayed to the Moon Goddess. *Sign it.*

Suddenly, a theatrical, blood-curdling shriek echoed from the first floor.

*"Jace!"* Ciera's voice wailed.

Jace's body went rigid, as if struck by lightning. His protective Alpha instincts hijacked his brain. His hand jerked, the pen slashing a long streak of black ink across the paper before he hastily scribbled his signature at the bottom.

The moment the ink settled, a sharp, tearing agony ripped through my chest. The mate bond severing. Jace gasped, clutching his chest for a fraction of a second, but his panicked mind clearly blamed the pain on his terror for Ciera.

He dropped the pen and bolted. He didn't care who or what was in his way. He shoved me with the brute force of a frantic Alpha.

I flew backward. My hip slammed violently into the sharp corner of the heavy oak bookshelf. A blinding flash of pain shot down my leg, forcing me to my knees.

Jace didn't even look back. He kicked his expensive leather chair out of the way and vanished through the doorway, his frantic footsteps thundering down the stairs.

I stayed on the floor for a moment, breathing through the throbbing pain in my hip. Then, a cold, triumphant smile touched my lips.

I pulled myself up and snatched the document from the desk. There it was. His legal, binding signature, severing our union and relinquishing all his claims over me.

Downstairs, I could hear the chaotic aftermath. Ciera was sobbing loudly.

"My finger! The door slammed on my finger!" she cried.

"Someone get the Pack Healer! Now!" Jace roared, his voice trembling with disproportionate panic.

I pulled out my encrypted phone, snapped a clear photo of the signed Rejection agreement, and sent it to Talia.

Ten seconds later, my screen lit up with her reply: *You are free, Elyse.*

A heavy, suffocating weight lifted off my soul. I was no longer bound to the Blackmoon Pack. I was no longer his.

Just then, the screen of Jace's forgotten phone lit up on the desk. It was a text from Ciera, sent just moments before her dramatic scream.

*Thank you for being my true Alpha.*

I stared at the message, listening to the Alpha of the Silvermoon Pack mobilize his entire household over his mistress's pinched finger, completely oblivious to the fact that he had just signed away his Luna and his marriage.

"Fool," I whispered into the empty room.

I gathered the decoy tax documents and dumped them into the recycling bin. Smoothing down my skirt, I ignored the dull ache in my hip and walked out of the study. It was time to go downstairs and see what other damage Ciera was eager to inflict upon herself today.

Elyse POV

The dull throb in my bruised hip was a lingering reminder of Jace's brutality yesterday, but as I walked into the Great Hall the next afternoon, my soul had never felt lighter. The suffocating weight of the mate bond was gone. I was a ghost haunting a house I no longer belonged to, waiting for the perfect moment to vanish.

I found Ciera standing in the center of the cavernous room, her arms crossed as she glared at the main wall.

Hanging there was the Moon-Blessed Tapestry of the First Alpha. Woven centuries ago with the platinum hair of the first Luna, it depicted a massive silver dire wolf bathed in moonlight. It was the sacred heart of the Silvermoon Pack, radiating a faint, ancient energy.

Ciera reached out, poking the edge of the priceless fabric with a manicured fingernail. She wrinkled her nose. "It smells like dust and death."

"It smells like history, Ciera," I said, my voice echoing coldly against the stone walls. "Like glory. Some things hold a value that cannot be measured by money."

She spun around, rolling her eyes. "Please. Jace is the Alpha. He can have whatever he wants. It's just an old, dark rag that ruins the aesthetic of the room. I'm going to have him take it down and put up a massive portrait of Leo and me. He could buy ten new tapestries anyway."

Her sheer ignorance was staggering, but it was exactly the weakness I needed.

Just then, Leo sprinted into the hall, his sneakers squeaking against the polished floor. In his hand, he gripped an open box of dark purple grape juice, swinging it wildly.

The trap was set. I just needed to hand her the bait.

"You should control him, Ciera," I said, keeping my tone perfectly even, though I laced it with a subtle challenge to her authority. "The Elders have made it clear that the relic's integrity is tied to the Alpha's power. If it is damaged, it will be viewed as a terrible omen for our Pack's future."

Ciera's face flushed with immediate, predictable anger. She hated being told what to do, especially by me.

"Don't use the Elders to scare me, Elyse!" she snapped, stepping protectively in front of her son. "This will be my home soon, and I make the rules! Leo, baby, go play. Ignore her."

Encouraged by his mother's defiance, Leo flashed me a malicious, childish grin. He ran directly toward the wall, raised his arm, and squeezed the juice box with all his might.

A thick arc of dark purple liquid splashed across the center of the tapestry.

The sweet, sticky juice soaked into the ancient platinum threads, blurring the blessed runes and staining the silver wolf like a deep, bleeding wound. Ciera and Leo erupted into a fit of giggles, completely oblivious to the magnitude of what they had just done.

A cold thrill of triumph washed over me.

Before the laughter could fade, the heavy oak doors of the Great Hall swung open. Elder Marcus stepped inside.

He had come to question Jace about his recent erratic behavior, but the moment his eyes landed on the desecrated tapestry, he froze. The air in the room instantly dropped ten degrees. The suffocating, oppressive aura of his ancient Inner Wolf flooded the hall, choking the laughter right out of Ciera's throat.

"What is the meaning of this?" Elder Marcus thundered, his face turning a dangerous shade of purple.

"It was an accident," Ciera stammered, shrinking back. "Just a child's prank. We'll wipe it clean—"

"Wipe it clean?" Marcus roared, stepping forward. "This is not a stain, you foolish woman! This is sacrilege! It is a direct insult to the Moon Goddess herself!"

Ciera trembled, pulling Leo behind her.

Marcus turned his furious gaze toward the empty Alpha's chair. "By the oldest laws of this Pack, the sin of desecrating a holy relic falls upon the Alpha who allowed it. In the name of the Elders' Council, I hereby freeze Jace's access to the Alpha's Discretionary Fund immediately. Not a single dime will be spent until a full purification ritual is paid for and completed to appease the Goddess."

Ciera let out a horrified shriek. The Discretionary Fund was the source of all her lavish shopping sprees and luxurious lifestyle. In a matter of seconds, her endless wealth had been severed.

"Guards!" Marcus barked. Two Pack warriors rushed in. "Watch her. She does not leave this hall until the Alpha returns to answer for this disgrace."

As Ciera collapsed onto a sofa, sobbing hysterically over her ruined finances and public humiliation, I took a quiet step back into the shadows.

"Oh dear," I whispered softly, my voice dripping with feigned sympathy. "This is going to be very bad for Jace."

Elyse POV

The heavy oak doors groaned open, and the temperature in the Great Hall seemed to plummet further. Jace strode in, his tailored suit crisp, expecting the usual submissive quiet of his domain. Instead, he was met with the suffocating aura of Elder Marcus’s fury and the cloying scent of Ciera’s panic.

Jace stopped dead. His eyes locked onto the desecrated tapestry, the dark purple stain bleeding across the ancient threads. I could practically feel his Inner Wolf, Titan, thrashing beneath his skin, agitated by the overwhelming negativity saturating his territory. All the color drained from Jace's face.

"What the hell is this?" Jace demanded, his voice trembling with a mix of rage and disbelief.

Elder Marcus didn't give him a second to breathe. "This is the result of your negligence, Alpha. The Moon Goddess's sacred relic has been defiled. By the ancient laws of the Pack, the Elders' Council has unanimously voted to freeze the Alpha's Discretionary Fund immediately."

Jace let out a guttural roar, the sound echoing off the stone walls. "You can't do that! I am the Alpha!"

"And you have failed your Pack," Marcus replied coldly.

Ciera scrambled off the sofa, throwing herself into Jace’s arms. "Jace, do something!" she sobbed, her mascara running down her cheeks. She pointed a trembling finger at me. "It’s her fault! Elyse provoked Leo on purpose! She made him do it!"

Jace’s furious gaze snapped to me, his eyes flashing gold.

I didn't flinch. I stood perfectly still, my expression a mask of serene indifference. "I merely reminded her that Pack relics require reverence, Ciera," I said, my voice carrying clearly across the silent hall. "You were the one who explicitly told Leo, 'Ignore her, go play.'"

Ciera opened her mouth, but no words came out. Jace looked between us, the reality of his ruined finances and shattered authority sinking in. He was trapped, stripped of his power in front of his mistress and his Elders.

As Marcus turned to leave, signaling the end of the discussion, I adjusted my shawl and began to walk toward the stairs.

"Elyse, wait."

Jace’s voice stopped me. I turned to see him gently pushing a hysterical Ciera aside. He marched toward me, swallowing his pride, though his tone remained laced with that arrogant, commanding edge he always used.

"As my Luna, it is your duty to support this Pack," Jace said, lowering his voice so the lingering guards wouldn't hear. "The purification ritual will cost a fortune. I need you to open your personal trust fund from the Blackwood Pack to cover it. It will fix Ciera and Leo's little mistake and calm everyone down."

A wave of physical nausea washed over me at his sheer audacity. He wanted me to drain my own dowry to clean up his mistress's mess.

I looked at him, letting a slow, mocking smirk touch my lips. "My trust has strict withdrawal limitations, Jace," I lied smoothly. "It seems the cost of being your Luna is funding my own replacement. I'm afraid my accounts are closed to you, Alpha."

I didn't wait for his reaction. I turned my back on his sputtering rage and Ciera's renewed wailing, ascending the stairs to the West Wing. The nominal marriage between us had just shattered into a million irreparable pieces.

Once inside my suite, I locked the heavy brass door. The silence of my sanctuary wrapped around me.

I walked past the packed suitcases hidden carefully beneath my large bed. Moving to the massive walk-in closet, I pressed a specific sequence against the back wood paneling. It clicked open, revealing a hidden compartment.

Inside lay a velvet-wrapped bundle. I pulled back the fabric, revealing the faint, ethereal silver glow of the *real* Moon-Blessed Tapestry. I had commissioned a human artisan to weave the flawless replica days ago. Jace and Ciera had destroyed nothing but expensive, unblessed fabric.

I traced the glowing platinum threads, a cold thrill of victory humming in my veins.

Suddenly, my encrypted burner phone buzzed on the nightstand.

I picked it up. The screen illuminated the dark room with a single, anonymous text message.

*Your presence is required at the Winter Solstice Conclave this Friday. Do not test my patience, Elyse. — Hilda Blackwood.*

The blood in my veins turned to ice. My grandmother. The Matriarch of the Blackwood Pack.

This wasn't an invitation; it was a summons for a trial. The Blackwoods had sensed the instability here. They were coming to reclaim their asset.

I looked down at the suitcases under my bed. My plan to vanish the moment I handed Jace the rejection papers was ruined. If I ran now, Hilda’s trackers would hunt me down before I crossed the state line. I had to stay, attend the Conclave to feign loyalty, and find a new window to escape.

The clock was ticking, and the walls of the Shadowcrest Pack House were closing in.