Viya's POV

The next morning, the mansion sounded like it was being dismantled piece by piece.

I opened my bedroom door to find workers carrying out paintings, books, cushions, and several pieces of furniture I had chosen when I still believed this house might become a home.

Martha hurried toward me, wringing her hands.

"Luna Viya, I'm so sorry. Mrs. Miranda said Alpha approved the changes."

"Did he?"

"I don't know." Her eyes lowered. "Alpha left before dawn for border patrol."

Of course he had.

Lucius always disappeared before Miranda's cruelty required consequences.

I walked downstairs slowly. My favorite reading chair was gone. The wall where my landscape paintings had hung was now covered with dramatic rose-themed art pieces. The living room smelled like Miranda's perfume.

Then she appeared at the staircase in a red dress, smiling as if she owned every brick.

"Oh, good. You're awake. I was afraid the noise might disturb you."

"It did."

"How unfortunate."

I looked around. "You redecorated my house."

"Our house soon."

"You're confident."

"I'm realistic." Miranda walked closer, letting her hand trail along the banister. "Lucius wants comfort. Warmth. A family. You gave him rules and medical books."

"And you gave him betrayal wrapped in grief."

Her smile vanished. "Careful."

"No, Miranda. You be careful. You've been acting like Luna in borrowed rooms, borrowed robes, and borrowed affection. But borrowed things are always returned."

She laughed, too sharp. "Returned to whom? You? Lucius barely looks at you unless he feels guilty."

"He looked at me long enough to sign what mattered."

Suspicion flickered in her eyes. "What does that mean?"

"It means you should enjoy the curtains."

Her lips pressed together.

I turned away, then paused as if remembering something. "By the way, don't touch the tea room set."

Miranda's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"It's valuable. Sentimental." I let the hesitation linger. "Never mind. I'm sure even you wouldn't be that petty."

Her expression changed exactly as I expected.

"What tea set?"

"The ivory bone china. Blue crest. Grandma,former Luna Beth's gift."

"Your favorite?"

I lowered my gaze, hiding my smile. "Forget I said anything."

I went back upstairs.

Three hours later, porcelain shattered.

I descended unhurriedly.

In the tea room, Miranda stood over broken pieces, her face flushed. A maid trembled nearby. Martha looked close to tears.

"What happened?" I asked.

Miranda snapped, "It was an accident."

Martha rushed to explain. "Luna Viya, Mrs. Miranda insisted on seeing the tea set. I warned her not to touch it, but she-"

"Enough!" Miranda barked.

I looked down at the broken cup. "That was Former Luna Beth's royal bone china."

Miranda froze.

"You said it was yours."

"No. I said it was valuable. I said not to touch it."

Her eyes flashed with hatred. "You set me up."

"I warned you."

"You wanted this to happen!"

"I wanted you to show who you are."

She stepped toward me. "When Lucius returns, I'll tell him everything."

"Please do. Tell him you destroyed his grandmother's gift because you were jealous of a tea cup."

Martha gasped softly.

Miranda's face turned red. "You smug little-"

"Choose your next word wisely," I said. "There are witnesses."

For once, Miranda had no tears ready.

Within an hour, two Gamma warriors arrived with Thompson, the main estate's butler.

He bowed to me first. "Luna Viya."

Then he turned to Miranda. "Mrs. Miranda, Former Luna Beth requests your presence at the main house."

Miranda swallowed. "For what?"

"For instruction."

Her confidence cracked. "I am Alexander's widow."

"And the rules apply to widows as well." Thompson's tone remained perfectly polite. "Anyone who damages a Pack Elder's possession must kneel in the courtyard for three hours."

Miranda looked at me with pure venom.

I smiled faintly.

"What?" I asked softly. "No tears this time?"

She was escorted out protesting, her voice rising all the way to the driveway.

Martha watched anxiously. "Luna, will Alpha Lucius be angry?"

"Probably."

"Are you worried?"

I looked at the broken porcelain on the floor.

The real tea set, of course, was safely locked in my clinic office. This one was an expensive replica.

"No," I said. "I'm curious which lie he'll choose to believe first."

When Thompson arrived, Miranda attempted one last performance. She clutched the doorway and looked at me with trembling lips.

"Viya, please. Tell them it was a misunderstanding. You know Lucius will be upset if I'm humiliated."

"I'm sure he will be."

"Then help me."

"Why?"

The single word stunned her.

I walked down the last step and faced her in front of the servants. "When my belongings were on the lawn, did you help me? When you wore my robe and called this your future home, did you worry about humiliating me? When Lucius forgot our anniversary because he was with you, did you ask him to go back to his wife?"

Miranda's eyes filled with furious tears. "You're cruel."

"No. I'm learning. You should be proud. You've been an excellent teacher."

Thompson lowered his eyes, but I caught the faintest twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Lucius's POV

When I heard Miranda had been forced to kneel in the main estate courtyard, something hot and protective surged through me.

I arrived in twenty minutes.

She was still on her knees in the snow, shoulders trembling, face pale beneath carefully fallen strands of blonde hair.

"Lucius," she whispered when she saw me.

I lifted her without thinking.

Behind us, Thompson said, "Alpha Wilde, Former Luna Beth ordered-"

"I heard the order." My voice was cold. "And now I'm ending it."

Miranda clung to my coat, shaking.

Once inside, I placed her on the sofa and examined her reddened knees. Guilt and anger mixed uneasily in my chest.

"What were you thinking?" I asked. "If Grandmother summons you, you send for me first."

"I was scared." Her eyes filled instantly. "Viya tricked me. She wanted this."

I paused. "Viya doesn't play tricks."

Miranda stared. "You're defending her?"

"I'm stating a fact."

"She set a trap with that tea set!"

"Grandmother gave Viya that set. She would never risk damaging it over petty revenge."

Miranda's expression hardened. "You sound very sure of your wife."

The word wife landed awkwardly between us.

"She is gentle," I said. "Too gentle sometimes."

Miranda pulled her legs back from my hands. "Can you honestly say you have no feelings for her?"

I looked away.

Ray, my wolf, growled inside me. *Tell the truth.*

"I married Viya for the pack," I said.

"That wasn't my question."

"I have never touched her."

The lie tasted bitter.

I had touched the bond. Not her body, not the way Miranda meant, but worse. I had drugged that bond. I had mixed herbs into Viya's tea, telling myself it was necessary. I had weakened Serena because I feared the pull of fate would drag me away from the woman I believed I loved.

Ray paced in disgust. *Coward.*

Before Miranda could respond, a soft sound came from the doorway.

Viya stood there, wearing an apricot coat and holding a gift box tied with a perfect butterfly bow.

Her face was calm.

Too calm.

"Lucius," she said, "Grandmother asked whether you'll attend the Blackwood Pack dinner tomorrow."

I straightened. "Of course. I'll take you."

"Alright."

Her gaze moved briefly to Miranda on the sofa, then back to me. No accusation. No tears. That somehow made me feel worse.

"What's in the box?" I asked.

"A gift."

"For whom?"

"You."

I frowned. Then realization struck.

Our anniversary.

I had forgotten.

Viya placed the box in my hands with a small smile. "It was for yesterday, but your birthday is soon. Consider it early."

"Viya, I-"

"It's fine. You're busy."

She said it lightly, as if excusing me was a habit she had perfected.

Then she turned and walked away.

Something about her steps looked wrong. Stiff. Painful.

Ray snapped, *She is hurt.*

I started after her.

Miranda hissed behind me. "Lucius, my knee-"

I stopped.

Just for one second.

That second was enough for Viya to disappear through the door.

Miranda's voice shook. "You see? Even now, she makes herself look pitiful and you chase after her."

"She did nothing."

"She exists between us."

The accusation filled the room.

I looked down at the gift box in my hands. The bow was tied with such care that I could picture Viya sitting alone, adjusting it until it looked perfect.

Had she waited for me last night?

Had she worn something beautiful?

Had I been with Miranda while my wife prepared an anniversary gift I forgot to receive?

Ray's voice was low. *You are losing her.*

I almost laughed bitterly.

Had I ever had her?

Miranda noticed the gift box too.

"Aren't you going to open it?" she asked lightly. "Since Viya prepared it with such care."

Her sweetness was a knife.

I held the box tighter. "Later."

"Why later? Afraid I'll see something touching?"

"Miranda."

"No, answer me." Her tears had dried, leaving anger behind. "If she is only a political wife, why does a forgotten anniversary gift make you look like someone kicked your ribs in?"

I said nothing.

She laughed bitterly. "You keep saying you chose me, Lucius. But every time she lowers her eyes, you act like you've committed a crime. Maybe the real problem isn't that Viya wants too much. Maybe it's that you gave her too little and still expected her to adore you."

Ray went still inside me.

Because for once, Miranda had said something true.

For the rest of the afternoon, I carried the gift box with me like a problem I refused to solve. I set it on my desk, then moved it to the shelf, then finally placed it in the locked drawer beneath my private documents.

Ray gave a humorless growl. *You can hide a box. You cannot hide from what it means.*

"Enough."

But my wolf was not done. "She remembered. She always remembers. You forget her, then punish her for being hurt."

I looked toward the window. Outside, the courtyard where Miranda had knelt was already swept clean of snow. Evidence disappeared quickly in Alpha houses. Too quickly.

A thought came, unwanted and sharp. How many times had Viya's pain been swept away before I returned home? How many bruises had healed under long sleeves while I stood beside Miranda and called myself loyal?

My phone buzzed with another message from Miranda.

[Will you come upstairs? I don't want to be alone.]

I stared at it for a long time before replying.

[Rest. We'll talk later.]

For the first time, I did not go to her immediately.

Viya's POV

The snow continued for two days.

At the Natural Healing Clinic, I spent the morning treating a young Beta whose wolf had been dormant since childhood. The work steadied me. Herbs, pressure points, lunar alignment therapy-these were things I understood. Pain could be named. Damage could be traced. Healing required patience and honesty.

Marriage, apparently, required neither.

By evening, I returned to the mansion to prepare for the Blackwood Pack dinner. I chose a pale knitted dress, knee-high boots, and a cloak warm enough for the car ride.

As I reached the door, Miranda appeared behind me.

"Going somewhere?"

"To dinner."

"With Lucius?"

"Yes."

Her smile sharpened. "How touching. The dutiful wife being displayed for the Blackwoods."

I fastened my cloak. "You sound jealous."

"Of you?" She laughed. "Please. I know where Lucius comes when he wants comfort."

"And I know where he goes when he wants to hide."

Her face changed.

"Don't act like you've won because he drives you to one dinner," she said. "If I call him right now, he'll turn the car around."

"Then call him."

She blinked.

I smiled. "Go ahead. Prove it."

For a second, she looked tempted. Then she looked past me through the window, where Lucius's car waited in the driveway.

"You're not as harmless as everyone thinks," she whispered.

"No," I said. "You're just not as clever as you think."

I left her standing there.

Lucius was waiting in the car. He glanced at my legs the moment I sat down.

"You're dressed too lightly."

"I'll be indoors."

"What if you catch a cold?"

"Then I'll take medicine."

He frowned. "You say that like I don't care whether you're sick."

I looked at him. "Do you?"

The question silenced him.

His phone rang before he could answer.

The voice on the other end was loud enough for me to hear. "Alpha, Luna Miranda has gone to the arranged meeting with the potential mate."

Lucius's entire body changed.

His fingers tightened. His jaw locked. His concern for my coat, my health, my cold hands-all vanished.

"Send me the location," he ordered.

After hanging up, he turned to me with a careful expression. "Something urgent came up."

I smiled. "Of course."

"Viya-"

"Pull over."

He hesitated. "I can have the driver take you first."

"And risk Miranda accepting a suitable mate before you stop her?"

His face paled.

I had never spoken so directly before.

"Don't worry," I said softly. "I've spent three years arriving alone. One more dinner won't kill me."

"Viya, that's not fair."

"No. What's not fair is making me sit beside you while you pretend this is about pack business."

The driver stopped.

Lucius opened his mouth, closed it, then stepped out.

I watched him leave.

At Blackwood mansion, the air felt colder than the snow outside.At the main door, the steward Bartell hesitated before leading me inside.

"Luna Viya, perhaps I should inform Lady Margaret that Alpha Lucius was called away."

"She'll ask who called him."

Bartell's expression tightened. He knew. Everyone always knew more than they admitted.

"Then perhaps," he said carefully, "you should say very little tonight."

I looked at him. "I always say very little. It has never saved me."

His eyes softened with pity, and I hated that almost as much as the coming punishment.

Luna Margaret sat at the head of the dining room with Aunt Lily and Aunt Mary beside her. Her eyes moved past me immediately.

"Where is Lucius?"

"He had an urgent matter."

The teacup flew before I finished.

Hot tea splashed across my chest and shoulder. Pain burned through my skin, but I did not cry out.

"You useless girl!" Margaret shouted. "You can't even keep your mate at your side?"

I lowered my eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? Sorry is what weak wolves say when they have nothing else to offer." She turned to the steward. "Take her to the kitchen. Ice water. Every dish."

In the kitchen, I washed plates until my hands turned red and numb. The servants avoided my eyes. They had seen this before.

Every time Lucius failed to appear, I paid for it.

When I finally left two hours later, the driver was gone. Of course he was.

The rideshare would only wait at the bottom of the mountain road because of the snow.

I walked.

My knees throbbed. My hands burned. My chest ached where the tea had scalded me.

Halfway down, headlights cut through the snowfall.

A black Bentley slowed.

I recognized the plate.

Caesar.

For one foolish moment, I wanted to hide.

Then the world tilted, and I collapsed into the snow.