I stormed into our bedroom, slamming the door behind me with enough force to rattle the pictures on the wall. The sacred Harvest Moon ceremony had been completely derailed, and now I needed answers—real ones, not the rehearsed lies they'd fed me in front of the pack.

Levi followed me moments later, his face a mask of practiced concern that didn't reach his eyes.

"Roselyn, you need to calm down," he said, adjusting his Alpha ring—once, twice, three times. "What happened out there was unfortunate, but—"

"Unfortunate?" I whirled to face him, my Luna aura flaring protectively around me. "Your mother and your chosen mate ambushed me during a sacred ceremony with a baby they claim is yours, and you call it *unfortunate*?"

He at least had the decency to look away, his gaze fixed on the window behind me. "It's complicated."

"Then uncomplicate it for me," I demanded, stepping closer. "Because from where I stand, it looks like you've been plotting behind my back for months with your mother and Zara."

Levi's jaw tightened as he finally met my eyes. "We did what was necessary for the pack."

"Necessary?" My voice dropped dangerously low. "Was it necessary to humiliate me in front of the entire pack? Was it necessary to demand money from your own Luna?"

"Don't be dramatic," he muttered, his hand moving to adjust his ring again. "Mother explained why the financial arrangement was necessary. The child needs proper care, and as Luna—"

"As Luna, I'm supposed to be informed of these things," I cut him off. "Not ambushed at a sacred ceremony."

Levi paced the room, his movements restless and agitated. "You're not thinking clearly. This is about the Hamilton bloodline, about ensuring our pack's future."

"Your pack's future," I corrected him, feeling something cold settle in my chest. "Not ours."

"That's not what I meant." But his eyes slid away from mine, confirming what my heart already knew.

I moved to my dresser, pulling out my phone with trembling fingers. "I'm calling my father."

Levi froze mid-stride. "Don't be ridiculous. This is pack business."

"Your mother made it personal when she demanded money from me," I replied, scrolling through my contacts. "And now I want my birth pack involved."

"You can't do that," he said, his voice taking on a harder edge. "That would violate pack protocol."

"Pack protocol?" I laughed bitterly, my finger hovering over my father's number. "Like the protocol that says a Luna should be respected? Or the one that says mate bonds should be honored?"

Levi moved toward me, his Alpha aura pushing against mine in a way it never had before. "You're overreacting. Mother and I have been planning this for months, and it was working perfectly until you decided to make a scene."

"Planning it for months," I repeated slowly, letting the words sink in. "So you've been lying to me for months."

"I did what was necessary," he insisted, his hand moving to his ring again—a nervous habit I once found endearing but now seemed like a tell of his deception.

I straightened my spine, feeling my Luna authority surge through me. "Then I challenge your authority as Alpha."

The words hung in the air between us, heavy with implications neither of us could undo. Levi's face paled slightly, but his jaw remained set in defiance.

"Challenge me?" he scoffed. "You're my mate, not an Alpha."

"But I am still Luna," I reminded him, letting my aura expand until it pressed against his. "And I will not be blackmailed or manipulated."

Before he could respond, my phone buzzed with an incoming message. Then another. And another.

"What's happening?" I whispered, looking down at the screen.

Levi's expression shifted from confusion to understanding, then to something darker. "They're starting the mind-link communications."

As I read the messages flooding in from pack members, my blood ran cold. Accusations of instability. Questions about my fitness as Luna. Concerns about my "emotional breakdown" at the ceremony.

"They're saying I'm having a mental crisis," I breathed, staring at the screen in disbelief.

Levi didn't deny it. Instead, he straightened his shoulders and moved toward the door. "The pack needs stability right now, Roselyn. I think it's best if you rest."

"Rest?" I echoed incredulously. "You're suggesting I'm having some kind of breakdown?"

"It would explain your behavior," he said smoothly, opening the bedroom door. "No one expects a Luna to handle pack politics perfectly when she's not well."

I watched him leave, my mind racing with the implications of what was happening. The Hamiltons weren't just trying to manipulate me—they were actively working to discredit me entirely.

My phone continued to buzz with messages, each one another knife in my back from pack members I'd served loyally for years.

"They planned this," I whispered to the empty room. "All of it."

I couldn't sleep that night. The image of that baby's face kept flashing through my mind—something about her features nagged at me. The shape of her eyes, the curve of her nose... they didn't match Levi's face as much as I'd initially thought.

Dawn found me pacing my bedroom, my mind racing with possibilities I didn't want to consider.

"The child is to be recognized as pack heir," Margaret had announced so proudly.

But what if she wasn't Levi's at all?

I waited until the pack house fell quiet before slipping out of my room. The security office was located in the east wing, a place I rarely visited. My Luna pendant granted me access—for now, at least.

"Luna Roselyn," the night guard acknowledged with a respectful nod. "What brings you here so early?"

"Security concerns," I replied smoothly. "I need to review some footage from the past few months."

He hesitated only briefly before stepping aside. "Of course, Luna."

The security room was lined with monitors displaying different areas of the pack house. I settled into the chair before the main console, my fingers trembling slightly as I accessed the archive system.

"Where to start?" I murmured to myself.

Jerry's private study seemed like the most logical place. As former Alpha, he still maintained an office in the pack house, though he was supposed to have stepped back from active pack duties.

I scrolled through the dates, going back three months—around when this conspiracy must have begun. The first few recordings showed nothing unusual: Jerry working alone, reading reports, making calls.

But then I found it.

Zara slipped into his study one evening, looking nervously over her shoulder before closing the door behind her. The timestamp showed 11:42 PM—well after the pack house should have been settled for the night.

I leaned closer to the screen, my heart pounding as Jerry pulled her into an embrace that was anything but casual. Their kiss was hungry, desperate—the kind that spoke of a long-standing affair, not a recent development.

"Oh my goddess," I whispered, watching as Zara's hands slid under Jerry's shirt.

They moved to the leather couch in the corner of his study, their bodies entwined in a way that made my stomach turn. This wasn't just a dalliance—this was a relationship.

I fast-forwarded through several more recordings, finding similar scenes every few days. In one, Zara presented Jerry with a small gift—a watch I recognized from the pack's luxury goods catalog. In another, they argued heatedly about "being careful" and "not getting caught."

"Of course," I breathed, the pieces falling into place. "The baby isn't Levi's at all."

I pulled up more recent footage, this time from the pack house's common areas. There was Zara, accepting a necklace from Delta Marcus in the garden. Another clip showed her with Gamma Ethan near the training grounds, his hand lingering on her waist.

She wasn't just involved with Jerry—she was maintaining relationships with multiple pack members.

My mind raced back to the baby's face. Now that I knew what to look for, the resemblance to Jerry was unmistakable. The same sharp jawline, the same distinctive eyebrow shape that all Hamilton men shared.

"This isn't just betrayal," I whispered to the empty room. "This is a forbidden bloodline scandal."

In werewolf society, there were certain lines that couldn't be crossed. One of the most sacred was the prohibition against relationships that could confuse pack bloodlines—especially when it involved former Alphas and their sons' chosen mates.

I sat back in my chair, my mind reeling with implications. Margaret wasn't just trying to force me to raise another woman's child—she was trying to cover up her husband's violation of sacred pack law.

The door to the security room swung open, making me jump. Beta Ryan stood in the doorway, his expression unreadable.

"Luna Roselyn," he said formally. "Former Luna Margaret requests your presence in the main hall."

"Did she now?" I asked, rising from my seat. "And does she know I've been here?"

Something flickered in Ryan's eyes—doubt, perhaps, or sympathy. "I believe she's aware of your movements throughout the pack house."

Of course she was. Margaret had eyes everywhere.

When I arrived at the main hall, I found Margaret waiting with a cold smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Roselyn, dear," she said sweetly. "I've taken the liberty of reviewing your pack accounts."

My stomach dropped as I realized what was coming.

"Your Luna privileges have been temporarily suspended," she continued, her voice dripping with false concern. "For your own protection, of course. In your... fragile state."

I felt the blood drain from my face as she handed me a tablet showing my access permissions—all revoked.

"Furthermore," Margaret added, "I've informed our neighboring packs about your unfortunate mental breakdown. We wouldn't want them to misinterpret your behavior."

The room seemed to spin around me as I realized the extent of her campaign against me. She wasn't just trying to control me—she was systematically destroying my reputation and cutting off my resources.

"You won't get away with this," I said quietly, my Luna aura flaring despite my weakened position.

Margaret's smile widened. "Oh, but I already have, dear. I already have."