Sarah POV:

I sat huddled in the backseat of my car, parked three miles away from the pack house, hidden under the canopy of an old oak tree. My hands were shaking so badly I couldn't get the key into the ignition to drive further.

Sarah? Where are you?

The voice echoed in my head via the Mind-Link. It felt like oil slicking over my thoughts.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block him out.

I heard you were at the office, David's voice continued, smooth and calm. Why didn't you come in? I missed you.

I gagged. A wave of nausea rolled through me.

I... I felt sick, I projected back, building a mental wall as best I could. I went home.

Good girl, he replied. Rest. Take your medicine. The doctor says you need it to strengthen your wolf.

The medicine.

My blood ran cold. Every morning, David personally handed me a small vial of blue liquid. He said it was vitamins.

I remembered the conversation. "The doctor sees to that."

It wasn't vitamins. It was Wolfsbane. He was micro-dosing me. Keeping me weak, suppressing my wolf, ensuring I remained infertile and docile.

I watched through the windshield as a sleek black SUV drove past on the main road. It was David's car.

I needed to run. Now. I scrambled into the front seat and jammed the key into the ignition. I turned it.

Click. Click. Click.

Nothing. The engine didn't even sputter.

"No," I whispered, hitting the steering wheel. "Not now."

I looked at the dashboard. The security light was blinking rapidly. Remote immobilization. As the Alpha, David had access to disable any vehicle registered to the pack fleet.

He didn't know I was running, but he was controlling. He probably locked the car simply because I wasn't where I was supposed to be.

I was trapped.

Through the gaps in the trees, I saw the SUV pull over in a secluded clearing nearby.

I crept out of my useless car and moved through the brush, downwind.

David stepped out. A moment later, the passenger door opened.

A woman stepped out. She looked like she was carved from gold and arrogance. Rebecca.

"Are you sure she didn't hear anything?" Rebecca asked. Her voice was sharp.

"She's an Omega, Rebecca. She's slow," David said, leaning against the car. "Even if she heard, she wouldn't understand the politics."

Rebecca walked up to him. She didn't hug him like a lover. She grabbed his chin, inspecting his neck.

"The mark is fading," she criticized.

"I'll refresh it," David said.

I watched in horror as David tilted his head. Rebecca leaned in and scraped her teeth against the junction of his shoulder and neck. A Marking. A claiming.

"Do you feel bad?" Rebecca asked, wiping her mouth. "Lying to your little pet?"

David shrugged. "She has a roof over her head. She has my protection. It's more than a weakling like her deserves."

"True," Rebecca laughed. "Just make sure she stays taking the Wolfsbane. If she ever shifted... well, we can't have her realizing she has teeth, can we?"

They kissed. It was hungry and aggressive.

My inner wolf let out a sound I had never heard before. A low, vibrating growl that rattled my bones.

My phone buzzed. A text from David.

"Emergency at the border. Won't be home for dinner. Love you."

I looked at the phone. Then I looked at the two of them.

There was no way out tonight. The car was dead. The perimeter guards would be on high alert if there was a "border emergency." If I tried to run on foot now, pregnant and weak from Wolfsbane, they'd catch me as a rogue and kill me.

I had to go back. I had to play the part of the dumb pet until I could find a real opening.

I turned around and crept back to my car. My hands were steady now. The shock had passed, replaced by cold, jagged resolve.

I wasn't just Sarah the Omega anymore. I was a mother fighting for her pup. And if I had to walk through hell to get us out, I would.

Sarah POV:

I managed to hitch a ride with a delivery truck back to the main house, claiming my car had broken down.

As I entered the hallway, the smell of roasted chicken hit me, and I barely made it to the downstairs bathroom before I emptied my stomach.

My body was rejecting the Wolfsbane. Now that I knew what it was, my psychology was warring with my physiology.

I heard the front door open.

Panic spiked. He wasn't supposed to be back.

"Daddy's here!" David's voice boomed.

I froze. He wasn't talking to me.

I crept to the bathroom door. David was in the living room, holding his phone up. Video call.

"Look at that form, Thomas! Good punch!" David was beaming.

On the screen, a young boy, maybe four years old, was hitting a punching bag. He had David's dark hair and Rebecca's sharp nose.

"Did you see, Daddy? I'm an Alpha like you!" the boy squealed.

"You are, son. You are," David cooed.

A son. He already had a son. With Rebecca.

The betrayal wasn't an event; it was a history. While I was crying over negative pregnancy tests, he was raising a family with her.

"Sarah?"

David's voice snapped me back. He had ended the call.

I flushed the toilet to create noise and walked out. "I'm here."

He walked over to me. The scent of Rebecca was all over him-roses and metallic ozone. He tried to mask it, but I smelled her on his skin.

"You look pale," he said. He reached out to touch my cheek.

It took every ounce of willpower not to flinch. "Just a stomach bug."

"I told you to rest," he said, his voice dripping with fake concern. "I was patrolling the border."

"I know," I lied. "Did you catch the intruders?"

"Chased them off," he said easily. "Listen, I have to go to the Alpha Summit this weekend."

Liar. He was going to play house with his real family.

"That's a shame," I said, forcing a weak smile. "I was hoping we could go to Moon Goddess Lake."

He paused, a flicker of annoyance crossing his eyes. "Next time, sweetie. When I get back."

"Can I have the Moonlight Sapphire?" I asked suddenly.

David stiffened. The Moonlight Sapphire was the Luna's necklace.

"Sarah," he sighed, patronizing. "It's in the vault. It's too heavy for you."

"Just for one night," I pushed. "For my birthday party tomorrow."

His eyes darted away. "I... I'll see what I can do."

He didn't have it.

He leaned in to kiss me. I turned my head, and his lips brushed my cheek.

He pulled back, eyes narrowing. A low growl vibrated in his chest. He released a burst of Alpha Pheromones-a heavy, suffocating blanket designed to force compliance.

"Is something wrong, Sarah?"

"I told you," I whispered, clutching my stomach. "I'm sick. Please, David."

He stared at me, analyzing me like a bug under a microscope. Finally, he huffed. "Fine. Get some sleep."

He slammed the study door.

My phone buzzed. Unknown number.

It was a photo.

Rebecca, in a hotel room, wearing a silk robe. Around her neck was the Moonlight Sapphire.

The text read:

"It only fits the neck of a Queen. Don't embarrass yourself, mongrel."

I stared at the blue stone.

I deleted the message.

I couldn't run tonight. The guards were doubled, my car was bricked, and I had no cash on hand.

But tomorrow was my birthday. The whole pack would be there. Chaos is a ladder. If I caused a scene, if I disrupted the perfect image he was trying to maintain, I might create a crack in his security large enough to slip through.

I would leave, but first, I would burn their perfect little lie to the ground.

Sarah POV:

The banquet hall smelled of expensive meat and cheap deceit.

It was my birthday party. David had spared no expense to look like the doting Alpha. I stood by his side, wearing a simple white dress, feeling like a ghost at my own wake.

Smile, Sarah, David's voice commanded through the Link.

I forced the corners of my mouth up. I am smiling, Alpha.

"Attention, everyone!" David boomed, raising his glass. The Alpha Command rippled through the air, silencing the room instantly.

"To Sarah," David announced. "My companion. My heart."

A murmur of polite applause.

Suddenly, the heavy double doors swung open.

Rebecca stood in the doorway.

She wore midnight blue velvet that hugged her warrior frame. Her golden hair was a halo of dominance. She didn't walk in; she invaded.

David stiffened. "What is she doing here?" he muttered.

Rebecca glided across the floor, two warriors flanking her with a gift box.

"Alpha David," Rebecca purred, bowing her head-a mockery. "I apologize for the intrusion. I come bearing gifts from the Northern Pack."

She turned her gaze to me. Ice. "And happy birthday... Sarah."

She snapped her fingers. The box opened.

A collective gasp.

The Moonlight Sapphire.

The elders whispered frantically. For an outsider to hold the sacred Luna necklace was a declaration of war-or a coup.

"I found this... misplaced," Rebecca said, her voice projecting to the back of the room. "I thought it should be returned."

She picked up the heavy necklace.

She stepped into my personal space. I could smell the ozone of her power.

"Let me help you," she whispered.

She draped the necklace around my neck. It felt heavy, cold like a shackle.

She leaned in close. Her lips brushed my ear.

"Enjoy it for tonight, Omega," she hissed. "It looks ridiculous on you."

She pulled back and smiled brightly. "Doesn't she look... quaint?"

"Thank you, Rebecca," David said, sweating. He knew she was marking her territory.

"Oh, anything for you," Rebecca said, touching David's arm. "And for my... sister."

She looked at me with mock pity. "You look tired, Sarah. Being a Luna is such hard work. Thank goodness you have help looking after my... I mean, the Alpha."

The slip was intentional.

My Alpha.

The room went deathly still.

I looked at David. He stood paralyzed by his own greed.

I looked at Rebecca. She was smirking.

I touched the cold stone. I thought of the baby. I thought of the poison.

"Thank you, Rebecca," I said, my voice steady. "It is a beautiful gift. Though I'm surprised you would part with it. I heard you have a habit of clinging to things that don't belong to you."

Rebecca's smile faltered.

The air in the room crackled. The storm had arrived.