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.

Sarah POV:

The silence was brittle, ready to snap.

David's hand clamped onto my upper arm, fingers digging into the muscle. "Sarah is tired," he announced, voice strained. "She's not thinking clearly."

"I'm thinking perfectly clearly," I said, ripping my arm away.

Rebecca's eyes narrowed into slits. The playful cruelty vanished, replaced by predator focus.

"Oh, sweetie," Rebecca cooed, stepping closer. "Let me fix that clasp. It looks loose."

Before I could back away, she reached behind my neck.

A sharp, searing heat slashed across the back of my hand.

"Ah!" I gasped, jerking back.

A thin line of red appeared. Smoke curled from the wound. The smell of cooking meat filled the air.

Silver.

She had a silver blade palmed in her hand.

"You cut me!" I cried out, clutching the burn. The silver stopped the clotting, burning deeper.

"What?" Rebecca gasped, eyes wide.

In a blur, she took the same blade and slashed her own forearm.

She screamed. A high-pitched shriek that shattered the tension.

"She has a knife!" Rebecca screamed, falling to her knees, clutching her bleeding arm. "She tried to kill me! She has silver!"

Chaos erupted.

"No!" I shouted. "She did it! She had the blade!"

"Liar!" Rebecca sobbed. "I tried to help you!"

David turned to me. His eyes were black. The scent of silver and blood triggered his combat instinct.

"Sarah," he growled.

"David, look at my hand!" I pleaded, holding up the smoking wound.

"Enough!" David roared.

The sound hit me like a shockwave.

"KNEEL!"

The Alpha Command.

It wasn't a choice; it was gravity. My legs collapsed. My knees cracked against the marble. I tried to stand, but my body was locked, a prisoner to his voice.

"David, please," I whimpered. "The baby..."

He rushed to Rebecca. He scooped her up, looking at her with frantic worry.

"Get the doctor!" David yelled. "Clear the room!"

He looked down at me. No love. Just disgust for a broken toy.

"I knew you were weak, Sarah," he spat. "I didn't know you were vicious."

"I didn't do it," I sobbed against the crushing weight of the Command.

"Take her to the dungeons," David ordered the guards. "And check her for silver."

"David!" Rebecca moaned, burying her face in his chest to hide her smirk. "It hurts..."

"I've got you, my Luna. I've got you," he whispered.

My heart didn't break; it disintegrated.

Two warriors dragged me across the floor. My legs, still paralyzed, trailed uselessly behind me.

I watched David carry Rebecca out, stepping over my blood.

As the dungeon doors loomed, I clutched my stomach.

Hold on, little one, I prayed. Mama is going to get us out.

Sarah the Omega died on that ballroom floor. Something else would have to be born in the dark if we were going to survive.