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.