Elaria was still sitting on the marble staircase when the front doors opened.

Cold night air rushed into the mansion.

Then heels clicked sharply against the floor.

Nyra Storm walked in looking like she was about to start a war.

Tall.

Dark-haired.

Wearing an expensive charcoal coat over a black silk dress, phone still in one hand.

Her wolf aura filled the foyer instantly.

Several Omega servants lowered their heads and moved away immediately.

Nyra spotted Elaria sitting on the floor.

Her expression changed at once.

For one brief second, real concern flashed across her face.

Then she looked up toward the second floor.

Toward the bedroom.

And her eyes turned murderous.

“Tell me they’re still upstairs,” she said calmly.

Elaria laughed weakly through tears.

“You can’t kill an Alpha.”

Nyra handed her purse to a terrified Omega nearby.

“Watch me.”

Before Elaria could stop her, another voice suddenly echoed through the mansion.

“What exactly is going on here?”

Elaria froze.

Her father.

Alpha Draven Vale.

He stepped into the foyer wearing a dark suit from the council gathering, silver streaks visible through his black hair.

Beside him stood Lenora.

And behind them—

Vaelyn.

Of course.

Vaelyn now wore one of Elaria’s silk robes, her blonde hair still messy from bed.

The sight nearly made Elaria sick again.

Nyra noticed immediately.

“Oh, that’s insane,” she said softly. “She’s wearing your clothes too?”

Vaelyn instantly looked emotional.

“Please don’t make this uglier than it already is.”

Nyra actually barked out a laugh.

“Ugly?” she repeated. “Sweetheart, you climbed onto your stepsister’s Alpha’s dick. We passed ugly twenty minutes ago.”

“Nyra,” Elaria whispered tiredly.

But Nyra was already furious.

Ronan appeared at the top of the stairs then.

His black shirt hung open slightly, exposing the fresh red scratch marks across his chest.

Marks Vaelyn probably left there.

The mate bond twisted painfully again.

Elaria looked away immediately.

Her father’s gaze hardened the second he noticed her crying.

“What happened?”

Nobody answered.

Then Vaelyn stepped forward with watery eyes.

“It was a mistake.”

Nyra looked genuinely impressed.

“Wow. Shameless and fast. Dangerous combination.”

“Nyra,” Ronan warned coldly.

But Nyra crossed her arms.

“No, actually, let’s talk about this.”

She pointed upstairs.

“Did the Alpha accidentally trip into her vagina too? Is that the official story?”

Vaelyn’s lips trembled.

“I never meant for anyone to get hurt—”

Elaria suddenly laughed.

Not because anything was funny.

Because she’d heard those exact words before.

Twenty years ago.

From Vaelyn’s mother.

Her father’s face darkened immediately.

“Enough.”

Elaria slowly stood up from the staircase.

Her legs felt shaky.

But her voice came out terrifyingly calm.

“No,” she said quietly. “I think we should finally talk honestly for once.”

The entire foyer fell silent.

Even the servants stopped moving.

Elaria looked directly at Lenora first.

“You know,” she said softly, “my mother used to throw up blood upstairs while you sat downstairs drinking tea in her kitchen.”

Lenora stiffened instantly.

“Elaria—”

“No, let her finish,” Nyra said coldly.

Elaria’s eyes shifted toward Vaelyn.

“And now your daughter sleeps with my mate in my bed.”

Vaelyn immediately burst into tears.

“I said I was sorry!”

“Sorry?” Elaria whispered. “Your mother was sorry too.”

Her father stepped forward sharply.

“That’s enough disrespect.”

Elaria looked at him slowly.

Disrespect.

Interesting word.

Even now—

He still protected them.

Something inside Elaria finally cracked completely.

“You chose them over Mom too,” she whispered.

The room went still.

Her father’s jaw tightened dangerously.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Elaria stared at him in disbelief.

“I watched her die.”

Lenora flinched.

Elaria took another step forward.

“She was still alive when you moved your mistress into our home.”

“Watch your tone,” Alpha Draven growled.

But Elaria couldn’t stop anymore.

Years of grief poured out all at once.

“You let her walk around wearing Mom’s clothes,” Elaria snapped. “You let the Pack whisper about her while she was dying upstairs—”

“That’s enough!”

“No,” Elaria shouted back suddenly. “You know what? I finally understand something.”

Tears streamed down her face now.

“You never loved Mom.”

Draven’s expression darkened instantly.

“You are behaving hysterically.”

Nyra muttered, “Classic cheating-man vocabulary.”

Elaria laughed bitterly.

“Hysterical?” she whispered. “Your mistress destroyed Mom’s life, and now her daughter destroyed mine. Congratulations, Alpha. You really built a beautiful family legacy.”

The slap echoed through the foyer.

Everything went silent.

Elaria’s head snapped sideways from the force.

Pain exploded across her cheek.

For a second, she couldn’t even process what happened.

Her father had never hit her before.

Not once.

Even Nyra looked shocked.

Then her expression turned lethal.

Slowly, Elaria lifted a trembling hand to her face.

Her father’s breathing sounded rough now, like even he hadn’t expected himself to do it.

But he still said:

“You will not speak to me like that.”

Something inside Elaria died quietly.

Not loudly.

Just—

Gone.

Ronan finally moved downstairs.

“Draven,” he said carefully.

But Elaria stepped backward before he could get close.

“Don’t.”

Her voice broke.

“I can’t stand any of you touching me right now.”

Vaelyn suddenly started crying harder.

“This isn’t fair,” she sobbed. “I love him too—”

Nyra whipped around so fast her coat flared behind her.

“Oh, shut the hell up.”

Vaelyn froze.

Nyra stepped closer slowly.

“You know what your problem is?” she asked coldly. “You confuse being desired with being valuable.”

“Nyra,” Draven warned.

But Nyra ignored him completely.

“No, let’s really talk tonight.”

Her eyes swept across the room with open disgust.

“One man cheats. Another man covers it up. A mistress cries. A daughter steals her sister’s mate.”

Then she smiled coldly.

“And all of you still expect Elaria to behave politely.”

Nobody answered.

Because nobody could.

Nyra walked directly to Elaria and gently took her suitcase from beside the stairs.

“Come on,” she said softly. “We’re leaving.”

Ronan’s expression hardened immediately.

“She’s my Luna.”

Nyra looked back at him.

“And you treated her like trash.”

The air thickened slightly from Ronan’s Alpha aura.

Any normal wolf would’ve lowered their eyes instantly.

Nyra didn’t even blink.

“You should leave before this escalates,” Ronan warned.

Nyra smiled.

Cold.

“Oh, it’s absolutely going to escalate.”

Elaria looked at her weakly.

Nyra’s eyes softened slightly when they met hers.

Then she turned back toward the others.

Especially Ronan.

Especially Vaelyn.

“Listen carefully,” Nyra said quietly.

The calmness in her voice somehow sounded more threatening than shouting.

“You humiliated the wrong woman.”

Ronan’s jaw tightened.

Nyra continued:

“You think tonight ends with her crying and leaving?”

She laughed softly.

“No.”

Her gaze turned icy.

“This is the part where you should start being afraid.”

Then she wrapped an arm around Elaria’s shoulders and guided her toward the front doors.

Behind them, Vaelyn suddenly spoke shakily.

“She’ll never survive without the Pack.”

Elaria stopped walking.

Slowly, she looked back.

Vaelyn stood beside Ronan now.

Protected.

Exactly like her mother used to stand beside Elaria’s father.

History repeating itself again.

But this time—

Elaria smiled.

“You should pray,” she whispered softly, “that I do.”

The internet exploded by the second day at noon.

Nyra had livestreamed the confrontation the night before, and by today, her media empire had already pushed the scandal to the top of every major news platform’s trending list.

Elaria woke up in Nyra’s penthouse wrapped in unfamiliar blankets and the dull ache of emotional exhaustion.

For one peaceful second, she forgot.

Then the mate bond pulsed painfully in her chest again.

Reality crashed back instantly.

Ronan.

Vaelyn.

The slap.

Her father choosing them.

Again.

Elaria shut her eyes tightly.

“Don’t throw up on my imported sheets.”

Nyra’s voice drifted from somewhere nearby.

Elaria slowly sat up.

Nyra stood near the bedroom doorway already dressed for work in a sharp black pantsuit, tablet in one hand, coffee in the other.

Completely unbothered.

Completely terrifying.

“You’re awake,” Nyra said. “Good. Your public revenge campaign starts in ten minutes.”

Elaria blinked slowly.

“…What?”

Nyra walked into the room.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“That’s never good.”

“It really wasn’t.”

Nyra tossed her tablet onto the bed.

The screen lit up instantly.

And Elaria nearly stopped breathing.

A Livestream Background Banner filled the display.

Millions of views.

Comments flooding endlessly.

The title read:

THE LUNA THE BLACKWOOD PACK BETRAYED

Elaria stared at her in horror.

“Nyra.”

“What?”

“You went live?”

Nyra looked offended.

“Obviously.”

“Nyra—”

“No,” Nyra interrupted sharply. “Absolutely not. They humiliated you publicly. We return the favor publicly.”

Elaria grabbed the tablet shakily.

Clips were already everywhere.

News accounts.

Pack gossip forums.

WolfTok edits.

Someone had even leaked photos from previous Pack galas showing Vaelyn hanging around Ronan.

Comments flooded the screen endlessly.

“HE CHEATED WITH HER STEPSISTER???”

“The daughter of the former mistress too??? Oh this family is EVIL.”

“Justice for Luna Elaria.”

“Alpha Ronan deserves exile.”

“Wait HER FATHER SLAPPED HER???”

Elaria froze.

Then looked up sharply.

“…How do they know that?”

Nyra smiled slightly.

“I may have excellent security footage connections.”

“Oh my God.”

“Oh, it gets worse.”

Nyra grabbed the tablet and scrolled.

A video clip began playing.

Nyra herself sat in front of a camera during last night’s livestream, looking furious.

“You want to know what happened to Elaria Vale Blackwood?”

She leaned toward the camera coldly.

“She came home early and found her Alpha in bed with her stepsister.”

Millions of comments exploded beneath the stream.

Then Nyra continued calmly:

“And before anyone asks why this situation is especially disgusting, let me educate you all.”

A photo of Elaria’s late mother appeared onscreen.

Beautiful.

Then beside it—

A younger photo of Lenora.

The mistress.

The replacement.

Nyra’s voice turned icy.

“Years ago, Elaria’s mother died while Alpha Draven Vale openly kept his mistress in the Luna’s home.”

Another image appeared.

Vaelyn.

Smiling beside Ronan.

“Now history repeats itself.”

Elaria’s stomach dropped.

“Nyra…”

“Oh, I’m not done.”

The next clip showed Nyra staring directly into the camera.

“If the Blackwood Pack thinks Elaria will disappear quietly like her mother did, they’re about to learn a very expensive lesson.”

Silence filled the bedroom.

Elaria stared at her best friend in disbelief.

“You declared war on an Alpha Pack.”

Nyra took a sip of coffee.

“Yes.”

“You’re insane.”

“Correct.”

Elaria suddenly laughed for the first time in two days.

A real laugh.

Small.

But real.

Nyra’s expression softened slightly.

“There she is.”

Then her phone rang.

Nyra glanced at the screen and groaned dramatically.

“Ah. Speaking of evil.”

She answered immediately.

“What?”

Even from across the room, Elaria could hear screaming through the phone.

Her father.

Nyra pulled the phone away from her ear slightly.

“Wow,” she muttered. “Still loud. Still a terrible parent.”

More shouting.

Nyra rolled her eyes.

“No, Alpha Vale, actually, public opinion currently thinks you’re a pathetic cheating enabler.”

Pause.

Then Nyra smirked.

“Oh? You’re threatening me?”

Another pause.

Her smile widened.

“Good luck with that.”

She hung up.

Elaria swallowed hard.

“He’s angry.”

“He’s embarrassed,” Nyra corrected.

And that was worse.

Because powerful men could survive guilt.

They never survived humiliation.

Nyra checked the time.

“I have a meeting downtown in an hour.”

Elaria immediately sat up straighter.

“No. I’ll stay somewhere else.”

Nyra looked offended again.

“You think I’d leave you alone after publicly humiliating two Alpha families?”

“…Fair point.”

“My brother’s home anyway.”

Elaria froze slightly.

“Cassian?”

Nyra nodded casually.

“He got back from the Northern territories last night.”

Elaria’s stomach tightened unexpectedly.

Cassian Storm.

Nyra’s older brother.

Future Alpha of the Storm Pack.

Dangerous.

The kind of man who looked calm right before violence happened.

Elaria hadn’t seen him in almost a year.

Mostly because Ronan hated him.

Actually—

Ronan hated any Alpha male who paid attention to Elaria.

And Cassian always looked at her too carefully.

Nyra grabbed her bag.

“Try eating today.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“I’m serious.”

Nyra walked toward the door, then paused dramatically.

“Oh, and if your ex-mate shows up?”

Elaria looked up.

Nyra smiled slowly.

“My brother bites.”

Then she left.

—

Three hours later, Elaria sat curled up on the enormous penthouse couch staring blankly at the city below.

The internet was still exploding.

News channels now covered the scandal openly.

Even neutral Packs criticized Ronan publicly.

A Luna betrayal was already disgraceful.

But cheating with her stepsister?

The daughter of the former mistress?

It looked monstrous.

Elaria suddenly heard footsteps behind her.

Heavy.

Male.

Her wolf reacted instantly.

Awareness.

Cassian Storm walked into the living room wearing a black button-down with the sleeves rolled up.

Broad-shouldered. Silver-eyed.

His dark hair still looked damp from a shower.

Everything about him radiated controlled violence.

But when he saw Elaria curled into herself on the couch—

His expression softened slightly.

“Hey.”

Elaria swallowed unexpectedly.

“…Hey.”

Cassian walked closer slowly like he was approaching an injured wolf.

Which, honestly, he was.

He glanced at the television screen showing another news segment about Ronan.

Then his jaw tightened.

“You shouldn’t watch that.”

Elaria laughed weakly.

“Hard to avoid when the entire continent knows my life is falling apart.”

Cassian sat across from her.

Silent for a moment.

Then:

“He’s a fucking idiot.”

The bluntness startled a laugh out of her.

Cassian watched her carefully.

And for some reason—

Unlike Ronan’s gaze—

Cassian’s attention never felt possessive.

It felt… protective.

Before Elaria could answer, the penthouse doors suddenly slammed open.

Her father stormed inside.

Fury rolled off him instantly.

Two security guards followed nervously behind.

“Sir, he forced his way—”

Cassian stood immediately.

The entire room temperature seemed to drop.

Alpha aura flooded the penthouse instantly.

“Leave,” Cassian told the guards calmly.

They practically fled.

Elaria’s father looked furious the second he saw her.

“This is your fault.”

Elaria stared at him numbly.

Of course.

Cassian moved slightly in front of her instinctively.

A small movement.

But protective.

Claiming space between them.

Draven noticed immediately.

His expression darkened.

“This scandal ends today,” Draven snapped. “You will publicly deny everything.”

Elaria actually laughed.

“You want me to lie for them?”

“For your family.”

The word hit her like poison.

Family.

Interesting.

Because nobody used that word while she was being betrayed.

Cassian finally spoke.

Low. Dangerously calm.

“She doesn’t owe any of you protection.”

Draven’s eyes shifted toward him sharply.

“This doesn’t concern the Storm Pack.”

Cassian smiled slightly.

Coldly.

“It does now.”

The air thickened instantly between the two Alphas.

Elaria’s father looked furious.

“She is still mated to Ronan Blackwood.”

Cassian’s silver gaze darkened.

“Not for long.”

The words sent a strange chill through Elaria.

Draven looked back toward her.

“You embarrassed this family.”

Elaria slowly stood.

“No,” she whispered. “You did.”

His expression twisted angrily.

“You sound exactly like your mother.”

The room went silent.

Elaria felt the words slice straight through her chest.

Then Cassian stepped forward.

Every instinct in the room shifted instantly toward him.

Predatory.

Even Alpha Draven stiffened slightly.

Cassian’s voice stayed calm.

But lethal.

“You should leave now.”

Draven laughed coldly.

“Or what?”

Cassian looked him directly in the eyes.

And smiled.

Not kindly.

“Or you’ll discover why the Northern territories still fear my Pack.”