Brooke POV:

I went to Easton's study. I told myself I was looking for the prenup.

I found it. Page twelve.

If the Omega initiates divorce... banishment. Forfeits all financial support.

Banishment. Rogue status. A death sentence. But looking at the text, the wild seemed safer than this house.

I closed the drawer, but saw a cardboard box shoved in the back.

Inside were five boxes. My anniversary gifts to him.

I opened the first. A hand-tooled leather watch strap. Unworn.

The second. A jar of herbal tea for Alpha Rage. Sealed. The herbs had turned to dust.

He hadn't even opened them. My love, rotting in a dark corner.

Buzz.

Easton.

Get to Kelly's penthouse. Now. It's her 'Recovery Party'.

No, I typed.

The phone rang instantly.

"Don't test me, Brooke," Easton growled. "You are the Lady of the House. Your absence starts rumors. Get here in twenty minutes, or I send the enforcers."

The Alpha Command bloomed behind my eyes like a migraine. My body betrayed me, moving toward the door while my mind screamed.

"Fine," I spat.

I arrived at Kelly's penthouse. Thumping bass. The pack's elite.

"Ah, the driver is back," Kelly announced. She wore red. Blood red.

Easton sat beside her. "Sit."

He pointed to the end of the table.

Waiters brought steaks. Everyone got a sear.

My plate? Raw. Bloody. Cold.

"Oops," Kelly giggled. "I told the chef since you have such... primitive origins, you'd prefer it like a wild animal. Like a Rogue."

Laughter.

"Eat up, Brooke," Kelly's brother jeered.

I looked at Easton. He was cutting his steak. Complicit silence.

"I'm not hungry," I said.

"Look at this," Kelly tapped her chest.

A diamond necklace with a glowing moonstone. The Spencer Luna Stone.

My blood ran cold.

"Easton gave it to me," Kelly preened. "He said it looked too heavy for your skinny neck."

I looked at Easton, trembling. "You gave her the heirloom? That belongs to the Luna."

Easton sipped his wine. "She's just wearing it for the night. Stop being possessive. You aren't fit to wear it. It requires a strong aura. On you, it would look like glass."

Crack.

Not my heart. My cage.

My inner wolf stood up. She shook off the chains.

The candles flickered.

Not fit? My inner voice snarled. Watch me.

Brooke POV:

"Let's play a game!" Kelly announced. "The Hunt. But digital."

She walked to a console. "The computer decides pairs based on genetic compatibility."

A trap. Kelly's family owned the software.

"Easton first," Kelly cooed.

Easton scanned his hand. ALPHA EASTON SPENCER.

Kelly scanned hers.

COMPATIBILITY: 99%.

Applause.

I gripped the table. Statistically impossible. Even Easton frowned, but he stayed silent.

"Now Brooke," Kelly smiled. "Maybe the gardener?"

"I'm not playing," I stood up.

"Sit down," Easton warned.

"I'm leaving."

Easton moved in a blur. He grabbed my wrist. Iron grip.

"You will not walk away. Don't act like a feral dog."

"A feral dog? Is that all I am?"

"Right now? Yes."

"Okay," Kelly grabbed his other arm. "Highest match spends seven minutes in 'The Den'."

She pointed to a soundproof closet.

"Easton," I pleaded. Not as a wife, but as a human. "Don't go in there. If you do, there is no coming back."

Easton looked at my cheap dress, then at Kelly's diamond necklace and the fake 99%.

He dropped my wrist.

"Grow up, Brooke. It's just a game."

He took Kelly's hand.

They stepped inside. The lock clicked.

The sound of a guillotine dropping.

I stood alone in the crowd.

I reached into my pocket. My anniversary gift. Silver ore cufflinks, treated not to burn.

I walked to the trash can.

I dropped the box in.

Then, I walked out into the biting wind.

The contract was broken. He had rejected me.

Now, it was my turn.

Brooke POV:

My phone vibrated. A video file from an unknown number. Kelly.

The footage was grainy, taken inside 'The Den'.

Kelly straddling Easton.

"Do you want her?" Kelly whispered. "Do you want your little Omega wife?"

Easton looked bored. "I have no desire for her. She is... bland. A placeholder."

Placeholder.

I hailed a cab.

At the villa, I went to the bathroom and pulled off the silver promise ring.

I dropped it into the toilet. Splash. Flushed away five years.

I grabbed my suitcase. Downstairs, the door slammed open.

"Brooke!" Easton's voice roared. Alpha Command .

I walked down, clutching my bag.

Easton stood there, chest heaving. Kelly was beside him, fake-sobbing, clutching a neck marked with pinches she'd clearly inflicted herself.

"Where is it?" Easton snarled.

"Where is what?"

"The Moonstone Necklace! I took it off in the bathroom, and it's gone! You were the only one who left early!"

"I didn't touch it."

"Don't lie! You saw it on her and couldn't stand it. Just like your mother-a thief."

"Don't you dare speak about her!" I screamed, stepping forward.

Easton shoved me.

I flew backward. My spine connected with the sharp corner of the oak console table.

Crack.

Agony. I crumpled, warm blood trickling down my back.

Easton froze. "Brooke..."

"Found it!"

An Enforcer walked in, dumping my bag.

My clothes fell out. And the Moonstone Necklace.

"She stole it!" Kelly shrieked.

I looked at the glittering lie.

"Check the cameras," I gasped from the floor. "The hall cameras..."

"We can't," the Enforcer said, not meeting my eyes. "System maintenance. Convenient."

Of course. Kelly.

Easton stared at the necklace, then me. His shock hardened into disgust.

"Take her," he ordered. "Lock her in the cells."

"Easton..."

"Get her out of my sight. She is a criminal."

He turned back to comfort Kelly.

He didn't even ask if I was hurt.