LEAH'S POV
"Welcome, welcome!" Luna Mary's soft, polished voice booms across the courtyard, dripping with high-class charm.
The sound hits my ears like a sharp smack, pulling me right out of the dark shock of my regression. I stand frozen near the bottom of the grand stone steps, my heart still pounding wildly in my chest.
Alpha Everest nods approvingly, stepping forward to clasp Augustine's hand in a firm grip. "As my mate said, you are all welcome to our home."
"Thank you, Alpha," Augustine replies, bowing his head slightly in respect, his chest swelling with deep pride.
"And here is our star!" Luna Mary exclaims, sweeping down the stone steps with her arms outstretched toward Willow. She pulls Willow into a brief, heavily scented hug, beaming at her as if she were her own blood daughter.
"The brilliant girl of the hour. We are so remarkably proud of you, Willow. You did well to be admitted to Eclipse Academy on your very first try!"
"Oh, Luna Mary, you honor me too much," Willow sweet-talks, ducking her head with exaggerated, false modesty. "I only did my best to bring pride to the Rosante name."
"And you have!" Asher chimes in quickly, his eyes shining with open adoration as he gazes down at her. "You are going to eclipse every single wolf in that academy, Willow. I have no doubt about it."
They turn and usher us into the grand foyer, their high laughter and endless praise echoing against the tall stone ceilings. The only names falling from their lips are Willow and Asher.
They talk as if the two of them are the only young wolves in the entire region who achieved anything worth celebrating.
They talk as if I did not get accepted into Eclipse Academy too.
They completely ignore the fact that my official admission letter arrived on the exact same morning as Willow's. But of course, in their eyes, my acceptance was just a fluke, an unmerited stroke of luck for the daughter of a disgraced villainess, while Willow's was a divine blessing from the Moon Goddess herself.
We are led through the high-arched corridors into the grand dining hall. A massive, polished wooden table sits at the center of the vast room, laid out with glittering silver plates, tall crystal glasses, and towering silver candelabras flickering with warm candlelight.
Augustine and Bea take their seats near the head of the table on the left side. Leonardo sits right beside them, his posture stiff. Asher quickly pulls out the chair directly across from his own seat, motioning eagerly for Willow to sit down next to him.
I walk calmly toward the lower end of the long table, intending to take a seat at the far edge, out of everyone's direct line of sight.
I don't care about their fine food, and I certainly don't care to participate in their mindless chatter. I just need a seat in this room so I can watch them lay the trap for themselves.
Before my fingers can even graze the carved back of the wooden chair, a sharp, cold voice cuts through the room.
"Why are you standing there?"
I pause, slowly raising my head.
Luna Mary is standing near the head of the table, her hand resting on the back of her husband's tall velvet chair. She's staring down the length of the table at me, her lips twisted in a sharp, violent curl of pure contempt.
Her cold eyes rake over my simple green dress, scanning me as if a dirty stray rat had just wandered into her clean dining hall.
I stare back at her, keeping my face entirely expressionless.
I remember this woman so clearly. Years ago, before the bitter truth about Clara's diary came out, Luna Mary used to pull me into soft, motherly hugs just like the one she gave Willow tonight.
She used to hold my hands, stroke my hair, and whisper in my ear about how eager she was for me to officially join her family. She literally tried to get me to call her 'Mother-in-law' before I was even nineteen years old.
Now, she looks at me like I am a smudge of dirt on her carpet.
I say nothing. I stand completely motionless beside the empty chair, waiting. I wait to see if anyone in this room will raise a voice on my behalf, because as a disgraced omega in the Alpha's house, this is clearly not a place where I can speak up for myself without giving Augustine an excuse to hit me for disrespect.
The silence in the dining hall turns deafening.
I look at Bea, the woman who I once thought was my mother. She quickly averts her eyes, fixing her gaze intensely on her napkin as if it is the most fascinating object in existence.
I look at Leonardo. He stares down at his empty crystal glass, completely unbothered, calmly swirling the faint reflection of the candlelight.
I look at Asher. He does not even glance my way. He's busy leaning over to whisper something in Willow's ear, smiling broadly while Willow giggles softly behind her small hand.
And Augustine simply sits straight in his chair, his broad chest rising and falling, deliberately ignoring my presence to signal to the Alpha that he does not care how I am treated.
I'm an eyesore to every single person sitting at this table. A villainess's spawn with no allies, no defenders, and no voice.
Luna Mary lets out a soft, disgusted huff, waving her hand dismissively in my direction.
"Take a seat in the kitchen and eat there," she orders, her tone flat and completely devoid of human warmth. "The staff will provide you with a plate. You will be called out when everyone is finished dining."
Like a servant.
She's ordering me out of the main room like a lowly maid who isn't worthy to share the same air as her family.
I don't move. I just stand there, my body free of tension, waiting for the predictable play to unfold.
And right on cue, it happens.
Willow gasps softly, putting on her absolute best impression of a benevolent, merciful heroine. She quickly reaches out, clutching gently to Luna Mary's sleeve, looking up at the older woman with wide, pleading eyes full of sweet concern.
"Oh, Luna Mary, please!" Willow begs softly, her voice trembling just enough to sound deeply sympathetic. "Please don't send her away. Leah is part of our family, no matter what happened in the past. It would break my heart if she had to eat alone in the kitchen while we celebrate. Please... let her sit at the table with us."
It's a masterclass act in social manipulation.
In one single move, Willow paints herself as an angelic saint who protects the very girl who supposedly hates her.
She gets to look gracious, kind, and overwhelmingly merciful, while making sure everyone at the table remembers that I'm only being tolerated because of her endless charity.
I stand near the end of the table, watching her play the hero without saying a single word.
I don't snap. I don't defend myself. I do not shed a single tear.
Let her talk. Let her put on her little performance for the Luna. Let her play the benevolent savior all she wants.
Because before I leave for Eclipse, I intend to make sure this is the absolute last time Willow will ever be able to talk so gently to the Luna.
Yes, that's right. Before I leave for the academy, I'll give everyone in this room a taste of what is to come.
Starting with the 'bond' between Willow and Luna Mary.
LEAH'S POV
I look up at Luna Mary, keeping my face smooth and unbothered.
"I'll eat in the kitchen, then," I say softly, my voice cutting cleanly through the heavy silence of the dining hall.
A collective gasp ripples through the table. Augustine slams his silver fork down against his porcelain plate, his knuckles turning white as he glares across the long room at me.
In their eyes, my easy acceptance looks like a childish tantrum. They fully expect me to cry, to stomp my feet, or to beg on my knees for a small place at their table.
"Look at her," Asher sneers, shaking his head with deep disgust as he leans back in his velvet chair. "Still playing the dramatic victim. She can't even accept a dinner invitation without throwing a fit."
"She's just trying to make us all look cruel," Augustine grunts, his heavy voice dripping with annoyance. "Let her starve in the back with the house staff if that's what she wants."
Right on cue, Willow steps into her favorite role as the angelic saint. She gasps softly, placing a delicate, pale hand over her heart, looking up at Luna Mary with wide, tear-filled blue eyes.
"Oh, please, Luna Mary!" Willow begs softly, her voice trembling with sweet concern. "Don't let her go to the kitchen! Leah is just hurt and confused right now. It breaks my soft heart to see her isolate herself like this. Please, let me go bring her back. I want us to be a real, happy family!"
I don't give her the satisfaction of a loud scene. I don't fight back, nor do I shed a single tear.
"Thank you for your concern, Willow," I say, my voice quiet as I slowly turn on my heel. "But I think it would be better if I just left."
I leave the grand dining hall behind, walking down the cool stone corridor toward the back staff kitchen. They think I'm retreating in shame or anger. They think Willow won another easy victory in this little power play.
They have no idea that every single step I take is part of my design. I wanted to be in the kitchen. I needed to be far away from their noisy table so I could think clearly and set things up.
The kitchen is massive, empty, and very quiet. High copper pots hang from the tall ceiling, and the long wooden counters are piled high with leftover warm bread, cuts of steak, and bowls of fresh fruits.
The house servants have all stepped out to serve the main hall, leaving me alone in the dim room.
I sit down on a low wooden stool near the back preparation table, pulling a small wooden plate toward me. I do not touch the food. I just sit in the dim light, staring down at my unburned hands.
My fingers tremble slightly-not from any fear, but from the raw, cold rage burning deep in my chest.
'They looked at me and did not see Leah', I whisper to the quiet walls of the kitchen, testing the raspy sound of my own voice. 'They did not see the girl who spent eighteen long years doing everything to bring honor to the Rosante name. They only saw Clara.'
Every single cold glare, every spat insult, and every heavy wooden door slammed in my face over the past year was framed as justice for Clara's sins.
I run my thumb over the rough edge of the wooden table.
And the irony? Clara died by her own hands. She took the easy, coward's way out with a concoction of poison and a diary she probably never meant for anyone to read.
Clara gets to rest in the cold earth, completely untouched by the terrible mess she left behind her. Meanwhile, I was left behind to drown in the rot of her choices.
I was forced to pay the ultimate price for a crime I did not commit, all under the angry, watchful eyes of a pack that already called me guilty by birth.
Overnight, I went from the quiet girl who brewed herbal tea for sick pups to the villainess's cursed child.
In my first life, I spent twelve miserable months weeping in my drafty attic room. I spent every single day begging Augustine for a tiny drop of fatherly love. I tried so hard to prove I was good, gentle, and useful to the pack.
And what did it get me?
It got me locked inside a burning wooden barn while the entire academy danced around as I burned to ash.
A dark, cold smile slowly curves the corners of my lips in the shadow.
'Not this time', I think, my dark green eyes narrowing in the dim light. 'If they've made me out to be a villainess, then I will play the part properly.'
Before I leave for Eclipse Academy I'll leave them a little parting gift. I don't need strength or loud arguments to tear their happy world apart. I'll start small.
I'll start by fracturing the sweet, fragile bond between Willow and Luna Mary-a little taste of what is to come before I even step onto that academy campus.
From down the hallway, the loud sound of cheerful laughter bursts through the heavy wooden doors. I hear Asher's loud, booming voice praising Willow, followed by Luna Mary's high laughter.
They're celebrating Willow's admission to Eclipse Academy, talking as if she is a divine gift from the Moon Goddess herself.
They're happy. They feel completely safe. They think I'm sitting here cowering in the dark, eating leftover scraps like a beaten dog.
Footsteps echo down the stone hallway. High heels click sharply against the hard floorboards.
Luna Mary is coming toward the kitchen, stepping away from the noise of the dining hall to check on the sweet dessert trays.
I stand up slowly from the wooden stool. I smooth down the simple skirt of my green dress, fold my pale hands neatly in front of my waist, and drop my gaze to the floor-acting every bit the timid, disgraced omega they expect to see.
The heavy wooden kitchen door swings open with a soft creak. Luna Mary steps into the room, holding her rich silk skirt high above the dusty floor, her cold eyes instantly locking onto me with pure contempt.
"Still standing here like a pathetic ghost, Leah?" she sneers, walking slowly toward the center island. "You really are a continuous disappointment to this family."
I look up at her, my posture modest and my face a soft mask of total innocence, though a dark, razor-sharp smile plays at the corners of my lips.
