Once I ended the call, I went straight back to the mansion Lucas and I had been living in.

The place sat on the outskirts of the Silver Moon Pack, bought with the savings I had scraped together after years of doing business on my own.

Back then, Lucas claimed he was short on funds after taking over pack affairs, so I let him move in first.

Looking back, I must have been blind.

I pushed open the front door and headed straight to the bedroom to pack my things.

The moment my hand touched the doorknob, a stench slammed into me.

It was the unmistakable mix of an Alpha and an Omega in heat.

Even as a concealed Beta, the intensity of it hit me hard enough to trigger my gag reflex.

I shoved the door open.

The sight inside nearly snapped the last thread of my sanity.

The room was a wreck. My silk nightgown lay shredded on the floor, and Lucas's belt hung off the bedside lamp.

On the bed, two naked bodies were tangled together.

At the sound of the door, they shifted.

Sarah poked her head out from under the blanket, her hair a mess, her face flushed.

When she saw it was me, she flashed a taunting smile. "Wow, Elena, you're back? Didn't you say you two were done?"

Lucas stirred awake too. When his unfocused eyes landed on me, he instinctively tugged the blanket higher. "Elena? Why didn't you… knock?"

"Get out." The word scraped out from between my teeth.

Lucas frowned. "Sarah wasn't feeling well. She suddenly hit a heat spike on the way back, so I brought her here to rest. We're all family. Do you really have to overreact like this?"

Sarah rested her head on his chest, drawing circles over his muscles with her finger.

"That's right, Elena. You know how awful the post-mark reaction gets. Lucas was just… helping me through the pain."

As Sarah spoke, she let the blanket slide down, revealing shoulders covered in bite marks.

I didn't bother arguing. I turned and walked toward the kitchen.

Behind me, Lucas called out, "Where are you going? Get me some water, I'm dying of thirst. And make something for Sarah while you're at it."

It didn't take long before I returned to the bedroom, carrying a basin of ice water I'd frozen earlier for a chilled plum drink. Thick chunks of ice floated on top.

"Here's your water." I stepped up to the bed and flicked my wrist.

The entire basin of ice water, cubes and all, crashed down on both of them.

"Ahhh!"

Sarah shrieked, jolting upright like she'd been electrocuted.

Lucas jerked upright from the shock of the ice, and the two of them scrambled off the bed completely naked, tripping over themselves in panic.

"Elena! Are you insane?" Lucas wiped the freezing water from his face and roared.

Shaking violently from the cold, Sarah ducked behind Lucas and pointed at me, shouting, "You crazy bitch! Are you trying to freeze me to death? Lucas, look at her! She's just jealous!"

I tossed the basin onto the floor with a loud clang.

"Awake now? If you are, get out."

Lucas faltered when he met my icy stare, but his Alpha pride quickly twisted it into indignation.

He yanked the bedsheet around Sarah and glared at me, his expression turning vicious.

"Elena, apologize! Sarah's always been fragile. If she gets sick from this, can you take responsibility?"

A frustrated laugh escaped me. "I'd sooner swallow glass than apologize to her. And you, Lucas—you genuinely disgust me."

Sarah's eyes filled instantly with tears. "Lucas, did you hear her… She said she'd rather hurt herself than apologize to me…"

Lucas pulled her into his arms protectively, then shot me a furious glare.

"Elena, you bought this place, sure, but I helped renovate it. We're broken up, but I still have the right to live here. Sarah and I are staying tonight—so you're the one who should leave!"

"Fine. Not leaving?" I pulled out my phone and switched on the camera. "Then let the entire pack see how their so-called future leader fools around in his fiancée's bed."

Lucas's face drained of color. He lunged toward me, reaching for my phone.

"Don't you dare!"

I stepped back. "Try me. You have ten minutes. If you're still here after that, the whole pack gets this video."

Lucas glared at me, his chest rising and falling with ragged anger.

Panic flickered across Sarah's face. She tugged at Lucas's arm. "Lucas, forget this crazy bitch—let's go."

Lucas clenched his teeth, jabbing a finger toward my face. "Fine, Elena. You win. Just wait. Within three days, you'll be on your knees begging for my forgiveness!"

With that, the two of them scrambled to get dressed, fumbling around as they packed their things in shame.

The stench in the air hadn't faded, but for the first time, the house finally felt like it might be cleansed.

What I didn't expect was how bottomless human shamelessness could be.

Ten minutes later, instead of leaving, they delivered an even bigger "surprise."

Dragging my suitcase out of the bedroom, I spotted Lucas and Sarah squatting in my home like they owned the place, and my brows tightened.

"Still not leaving?"

Lucas lit a cigarette, wearing the smug look of someone who had nothing to lose.

"Elena, you may have bought this house, but Betas don't have private property rights in the pack. As the future Alpha, I have the authority to requisition it."

Sarah giggled and leaned into him. "Elena, I need a proper environment to recover after being marked, and this house is perfect. You're the one who should leave—and don't forget the keys."

A bitter laugh slipped out of me. I pulled out a copy of the property deed and slapped it across his face, the edge slicing his cheek.

"Look closely—this is a human legal deed. This property is protected by law. Get out. Now."

Humiliated, Lucas shot to his feet, and his Alpha pheromone pressure burst out in a surge of anger.

With the purest royal bloodline of an Alpha Queen, his so-called pressure barely registered to me.

But I had to keep pretending.

I stepped back, one hand bracing against the wall as the color drained from my face. "Lucas, are you going to hit me?"

Satisfied by what he thought was submission, Lucas approached me.

"Elena, stop acting out. You'll stay and take care of Sarah. Consider this your evaluation period. If she's happy, I might take you back."

Sarah chimed in, "That's right. Make tonic soup for me every day, do the laundry, and don't bother us at night. I'll put in a good word for you with Lucas."

I stared at the shameless pair, and the fury I'd been holding back finally snapped free.

I swung my hand hard, the slap cracking across Lucas's face and splitting the corner of his mouth.

"You… you hit me?" he stammered, stunned.

"I hit you because you're a piece of shit."

I raised my hand toward Sarah next, but she shrieked and lunged at me, claws outstretched for my hair.

I sidestepped her and caught her wrist, but Lucas grabbed my arm and shoved me hard.

"Enough, Elena!"

Caught off guard, I slammed into the sharp corner of the entry cabinet.

Agony shot through my lower back. With my inhibitors suppressing my healing, the blow likely damaged something deep.

Lucas hesitated, a flicker of guilt in his eyes, but Sarah yanked him back.

"Lucas, she tried to kill me!"

His expression hardened instantly. "You started it. You've really disappointed me, Elena."

Swallowing the pain, I pulled out my phone. "Fine. Then let the police explain things to you."

Sarah's face drained of color. She snatched the phone from my hand and hurled it to the floor, smashing it.

"No police! If they come, your shot at becoming Alpha is over!"

Sarah shot me a venomous glare, then ran into the storage room and came out clutching a can of accelerant.

"If we can't stay here, then you won't either!"

She shouted at Lucas, "Lucas! If you don't teach her a lesson now, she'll walk all over you! Burn the house—once she's dead, you, as her fiancé, become the primary heir!"

Lucas froze for a moment, then stepped forward, blocking the only path between me and the door.

Sarah charged into the living room with the can of accelerant, moving like a lunatic.

She splashed the yellow liquid over everything flammable, and its harsh, chemical stench swallowed the air.

"Stop!"

I tried to stand, but the pain in my lower back dragged me straight to the floor again.

"Are you two insane? This is a residential area!"

Lucas fixed his gaze on me, shifting his stance until he blocked the only exit.

"Elena, don't blame me," he said coldly. "You forced our hand."

A twisted thrill lit Sarah's face as she pulled a small packet from her pocket and sprinkled its contents evenly over the accelerant.

It was wolfsbane—the powdered bloom.

When burned, its fumes were lethal to werewolves, suppressing healing and even preventing transformation.

"Lucas! That's wolfsbane!" I locked my eyes on his, trying to stir whatever conscience he might still have left. "Are you really going to stand there and let her kill me?"

For a brief second, panic flickered in Lucas's eyes.

"Too far?" Sarah snapped her head toward him, screeching. "Once she's dead, this house—and the millions in her bank account—are all yours!"

Greed and humiliation crushed whatever hesitation he had left.

He clenched his jaw, refusing to look at me, and forced out two words, "Light it."

Sarah's lips curled into a vicious grin as she flicked the lighter.

The accelerant ignited instantly, flames swallowing the curtains and racing across the furniture.

Purple-black smoke billowed upward, carrying the bitter almond scent unique to wolfsbane.

"Go!" Sarah grabbed Lucas and bolted for the door.

The heavy wooden security door slammed shut, followed by the sharp click of locks turning.

They were going to burn me alive in here.

I dragged my agonized body toward the door and pounded against it with all the strength I had left. Outside, I heard Sarah's triumphant laugh and their footsteps fading away. "Come on, let's go get ourselves an alibi."

Inside, the fire had spiraled completely out of control.

A wave of heat slammed into me, scorching the ends of my hair.

The purple-black smoke laced with wolfsbane filled the room fast, and I doubled over in a violent fit of coughing.

Every breath dragged the toxic fumes deeper into my lungs, cutting through my throat like a dozen tiny blades.

Was I really going to die here? Die at the hands of those two monsters?

No. I refused.

I was the Lycan King's only daughter—the future Queen. I couldn't die like this.

Through the haze creeping over my mind, my hand reached for the obsidian pendant resting against my chest.

It was my father's final safeguard for me—the royal distress beacon.

Once shattered, the Royal Guard within a hundred miles would come at any cost.

But it also meant my trial would end in absolute failure—and my identity would be fully revealed.

But I had no choice left.

The flames were already licking at my feet, curling the hem of my dress into blackened edges.

With the last scrap of strength I possessed, I crushed the pendant in my fist.

A blinding beam of gold tore through the smoke, shooting straight into the sky and forming the sigil of the Royal House against the night.

It was a cry for aid—and the first horn of vengeance.

Lucas. Sarah.

Your nightmare was only just beginning.