LOGIN•• Victoria’s POV •••
Elijah had promised to give everything to her? That was just too much!
I turned my head, ready to bite her hand, but she withdrew before I could do it.
“What a beast,” she snarled at me and punched me through the gap between the bars. I wasn’t expecting it, and the punch sent me tumbling backward, and I lost my footing, making me land on my butt.
Evelyn looked at me with disdain as she shook her hand. “What a weakling,” she mocked. “You deserved it. Anyway, this place reeked so much, it would taint my scent.”
“Anyway, I’m done with you. I’m just here to put you in your place.”
Goddess, I hated how she acted like she was the Luna of the pack already.
“Actually, my main point in coming here is to tell you that Alpha Damien Verlice of the Infernal Shadows Pack is coming to visit our pack, and we are going to hold a reception banquet to welcome him,” she informed me, and my heart skipped a beat. “And guess what? Elijah will be bringing me in place of you.”
She threw me another smug look before turning around and leaving me alone again in the cold dungeon.
Her smug look didn’t hurt me as much as her words. I shouldn’t expect anything from Elijah anymore. However, it still hurt me to think he would still banish me, his Luna, his lawfully wedded wife, in a dungeon while he paraded his mistress with no shame whatsoever or thought about my feelings.
A single tear escaped my eyes. How could he be so cruel?
I rubbed the dried blood that had trickled from my nose due to Evelyn’s punch. Luckily, although Lya was still in a deep slumber, I still didn’t lose any of my werewolf powers, and my wound had started healing, except for the burns on my wrists that were caused by the silver cuffs.
I lay on the cold dungeon ground and curled my body into a fetal position, letting more tears fall from my eyes. I couldn’t believe this would happen to me - A once beloved daughter of the Alpha of one of the strongest packs and heiress to a renowned perfume company was betrayed and imprisoned by someone I loved.
But since Alpha Damien was coming, it meant I still had hopes to be freed from this dungeon and the shameless duo of my husband and his mistress.
The next day, my Beta, Felix, sneaked into the dungeon and brought me loaves of bread and bottles of water, and I devoured them like it was the best meal I had ever eaten.
Hey, don’t judge me. I had been denied food and drink, and it was only natural for me to act like that.
“Felix, do you know how many of the Palemane Claws Pack members have turned their loyalty from me to Elijah and his pack?” I asked him once I finished all the food and drinks he brought me. “I know some of them have turned their backs against me. They helped to drag me here without showing any remorse.”
“Luna, I assure you many of our pack members still support you,” he replied with a respectful tone.
I breathed a sigh of relief, but then I remembered how many of my pack members had told me they were being excluded by Elijah except for those he deemed advantageous for him and his pack, but I was too blinded by my love for Elijah to see it.
My back slumped against the wall, and my lips curled into a bitter smile.
“Felix, do you think everything that has happened for the past few days was my fault?” I stared straight into my Beta’s eyes. “Evelyn told me I was the shameless one since I kept chasing after Elijah, knowing he might never love me.”
Felix was very loyal to me, and although he was my Beta, he was never afraid to speak his mind, so I expected him to always be honest with me.
Not breaking eye contact, he sighed, “Love can do that to a person. You’ve done so much for him and his pack, but he was ungrateful. And he still dares to take on a mistress. Maybe this could be a lesson for you, Luna.”
“Yeah…” I whispered with my eyes closed. Maybe the Moon Goddess was giving me a lesson not to give my heart to anyone again easily but to love myself and to focus more on my pack, its members, and my business empire.
I opened my eyes and looked at my Beta again. “I regret everything, but everything will end soon.”
Felix's brows furrowed, and he asked with concern, “What do you mean by that, Luna? You are not going to do something foolish, aren’t you?”
For the first time since I was imprisoned, I chuckled. “No.” I shook my head. “You will know about it soon.”
I couldn’t actually tell him until Alpha Damien came since I still didn’t know what he wanted from me.
“I heard Alpha Damien Verlice of the Infernal Shadows Pack is coming soon?”
He nodded in response.
“Please bring him to meet me when he arrives,” I commanded.
A flash of confusion and apprehension crossed his brown eyes, but I assured him that Alpha Damien wouldn’t do anything terrible to me.
“Alright, Luna, I trust you,” he said before his eyes glossed over, and I knew someone must have summoned him through the mindlink.
“Go,” I ordered him. “Don’t let them know you visited me. And remember, do your best to bring Alpha Damien here.”
He nodded and excused himself.
With my stomach full, I felt stronger and couldn’t wait to meet Alpha Damien.
Elijah might think he now had power over my pack members, but after knowing Felix's words, I was sure he didn’t realize that our combined pack’s strength was still in my grasp.
•• Victoria’s POV •••Five years later.The ceremony was held in a sun-drenched meadow, a far cry from the usual grandeur expected of Alpha weddings—but Oli wouldn’t have it any other way. It was private. Peaceful. Just her, Liam, and a handful of close friends.Oli looked stunning in her ivory gown—sleeveless, clean-cut, with a high slit that screamed, "I’m still an Alpha, don’t forget it". Her hair was swept into a crown braid, a few strands artfully loose around her face. Her smile, though? That was real. Soft. Steady.Liam stood beside her in his usual black suit, eyes unreadable but unwavering. He looked every bit the quiet protector he’d always been, only now something had shifted. The way he looked at her, it wasn’t just pretend anymore.It never had been.What started as a fake bond, a shield against tradition, had slowly turned into
•• Victoria’s POV •••Three months passed in the blink of an eye.The scent of cedar and musk lingered in the air, wafting through the sleek new lobby of my company headquarters—modern, elegant, and entirely mine. The soft hum of excitement buzzed through the walls as press crews gathered for the launch of our newest fragrance: Forever.Designed as a men’s scent, it was everything Damien embodied—warm, dominant, earthy, and addictive. It was the first time I’d publicly tied a fragrance to something so personal, but I didn’t hesitate. This one wasn’t just about scent. It was about him. About us. About the bond that now pulsed in my neck and burned in my soul.The bottle shimmered in its black-gold finish. Simple. Bold. Like the man it was inspired by.Felix stood beside me as I answered the final round of questions from the press, his Beta aura calm and st
•• Victoria’s POV •••Silence greeted us in the pack house. Not the kind that haunted, but the kind that wrapped around me like a warm cloak after a long storm. I didn’t realize how much tension I had carried until now—until I felt the air shift the moment Damien locked the door behind us and turned to face me.His eyes, dark with restraint and longing, didn’t leave mine. Not even for a second.“Elijah’s mark is gone,” he said, voice low, possessive. “There’s nothing left of him on you now. It'll be my mark from now on. No one else’s.”I swallowed hard, my pulse quickening. “Then mark me.”A snarl of hunger slipped past his lips. In the next heartbeat, he was in front of me—pulling me into his arms, kissing me like he needed it to breathe. His mouth crashed into mine, and I melted into him, arching into his touch.
•• Victoria’s POV •••The chamber doors groaned open with the weight of final judgment.I stood beneath the high arch of the werewolf court, shoulders squared, heart steady. The stone floor beneath my boots felt colder than usual. Above us, carved wolves stared down in silence from their thrones of marble. They'd seen centuries of justice handed out. Today would be no different.The first time I came here was to witness Diana's trial. The second time was when the perfume industry was restored. Today, it was about a whole different matter.The room pulsed with authority. A dozen Elders sat at the curved dais, each one cloaked in robes that bore the insignia of ancient bloodlines. Their presence was overwhelming, but I did not bow. I had learned to stand straight under pressure—to meet judgment head-on.Behind me, Damien stood like a wall of silent fire. His presence didn’t oversh
•• Victoria’s POV •••The room was too quiet for a place that had just witnessed a birth—and a death. I stood at the edge of the nursery, my arms crossed over my chest, but not out of defense. I was holding myself together. Barely.“She didn’t even get to hold her,” I whispered.Damien said nothing. His hand hovered behind me, unsure whether to touch or pull away.“She gave birth, then died on the table,” he finally said. “Evelyn’s body will be taken care of. There’s nothing else anyone can do.”“Nothing else anyone can do?” I turned to face him slowly. “There’s a baby, Damien.”His jaw tensed. “I know.”I stared at the crib through the glass—so small, so pink, with that tuft of black hair and tiny fists clenched as if she already knew the world could be cruel. A nurse reached in to adjust her blanket. She made a sound, a little hiccup-like cry that went straight through my ribcage.“She’s innocent.”“She’s Elijah and Evelyn’s child.”“She’s still innocent," I insisted.Damien exhaled
•• Damien’s POV •••The wind howled as I tore through the forest, each step faster than the last, Eros snarling low inside me.Martin’s directions had led us south to the ruins of an old chapel hidden beneath the shadows of gnarled trees. The air was heavy with the scent of iron and ash. Her scent. I felt it like a dagger to my chest.Noah and two of my warriors flanked me, their breaths ragged with exertion. But I didn’t wait for them.I didn’t stop.I vaulted through the shattered doorway of the ruin, heart pounding, claws bared—And I saw her.She lay on the broken stone floor, blood smeared down her arm and soaking the front of her torn dress. Her skin was ghost-pale, and yet—her hand still gripped a jagged shard of tile, red dripping from its edge. Evelyn lay only a few feet away, clutching her abdomen and writhing, clearly wounded.My







