**(Lucian's POV)**I stood at the door, darkness filling my eyes as I processed what had just transpired. Theresa Rivers was still causing trouble for Elara, even from her prison cell. The ripple effects of her actions continued to torment my mate.I had warned the Stone family before, out of respect for Elara's twenty-one years of upbringing within their pack. But clearly, my restraint wasn't enough.A bitter laugh escaped my throat. The irony was almost poetic. Theresa had orchestrated an identity swap with her pup, leading to Vivian Stone raising Elara for twenty-one years. Then, upon discovering Elara wasn't Richard Stone's biological daughter and that Isabella was, Vivian had obsessively brought Isabella back, spoiling her while systematically destroying Elara.But here's what would truly drive Vivian to silver-madness: Isabella wasn't her daughter either. She was Theresa and Richard's illegitimate pup from their affair. The ultimate betrayal hidden within betrayal.That woul
**(Lucian's POV)**I scoffed at James Foster standing in our doorway like he owned the place. "Uninvited pack member," I muttered.James approached with his dominant aura blazing. "What gives you the right to be so arrogant, Thorne? You've been kicked out of your pack. Stripped of your territory. Yet you still act like you're an Alpha King."His voice got harder. "Whatever Madeline Bell did, she's still Foster Pack. My pack sister."Simon Foster looked confused. "What happened to Madeline?"James explained that Elara had physically attacked Madeline while drunk. He assumed Simon would side with him since Madeline was connected to their pack.Simon's shock was obvious. "Are you sure? Did Elara really attack Madeline?"I felt my protective instincts flare. James had no idea what his precious pack sister had done.**(Elara's POV)**I stood up from the table. My heart pounded as I walked over to them.I bowed my head to Madam Evelyn Foster. "I apologize for hitting Madeline Bell
**(James's POV)**I stared at Madeline's message on my pack communication device, my confusion deepening with each word I read. Lucian Thorne agreeing to a territory hunting agreement? The same Lucian who calculated every move with surgical precision?"This doesn't make sense," I muttered, running my paws through my hair. "Either he's lost his mind completely, or Elara Rivers has influenced him beyond reason."The office door burst open without warning. Madeline Bell stumbled in, her face swollen and bruised, tears streaming down her cheeks."James!" she sobbed, rushing toward my desk. "Look what she did to me!"I stood immediately, taking in her appearance. Her left cheek bore the clear mark of claws, and her lower lip was split. But what struck me most was how she seemed to crumple before my eyes, all her usual composure gone."Elara did this?" I asked, though I already knew the answer. I remembered her drunken boast on her pack communication device about hitting Madeline.The
**(God's POV)**At the Pack Healer's Ward in Ocean City, the emergency treatment den buzzed with its usual activity. An assistant led a figure through the sliding doors - a she-wolf dressed entirely in black, dark glasses covering her eyes, a face mask hiding her features, and a wide-brimmed hat pulled low.Selena Vance moved like a shadow, her posture rigid with pain despite her attempts to appear unaffected. She was a known performer in territory entertainment, someone who made her living captivating audiences with her grace and beauty. Now she sat on the healing bench with a poker face, as if the injury wasn't even hers."Miss Vance," Dr. Alex Walker entered, his professional demeanor intact despite his own recent troubles. "I need you to remove your ceremonial robe so I can examine the wound before your moon-scan."Selena's assistant hovered nearby, wringing her hands anxiously.Dr. Walker observed how Selena's lips had turned pale from pain, and her eyes were noticeably swoll
**(God's POV)**The Pack Healer's Ward alarm blared through Ocean City. Isabella Stone's name flashed on every emergency board. Her condition was critical.Her silver-weakened body couldn't heal from the territory accident. Every organ was failing.Mike Stone pressed his face against the intensive care window. This morning, Isabella had been awake for ten minutes. It gave them hope.Two hours later, everything changed. The healers said she was dying.Vivian Stone collapsed in the hallway. "Why can't I protect my own daughter?" she whispered.Her claws scraped the wall. Nothing mattered if Isabella died.**(God's POV)**Vivian's hands shook as she called Alpha Evergreen."Qingjun, please help me. Isabella is dying. I need to get back to Ocean City immediately."Alpha Evergreen gripped his device tightly. Madam Evergreen watched him from across the room."Didn't you say the favor was repaid?" Madam Evergreen asked coldly.Alpha Evergreen couldn't look at her. He walked to the
**(Elara's POV)**As Lucian and I stepped into the sleek territory building that housed Alpha Evergreen's pack headquarters, the polished marble floors clicked under our feet. The morning light streamed through tall windows, casting long shadows across the entrance hall.But before we could reach the elevators, hushed voices drifted from a cluster of territory cleaners near the reception area."Look, it's that silver-contaminated omega," one of them whispered, not bothering to keep her voice low. "The one who was locked up for assault and extortion."My steps faltered slightly, but Lucian's steady presence beside me kept me moving forward."I heard she had multiple mates during her time in the silver-laced containment facility," another cleaner added with malicious glee. "A real promiscuous type.""And him?" The first cleaner gestured toward Lucian with obvious disdain. "Kicked out of the Thorne Pack entirely. Territory-less now, living in some run-down den.""Desperate enough t