Chapter 81

The gates of the Dark Storm Pack loomed out of that mist like some horror movie. Mira tugged her hood lower, not that it did much to hide the rage in her eyes. The guards clocked her right away. Prodigal daughter makes her dramatic return. They bowed, but she caught that look, quick sideways glances, pity, maybe disgust, and a dash of fear. She hated that more than anything.

They were already whispering before she even hit the threshold.

The fallen Luna.

The mate who got dumped like last week’s trash.

Traitor’s kid, dragging herself home in shame.

Every word felt like acid on her skin.

She stepped into the hall and the air was so charged it made her teeth hurt. At the far end stood her dad, standing like a storm cloud with two Betas stuck to his sides. Alpha Luca, still built like a brick wall, hair gone silver, eyes so cold they could freeze lava.

“Mira,” he said, calmly.

She bowed, tried to keep herself from shaking. “Father.”

He came down the steps slowly. When he got to her, he didn't hug her. Not even a smile. Just snapped his hand out, one slap, sharp and clean, turned her head with a crack.

The sound echoed.

Mira didn’t cry. Didn’t even wince. She straightened up, wiped the blood from her lip, and stared at him.

“You come back in disgrace,” Luca rumbled. “You got any clue what kind of shame your mess brings on us? Daughter of the Dark Storm Alpha, tossed aside by her mate in front of the whole pack. You’re a stain.”

Her answer came out shaky but stubborn. “He poisoned himself against me.”

Luca’s eyes narrowed. “Dominic isn’t stupid. You must’ve given him a reason.”

She bit the inside of her cheek. “He cheated.”

The room went dead quiet.

“What did you say?” Luca’s voice dropped lower, dangerous now.

She stared him down, eyes like broken glass. “He cheated. With her.”

He frowned. “Who?”

“Elora. The woman he made Luna after he promised me everything. She poisoned him, Dad, I saw it. When he got sick, she pretended to care for him, but really? She took over the pack, turned everyone against me. I got framed, humiliated, and locked up. Dominic was too wrapped up in her to see straight.”

Luca’s whole body went rigid. “Elora …?”

“Yeah,” Mira snapped. “That one. The same family he called allies. She seduced him and his brother both. Dante? That traitor’s her guard dog now. She’s got the whole pack around her fingers.”

Shock ran through the room. Draven, one of Luca’s Betas, face crisscrossed with scars, stepped up. “Alpha, if that’s true, it’s a declaration of war.”

Mira didn’t miss a beat. “He didn’t just dump me, Dad, he shattered the bond. Ripped my soul out. Ever felt that? Having your heart stomped flat and being told you’re not enough? I gave him everything. Loyalty, love, my whole life. And he tossed me out for her.”

Luca just watched her, stone-faced. Then he turned, walked to the throne, and sat down. You could see him calculating, rage cooling into something sharp and dangerous.

“You were stupid,” he said at last. “But you’re not a liar. Your pain’s real enough. Whether it was him or her, it doesn’t matter. NightShade Pack dragged my name through the mud. They’re gonna regret that.”

A shaky smile broke across Mira’s face.

“You’ll help me?”

His eyes glinted. “No one humiliates the Dark Storm Pack and lives to brag about it. Dominic Bellamy about to learn what it costs to steal a daughter from her father.”

She bowed low, hiding the smirk threatening to break free. “Thank you, Father.”

“Rest tonight,” he said. “Tomorrow, we plan.”

That night, Mira sat at her vanity, dragging a brush through her hair. In the mirror, her face flickered, and for a split second? It wasn’t her own, but Elora’s. Calm. Smug. Loved.

Mira’s hand clenched so tightly on the brush that it snapped.

“Elora,” she whispered, voice full of venom. “You really think you’ve won?”

She didn’t bother with shoes, just flung the cloak over her shoulders and slipped out. The place was quiet, creepy, with only a couple of guards half-asleep by the gates. Mira moved like she’d done this a thousand times, fast, silent, basically a ghost. She was gone before anyone noticed.

The woods were thick, as the wind made the trees sway. Cold wind that made her eyes water, but she walked on, heart beating fast. She knew where she was headed, she’d memorized the maps back in her dad’s war room, every twist of the trail that led north. Right into the jaws of Blood Fang territory.

Blood Fang. Now there was a name to make anyone’s skin crawl. Brutal pack, total wild cards, and Renar, don’t even get her started. Stories said he bathed in the blood of his enemies, which, yeah, was probably just horror-movie nonsense, but still. To everyone else? Monsters. To Mira? Jackpot.

She reached the clearing just as a handful of figures showed up, torches flickering all dramatic. All cloaks and glowing amber eyes, really subtle, guys.

“Mira, the Alpha's daughter,” one of them called, voice all smug and dripping with fake politeness. “Look who fell off her throne.”

She just stared him down, chin up. “Don’t get used to it.”

He stepped in, hood down now, and wow, did he look like trouble. Tall, pale, with eyes sharp enough to cut glass. “You wanted a meeting. Why should Blood Fang care what happens to a Luna that got tossed out?”

Mira’s smile was pure trouble. “Because I can drop Silver Crest at your feet, easy as pie.”

That got his attention. He cocked his head, curiosity finally winning. “I’m listening.”

“Dominic Bellamy done for,” she said. “He’s poisoned, his pack’s split in half, and the idiots left in charge are too busy pretending to be noble to see what’s coming.”

“What’s in it for you?” he asked, suspicion in his voice.

She didn’t blink. “Power. I want Dominic on his knees. I want his new Luna sobbing. You want war? I’ll hand it to you. But when the dust settles, Silver Crest is mine.”

He just started laughing, slow and mean. “So you’re out here, ready to light the fuse for a civil war.”

She took a step closer, eyes wild and burning. “No. I’m here to finish it.”

He studied her, and after a beat, offered his hand, gloved and cold. “We’ll talk to Renar. If you’re right and Silver Crest is about to crumble, well, hell, you might just get what you want.”

They shook on it. Short, sharp, like sealing a deal with the devil.

When the Blood Fang guys moved back into the trees, Mira just stood there, letting the wind whip her hair around.

She whispered, “Let them taste what they gave me.”

And as she turned back toward her father’s land, she smiled, a real one, sharp as a knife. Not the smile of a broken Luna.

Nope.

This was the grin of a woman made new by vengeance.

And for the first time since Dominic ripped her world apart, Mira didn’t feel broken. She felt unstoppable.