Spell 6

Dahlia’s POV

I watched from across the ceremonial hall, my fingers gripping the stem of my glass longer than necessary. The crowd buzzed around me, a blur of movement and meaningless chatter, but I heard none of it. My eyes were fixed on him.

Alpha Liam.

Even standing among the elders, speaking with that imposing hair that made wolves bow without question, he was breathtaking. Commanding. Mine.

Or would be soon.

The elders were smiling and nodding at him like proud uncles, and he returned their respect like the obedient son of the pack but I knew him better than any of them. I knew how to calm his storm, how to stroke his ego.

Yet, lately, I've been noticing the long distance he has been trying to keep between us. Slipping away for long runs. Shorter tempers, longer silences.

Something was off and this is definitely not the right time for distance. Tomorrow is his 18th birthday. He needs to make me his mate as soon a possible.

Then, I saw her.

Samantha’s daughter. The same Omega who’d brought a cloud of gossip into this pack. She arrived this pack broken, reeking of grief, too quiet for her own good.

Mira was supposed to be nothing but Liam looked at her like she was everything. His eyes trailed her even as she exited the hall with her arms full of folded linen. My wolf stirred with unease, baring her teeth in my mind.

I handed Luna Grace to my mom immediately I sighted her, with a promise to return, ignoring their curious glances and started making my way to Liam’s chambers without hesitation.

As I neared the stairs leading to the Alpha quarters, I slowed.

I knew it. They were there. Liam was standing too close to her, much too close. His hands barely grazing her back as he reached for the sheets she dropped and for a moment, they just stared at each other. He didn't even see me standing at the top of the stairs.

I stopped breathing.

I saw them scurrying into the room and I inched closer to the Alpha Liam’s door with my jaw clenched.

This couldn't be happening. Not now. Not when I was so close to finally being named Luna. The council were in agreement. His eighteenth birthday was tomorrow.

The smell of arousal slipping from the cracks of his door after they went inside made my stomach curl. The door was almost shut, just ajar enough. I waited, listening.

My wolf, Zara, growled in my chest, “Enough.”

I pushed the door open letting it creak slightly, mostly for effect.

Mira had her back to me, rearranging the same spot she had already adjusted before I came in. Liam was across the room, pretending to be absorbed in the files now scattered on the table.

My nose picked up the scent that confirmed what I already knew. Sexual tension. Thick and undeniable.

“Quite the mess in here for a simple sheet change,” I said, my voice sweet as syrup.

Liam didn't respond. He wouldn't meet my gaze either. Coward.

I turned to Mira, taking great satisfaction in how she stiffened under my gaze.

“Leave us alone, servant girl,” I snapped, letting my voice cut through the air like a blade.

She flinched, like a whipped dog, and scurried out of the room, nearly tripping over her own feet. Just as she left, something on the floor caught my eye. A pale scrap of fabric. I didn’t move immediately, I just stared at it long enough to confirm what it was. Mira’s underwear.

I waited until I heard her feet pounding down the stairs before I turned to Liam. Liam was still at the table, flipping through. Perfect.

I walked up to him, slowly, my heels clicking on the floor like a countdown. “You look stressed, Alpha,” I said gently, brushing my hand across his shoulder. “Everything okay?”

He sighed, still not looking up. “You shouldn’t be in here.”

“Maybe. But I was worried about you. It’s not everyday the Alpha receives a bedsheet so… personally delivered.”

His jaw clenched. But still, he said nothing.

I leaned down and hugged him from behind, arms snaking around his shoulders. I pressed my body lightly against him, making sure to keep his attention on me.

“Tomorrow’s your big day,” I whispered into his ear. “Let me take some of the pressure off you.”

He finally turned to glance at me, his eyes tired. “Dahlia, not now.”

I pouted slightly, stepping back with a fake wounded expression. “Of course. I understand.”

As he turned back to the files on the table, I swiftly bent near the bed, picking up Mira’s panties and tucking them into the side of my dress. Years of playing these games had taught me how to strike without being seen.

“I’ll leave you to your duties,” I said gently, heading to the door. “Happy early birthday, Liam.”

He didn’t respond.

I didn’t care.

I had what I needed.

---

In my private chambers, I locked the door and pulled out the small box from beneath my altar chest. My mother’s old book of rites. Spells, Sigils, Dark and forbidden knowledge.

She asked me to dispose of it but I wasn’t stupid. I kept it for situations that deserve desperate measures. I don’t mean to destroy Mira physically, not yet so I will go for something subtler yet effective.

I unfolded Mira’s panties and placed them on the silk cloth in front of the altar. Her scent still clung to the fabric, fresh and potent. I lit the white candle, then the black. I poured a few drops of bloodroot oil into the flame and watched it spark.

With whispered words in the old tongue, I began.

“By scent, by soul, by bond unseen, let her aroma become part of me. No mate shall sense her, no wolf shall feel her, her pull now mine, her fate I steal.”

The candle flickered wildly, smoke curling into the shape of a wolf’s head before vanishing. I inhaled deeply.

There it was.

Her scent, merged with mine.

If Liam ever came looking for that thread of invisible pull to Mira, if he ever questioned what drew him to her, he’d feel me.

It wouldn’t last forever but it would last long enough to buy me the time I need.

I extinguished the candles and placed the burned cloth into a sealed jar, whispering a final command to contain the energy.

Then, I stood up and walked to my bed, removing my dress slowly, letting the cool air wash over my bare skin. The Moonlight flittered in through the high windows, casting low shadows over the room.

Tomorrow was his birthday and now I had a plan.

I would make Mira the villain. Set her up in front of the elders, humiliate her. Turn Liam against her with evidence, with witnesses, with carefully planted truths. If I could make him see her as weak, as unstable, as dangerous, he would never look at her the same way again.

I curled under the sheets, a smile playing at the corner of my lips.

It was time for the well deserved Luna to rise.

Sleep took me like a warm tide, my last thoughts echoing with the thrill of vengeance.

Tomorrow, Mira would learn what it meant to threaten me. To threaten Dahlia.