CHAPTER 8: The Price of Treachery

The drive back to the Silverwood territory was a blur of humiliation and rage for Kaelen. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Sierra’s silver gaze and the way Elias’s hand had rested so naturally on her hip.

As he pulled up to the ancestral pack house, the very place he had kicked Sierra out of five years ago, the front doors burst open.

"Kaelen! Finally!"

Camille, his current Luna, marched down the steps. She was dressed in designer silk that the pack could no longer afford. 

"Did you get the money? The decorator for the Summer Solstice gala is demanding a deposit, and I refuse to be embarrassed in front of the Northern Alphas".

Kaelen stepped out of the car, his movements stiff. He looked at Camille, the woman he had chosen over his true mate, and for the first time, all he saw was a shallow stranger.

"The gala is canceled, Camille," 

Kaelen said, his voice hollow.

Camille stopped mid-stride, her face contorting. 

"Canceled? Don't be ridiculous. You went to see that pathetic Miller Global CEO. Surely a human woman was easy enough to manipulate".

"She isn't a human, Camille," 

Kaelen growled, his wolf pushing to the surface. 

"And she isn't pathetic. She’s Sierra."

The color drained from Camille’s face. "Sierra? That Omega died in the woods years ago. I made sure she…" She bit her tongue, but it was too late.

"You made sure of what?" Kaelen stepped into her space, his Alpha aura flaring. 

"You told me she left because she was ashamed of her 'weakness.' You told me there were no pups".

"I... I meant I made sure she was settled before she left!" Camille stammered, her voice reaching a pitch that set Kaelen’s wolf on edge.

Kaelen didn't believe her. He brushed past her, heading straight for the Alpha’s private study, a room Camille had spent a lot of time "organizing" over the last five years. He began tearing through the drawers, driven by a gut feeling that had been suppressed for too long.

"Kaelen, stop! You're being irrational because of some corporate woman who looks like your dead mate!" Camille shouted, trying to grab his arm.

He shoved a heavy mahogany desk aside, revealing a loose floorboard he hadn't noticed before. He ripped it up. 

Inside was a bundle of envelopes, yellowed and smelling of the damp basement, but the handwriting was unmistakable. It was Sierra's elegant, loopy script.

He opened the top one. It was dated one month after her disappearance.

“Kaelen, the doctor confirmed it today. It’s not one. It’s three. Please, I’m scared and the rogue hunters are close. I’m at the old mill. Please come for us.”

Kaelen’s vision went red. He had stayed in his mansion, drinking himself into a stupor because Camille told him Sierra had run off with a rogue, while Sierra had been hiding in a cold mill, pregnant with his three heirs, begging for a protection that never came.

"You told me there were no letters," Kaelen whispered, the sound more terrifying than a roar.

"I did it for the pack!" Camille screamed, backing away as his Alpha pressure began to crush the air in the room. 

"She was an Omega! She would have made us look weak! I gave you a real legacy!”

Kaelen’s fist connected with the mahogany desk, snapping the wood like kindling. The letters, the proof of five years of stolen life, scattered across the floor like autumn leaves.

"You let them starve," Kaelen roared, his voice cracking with the weight of his own failure. "You let my children and my mate hide in a dirt-floor mill while you picked out silk curtains!".

Camille didn’t plead for mercy. Seeing the game was up, her face hardened into a mask of pure malice. 

"And look at her now, Kaelen! She doesn't need you. She’s a 'Sovereign' with a Shadow Protector who looks at her like she’s a goddess. You think she’ll ever forgive you because of a few old letters?"

She let out a harsh, jagged laugh. 

"You’re already dead to her. And soon, you’ll be a beggar on her doorstep."

"Guards!" Kaelen bellowed.

Two Enforcers burst into the room. They looked between their trembling Luna and their shattered Alpha.

"Take her to the high-security holding cells," Kaelen commanded, his eyes glowing a dangerous, unstable red. "Strip her of her title. She is no longer a member of the Silverwood Pack".

"You can't do this!" Camille screamed as the guards grabbed her arms. "The Council will hear about this! My father won't let you throw me in a cage!"

As they dragged her out, Kaelen sank into his chair, clutching the top letter to his chest. He had the money now, the loan from Sierra was in his account, but he realized with a sinking horror that the "fine print" Sierra mentioned wasn't just about the land.

She didn't want the money back. She wanted him to watch as she took everything he had ever valued, piece by piece.