Chapter 4.

My fingers tightened around the edge of Rowan's desk as he picked up the recorder.

Rowan picked up the recorder but didn't press play.

"You expect me to believe this?"

"I expect you to listen. You haven't yet."

His thumb traced the edge of the device.

"A recording can be edited."

"I know."

"A conversation can be taken out of context."

"I know."

"So tell me why I shouldn't assume this is an elaborate attempt or scheme to drag me into Silver Crescent's politics."

I held his gaze.

"Because if I wanted to manipulate you, I would've come with tears instead of evidence."

His expression remained unreadable.

"You assume tears would work."

"They might've."

"They wouldn't."

"I figured."

A long silence settled between us.

His office suddenly felt much larger than it had a moment ago.

"If I press play," Rowan said, "and this turns out to be exactly what you claim..."

He set the recorder back on the desk.

"...everything changes."

"For whom?"

"For you."

I frowned.

"You've already crossed a line your pack won't forgive."

He leaned back slightly, his eyes never leaving mine.

"The question is whether you've crossed it for a good reason."

"And if I haven't?"

"I'll have my security team drive you back to Silver Crescent."

My stomach tightened.

"You'd send me back?"

"I don't make enemies for free, Miss Vale."

The words were cold.

Not cruel.

Just factual.

It reminded me that I wasn't sitting across from a friend.

I was sitting across from a man whose first responsibility was to protect his own people.

Not me.

His gaze flicked to the recorder again.

"One last question."

I nodded.

"When this recording ends..."

"What?"

"Am I going to hear an unfaithful couple?"

My throat tightened.

"No."

Rowan's expression shifted.

Not sympathy.

Calculation.

He picked up the recorder.

Pressed play.

The first burst of static filled the room.

I closed my eyes.

I was back in Silver Crescent Headquarters.

Back in the hallway.

Back to the moment my life split into a before...

"You don't have to listen to it now," I said quietly.

"I do."

His thumb hovered over the play button.

"If this conversation is as important as you claim, I need to hear it before I decide whether to become involved."

I nodded once.

Fair.

....and after.

The device clicked.

For a few seconds, all that came through the speakers was static.

Then footsteps.

A door opening.

Someone laughed.

Vivienne.

"...She's already chosen the dress."

Lucien chuckled.

"I know."

"I almost felt guilty watching her show me pictures."

"You felt guilty?"

"For about five seconds."

Their laughter filled the office.

I looked away.

Even after hearing it dozens of times, it still hurt.

The recording continued.

"She trusts you completely."

"That's what makes this so easy."

A long pause followed.

Then Lucien spoke again, his voice quieter.

"Once the ceremony is over, the paperwork will already be signed."

"And Cora?"

"She'll never realize what she's agreed to."

The recording crackled.

The sound dipped for a moment, as though the device had shifted inside my bag.

Vivienne's voice returned first.

"The council won't suspect anything?"

"They'll believe whatever I place in front of them."

"And the evidence?"

"It'll be ready."

Another burst of static.

Then...

"...banishment."

The word echoed through Rowan's office.

My stomach twisted.

The recording ended abruptly.

Silence swallowed the room.

Rowan lowered the recorder without saying a word.

His expression hadn't changed.

But the air around him had.

The Alpha inside him was suddenly impossible to ignore.

He looked at me.

"When did this happen?"

"A couple of nights ago."

"You've been alone since then?"

"I left yesterday morning."

"Cora Vale..."

He said my name carefully.

"Start at the beginning."

...

A week Earlier.

The Silver Crescent headquarters never truly slept.

If anyone had asked me that morning whether I was happy, I would've said yes without thinking.

My calendar was overflowing.

Final dress fitting at ten.

Lunch with the charity committee at one.

A call with the event planner at three.

Dinner with Lucien after the council meeting.

It was busy.

Chaotic.

Perfect.

Everyone at Silver Crescent Headquarters smiled when I walked past.

"Future Luna," they greeted.

I still wasn't used to the title.

Every time I heard it, I looked over my shoulder, half convinced they were talking to someone else.

I spent years preparing for the role, yet it still felt unreal.

"You'll get used to it," Vivienne had teased me that morning while stealing strawberries from my breakfast plate.

"One day, you'll be signing paperwork and ordering everyone around."

I laughed.

"I don't want to order anyone around."

"Exactly," she'd said. "That's why everyone loves you."

Even after office hours, assistants hurried through the marble corridors carrying tablets and stacks of files while security officers rotated shifts outside the executive wing.

Normally, the activity comforted me.

That night...

It made me feel strangely alone.

I'd spent most of the afternoon with the events team finalizing the guest list for the mating ceremony.

There were floral samples spread across my office.

Three seating charts.

Two charity proposals I'd hoped to launch after becoming Luna.

I'd been so excited.

So unbelievably happy.

Lucien had texted me just before six.

Running late. Council meeting. Don't wait for dinner.

I smiled when I read it.

Typical Lucien.

Always working.

Always putting the pack first.

I admired that about him.

I even packed up the homemade dinner I'd brought for us, thinking I'd surprise him after the meeting.

His favorite pasta.

Extra cheese.

The way he'd always liked it.

The executive floor was unusually quiet when I stepped out of the elevator.

Most of the lights had already been dimmed.

Only the conference room at the end of the hallway remained occupied.

I recognized Vivienne's laugh immediately.

Good.

I smiled to myself.

She must have stayed behind to help Lucien finish whatever had delayed him.

I balanced the insulated food bag on one arm and walked toward the room.

The door wasn't fully closed.

Just enough for their voices to drift into the hallway.

"I can't believe she still hasn't noticed."

Vivienne sounded amused.

Lucien laughed.

"Cora believes the best in everyone."

"That will be her downfall.."

His answer came instantly.

"She's too predictable."

I stopped walking.

The smile faded from my face.

My first thought wasn't that they were talking about me.

It was that there had to be another Cora.

Then Lucien said something that froze the blood in my veins.

"That's exactly why we need her."

The food bag slipped from my fingers.

It landed softly on the carpet.

Neither of them heard it.

I should have walked in.

I should have demanded an explanation.

Instead...

I took one silent step closer to the door.

And listened.