MasukMaura's POVI was upstairs, hands trembling with rage and chest tight from a humiliation that still burned like acid, because never, in my entire life, had anyone pushed me aside like that in front of an important visitor, much less in front of an Alpha who was clearly evaluating every gesture, every posture, every exposed hierarchy. The scene replayed in my head with cruel precision: his hand shoving me away, the harsh tone demanding respect, third-party eyes witnessing it as if I were disposable. To me, the blame wasn't on Carlos, wasn't on the visitor, wasn't on the situation. The blame had a name, a face, and a position that should be mine.Camila.She was stealing what had always been mine by right, even though they insisted on telling that story backward, even though the pack pretended to believe she was the legitimate Luna, when in truth all she did was occupy a space I'd built gradually, with patience, sacrifice, and strategy. I was there when she wasn't, I sustained the house
I was still restless inside when Valentina's car slowed down and stopped in front of the pack house, because the appointment with Rodrigo had left echoes that wouldn't settle, questions that refused to stay in place, memories that had been poked improperly and now pulsed like something alive beneath my skin. Before even touching the door handle, before even taking a deep breath to compose myself, everything in me vibrated in an unmistakable way, a physical certainty, ancient, impossible to confuse with anything else, and I knew, without needing to see, without needing to smell, without needing any confirmation, that my brother was there.The recognition came like an impact, an overwhelming mix of fear and guilt, longing and love, a pain both good and bad at the same time, the kind that makes your chest tighten and your breathing fail for a second, as if your body needed to remember how to keep existing after an absence that had lasted too long. My heart raced, my hands began to trembl
Bernardo's house had never felt as silent as it did that morning, a heavy silence that brought no peace, only vigilance, as if the walls had learned to watch after the escape attempt. Any walked through the room with restrained, calculated movements, aware that each of her steps now carried a different weight, because freedom was something that had been stripped from her without fanfare, replaced by a forced obedience no one bothered to disguise.She knew, even without looking out the window, that one of the pack's warriors was posted outside. She knew it from the metallic scent that never left the hallway, from the constant presence that made the air feel thicker, from the sensation of not being alone even when she closed her eyes. Watched twenty-four hours a day, escorted even to breathe, Any had learned quickly that questioning was pointless. Omegas didn't question. Omegas obeyed.Since the failed escape, her relationship with Bernardo had become something indefinable, more tense t
rang out like a heavy bell even the city's most distant corridors felt vibrate, and when the ceremonial hall's doors closed that afternoon already tinged with anxious twilight, the air inside the enclosure became dense as if the walls had swallowed light itself; no one allowed themselves the luxury of laughter, no gesture was slowly executed, because the rumor that had run through the tower in previous hours—images, drones, whispers—had transformed the meeting into something no longer just protocol, but a tribunal whose first sentence hadn't yet been pronounced.Raquel, with the custom of one accustomed to ordinances and etiquette, remained erect, hands on the stone table decorated with runes no one dared touch without asking, and it was her voice, precise and cold, that opened the session with the coldness of one who'd already decided to transform shock into strategy; her first speech brought no compassion, brought administrative necessity, because before something whose nature seeme
Camila's POVThe appointment with Rodrigo had taken longer than I'd expected, not because of the tests, but because Valentina had insisted on coming with me since early morning, as if she sensed I needed someone to keep me anchored. I would've even sent Carlos a message to let him know I'd be home late, if I hadn't left my phone on the kitchen table, right when Tiago pulled me by the arm asking for more juice. The morning rush had launched me out of the house before I realized what was missing.On the way back from the hospital, Valentina was restless, drumming her fingers on the car's dashboard, watching the road with a silence that wasn't natural for her. I tried to bring up the appointment, but she just let out a long, heavy sigh, one of those that meant trouble was coming.Suddenly, she turned her face toward me with an unreadable expression. "Seriously… You really don't remember Rodrigo, do you?"The question didn't come lightly. It didn't come with malice. It came as if she wer
POV CarlosAs soon as we got out of the car, I tried to adjust my posture and mood, still fighting against the anxiety caused by Luna's lack of response. Henrique got out first, maintaining that haughty and analytical composure that seemed to cross through everyone's skin around him like the finest blades. Bernardo walked right behind, vigilant, attentive to the heavy climate forming since the airport. I followed beside them, breathing deep not to show insecurity or allow Henrique to notice any failure.The pack house's main door was opened from inside before I could even touch it, and immediately I heard the soft voice loaded with false familiarity that, on any other day, I would've tolerated without difficulty."Carlos, you finally arrived! I was waiting for you."Maura appeared in the doorway with a wide smile, and before I could calculate the adequate distance to maintain composure, she simply advanced in my direction, slipped her arm through mine and leaned on it with the same in







