Chapter 3

"Everyone, tonight I'd like to introduce two very important women."

Kane stood in the center of the gala, his suit perfect, his smile flawless.

All eyes were on him.

I stood in a dark corner, wearing the black evening gown he'd commanded me to wear.

It exposed the dark, web-like veins the wolfsbane had left on my arms—a mark of shame.

"First, this is Fiona," Kane said, pulling her to his side. "The sister I've sworn to protect, my treasure, my—"

"Pride," Fiona finished for him, lowering her head shyly.

Tonight, she was wearing my white gown.

Yes, the one I had planned to wear.

Thunderous applause.

I saw the tenderness in Kane’s eyes, a light I had never seen before.

In ten years, he had never looked at me that way.

"And this," his voice turned cold, formal, "is Elara. My... associate. And our pack's head healer."

The word hung in the air, a public demotion. A slap in the face.

The applause died.

I managed a smile and raised my glass to everyone.

All the while, the shard of crystal in my sleeve pressed cold and hard against my wrist.

I was waiting for my chance. An opening to get close to Kane, to cut him when his guard was down and take the blood I needed.

But Fiona was glued to him like a second skin. And with guests and guards everywhere, I couldn't get near him.

Just then, a wave of agony exploded from my chest. The wolfsbane was acting up again.

But this time, something else came with the pain. A strange, violent power was crashing through me.

I nearly fell. The glass slipped from my hand, spilling red wine across the floor.

"Elara?" someone asked.

"I'm fine," I gritted out, stumbling toward the garden. "I just need some air."

No one followed me. Not even Kane.

I shoved the garden doors open. The cold air hit me, but it was nothing compared to the ice in my heart.

The strange power roiled in my veins, like a thousand knives carving me up from the inside.

I gripped the railing, gasping for breath.

Go. I have to get out of here.

I turned to leave, only to slam into an invisible barrier.

What?

I reached out. The air shimmered with a faint light.

In that instant, the impact of the collision flipped a dusty switch inside me.

I didn't just feel the barrier, I could clearly see it.

In my mind's eye, the barrier was a complex web woven from threads of malicious, shimmering energy.

This was... a mental barrier?

"Surprised?"

Fiona's voice came from behind me.

I turned to see her gliding toward me, the same sweet smile from the gala on her face.

"You?"

"Of course, me." She stopped in front of me, her smile turning cruel. "Did you really think all I could do was play the victim?"

"You..." I stared at her in shock. "You're not a normal Omega."

"Finally figured it out?" Fiona circled me like a predator sizing up its prey. "I'm a psychic-class Omega, one of the rarest breeds. And you?" She raked her eyes over me. "You're just a broken-down healer."

She stopped in front of me, her eyes filled with venom.

"Do you know why Kane chooses me? Because I can give him everything he wants. Power, status, and a mate who can resonate with him on a psychic level. And you? Kane is sick and tired of your gloomy, pathetic act. He said your very existence is a chain on his freedom! He needs a queen who can rule by his side, not a burden he has to look after!"

She looked me up and down, her gaze like a razor across the scars on my arm. "You're a defective prize, damaged goods. What can you even do for him anymore? Have his pups?"

She sneered. "A broken wolf like you could never produce strong pups. You'd only give him defects."

Fiona's taunt was pure venom.

"Kane can't wait for you to disappear. Then I can finally take my place as the true Luna."

The mate bond was tearing me apart, and I still hadn't found a chance to get Kane's blood...

It wasn't going to happen tonight. I had to endure. Wait for another opening.

My silence only made Fiona's smile widen. "Look at you. You've been out here in agony all night, while he's inside, dancing with me."

“Stay here tonight.”

The gala ended. The guests left.

I was still in the garden.

The barrier didn't fall until midnight. By then, the agony had already made me black out.

For some reason, the mate bond was unraveling faster than ever that night, the strain threatening to swallow me whole.

The entire pack was silent. No one had come for me.

The next morning, the patrol team found me.

"Luna? Why did you sleep in the garden all night?" a young guard asked with concern.

I didn't answer. I walked straight to my rooms.

The moment I pushed open the door, I froze.

Fiona was sitting at my vanity, wearing the white dress I was supposed to have worn last night.

The dress was now rumpled and disheveled, clearly having been handled roughly.

She saw me and gave a sultry smile.

"Elara, you're back?" She deliberately adjusted her collar, revealing a fresh red mark on her neck. "Sorry about the mess. Things got a little... intense last night. I ruined your dress."

The air was thick with Kane's scent.

Dominant, hot, possessive.

"You two..."

"In your bed," Fiona purred, standing up and walking toward me. "Kane said since you were being so... difficult... he needed a real Luna to handle his needs."

She leaned close to my ear, her voice a low hiss only I could hear.

"He told me when he's with you, he closes his eyes and pretends it's me. Not you. Never you. He said I was a better fit to be his Luna, a better fit to bear his children."

"He also said," she paused, her eyes malicious, "what right does a half-breed with a shattered bloodline have to be Luna? You can't even give him a healthy heir anymore!"

My hands began to shake.

Not from pain. From rage.

Ten years of humiliation. 77 betrayals. Last night's public shaming.

It all exploded in this one moment.

"Are you done?" I looked up, something burning in my eyes.

Fiona seemed to sense the danger and took a step back. "What... what are you doing?"

"I'm going to teach you your place."

I raised my hand. An invisible force—my rage, my pain, my humiliation given form—slammed into her, throwing her across the room.

I stared at my own hand, shocked by the raw power that had answered my call...

But beneath the shock, I felt an incredible sense of release, as if I’d finally broken free from my chains.