Chapter 1

My grandma and I were on a perfect beach in Golden Bay. The sun warmed my skin, the sand was soft beneath my feet, and she was resting peacefully nearby.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my mind. A mind link.

It was Brenda. Assistant to my mate, Gideon, the Alpha Heir.

The image she sent was horrifying. An old woman in simple clothes, lying in a pool of her own blood. Deep gashes, down to the bone, from a silver-laced weapon.

Brenda's voice echoed in my head, dripping with arrogance.

“Cora, do you Omegas do anything but freeload?”

“Gideon just bought this estate, and you’re already letting your pack-leeching relatives squat here? As the Alpha’s assistant, it's my duty to protect his land from trespassers.”

“This is what happens when you trespass on an Alpha’s private property!”

I froze. I looked over at the sun umbrella. My grandma, Maria, was napping peacefully.

I replayed the image from the link. My blood ran cold.

That face… bloody and broken, but I knew it. I would never mistake it.

It wasn't my grandmother.

It was Eleonora. Gideon’s grandmother.

A rival pack had attacked her months ago. Her wolf was weakened.

She was in a pack clinic. Her mind-link was damaged. She could only receive, not send.

Today… she was supposed to come home.

I pushed back against the link with all my strength. “Brenda, are you insane? Look who you hit! That's Eleonora! Gideon's grandmother!”

Brenda cut the link. Her last words were cold and stupid.

“Gideon made it clear. Your family is your problem. His family is his. He doesn’t claim trash like them.”

...

The link snapped. My wolf howled in my chest, a cry of pure agony.

Gideon's grandmother. Tortured to death with a silver-laced weapon by Brenda. And Brenda thought she'd killed my "poor relative."

I shot to my feet, knocking my lounge chair onto the sand.

"Cora?" My grandma, Maria, opened her eyes, her face full of worry.

"Grandma, I have to go. Now."

My voice shook. My fingers were ice-cold as I booked the first flight back to the pack lands.

Ticket booked, I immediately linked Gideon.

“Gideon! Listen to me, something happened! Brenda attacked someone at the estate with a silver weapon! It’s your grandmother! She’s hurt badly, you have to go—”

“Enough.”

His cold voice cut me off.

“I know. And I think Brenda did the right thing.”

What?

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. My wolf snarled, confused and hurt by his words.

“What did you say?”

“Cora, that’s enough.” His voice was full of disgust, of condescending frustration. “Your Omega family has no shame. They’re always using you to climb the ladder. It's about time someone taught them a lesson in blood. I should be thanking Brenda.”

My heart hammered in my chest. “Gideon! The one she beat was your—”

“ENOUGH!”

His Alpha roar slammed through the link, nearly knocking the breath from my lungs.

“Cora, has jealousy driven you insane? My grandmother is still at the pack clinic. Tonight’s Moon Goddess Blessing is to celebrate her coming home. And you’re making up vicious lies, cursing my grandmother, just to drag Brenda’s name through the mud? What kind of sick game is this?”

His mocking tone made him a stranger.

“Your jealousy disgusts me, Cora! Brenda contributes to this pack. You attack her because she’s getting the respect she deserves! You’re just letting your greedy Omega family run wild!”

I opened my mouth, but no words came out. A deep, cold sadness filled me.

My grandmother, Maria, had a heart of gold. She treated Gideon like her own son.

When a rival pack nearly killed him, it was my grandma who gave him our family's treasured moonpetal herb and saved his life.

She would bake him honey cakes and travel for miles, just because he once said he liked them.

And now…

To him, this good woman... was a greedy freeloader who deserved a lesson.

Beside me, Grandma Maria squeezed my hand, her eyes full of pain for me.

I tried one last time, my voice tight. “Gideon, she's hurt badly. You need to send her to the pack hospital. After all, she…”

"An Omega that worthless? She's better off dead." Gideon’s voice turned to ice. "I'm busy. I'm preparing the Blessing for my grandmother's return. I don't have time for your pathetic drama."

The link died.

I stood frozen on the beach, the sea breeze doing nothing to chase away the chill in my soul.

He didn't believe me. It didn't matter. I had to get back.

But as I boarded the plane, a notification popped up from the pack's social network.

It was a new post from Gideon.

"Preparing to welcome our beloved former Luna, Eleonora. A true Alpha always knows how to respect their elders."

The picture showed the lavish decorations at the estate. Gold ribbons, crystal chandeliers, a sea of white roses.

The likes were pouring in.

The comments were all from pack nobles, fawning over him:

"Gideon is the perfect grandson!"

"That's the devotion an Alpha should have!"

"The former Luna will be so touched!"

I couldn't read anymore. I slammed my phone shut.

The irony was sickening.

He preached respect for elders online. But in private, he praised his grandmother's murderer.

He was preparing a grand welcome for a woman who was already lying dead in a pool of her own blood.

I closed my eyes, my wolf pacing, frantic.

What would he do, this "devoted" Alpha Heir, when he found out Brenda had tortured his own grandmother to death?