Chapter 2

Night had fallen by the time I reached the estate on Crescent Isle.

From a distance, I could see the mansion, lit up like a fairytale.

Crystal light spilled from the massive windows onto the gardens. Classical music drifted out.

The pack's elite were dressed in their finest, sipping champagne, laughing.

The scene was a bitter joke.

I hurried toward the entrance, but a sharp smell stopped me.

Blood.

Mixed with the foul, metallic stench of silver on torn flesh.

It clung to the air, fighting the sweet scent of roses. A nauseating perfume.

I followed the scent to a cluster of white rose bushes in the corner.

It grew stronger.

I pushed aside the branches. In the dark, I found a tattered cashmere shawl.

The gray and white fabric was ripped to shreds, stained with dark blood. A few strands of silver-white hair clung to it.

My hand started to shake. It was Eleonora's. I knew it.

Just then, Brenda appeared, poured into a tight red dress.

She saw the shawl in my hand and gasped, covering her mouth theatrically.

But there was no panic in her eyes. Only a twisted, fake pity.

“Cora, oh gods, I don’t know what to say… I just wanted to ‘warn’ your trespassing grandmother with the silver whip. It was a simple matter of pack law. I had no idea she was so weak. Her heart just… gave out.”

She trailed off, burying her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking in a mock sob. But her voice was full of excuses.

“It’s all my fault, I was a little too rough… You’re not mad, are you? I was just trying to protect Gideon’s property. To keep tonight’s ceremony safe.”

Her stupid, vicious performance made my stomach churn.

Before I could speak, Gideon stepped forward. He pulled the “trembling” Brenda into his arms, his hard chest pressed against her soft body. He soothed her gently.

“Darling, it’s not your fault, Brenda. Don’t blame yourself. The old hag was weak, and she had no business being here.”

“Exactly!” his sister, Chloe, pushed through the crowd, her voice shrill. “That kind of low-born Omega deserved to die. It saves us the embarrassment of her leeching off our family name.”

The guests around them nodded in agreement.

"Brenda did the right thing!"

"The estate's security is paramount!"

"People like that don't belong here!"

I looked at these well-dressed demons, a chill running down my spine.

They were applauding a murder.

“Besides, Cora,” Gideon turned to me, his eyes like ice. “Brenda did this to protect tonight’s ceremony. Look what your ‘good’ grandmother did. Her death on my property terrified poor Brenda. Now it has tainted the sacred Blessing I prepared for my grandmother.”

I clutched the blood-stained shawl, my knuckles white. I couldn't stand his self-righteous act any longer. I took a deep breath and looked straight at Gideon.

"Gideon, I suggest you take a good, long look at who really died."

Gideon's brow furrowed.

“It’s just your Omega grandmother. What's there to see?”

“I won’t pollute my eyes with the sight of low-born blood!” His sister Chloe chimed in, sneering.

“My brother bought this estate as a gift for our grandmother’s return. She hasn't even set foot in it, and your Omega relative is already here to freeload? How disgusting. I say she's better off dead. Did you really think mating my brother suddenly made your entire low-born family into nobility?”