At my daughter Lily's First Moon Ceremony, my Alpha mate's childhood friend, Blair, publicly shamed me, mocking how my heat had grown dull since becoming a mother.

"Hey, Victoria. I heard your wolf has lost its fire since you gave birth?"

"If it's that bad, you'd better start taking suppressants—you wouldn't want it to affect your bond with your mate!"

Porter just chuckled, shaking his head with fond exasperation.

"Stop it, Blair. You can't just say whatever pops into your head."

Then he turned to me, shrugging casually.

"That's just Blair. Spoiled rotten. We grew up together; she doesn't have a malicious bone in her body."

Blair flirtatiously adjusted her half-exposed top and pouted.

"Oh, come on, don't take it to heart, Victoria. To be honest, I'm actually a little jealous of you."

"See, I have the opposite problem. My inner wolf goes absolutely feral on a full moon. I wonder what kind of Alpha could ever handle me."

Her gaze slid seductively to Porter, and she winked. "Oh, right. You've had a taste of that before, haven't you?"

A hush fell over the hall. Every eye swiveled to me, their gazes thick with poorly concealed curiosity.

A faint smile touched my lips. I set down my crystal glass of Moonlight Nectar and met Blair’s provocative gaze, my own expression a mask of pure concern.

"That's strange. The last time I cleansed the lingering energies from your... chaotic entanglements, I don't recall sensing a wolf that was quite so 'pure and fiery'."

————————

1

The stunned silence was shattered when a young wolf burst out laughing.

"Gods, Victoria's got a sharp tongue! That's the first time I've ever seen anyone shut Blair up!"

Others quickly joined in, cracking jokes to lighten the sudden tension.

Porter seized the moment, wrapping an arm around me and whispering in my ear, "Blair was just trying to help. You know her—she speaks without thinking. Why are you getting so hostile?"

Then he turned to Blair, his voice full of indulgent warmth. "See what happens when you run your mouth? Victoria put you in your place. Go on, apologize."

Blair’s smile tightened, but she swallowed whatever retort was on her lips and raised her glass to me.

"Alright, alright. You win, Victoria. You've got a sharp tongue."

"Look, I basically grew up with Porter. We’ve been running in the same pack since we were pups. We tell each other everything, no filter."

"I just got carried away. Don't take it personally, okay?"

One of Porter's friends jumped in, trying to smooth things over. "Exactly! Victoria, you're a brilliant healer. Don't let her get to you."

"She's basically one of the guys! Ha!"

Another wave of laughter erupted at the table. Blair played along, puffing out her chest. "Oh, please. With a body like this? I bet you guys have had an eyeful."

She turned to me. "Victoria, isn't my figure the most perfect of all the she-wolves you've healed?"

Porter muttered under his breath, "That's enough."

I glanced at her sculpted curves—every line honed to an unnatural perfection by potions—and my lips twitched into a humorless smile.

Of course it was perfect. It was a body sculpted by illicit drugs.

I spoke again, my professional tone carrying cleanly across the hall.

"Blair, if you're genuinely experiencing the kind of wolf agitation you described, it could be a side effect of the potions in your system. Or perhaps you've undergone a forbidden enhancement ritual elsewhere."

"Either way, it can lead to madness on the full moon, and even permanent infertility. I strongly advise you to stop immediately."

I made sure my voice was loud enough for the elders at the next table to turn and stare.

Porter shot to his feet.

"Victoria. Outside. Now," he snarled. His Alpha command coiled around my will like a whip, leaving no room for defiance.

The rustling leaves of the sacred grove muffled the din from the ceremony hall. The night air was much quieter here.

Porter impatiently tugged at his ceremonial cloak.

"What the hell was that? Accusing her of using illicit drugs in front of the elders? You humiliated her!"

I rubbed my wrist, already turning red from his grip.

"She's the one who shamelessly brought up your past flings at our daughter's First Moon Ceremony. Remember?"

A flash of guilt crossed his face.

"I knew it. You're still holding a grudge about last night. We were drinking, playing truth or dare. We're wolves, Vic. We talk about our instincts. It wasn't what you think."

I let out a cold laugh. "Porter, you're disgusting."

His eyes turned cold, his jaw tightening.

"Do you have to make everything so ugly?"

"Maybe Blair was right. You've been impossible since you had the baby. That's all she meant."

The words cut deep. I was about to retaliate when a sharp, piercing cry sliced through the noise of the ceremony hall.

I shoved Porter aside and bolted back inside.

I burst through the doors, and the scene before me turned my blood to ice.

Blair was holding Lily in one arm, and in her other hand was a small baby bottle filled with a pale purple liquid. She was forcing the nipple between my baby's lips.

"Here you go, little sweetheart! Have a taste of the good stuff!"

"Gotta build up that tolerance from a young age!"

Porter's friends were laughing and cheering her on.

The pale purple liquid sloshed from the bottle into my daughter's wailing mouth. The diluted wolfsbane burned her like fire. Lily's cries twisted into terrified, hoarse shrieks, her tiny limbs flailing against her swaddling.

Blair just laughed, her grip on the baby tightening as she tilted the bottle even further.

"What are you doing!?"

I slapped her hand away with all my might.

The bottle flew from her grasp and shattered on the floor.

I snatched Lily into my arms. She choked and gagged against my chest.

"Shh, baby, Mommy's here…"

I gently patted her back. My fingers brushed against a patch of damp cold—Blair had held her so tightly that her diaper had burst.

Porter burst in right behind me, just in time to see me rip our daughter from Blair’s arms, sending Blair stumbling to the floor.

His first instinct wasn't for his child. It was for her. He grabbed Blair's arm, pulling her up and roaring at me:

"Victoria, what the fuck is wrong with you? Why did you attack Blair?"

He didn't even glance at our daughter, who was sobbing for breath in my arms.

I held Lily tightly, my eyes like ice.

"Porter, why don't you ask your precious friend what she was just doing?"

"Feeding a three-month-old pup wolfsbane! She almost killed her!"

Porter froze. His gaze flickered to the purple puddle on the floor, and for a second, his expression faltered.

But Blair was already rubbing her arm, her face a mask of wounded innocence.

"Victoria, please. When I was a pup, my grandpa used to rub diluted wolfsbane on our gums. It's not a big deal."

"It makes them stronger! I was just trying to give the little one a boost!"

I was trembling with rage. I pulled out my communication crystal. "I'm contacting the Elders' Council—"

Smack.

The crystal was snatched from my hand and hurled to the ground. Porter was breathing heavily, his chest heaving.

"You're really going to call the council over this? On a day like today, you want to ruin everything for everyone?"

"Fine! What she did was stupid, but she didn't mean any harm! Why do you always have to blow things so out of proportion?"

I looked at him as if he were a stranger.

"Porter…" My voice sounded hollow, unrecognizable even to me.

"You were raised in the old ways. You know exactly what wolfsbane does to a pup."

"This is your daughter."

"What's going on here?" Porter's parents pushed through the stunned crowd, their faces grim.

"You just had to cause a scene at a sacred First Moon Ceremony, bringing shame upon our entire pack!"

I pointed at the shattered bottle on the floor. "Blair fed Lily wolfsbane. I'm taking this to the council."

"Wolfsbane?" Porter's father, Alistair, paused, then snorted in dismissal.

"For that? When Porter was a pup, his grandfather used to let him lick diluted wolfsbane off his finger. He turned out just fine!"

Porter's mother, Beatrice, jabbed a finger in my face.

"The pup is fine! What's the big deal? A little diluted wolfsbane won't kill her!"

"Blair is a good girl—we've watched her grow up. Don't you dare try to blame her!"

I looked at Porter's damning silence, at his parents' blatant lies, at Blair standing by with a triumphant smirk plastered on her face.

A bone-deep disgust washed over me.

I took a deep breath and turned toward the door.

Porter called out behind me. "Where are you going?"

"To the healer," I said without turning back. "If she is harmed in any way, Blair, I swear to the Moon Goddess this isn't over."

Thank the Goddess—Lily had barely ingested any of the wolfsbane. Most of it she'd spat out while crying. But she was still terrified, irritable, and weak.

Rowan lowered his stethoscope, his shoulders slumping in relief.

"Goddess... What happened? I thought today was Lily's First Moon Ceremony."

When I didn't answer, he didn't press. He picked up a small pink box from his desk and handed it to me.

"I had an important hunting ritual today—I couldn't make it."

His voice was warm. "This is a gift for Lily."

While I stayed in the observation room with my daughter, Porter’s voice pushed into my thoughts through our mind-link. How is the baby? My parents said you were making a big deal over nothing, running to the healer for something so small.

I didn't reply. I just blocked him.

At one in the morning, I walked into our home, holding Lily.

Blair was standing in the middle of my living room, draped in my most precious silk ceremonial robe. She let out a theatrical gasp when she saw me.

"You're back! I didn't bring a change of clothes, so Porter let me borrow yours. You don't mind, do you?"

"Where's Porter?"

I pretended not to see the way she deliberately let the robe's shoulder strap slide down.

Blair pouted, then picked up my moonlight crystal cleansing cloth and casually wiped her feet with it, parading around the house as if she owned the place.

"He's in the study, on a crystal call with his dad. You look exhausted, Victoria. Give me the baby. I can help you take care of her from now on."

I sidestepped her outstretched hands. "That won't be necessary."

Porter came out of the study just in time to see me recoil from her. His face darkened.

"What did the healer say?"

I placed Lily on the sofa and gently checked her tiny hands and feet.

"She's in shock. An acute stress reaction. They said to keep a close eye on her."

Porter was visibly relieved.

"See? I told you she'd be fine. You had to make a scene—"

I ignored him, looking around the room. "Where's Mrs. Gable?"

She was the human nanny I had hired to care for Lily.

Porter hesitated. "I let her go."

"Blair loves pups. I figured she could help out around here—one of our own is better than paying a stranger."

Blair wrapped the robe tighter around herself and sauntered over, her hips swaying.

"Don't worry, Victoria. I've always been great with pups. The two of you can focus on your work and leave everything to me."

Seeing my stony expression, she let out a small, manipulative laugh.

"Oh, right, right—today was my fault. Let me make it up to you!"

She grabbed the half-empty bottle of moon wine from the coffee table, pretending she was going to chug it as an apology.

Porter snatched it from her. "Come on, you can't handle your liquor."

He scolded, but the fond smile playing on his lips betrayed the words.

Watching their little drama unfold, I picked up my daughter and headed for the door.

It took Porter a moment to react, but he moved to block my path.

"Where are you going in the middle of the night? Can you stop being so dramatic?"

"Dramatic?" I laughed, the sound brittle.

"Your 'friend' is wearing my ceremonial robe, using my cleansing cloth as a doormat, and is about to get drunk while pretending she can look after my daughter."

"Porter, who's the one being dramatic here?"

Blair tossed her hair. "Wow, so possessive? I was just trying to be helpful. Porter, your mate clearly has it out for me. Maybe I should just go."

"Enough!" Porter ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Victoria, she was told off, and she apologized. Can we please just let this go?"

He glanced at the baby in my arms, and his voice softened. "Don't make Lily suffer because of this."

I said nothing. Lily did still have a slight fever. The night air was cold. I couldn't drag her out into it.

"I want Mrs. Gable here by morning."

"Fine, fine! Whatever you want."

I carried Lily into the guest room, where Mrs. Gable's baby supplies were still scattered about.

Porter and Blair stayed in the living room, talking and laughing until well past midnight. Not once did he come to check on us, even when Lily woke up crying.

As dawn approached, I dragged my exhausted body out of bed for the fourth time to check Lily's temperature.

Just then, I heard a giggle from the master bedroom. "Gods, you looked so goofy back then!"

They were huddled together, heads close, holding a pot of ink mixed with withering root and scribbling on something.

It was my family's healing journal, the one I had bound by hand.

Porter had once pointed to the first page, whispering in my ear, "When she's older, we'll tell our pup the story of how her Mom and Dad came together."

Now, on that very same page, in the record of our bonding ceremony, my face was scribbled over with black ink. They had drawn two large X's over my eyes.

And across Lily's first blessing rune, scrawled in jagged black letters, were the words: "Unwanted half-breed."

"What are you two doing?"

Blair jumped, startled. The ink pen left a jagged black line across the rune.

"Oh! You're awake? I thought this journal was cute, so… I got a little creative."

Seeing my expression, she shrugged. "Sorry? Here, I'll wipe it off."

She smeared her palm across the page, turning the beautiful record into a black, ruined mess.

"Give it back!"

I lunged for it. She jerked back, and the sharp edge of the journal's cover sliced a thin cut across her cheek.

"Victoria, what the fuck are you doing?!"

With a low growl, Porter surged forward and shoved me hard.

I staggered back, my spine slamming into the decorative silver inlays on the wall. A searing pain, like venom, burned through my skin, the metal slicing it open.

He didn't even look at me. He knelt to help Blair, pulling her into his arms, his voice tight with concern.

"Blair, are you okay?"

Blair touched her cheek and winced theatrically. "Damn, Victoria, you're strong…"

Porter swept her up into his arms. She let out a small shriek, then buried her face in the curve of his neck.

"I'm taking Blair to the healer. Victoria—you've gone too far this time."

After he left, I felt a dampness on my back. I reached back and my hand came away covered in blood. The silver inlay had left a long, deep gash across my skin.

The blood wouldn't stop, but I felt nothing. Just a hollow, dull ache.

I called Mrs. Gable. "I'm going to the healer. I need you here in five minutes."