After My Mate Claimed His Mistress, I Unleashed My Power

The ground beneath the Silver Glade Pack shook violently, a tremor that rattled my very bones. Before the sound of the explosion even registered, the shockwave shattered the windows of the Alchemy Hall, sending shards of glass raining down like deadly confetti.

"The lab!" I gasped, dropping the basket of herbs I had been gathering.

Thick, unnatural blue smoke billowed from the east wing—my wing. That was where ten years of my life’s work resided. It was where I brewed the strength tonics that gave our warriors their edge, and the healing balms that kept our casualty rates miraculously low. Without a second thought, I sprinted toward the inferno.

"Luna! Wait! It's too dangerous!" a Delta warrior shouted, but I ignored him.

I burst through the double doors, the heat hitting me like a physical wall. Ordinary fire would have terrified a normal wolf, but this was chemical fire, born of volatile compounds. It was wild, hungry, and deadly. Instinctively, I reached for the well of power deep within my soul—the Lycan blood I had suppressed for a decade. I couldn't shift, not here, but I coated my skin in a thin, invisible layer of aura, just enough to shield me from the blistering heat as I navigated the debris.

I had to save the research journals.

As I rounded the corner toward the storage vault, I heard coughing. Not the hacking cough of someone dying, but the theatrical, high-pitched coughing of someone wanting to be found.

There, huddled in a corner that was suspiciously free of flames, were Violette Hill and Shane Owens. Violette, the pack’s "delicate" Omega refugee, was clinging to Shane’s arm, her face buried in his chest.

"Oh goddess, I didn't mean to!" Violette wailed, her voice carrying over the roar of the fire.

I stopped, my eyes narrowing. They were unhurt. There wasn't a smudge of soot on Violette’s pristine white dress, while I was already covered in ash.

Suddenly, the main doors were kicked open.

"Violette!"

Henrik’s voice boomed through the hall. My mate. The Alpha. He rushed past me—literally brushing my shoulder without a glance—and dropped to his knees beside the Omega.

"Are you hurt? Did the fire touch you?" Henrik’s hands roamed over her face, his eyes wide with panic.

I stood there, invisible in the smoke, watching my husband comfort another woman while his own mate stood amidst the wreckage of her life's work. My heart didn't break; it hardened.

"I... I was just trying to help," Violette sobbed, looking up at him with wide, tear-filled eyes. "I wanted to be smart like Luna Sienna. I tried to mix the compounds... but it went wrong!"

Henrik pulled her into his chest, glaring at me over her shoulder. His eyes were cold, devoid of the warmth they used to hold. "Get the journals, Sienna. Then meet me in my office. Now."

***

The silence in the Alpha’s office was suffocating. Outside, the pack was scrambling to put out the fire, but inside, the air was thick with betrayal.

Henrik stood behind his desk, pacing. Violette sat in the corner, dabbing at dry eyes with a handkerchief.

"You will take the blame," Henrik said. It wasn't a question.

I stared at him, my blood running cold. "Excuse me?"

"The Council Investigator is already on his way," Henrik snapped, running a hand through his hair. "If they find out Violette caused an explosion of this magnitude, they'll exile her. She's an Omega, Sienna. She has no status. They’ll see her as a liability."

"She *is* a liability," I said, my voice steady despite the rage boiling in my gut. "She destroyed the Alchemy Hall. My research—"

"Your research can be redone!" Henrik roared, slamming his hand on the desk. "Violette is fragile. She was trying to learn. You are the Head Alchemist. It is your responsibility to secure the lab. If you say it was your negligence, they will just give you a slap on the wrist. You are the Luna; they won't touch you."

"You want me to lie? To stain my reputation to save her?"

Henrik’s eyes flashed with his Alpha dominance. The air in the room grew heavy as he projected his aura, trying to force me into submission. It was a pathetic display compared to the power of my father, the Lycan King, but I had to play the part of the submissive mate. I lowered my head, gritting my teeth.

"I command you, Sienna," he growled, using his Alpha tone. "Take the blame. If you refuse... if you let them exile her... I will strip you of your duties. I will lock you out of the lab permanently."

I looked at Violette. She wasn't crying anymore. She was watching me, a tiny, triumphant smirk playing on her lips.

"Fine," I whispered, the word tasting like bile.

***

An hour later, I sat before the Council Investigator, a stern man with graying temples named Elder Marcus from the Academy.

"Luna Sienna," Marcus said, his pen hovering over his clipboard. "The explosion destroyed three months of medicinal supplies. The Alpha claims he was... occupied elsewhere during the incident."

I looked at Henrik. He stood by the window, his hand resting protectively on the back of Violette’s chair.

"Yes," Henrik interjected smoothly. "I was personally training Miss Hill in my office when the blast occurred. She was nowhere near the lab. It seems my mate... mishandled a volatile mixture."

A lie. A blatant, disgusting lie. He was giving her an alibi.

Marcus looked at me, his eyebrows raised in surprise. He knew my skill level. He knew I didn't make mistakes like this. "Is this true, Luna? You caused the explosion?"

I felt the weight of the bond between Henrik and me, a rotting tether that I desperately wanted to sever. If I spoke the truth now, I would be defying my Alpha’s direct command in front of the Council—an act of treason in their eyes unless I revealed my true lineage. And I wasn't ready. Not yet.

I met Marcus's gaze. "Yes," I said, my voice devoid of emotion. "It was my error. I was careless."

"Very well," Marcus sighed, scribbling on his paper. "Sienna Burke, you are hereby suspended from the Alchemy Hall for six months pending a safety review. You are stripped of your rank as Head Alchemist."

Henrik let out a breath of relief, squeezing Violette’s shoulder. They thought they had won. They thought they had crushed me.

But as I looked at the soot staining my hands, I didn't feel defeated. I felt the dormant power of my white wolf stirring, waking up from a long, deep sleep. They wanted me to be the villain of this story? Fine.

I would burn their world down, and this time, the fire wouldn't be an accident.