Cassian threw a thick stack of printed bank statements onto my lap. "Three wire transfers. All routed through offshore shell accounts, but my trackers pinpointed the origin."

I picked up the top page. "Vivian Ashford," I read aloud, my voice flat.

"She bought the Wolf-bane from a black market dealer in the eastern sector," Cassian said, pacing the length of the sterile hospital room. "Every month for the past half-year. I had my men extract the dealer an hour ago. He confessed to everything."

He stopped at the foot of the bed, his dark eyes locking onto mine. "Dr. Marcus. The physician who diagnosed your Lupus."

"What about him?" I asked, gripping the paper.

"He received a deposit of fifty thousand dollars two days ago. From the same account." Cassian pulled a tablet from his jacket and handed it to me. "My hackers pulled your real medical file from the clinic's secure server. The one Marcus hid from you and the pack council."

I studied the glowing screen, my eyes scanning the dense paragraphs of medical jargon.

"Read the highlighted section," Cassian ordered.

"Fetal demise due to acute Wolf-bane toxicity," I read, the words scraping against my throat like broken glass.

My chest tightened. The air vanished from the room.

"He didn't die because my body was weak," I whispered. "She poisoned him. She flooded my system until his heart stopped."

"Marcus altered the official logs to show a natural miscarriage," Cassian stated, his tone a low rumble of restrained fury. "Your sister didn't just steal your mate, Selena. She murdered your pup."

The tablet slipped from my fingers, clattering onto the floor.

A guttural snarl ripped through the room. Cassian kicked a metal chair out of his way. It slammed into the wall, denting the plaster.

"I am sending my elite guard," he declared, marching toward the door. "I will drag her out of Damian's den by her hair and execute her in the middle of the borderlands."

"No!" I shouted.

I forced my legs over the edge of the mattress. My joints screamed in protest, the residual toxin flaring hot in my veins, but I planted my bare feet on the cold tile.

Cassian spun around, his jaw clenched. "She killed your child. The penalty is death."

"And she will die," I said, locking my trembling knees in place. "But not a quick death. Not a martyr's death."

He crossed his arms, the silver crescent moon pendant glinting against his dark shirt. "You want to let her live?"

"I want her to lose everything," I corrected. "If you kill her now, Damian will mourn her forever. The pack will remember her as a tragic victim. I will not give her that satisfaction."

I took a step toward him. "I want her stripped of her title, her mate, and her dignity in front of every single wolf who ever smiled at her. I want her to feel the exact same emptiness she forced down my throat."

Cassian studied my face. The feral glow in his eyes slowly faded into a cold, calculating gleam.

"Do you think Damian knew?" he asked, his voice dropping an octave.

"No," I answered immediately. "Damian is arrogant and cruel, but he values his bloodline above all else. He would never allow anyone to harm his heir. Vivian played him just as she played me."

"Then you stay here," Cassian said. "The Night Pack territory is secure. Dr. Thorne will start your detox protocols immediately. You do not leave this compound until the Wolf-bane is entirely flushed from your veins."

"Agreed," I said.

A sharp chime echoed from my discarded purse.

Cassian retrieved my phone and tossed it onto the mattress. The screen lit up with a notification from the pack's official communication channel.

"Your mate is busy," Cassian noted, glancing at the screen.

I unlocked the device. A live video feed filled the display.

Damian stood on the grand balcony of the Alpha estate. The very balcony where we had shared our first kiss. Below him, hundreds of pack members cheered.

He held Vivian's hand, raising it high into the air. She wore my favorite white silk dress, the one I had saved for our anniversary.

"The Moon Goddess tests us all," Damian's voice boomed through the phone's tiny speakers, echoing with absolute authority. "Selena's illness is a tragedy, but the pack cannot show weakness. She has chosen to step away for her health."

I scoffed. "I didn't choose anything. I bled out in a parking lot."

"In her absence," Damian continued on the screen, "Vivian will assume all duties. She carries my heir. She carries our future, and she will be treated with the respect of a Luna."

The crowd erupted into applause. Vivian leaned into Damian's chest, offering a shy, perfect smile to the cameras.

"My sister is resting," Vivian said, leaning into the microphone. "I only wish to make her proud while she recovers."

Not a single search party. Not a single text message asking if I was alive. He had replaced me before the sun even set.

"Pathetic," Cassian muttered, watching over my shoulder. "He doesn't even question your disappearance."

I watched the man I had loved since childhood. The man who promised to protect me from the world, now parading my would-be murderer as his queen.

I set the phone face down on the bedside table.

I looked down at my left hand. The diamond engagement ring and the gold wedding band felt heavy. Suffocating.

I pinched the gold metal and pulled.

The rings slid over my knuckle. I dropped them onto the metal tray next to my IV bags. They landed with a sharp, hollow clink.

Cassian watched the rings settle. "Severing a mate bond will tear your soul in half. Especially in your weakened state. You could die."

"Then Thorne better pump me full of every antidote he has," I replied, meeting his gaze. "Because I am not dying before Damian feels the bond snap."

"When?" Cassian asked.

"The Moon Goddess Festival is in seven days," I said. "The entire pack council will be there. The elders, the neighboring Alphas, everyone."

"A very public stage," Cassian observed.

"Exactly." I turned my back to the discarded rings. "On the night of the festival, I will walk onto that stage and sever the mate bond myself."