Kryden’s lips curled in mockery. “Quit baring your fangs at me like you want to devour me. If you can pay, then pay and leave.”

A wolf nearby scoffed. “Pay? She couldn’t cover that total even if her life hung on it.”

“The dishes, the rare moon-wine already opened — she couldn’t even dare look at the amount owed.”

“She’s been living off Alpha Ridgefern’s resources all this time, without him, she’s nothing.”

As if determined to strip me of every last shred of dignity, Kryden rose with a frosty chuckle, his sharp eyes scanning the entire chamber.

“Any wolf who steps in to aid Arielle stands against me — and against the Ridgefern Clan.”

Everyone knew the Ridgefern Clan ruled the wealthiest territory in Moonspire Courtlands. No one would risk becoming Kryden’s enemy.

A few trade allies I had once shared friendly hunts with started to stand, clearly intending to help.

But the moment they heard his threat, they dropped back into their seats, eyes lowered, afraid he might notice their hesitation.

“See? Alpha Ridgefern isn’t joking.”

“He’s guarding that little aide harder than he ever guarded his own Luna.”

“Right? I thought, perhaps he was just angry before, but this? This is real.”

“After such a warning, who would dare help her?”

I couldn’t hold back. I lunged forward and caught his arm.

“Kryden, you’d really drag me through the dirt for that plotting little vixen?”

He curled his lip and struck me across the face.

The crack echoed through the dining tavern.

“Yes.”

I faced him again, stunned, hardly able to accept what he had just done.

Three cycles bound as mates. Across the territories, we were known as the perfect pair. He was the one who chased after me when I first came to Moonspire Courtlands.

At our mating ceremony, he vowed before the Moon Goddess — that he would stay loyal for life, that he would love me until his last breath.

And now? Only three cycles later, every vow, every splendid memory, shattered by his cruelty.

Just as the whispers used to say: If you enter a powerful clan with nothing but beauty, and you’ll never earn true respect. The moment a younger, prettier, and more ambitious she-wolf appears, your place is gone.

However, Kryden never realized. When I joined the Ridgefern Clan, it wasn’t for status or wealth.

I chose him because I loved him.

He met my reddened eyes, then pulled out a napkin and turned aside, wiping the hand that struck me as if ridding himself of contamination.

“You knew I favored her, yet you chose to humiliate her.”

“Arielle, if you can't pay what you owe, I’ll order the the dining tavern manager to tear that gown from you and throw you out into the streets.”

The chamber exploded with murmurs and cruel laughter. The gathered wolves stared at me, their expressions dripping with scorn and predatory curiosity.

“Alpha Ridgefern is really going all the way — making his own Luna run out bare for the new favorite.”

“Unbelievable.”

“She won’t be Luna for much longer. After tonight, she’ll be nothing.”

“Quiet — I want to see how this ends.”

The older merchant wolves watched with open amusement.

“Let’s see if she’s as impressive as her pride suggests.”

My face burned hotter than fire.

Before we left the den, Kryden had taken my own moon-credit sigil without warning.

I had only the elegant dress on my body. I had no means to pay.

And my crystal communicator was out of power.

Then I knew, Kryden had set this up perfectly.

“It’s getting late, Arielle. They’re waiting for you to pay so they can close.”

“Or you're saying you can’t even pay, seriously!”

“What a joke — getting seized and dragged to the hunt patrol den for dodging a debt — isn’t that the same trick you pulled on me once?”

Calista drew a slim moonleaf cigarette from a case, set it between her lips, and sparked it with a flick of ember magic. She exhaled the smoke straight into my face, her smile thick with superiority.

I reacted without thinking—my hand flew up and struck her hard across the cheek.

The table overturned, dishes shattered, the entire dining tavern dissolved into noise.

Kryden hurried to Calista, then barked an order at his Omega. Before I could move, they seized my arms and slammed me onto the stone floor.

“Arielle, that’s enough!”

“So you get to trample whoever you want, and no one’s allowed to bare their fangs back?”

I shot Kryden a blazing look. The Ridgeferns’ explosive rise to power across Moonspire Courtlands over the past three cycles wasn’t luck—it was me. I used the alliances my bloodline possessed to pave their way. Even the shadow packs that once sought to challenge them backed off—because they knew exactly who stood behind the Ridgeferns.

Tonight, on my bornday, I had planned to tell Kryden the truth. That I wasn’t some stray with no roots. That I was heir to one of Celestdawn Crest’s Four Great Clans.

I intended to lead him home to my pack’s territory to meet my mother and father.

I never thought his devotion would fade in an instant.

I had been wrong about him. I thought he had more honor than this.

“Kryden, are you truly going to let me walk out in disgrace?”

He gave a cold, humorless laugh. “What did you expect? You expected me setting this up for nothing?”

With the guard protecting her, Calista struck me across the face. “You filthy stray. Choose—get dragged to the hunting patrol den for unpaid dues, or strip bare, clamp this meat between your teeth, and crawl out on all fours like the mongrel you are.”

She bared her teeth in a grin. “The difference is simple. The first, you keep your clothes. And the second, you lose your clothes and your pride. Hurry up and decide — I’m bored.”

Every pair of eyes in the chamber was fixed on me, eager for a show.

I slowly clenched my fists, my knuckles paled, and looked at Kryden with empty, frozen eyes.

“Fine. If this is your decision, then when the Ridgeferns falls into ruin, remember—you chose it.”

The instant the words left me, Calista erupted into laughter.

“Ha! Did you all hear that?”

"She thinks she's living in romantic pack tale? The secret heiress?"

"She's out of her mind."

Kryden’s gaze darkened. To him, my words were nothing but a lie.

He snatched a platter from the table and flung it at me. “Enough of your nonsense. You think you can drive the Ridgefern Clan into ruin? Who do you think you are?”

“Concern yourself with your own failing territory first.”

“Manager!”

The dining tavern manager approached, and the guards accompanied behind him. His tone remained calm but cold. "Luna Ridgefern, will you be paying your tab yourself, or shall we await someone to settle it for you?”

I swept my gaze across the chamber and found a she-wolf I recognized—a trade ally I had once negotiated territory agreements with for the Ridgefern Clan.

I moved in her direction.

The instant she saw me, she jolted from her seat and backed away.

“Arielle, don’t come closer—I can’t pay for you—”

“Calm down. I’m not asking you for payment. I just need your crystal communicator.”

“Please. I’ll call someone to bring payment.”

Calista’s laughter rang sharply through the chamber. “How amusing! Tell me, which wolf in Moonspire Courtlands would be bold enough to come settle your payment?”

She flicked her hand carelessly. "Fine, let her try. Thirty minutes. If no one comes to settle her payment—” She nodded toward the heavyset merchants eyeing me greedily. "They can strip her themselves — a woman who’s warmed the bed of a powerful Alpha in Moonspire Courtlands should be worth trying, right?"