(Isara’s POV)

“All I needed to do was mix a small potion into her meal to force an early birth,” Xavian said lightly, almost entertained. “Then I would tell her there were pack complications. She would weep, I would hold her and everything would continue as before.”

Memories struck me like claws. Each lost pup. The agony. The blood staining white sheets in the healer’s den.

After every loss, Brienne would arrive at the Moonstone Healing Hall carrying warm broth.

“I made this for you myself,” she would say, her eyes shining with fake sorrow. “I know your heart is broken. I am here, sister.”

She would sleep beside my bed, curled in a chair, gripping my hand whenever I woke up crying from empty womb pains.

Xavian would sit on my other side, brushing my hair back. “We will try again,” he would whisper gently. “The Moon Goddess will bless us. I promise.”

I believed them. I trusted them.

My hands shook so badly I bit down on my palm to stop myself from screaming.

They had poisoned me four times.

“Will you truly cast her aside once my womb is fully restored?” Brienne asked, her tone sweet and false.

“Of course,” Xavian replied calmly. “Once the pack healer confirms the rituals succeeded, there is no reason to keep her as Luna.”

I could almost hear his smile. “Then we can stand together openly as Alpha and Luna.”

Brienne’s voice softened. “And my family. What will they think?”

Xavian let out a cold laugh. “The same family that always favored you over her. They will support us. Her own mother once told me she finds Isara an embarrassment to the bloodline.”

The words cut deep because they were true.

“She already transferred her five percent shares of Silverhowl Trading House to me years ago without knowing,” Xavian continued. “When I reject her, she will leave with nothing. No allies. No pack support. She will crawl back to some forgotten border village where she belongs.”

Brienne frowned slightly. “How will you make it happen?”

Xavian’s chuckle was dark. “Next week we will hold a grand gathering in the Alpha Hall to announce your pregnancy to the elders, allied Alphas and trading partners.”

He went on. “During the feast, someone will slip a potion into her moon wine. Later, Blaise will discover her in one of the upper chambers with strange males in a disgraceful scene.”

Brienne gasped softly. “You will trap her?”

“She will be too drugged to understand anything. Blaise will ensure images are captured by crystal record. Before the night ends, everyone will believe Isara Silverhowl betrayed her loyal mate during a celebration for her sister’s pregnancy.”

“That is perfect,” Brienne breathed. “She will look like the villain.”

“Exactly. The separation will be clean. She will walk away empty handed.” Xavian sounded pleased.

My heart pounded so violently I feared it would break my ribs.

He planned to poison me again. Shame me before the entire pack. Strip me of everything.

Their sounds filled the clearing once more. I stepped back slowly from the carriage, silent as a shadow. Blood dripped from my bitten palm, yet I felt nothing.

Only ruin. Only fury. Only heartbreak.

When I was far enough, I ran.

I climbed into my own carriage and trembled so badly I struggled to grip the reins. I sat in darkness, tears falling freely, my hand resting over my stomach to shield my unborn pup.

Four pups slaughtered. Used in cruel moon experiments to heal my sister so she could bear my mate’s heir.

And now he meant to destroy my name and steal what little remained mine.

The ride back to the pack castle felt unreal. I nearly crashed twice as my thoughts replayed his words.

“She is foolish. She has no one. She belongs in a poor border hut.”

I entered the castle like a ghost and went straight to Xavian’s private study.

I needed proof. Truth. Something solid.

My fingers shook as I searched through scrolls, his rune bound tablet and locked drawers. Beneath a drawer lining, I found a small bronze key. I opened the cabinet.

Healer records with my name. Dates matching every pregnancy. Ritual procedures I never agreed to. Payments sent to a secret research coven.

My breathing grew uneven as I searched faster.

Then I found it. The transfer parchment. The company shares he gifted me at our mating ceremony. I had unknowingly signed them back to him.

“She will leave with nothing.”

A bitter laugh escaped me. Xavian knew nothing.

He believed he built Silverhowl Trading House with his own strength.

But five winters ago, when his business nearly collapsed, a hidden investor rescued it. All debts were paid. Expansion funded. Losses covered.

That investor was me.

Under my maiden name, Isara Ashmoon, I created a secret account no one knew. Before my mating, Sariah had left me her entire savings from decades of seamstress work and her parents’ inheritance.

It was nearly a million gold coins. I invested carefully. The wealth grew.

When Xavian’s empire began to fall, I poured one hundred forty-seven million into saving it.

His kingdom of trade stood on my fortune.

And he called me foolish.

I copied every record and hid them where he would never search.

Then I sank to the cold stone floor and cried until nothing remained inside me.

When the tears ended, emptiness stayed. I did not know my next move.

Then I remembered his warning months ago.

“Stay away from Raiden Ravengrowl. He is my greatest rival. Ruthless. Dangerous. He would destroy me without mercy.”

Raiden Ravengrowl. Alpha of the Ravengrowl Pack. Xavian’s sworn enemy.

He was the only one who could stand against him.

With shaking hands, I searched through hidden contacts. It took long minutes before I found Raiden’s private number buried deep in Xavian’s secured files.

I stared at it.

Once I made this call, my life would change forever.

But when I thought of my murdered pups, Brienne’s laughter and Xavian’s cruelty, I pressed the call rune.

It rang twice before a deep voice answered. “Who speaks?”

My throat tightened, yet I forced the words out. “My name is Isara Silverhowl. I am Alpha Xavian Silverhowl’s mate.”

Silence followed.

“The Alpha’s mate,” he said slowly. “What do you seek from me?”

Tears blurred my sight. “I require your help.”

“Why would the Luna of Silverhowl contact me? I am your mate’s enemy.” His tone sharpened.

“Because I want him ruined,” I whispered. “And I believe you despise him as much as I do.”

The silence stretched long.

Then Raiden laughed. Low. Dark. Dangerous.

“Luna Silverhowl,” he said calmly, “you now hold my full attention.”

(Isara’s POV)

“Speak,” Raiden’s voice cut through the line, sharp as steel. “Explain why the loyal Luna of Xavian Silverhowl wishes to see her Alpha ruined.”

I told him everything. The false explosion spell on the tracking rune. Finding Xavian in the hidden clearing with Brienne. The words I heard about the moon experiments on my unborn pups. His plan to disgrace me and cast me aside.

By the time I finished, tears were sliding down my face once more.

Raiden said nothing for a while.

“Do you hold proof?” he asked at last.

“Yes.” My voice no longer trembled. “Healer records. Gold transfers. Share agreements. All of it.”

“And you possess half of his trading empire?”

“He does not know. No one knows,” I replied. “I also have evidence of crimes within his pack business. But I cannot act openly. He has allied Alphas, legal wolves and my own bloodline behind him.”

“Your bloodline stands with him?”

The question pierced deep because it was true.

My mother never truly wanted me.

When I was ten, the truth came out. Brienne and I had been exchanged at birth due to a mistake in the healer’s den.

I had grown up in a small border village, raised by a kind seamstress. We had little coin, but I had known warmth and simple joy.

Then the great house of Silverhowl claimed me and brought me to their grand city estate. Yet my mother could not release Brienne. She had raised her. Loved her.

So she kept us both.

But it was always clear who she favored.

“Isara, stand straight. You look like a farm pup.”

“Isara, speak properly. Your tone shames us.”

“Isara, why can you not be like Brienne?”

No matter how hard I tried, I was never enough. I studied court manners but stumbled. I learned the old tongue yet spoke it imperfectly.

Brienne shone bright and graceful and my mother made sure I knew I was less.

By eighteen, I had learned silence. To shrink. To expect nothing.

That was when I met Xavian. Strong. Confident. Ambitious. He looked at me as if I mattered.

“You are not like the others,” he once told me.

I gave him my heart without caution.

When he asked for my hand after six moons, I agreed without doubt.

The night before the mating ceremony, my mother pulled me aside. “Xavian Silverhowl uses you. But you are too blind to see.”

I ignored her.

I became his Luna. Spent eight years trying to be flawless.

All the while Brienne lay with my mate in secret and I never suspected.

My chest tightened as I forced myself back to the present.

“My family adores my sister,” I told Raiden quietly. “When Xavian rejects me, they will support him. I cannot rely on them.”

Raiden paused. “Then you seek vengeance.”

“I seek justice,” I corrected, my voice breaking. “He slaughtered my pups. Used their essence to heal my adopted sister so she could bear his heir. He tricked me into surrendering everything. Now he plans to throw me away like refuse.”

“And why come to me?” Raiden asked, curious.

“Because you despise him,” I answered honestly. “He warned me about you. Said you would stop at nothing to see him fall.”

Raiden gave a low, dark laugh. “What is it you desire from me, Isara?”

I tightened my fists. “I want him stripped of all he owns. His trade empire. His name. His freedom. I own half of his company. You are his strongest rival Alpha. Together we can destroy him.”

Silence lingered before Raiden spoke again.

“If I help you, it will not be an act of kindness. I will demand payment.”

My stomach tightened. “What payment?”

“Become my mate.”

“Your mate?” I whispered, stunned.

“Yes,” Raiden said simply. “If I am to wage war against Xavian Silverhowl for you, I require something lasting. Not gold. Not shares. You.”

“But…”

He cut me off. “Consider my offer, Luna Silverhowl. You hold my number.”

The bond line went dead.

I stared at the communicator, thoughts racing. Become Raiden Ravengrowl’s mate. The sworn enemy of my mate.

I shook my head. No. I did not need him. I had proof. I had power. I could stand alone.

I would see Xavian lose everything, just as he had stolen everything from me.

(Isara’s POV)

I did not hesitate. I walked straight into our chamber and began gathering my belongings. I did not yet know my next step, but I knew one thing clearly. I could not remain in this place any longer.

I moved without thinking, pulling gowns from their hooks, emptying carved drawers, folding everything into travel trunks.

“Isara?”

I froze.

Xavian’s voice came from the doorway. “What is happening? Why are you packing?”

Slowly, I turned to face him.

The moment he saw my face, his expression shifted. My eyes were swollen and red from crying. My cheeks were still wet.

“What is wrong?” He stepped toward me quickly. “Are you hurt? Tell me what happened.”

The worry in his voice made my stomach twist. He played his role perfectly. He sounded sincere.

I shook my head. “It is nothing,” I whispered hoarsely.

He moved closer, studying me. “It cannot be nothing. You have been weeping.”

I knew he would not let it go. So I lied.

“It’s just about Sariah,” I said, my voice breaking.

His brows pulled together. “Your foster mother? The seamstress who has been asleep in the healer’s hall since the carriage accident?”

I nodded. “The healers sent word. She grows weaker. They said she may not survive.”

For a heartbeat, relief flickered in his eyes.

Then it vanished, replaced with false sorrow.

“Oh, Isara.” He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me. “I am sorry. I know she is dear to you.”

My skin crawled beneath his touch. The same hands that had ordered the deaths of my pups now held me as if he cared.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to shift and tear him apart.

But I stayed still. I let him embrace me.

“Xavian?” Brienne’s soft voice called from the doorway.

His body stiffened. He released me at once and hurried to her side.

“Are you well?” he asked her, true concern filling his tone. Not the false comfort he had given me.

Brienne smiled gently. “Yes. I only wished to know if you told Isara.”

Xavian turned back to me, his mood suddenly bright with excitement.

“Isara, Brienne carries wonderful news.”

I raised a brow. “Wonderful news?”

He nodded eagerly. “Yes. We will hold a celebration next week in the Alpha Hall. A grand gathering. My allies, trading partners, elders, everyone important will attend.”

I already knew. The pup inside Brienne. My mate’s pup growing in my sister’s womb. And I knew what he planned for me during that celebration.

“All of that for this news?” I asked calmly.

“Yes,” Brienne answered sweetly. “Xavian wished to do something meaningful for me. We are family, after all.”

A feast to honor the life created through the slaughter of my own unborn pups.

“There will be a private family dinner tonight first,” Xavian continued. “Only us and your parents. The large celebration follows next week. I have arranged everything already.”

“I am not interested,” I said flatly.

Brienne’s smile faltered. “But Isara…”

“I said I am not interested.”

Her face fell, eyes filling with tears.

“Isara,” Xavian snapped, irritation flashing across his features. “Your parents will attend. They expect you.”

“I cannot celebrate while Sariah lies dying,” I replied quietly, letting the lie fall easily from my lips.

“She is old,” Xavian said with a shrug. “She has lived her years. But this pup.” He rested his hand on Brienne’s stomach. “This is new life. A reason for joy.”

My fists clenched. Sariah had treated him like a son despite knowing I was not her blood. His coldness shocked me.

“Do not be selfish,” he continued. “Brienne wants to include you in something important.”

“I said no.”

Brienne’s tears spilled freely. “I only wished for us to stand together as a family. But if you despise me so much…” Her voice trembled.

“I am worried for Sariah,” I said, turning back to my packing.

“She was not your true mother,” Brienne murmured softly. “She was only…”

“Do not.” My voice turned sharp and cold. “Do not finish that sentence.”

Brienne flinched and clung to Xavian. “You see? She hates me. I try to be a loving sister, but she rejects me.”

“Enough,” Xavian said firmly. He faced me, eyes hard as stone. “You will attend the dinner tonight. And you will attend the gathering next week. That is final.”

“No,” I replied.

“Yes.” He stepped closer, his Alpha tone heavy with command. “You are my Luna. You will come, you will smile and you will support your sister. Do you understand?”

I looked at him. The male I had loved for eight long years. The father who had murdered our pups.

“Very well,” I said softly. “I will attend.”

Satisfaction flickered across his face. “Good. Dinner begins at the seventh hour.”

He placed an arm around Brienne and guided her away, whispering something that made her laugh lightly.

The door closed behind them.

I stood motionless, staring at the wood with cold fury burning inside me.

Xavian had no idea that a storm far greater than any he commanded was already rising against him.