Heather’s POV

Today was our first anniversary, and I walked into Alpha Austin's office, clutching two things that would make him the happiest Alpha in the world.

First, a signed treaty with the present Alpha King.

And second, a sonogram of our pup.

After I suffered three miscarriages, Austin was finally going to be a father

However, just as I was about to knock, a woman’s voice came from the room.

“When are you going to reject your mate, Alpha?”

My heart seemed to stop in my chest.

The woman continued. “I mean, you just met her, while I had been keeping your bed warm for years.”

I peeked through the tiny crack in the door.

The she-wolf Olivia, who brought me tea and pills, is on Austin's lap. Their clothes were all over the floor.

Austin spoke.

“You know I can’t just reject Heather. She’s the reason the pack tripled. She’s in talks with the king now. That deal will make us the most powerful pack in two regions.”

My stomach twisted as my mate touched another woman the way he used to touch me.

The hands that once held me when I lost our pups were on Olivia’s waist, her hips, and her throat.

"But Austin, what if Heather finds out? Aren’t you worried about what she might do?" Olivia asked.

"She’s nothing without me," he scoffed. "She has no one else. Her father is already dead. I’m all she has left.”

The words punched the air out of my lungs.

Nothing without him?

I forced my hand to stay on the door instead of on the handle.

"So you’re keeping her for business?" Olivia asked. "But I’m still your one and only?"

Austin kissed her shoulder, then her lips.

"Of course. You know how much I love you. I proved it when I told you to keep contaminating Heather’s drinks with birth control concoction."

I leaned against the doorframe. The wood was the only thing holding me up.

No.

Austin could not do such a thing. He was the one who held me when I bled. He was the one who told me it wasn’t my fault.

I had believed every word.

"And the same potion that numbs her from the mate bond," Olivia added. "She’ll never know you’re sleeping with someone else."

My hands trembled as I looked down at the sonogram again.

No wonder my past pregnancies failed.

Three times, I thought I lost a baby because I was too stressed.

Turned out she was poisoning my pups all along.

'Luna, drink this. It will help you relax. It’s good for your pups,' she would have always said.

And me, so stupid, swallowing every drop while Austin rubbed my back and told me to rest.

But two weeks ago, I secretly stopped drinking the concoctions, and I didn't expect that decision would save the babies I carry now.

A phone rang inside the room.

Austin grunted, annoyed. He pressed the speaker and went right back to holding Olivia.

"Alpha, we found the witness you’ve been searching for.”

I held my breath.

What witness?

"Are you sure?" Austin asked.

"Yes, Alpha. He was the one who saw Miss Olivia kill Alpha Henry."

I pressed a hand to my mouth, trying not to scream.

My father?

Olivia killed my father?

My knees buckled. I slid down the wall until I caught myself.

No, this was too much.

My father had been kind to Olivia.

She was a rogue pup from a raid, but my father pitied her and kept her as his own daughter.

And father saved Austin too.

He sheltered him when their old pack fell. Without my father, Austin would have grown up homeless.

So why would they betray him? Why murder the very man who kept them alive?

"Covering up the murder was supposed to be simple," Austin said. "But that damn witness won’t stop running his mouth."

Olivia sighed, as if she were just tired of a boring job. "You should’ve killed him the moment he saw me stab Henry. Now he’s threatening to expose everything."

Each word was another break.

She said it so casually. Like my father was just another problem to clean up.

Austin growled. "I handled it, didn’t I? I told Heather that rogues killed her father. She believed me. She always believes me."

All those nights I had thanked him for staying with me after the attack.

But he had just built my whole world out of lies and then locked me inside it.

Olivia giggled and brushed her fingers through his hair.

"Well, you better kill the witness before dawn. I won’t have anyone ruining our future."

My wolf went silent for a second.

Then she howled inside me, saying, Shift. Kill. End them.

Austin turned his attention back to the call.

"Bring him to the dungeons. I’ll end his life before dawn." His tone was cold.

"Now Heather will believe you forever," Olivia whispered, laughing.

"I’m doing this for you," Austin said. "She runs the pack. You get me. You’re my real one."

My wolf surged up, making my claws slide out. They bit into the wood of the door.

I fought her hard, pressing my back against the frame. The door creaked under the pressure.

"Who’s there?" Austin shouted.

When I realized he noticed me, I pulled away from the door and quickly grabbed the sonogram and the treaty from the floor with shaking hands.

I forced my legs to move.

In the bedroom, I went straight to the safe.

My fingers shook so badly I even dropped the keys twice, but I managed to tuck the documents inside.

My head was spinning. Every breath hurts.

My mate was a liar.

The she-wolf I had treated as my sister was my father’s killer.

The pups I lost were murdered.

My whole life with Austin was a corpse all along.

I stared at the window, fighting the urge to howl.

Austin thought I was a helpless fool with no family to back me up?

But there was one person who had always been in my life since I was a pup. One alpha he could not control.

I straightened my back and opened my mind.

I mindlinked him. "Alpha King Daniel. It’s me again."

His voice came through with a low chuckle. "We just talked this morning. Forget something?"

I stared ahead, eyes burning.

"Forget the treaty with Austin. Instead, let’s make our own agreement."

Heather’s POV

"Our own agreement? Does this have something to do with our unfinished business in the past?"

My wolf leaned toward his voice.

"I want Austin and his mistress punished, and for murdering my father and unborn pups."

If Daniel was a rock, I had just cracked it, and then I felt his aura rise.

"What the hell did you say?" he asked. “Your sister and mate killed Uncle Henry?”

"You heard me," I answered. My throat still burned. "Olivia, the woman my father adopted, killed him. And my mate helped her."

Silence dropped between us.

When Daniel spoke again, the lazy tone was gone.

"Do you want it now? Because I can order the world for their execution in a nanosecond.”

Not the word. The world.

And I knew he was not exaggerating.

He could send hunters, executioners, enforcers, all in one breath.

One order from him and Austin and Olivia would be dragged out by their hair and thrown at my feet.

For a heartbeat, I saw Austin on his knees. Olivia sobbing, their wrists in silver cuffs.

It would be so easy.

"I know you can, but I need to gather evidence first."

"Why the hell waste time?" he snapped, even though there was a hint of a chuckle under it. "I can put their asses in a cell or order death before our conversation ends!"

Of course he was angry. Daniel had been close to my father. He used to sit across from him at long treaty tables, listening like the respectful prince he once was.

My father had always been proud of him and often said Daniel would be a better king than the old one.

Daniel and I used to run side by side through the neutral forest, two young wolves racing the wind. He was big even then. Black fur with silver at the tips, eyes glowing gold.

But he was next in line for the throne, while I was the daughter of a regional Alpha.

I told myself he deserved a powerful Luna, not me. Not someone who would drag him away from his duty.

So I pushed the feeling down. He did too.

Now, years later, here we were. My mate a murderer. His lazy prince days long gone.

"I know you can move mountains," I said, dragging myself back to the present. "But if your people realize you are using your power without justice, you will lose their respect. And power without respect is nothing but noise. Real alphas are followed because their wolves choose to kneel, not because they are forced to."

He laughed.

"You know, I actually missed your wisdom. You really have a point there. But still, I cannot help but think you are also concerned about me."

My cheeks warmed.

"I am more concerned about our kingdom," I answered. I lifted my chin even though he could not see that either. "I am asking for a personal alliance with you, so of course I want your reign to be stable."

"If that is your excuse," he said.

I could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Still, the truth you just gave me makes me want to behead your bastard mate on the spot. Truth is, he's already dead in my mind now.”

"I only want justice.”

"Very well," he said slowly. The king's voice came back, steady and iron strong. "Then what part of this plan are you planning to use my role for, Luna?"

The way he said Luna made my wolf stand taller.

It sounded different from how Austin said it.

"In two weeks, Austin will celebrate his years of leading Wild Brookes as Alpha."

I could almost see Daniel leaning back in his chair, one arm over the side, eyes narrowed.

"And?"

"I will gather evidences, and expose their crimes. On that same day, I am asking your warriors to arrest Austin and Olivia."

“That's it?” Daniel snorted. "Sounds boring."

I shut my eyes and shook my head.

"I don’t want you to just crush them from above," I started.

"I know," he cut in, softer this time. "I know what you want. And I agree. But since this is a treaty, I will lay out my terms as well."

"Say it," I answered. "Anything.”

"When your bastard mate has been removed from your pack, you will be the mother of my future heir.”

Heather’s POV

"The mother of your heir?"

"Unless you plan to keep pushing out children for Austin instead," he said calmly. "From what I hear, he is doing a great job killing them."

"I will never give him another pup." My fingers tightened until my claws bit into my own palm.

I could almost feel Daniel nod. "Good. Then we understand each other."

"Are you really serious?" I whispered.

"I do not make empty offers. You want justice for your father. I want a Luna whose spine is not made of mud and a mother strong enough for my heir. This solves all of that in one move."

"But I am still mated," I said stiffly. "Marked even."

"Marks can be broken. Bonds can be cut."

Breaking a bond hurts. It tore both wolves. It could drive one or both mad.

But I thought of Austin’s hands on Olivia’s body. And the bitch's voice bragging about killing my father.

"This is not a small price," I murmured.

"Neither is what you are asking me to do," Daniel replied. "You want my warriors. My name. My power. You want me to walk into your pack lands and drag your Alpha in chains in front of his people."

His tone softened a fraction.

"And I want you," he added. "I am just honest about it."

My heart slammed so hard it hurt.

The bond with Austin was still there, but the pull toward Daniel that I had buried was still alive under it. It stretched now, reaching toward his voice like a plant toward light.

I swallowed.

"You are asking me to jump from one Alpha to another," I said.

"No." His answer was sharp. "I am asking you to jump from a coward who hides behind you to a king who will stand in front of you. That is different."

A low heat pooled in my stomach at his words. My wolf wagged her tail I my mind.

"You have two weeks. Gather your proof. Call me the moment you are ready."

My hand drifted to my lower belly where Austin’s pup was still trying to grow. How could I promise Daniel pups when I was already carrying another Alpha’s?

"Are you backing out?" he asked.

I gasped. "What if... what if I do not agree to your terms?"

He chuckled, dark and low. "Then expect my warriors to be at your gates and to extract your Alpha and his mistress before I take my dinner, which will happen in three minutes."

Fear and anger crashed together in my chest. "I told you I need to gather proof first," I shot back. "Or do you really want your kingdom to see you as a tyrant? A cold-blooded king?"

"I don’t mind?" he said, and I believed him.

I bit my lip hard.

What was I supposed to do? I wanted justice for my father and for the pups inside me.

But I did not want Daniel’s name dragged through the mud because of my mess.

"Once and for all, my sweet Heather. Do you agree or not?"

My wolf pressed against my skin, torn and restless. "Fine!”

I didn’t know yet how I would fix all of this.

But what mattered right now was simple: Austin and Olivia would pay, and my pack would be free.

I composed myself after the mindlink.

Grabbing the old treaty, I walked out of the room.

As I expected, Austin was already at the table.

He had changed clothes, but Olivia’s scent still clung to him under the soap.

My wolf snarled, but I swallowed it back and moved closer.

Austin pushed his chair back and stood with a wide smile.

"Love, I did not know you were already here.”

He stepped toward me and kissed my cheek.

My skin crawled under his lips. My wolf tried to jerk our head away.

‘As if you would notice my arrival. You were too busy with your mistress,’ I thought.

Out loud, I said nothing. Even my wolf was howling for his blood, and for his heart between her teeth.

He hurried to pull my chair out. "You must be tired from the trip to the Ironclaw Citadel.”

I sat, my heart was beating so hard it hurt, but my face stayed neutral.

"So, how was the meeting with Alpha Daniel?" His eyes were bright, almost glowing.

Controlling my hand from trembling, I slid the folder across the table.

"See for yourself."

Austin snapped it open like a kid with a gift. I watched his face as his eyes ran over the fake victory. His grin stretched wider with every line.

He had no idea that paper was dead already.

"This is it, Heather. You did it!”

He stood up so fast his chair scraped back.

He grabbed his phone and hit a speed dial.

"Beta Gus, spread the word. Tell the Elders that our pack is now in the party of the current monarch. Tell them that after my endless persuasion of His Majesty, I got his golden yes."

I picked up my fork, cutting through the meat on my plate so I did not stab him with it.

Endless persuasion?

While I went to Ironclaw, my sister was on his lap.

Austin paused and looked at me. "You don’t mind, right, since you went to the castle for me?"

I looked at the hypocritical man in front of me and felt my nails bite into my palms.

"Of course," I said. Rage crashed through me, burning hot over the memory of my father’s body and my dead pups.

I chewed my food and tasted nothing.

He kept talking, planning, already picturing the elders praising him, other Alphas shaking his hand, calling him brother, ally, visionary.

He didn't even see the way my grip on the fork whitened.

Dinner felt like it took years and five seconds at the same time.

When we finished, Austin wiped his mouth, his eyes still bright.

"The Elders called for a small celebration," he said, getting up. His beta appeared by the door like he had been waiting the entire time. "They want to drink at our new place with the king."

I looked up at him.

"Aren’t you going to invite me?" I asked.

He paused and gave me a quick, nervous smile.

"I want to, but I know you are tired. Please rest. I will be right back before you know it."

I forced a gentle look.

"Alright. Just don't drink too much."

He laughed, leaned down to kiss my hair, then walked out with his beta.

The moment their footsteps faded, I stood then hurried straight to Austin’s study.

The room still smelled of what he did earlier, but I ignored it and walked past the couch straight to his desk.

I had watched him type his passwords a hundred times, so I knew the exact words to enter.

At first it was nothing, then I found a folder tucked inside a system drive.

The footage loaded slowly. My eyes burned from staring, but I kept going.

Hours passed. The digital clock on the screen ticked closer to the time of the attack.

Right when I was about to give up and try again tomorrow, I clicked on the camera feed labeled STUDY_ROOM_INT.

My heart dropped when I saw my father on the screen.

There was blood on his mouth, and his shirt was soaked red. He was on his knees with his hands tied in the middle of the room, and even with his head bowed.

Austin had his hand wrapped around my father’s collar, dragging him across the floor. Olivia followed, fake tears running down her face.

I slapped a hand over my mouth.

On the screen, Olivia sobbed.

‘Thank you, Austin. If you didn't come, this old beast would have already violated me.’

Old beast? That was what he called to the man who gave her a home.

Austin’s face twisted.

‘No one hurts you. And I wanted to end this old man a long time ago so my step to the Alpha position would be faster.’

My father tried to speak, but Austin yanked him again.

Olivia sniffed, wiping at her dry eyes.

‘But I will not be your Luna. Not now that you found your mate, and she happens to be his daughter.’

My whole body was shaking as I watched Austin let my father’s body drop.

Then, like my father was nothing more than a broken log in his way, Austin stepped on his chest to walk over him.

He went straight to Olivia and pulled her into his arms.

‘Heather may be my mate and the future Luna of this pack, but you will be my woman.’

He bent his head and kissed her in this same room.

A sob ripped out of me, rough and ugly.

My wolf roared, her eyes glowed through mine.

I wanted to shift, find Austin wherever he was celebrating, and tear him apart in front of the Elders.

Curse the both of you!

I squeezed my eyes shut and forced air into my lungs. If I broke now, all of this would be wasted.

'Evidence. Use it! my wolf snarled.'

My hands were still shaking, but I forced them to move.

I copied the file and sent them to my private address.

On the screen, the video kept running.

"I'm so sorry, Father," I sobbed quietly. "I should have protected you. I miss you so much it hurts, and I want to kill them for turning every memory of you into a crime scene!"

My wolf pressed her nose against the inside of my ribs, mourning with me.

I had two weeks to gather proof and stop myself from tearing their throats out in the hallway.

I was done being the Luna who endured.