Elara POV:

The Wolfsbane dragged me under, the sensation akin to wet sand filling my lungs and ears, muting the hum of the medical tower into a dull throb. The poison ran through my veins like ice water. For a werewolf, our inner wolf is our second soul. Normally, my White Wolf was a bright, warm fire inside me. Now, she was shivering, curled up in the dark, dying.

But the worst part was the silence. For three years, Kaelen's soul was always a hum in the back of my mind. Now, the connection was dead. It felt like someone had ripped out half of my heart and left a freezing hole.

Smack.

A sharp sting hit my cheek.

Smack.

My head was thrown to the side.

I slowly forced my heavy eyelids open. The bright medical lights blinded me. Selene was standing over me, her hand raised for another slap. Next to her stood a human doctor—one of several neutral practitioners contracted by the pack to avoid internal bias—holding a medical tablet.

"Get up, you miserable stray," Selene spat.

I tried to breathe, but my chest felt tight and heavy.

"Miss Selene," the human doctor said, his voice trembling. "Her vitals are crashing. She has a massive overdose of Wolfsbane in her system."

"She's faking it," Selene crossed her arms, rolling her eyes.

"We need to hook her up to the blood purifier immediately," the doctor insisted. "Or her organs will shut down."

"No," Selene ordered. "This Omega has been stealing our pack's resources for years by pretending to be sick. No more machines for her."

I tried to push myself up from the cold floor. My muscles shook violently.

"Please," I whispered, my throat dry and burning. "The rune array... turn it back on."

I reached blindly for the moonstones scattered on the floor. Suddenly, a tearing agony ripped across the back of my neck. The Binding Rune was starving. It needed the Alpha's aura to survive. Without Kaelen's energy, the magical scar was eating my own flesh to stay active. I screamed, clutching my neck. It felt like a wild animal was biting into my spine.

"Look at her neck!" the doctor gasped. "The rune is overheating! It is burning her skin! It will cause irreversible soul damage!"

"Good," Selene smiled coldly. "It is dark witchcraft anyway. Maybe I should just cut that ugly scar off her neck right now."

Bang. Bang. Bang.

A loud crashing sound came from the heavy silver doors. Someone was throwing their body against the metal.

"Open the door!" Silas's voice screamed from the hallway. His voice was raw and broken.

"Miss Selene, unlock the door!" Silas yelled. "My access has been revoked! The Sanctuary has sent twelve red-level howl alerts! The highest emergency!"

A red-level howl alert meant an Alpha had fallen.

"Alpha Kaelen has lost all connection!" Silas sobbed through the door. "We must restart the array! You are killing him!"

Selene's face twitched. She walked to the control panel by the door. She pressed her provisional Elder's ring against the scanner.

"System command," Selene said clearly. "Seal the penthouse. Lock out Silas and the entire rune medical team. Revoke their clearance."

The panel flashed green, and heavy metal bolts slammed into place, the metallic thud making her jaw slacken.

"No!" Silas pounded on the metal. "Selene, you stupid, arrogant girl! You are murdering the Alpha!"

"He is in a coma, Silas!" Selene shouted back. "He is safe in his medical pod!"

"You do not understand anything!" Silas roared, his voice filled with despair. "In the Alpha's life, this Omega is more important than you will ever be! She is his life!"

The room went completely silent.

Selene's gaze snagged on the heavy metal bolts, her shock turning into a dark, ugly rage. The idea that a low-ranking, stray Omega was more important than a pureblood Beta like her broke her pride.

The click of her heels preceded her approach. Her fingers dug mercilessly into my cheeks, forcing my jaw up. Before I could pull away, the suffocating weight of her high-beta aura pressed down on my chest, smelling faintly of bitter wine.

"More important than me?" she whispered. "You are nothing but a stray orphan."

"Miss Selene," the doctor warned, stepping back. "If you try to remove that rune by force, her soul will shatter. It is biologically impossible to survive."

"We will see about that," Selene stood up, wiping her hands on her dress. She looked down at me like I was a piece of trash.

"Tomorrow morning, I am calling a Pack Council," Selene announced. "A public trial. I will show everyone what a fraud you are."

She turned and marched toward the private elevator.

"Keep her locked in here without the stones," Selene told the doctor.

The elevator doors closed, leaving me on the freezing floor. The doctor looked at me with pity but did not dare to help. The Wolfsbane dragged me down again. I curled into a ball, holding my burning neck. I focused on the tiny, dying spark of my White Wolf inside me. I had to stay awake. If I completely surrendered to the dark, Kaelen would never come back.

And somewhere in the void between consciousness and oblivion, I felt him reaching for me—a golden thread so thin it was barely there, but still holding.

Elara POV:

The next morning came with no sunlight. I was strapped to a moving stone bed. Thick silver chains wrapped tightly around my wrists and ankles. The silver burned my skin, leaving black, smoking marks on my pale arms. Two large Warrior wolves pushed my bed into the Seventh Council Chamber.

The chamber was a massive, circular room built from dark stone. It looked like a gothic cathedral from the nineteenth century. The high seats were filled with the Elders and top Warriors of the Blood Moon Pack. But I noticed, with a sinking heart, that several senior Elders who had always supported the Alpha were absent—replaced by Iron Claw representatives wearing neutral expressions that did not reach their eyes. The air was heavy with the smell of old leather, sweat, and tension.

I was pushed to the center of the room, right under the bright magic lights. Selene stood at the front, wearing a formal black suit. She pointed a remote at a large magical screen on the wall.

"Take a good look at these financials," Selene's voice echoed off the vaulted ceiling. The screen showed lists of expenses.

"Every month, this Omega consumes five pounds of pure moonstones," Selene said loudly. "She uses the rarest healing potions from the Western Mountains."

The Elders murmured nervously, casting glances at the heavily armed Iron Claw mercenaries Selene had stationed at every exit. She had not taken the room hostage—she had simply made sure that anyone who might speak against her understood the cost.

"Why does an Omega get the Alpha's resources?" a Warrior muttered.

"It is a waste," another agreed.

They did not know the truth. The penthouse was a forbidden zone. Only Silas and Elder Kael knew the real secret of the Soul Tether.

An old Elder with a grey beard stood up.

"Selene, a public trial violates the ancient laws of the Moon Goddess," he said sternly. "Where is Elder Kael?"

"Elder Kael is visiting the borders," Selene lied smoothly. "My father's patrols reported rogue activity near the eastern pass. Elder Kael agreed to inspect the situation personally. He entrusted me to manage internal affairs in his absence."

The grey-bearded Elder's eyes narrowed. He opened his mouth to challenge her, but one of the Iron Claw mercenaries shifted his weight, the silver spear in his hand catching the light. The Elder closed his mouth and sat down.

Selene smiled. "As your future Luna, it is my duty to clean up the pack's internal rot. This girl is a rogue spy using black magic to drain our wealth."

She walked down the steps and stopped next to my bed. She slammed a thick piece of parchment onto my chest. It was a Confession of Heresy. It was filled with fake medical records and lies about black magic.

"Press your bloody thumbprint on this," Selene demanded. "Admit you are a thief."

I looked up at her. My vision was blurry from the Wolfsbane, but my mind was clear.

"No," I whispered. My voice was weak, but it carried in the silent room.

"If you cut this rune out," I took a shaky breath, "the Alpha... will die."

A loud burst of laughter erupted from the Warriors' benches.

"Did you hear that?" a Warrior mocked. "The Omega thinks she controls the Alpha's life!"

"She is delusional!"

They laughed because it sounded insane. In our world, an Alpha is a god. An Omega is dust.

Suddenly, a loud crash came from the back of the chamber. The heavy wooden doors burst open. Silas stood there, his clothes torn, his face covered in sweat and dirt. He was holding a large, glowing Soul Crystal in his hands. The crystal was flashing rapidly with a sickly grey light.

"Stop the trial!" Silas screamed.

Two guards immediately grabbed his arms, holding him back.

"The Alpha's soul has fractured three times in the last hour!" Silas yelled, fighting the guards. "The Sanctuary has started the highest level of soul-summoning! He is slipping away!"

Silas pointed a shaking finger at Selene.

"She poured Wolfsbane down the Omega's throat! That is attempted murder of our Alpha!" Silas roared.

The room fell into a shocked silence. Selene did not panic. She turned to the pack's law enforcers.

"Record Silas as a traitor," Selene ordered coldly. "He is an accomplice to this Omega's witchcraft. Lock him up."

The guards dragged Silas away. His screams echoed down the stone hallway until they faded.

Selene turned back to the crowd.

"I will prove to you all that this is a lie," Selene announced. She looked at the Chief Surgeon, an older wolf in a white coat standing nearby.

"Bring the silver knife," Selene commanded. "We will cut this fake rune out of her neck right now. In front of everyone."

The Chief Surgeon's face turned pale.

"Miss Selene," the surgeon stammered. "Her soul is unstable from the poison. Operating with silver violates every medical law. It is torture."

"Do it," Selene hissed, her voice low and dangerous. "Or by my authority as future Luna, I will have you and your entire bloodline exiled. You will be stripped of your wolf-form and cast into the barren lands, to live and die as nothing more than beasts."

The surgeon swallowed hard. His hands shook as he opened his medical kit. He pulled out a small, curved scalpel made of pure, shining silver. He walked slowly toward my bed. The bright lights above me felt like the sun. I closed my eyes, waiting for the end.

But somewhere deep in my chest, my White Wolf lifted her head and snarled. We were not done yet.