Tessa Frostmere POV

Across the heavy oak dining table of the Frostmere Cottage, Commander Garrick Frostmere patiently fed his injured wife, Lady Elira Frostmere, spoonfuls of broth before the obsidian communication mirror chimed with an incoming spirit-link.

Garrick tapped the glowing stone, his dark face cold. "Speak, Odran. You rarely seek out my line unless you want something you haven't earned."

Through the shimmering mirror, High Alpha Odran Thornwyck’s voice rasped with forced warmth. "Commander Frostmere, let us set aside old territory disputes. I call out of concern for your household. Word reaches my court that your younger brother travels alongside a low-ranking omega named Tessa Frostmere. Are you aware of her presence?"

Garrick set the silver spoon down, his jaw tight. "I am. What of it?"

"You cannot know her full history," Odran pressed, his tone rising with pious anger. "Tessa is an uneducated, destitute female who feeds off high-ranking male wolves. Years ago, she sank her claws into my grandson, Alpha Kaelen, chasing his status and silver. When she found wealthier males in the southern packs, she abandoned him without a second thought—"

"Grandpa, stop!" Alpha Kaelen Thornwyck’s deep, harsh command echoed in the background of the mirror link. "You do not speak her name to foreign lords!"

Odran ignored him, shouting into the stone. "I speak truth for the honor of our packs! I do not wish to see the Frostmere name dragged through the dirt by a scheming omega!"

Garrick let out a low, terrifying growl that rattled the bone utensils on the table. "My household manages its own affairs, High Alpha. If you call my hall again to slander my bloodline, I will take it as a declaration of border war."

He severed the link with a heavy snap of his claw.

Garrick’s eyes blazed as he looked at his wife. "How dare that old fool call me to slander my sister! Have they forgotten how Kaelen Thornwyck nearly destroyed Tessa three winters ago?"

Lady Elira sneered, her hand resting on her husband’s arm. "If Tessa hadn't begged us to let her handle the Thornwycks with her own hands, I would have sent our vanguard to burn the Alpha Keep to ash months ago."

Meanwhile, inside the stone walls of the Thornwyck Alpha Keep, High Alpha Odran slammed his heavy wooden staff onto the floor, his face flushed red.

"Kaelen! That omega brought utter disgrace upon my birthday banquet!" Odran roared. "If she does not drop to her knees, issue a public apology before the Silver Howl Heralds, and clear Vespera’s name, I will unleash the full weight of our pack laws against her!"

Kaelen stood near the hearth, his 5.8-foot frame cast in shadow. He slowly reached up, taking off his clear-lens glasses, folding them closed—one temple at a time—before sliding them into his dark leather coat. His golden eyes flared in the dim light. "I heard you, High Alpha."

By the next sunrise, the Moon Scroll Messengers carried a widespread projection across every territory crystal in the Silvermoon Dominion.

On the glowing screens, Vespera Nightthorne stood before the Silver Howl Heralds, tears streaming down her pale face, looking fragile and tormented.

"Tessa Frostmere has always harbored deep jealousy toward me," Vespera wept softly into the recording crystal. "During our years at the Silver Fang Academy of Elders, she forced her way into Alpha Kaelen’s presence, using her status as a pitiful omega to drain his pack tokens and tuition resources for three long winters."

"We believed she truly cared for Kaelen, so the pack allowed her to stay at his side," Vespera continued, her voice trembling with engineered sorrow. "But during her final year at the Academy, she was caught scent-marking a wealthy rogue male from the southern borders. When Kaelen suffered the agony of mate rejection, I stayed by his side, nursing his beast back to health. Through all those years, I asked for nothing."

"Now, Tessa returns with forged memory crystals to destroy my honor," Vespera cried out, pressing a hand to her chest. "She wants to break the bond between Kaelen and me because Kaelen is now the supreme Alpha of the Dominion! Tessa Frostmere, no matter how you slander me, my love for Kaelen will not break. We will complete our mating ritual and secure the bloodline. Please... stop hurting us."

Within hours, the Moon Scroll Messengers were flooded with enraged reactions from pack members across the Dominion.

“What a disgraceful, greedy omega! She should be stripped of her fur and exiled to the rogue lands!”

“A worthless omega trying to ruin a future Luna! Let the pack enforcement hunt her down!”

“She belongs in the subterranean dungeons of the Keep!”

Inside the Frostmere Cottage, Brynna Ashvale smashed her wooden goblet onto the table, her claws digging into the grain. "Tessa! Is High Alpha Odran completely blind?! Any mid-level elder with basic spirit-tracing could verify those memory crystals weren't forged! How can Kaelen sit by and let Vespera play the victim?!"

Tessa sat near the window, quietly sipping her herbal tea. Her dark skin glowed in the morning light, her lush, plus-size curves relaxed against the carved wooden chair. She scrolled through the glowing outrage on her personal communication stone with a small, amused smile.

"Let them howl, Brynna," Tessa said softly, her rich voice steady. "The higher they lift Vespera up, the harder her bones will break when she hits the stone."

"You aren't going to let them drag your name through the mud?!" Brynna demanded.

"I don't react until the trap is fully sprung," Tessa replied, setting her cup down. "Everything is moving exactly as I planned."

Over at the Thornwyck Alpha Keep, Vespera bowed her head gracefully before Lady Morwen Thornwyck. "Thank you, Aunt Morwen. If you hadn't ordered the Silver Howl Heralds to release that statement, I wouldn't have survived the elders' judgment."

"You are to be Kaelen's Luna, Vespera," Lady Morwen said smoothly, reaching into her silk robes to pull out a small, amber glass vial filled with a shimmering liquid. "But statement or not, if Kaelen refuses to mark you, the elders will eventually demand a blood test. Take this."

Vespera stared at the vial, her heart thumping. "What is it?"

"It is a concentrated heat-toxin derived from fire-lilies," Lady Morwen whispered, pressing the vial into Vespera's palm. "It forces an Alpha’s wolf into a blind, primal heat. It is how I secured my place in this Keep decades ago. Use it on Kaelen tonight."

Vespera’s fingers curled tightly around the glass. "I understand, Aunt Morwen. I won't fail."

Later that evening, Kaelen finished a tense negotiation with visiting pack delegates at the Silvermoon Feast Hall. As he stepped into the main dining chamber to clear his head, his golden eyes locked onto a small, breathtaking figure sitting alone at a secluded stone table.

It was Tessa.

She was eating rare spirit-venison with delicate, graceful movements, her lush, 4.5-foot frame wrapped in deep violet silk that accentuated her full hips and dark, radiant skin. She was completely unfazed by the public outrage, calmly watching a battle replay on her small crystal tablet while enjoying a meal that cost more than a high-ranking officer's monthly wage.

Kaelen felt a sudden, violent surge in his gut. His wolf clawed at his ribs, his cock throbbing thick against his leather trousers just from inhaling the sweet, warm honey scent wafting off her skin. The sheer contrast between her calm elegance and the chaotic slurs targeting her name online drove him insane.

He stood up, his heavy boots thudging against the stone floor as he strode straight to her table.

Tessa paused, her silver fork hovering in mid-air. She looked up, her dark eyes flashing with a cold, dazzling light as a sweet smile touched her lips. "Good evening, Alpha Kaelen."

Her voice hit his senses like a physical touch, making his chest heave.

"Are you truly Tessa Frostmere?" Kaelen growled, his voice deep and rough. Three years had completely transformed her. The quiet, timid omega he had once known was gone, replaced by a sovereign female who looked down on him as if he were dirt.

"Who else would I be, Alpha?" Tessa purred, taking another bite of venison. "People change when you leave them to die in the snow."

Kaelen’s jaw clenched so hard his teeth groaned. He reached out, his massive, calloused hand slamming down onto her wrist, gripping her tight enough to bruise. "Tell me what game you are playing! You destroyed my banquet, you released those crystals, and now you sit here acting like a queen! What do you want from me?!"

Tessa didn't scream. She didn't even flinch. She simply tilted her head, looking at his white-knuckled grip on her arm. "If you do not release my wrist in three seconds, Alpha, my brother's warriors will tear this hall apart."

"Answer me!" Kaelen snarled, leaning closer, his dark scent of pine and crushed iron invading her space.

Tessa let out a soft, mocking laugh. "If you want true answers, Kaelen, why don't you go home and ask Lady Morwen? Ask her why she was so desperate to swap your mate three years ago."

Kaelen’s golden eyes narrowed. "What does my stepmother have to do with this?"

"She introduced you to Vespera, didn't she?" Tessa sneered lightly, her dark gaze piercing right into his soul. "I exposed your sweet fiancee’s dirty past to help you see what kind of trash you're bringing into your bed. You should be thanking me, Kaelen."

Kaelen stood frozen, his mind racing.

Tessa pulled her wrist from his grip, standing up gracefully. Her dark, plump frame emanated an aura so powerful it commanded the entire room. "I came here for a quiet meal, but your presence has ruined my appetite."

She reached into her dark silk pouch, pulling out a small, metallic token stamped with the number 100, and slapped it hard against his broad chest.

"What is this?" Kaelen demanded, catching the token as it fell.

"That is your queue number, Alpha," Tessa whispered, stepping close to his ear, her warm, sweet breath causing his earlobe to flush deep red. "If you ever decide you want to crawl into my bed again, take that token and stand in line behind the other high lords. If you lose it... you don't get a turn."

Before Kaelen could react, Tessa flashed him a blinding, seductive smile and walked out of the hall, her full hips swaying with lethal confidence.

Kaelen stared down at the metal token in his palm, his claws extending until they drew blood from his own hand. He crushed the metal into a mangled ball, his inner wolf howling with pure, unadulterated lust and fury.

Before the night could end, a massive broadcast shattered the Dominion's communication network.

Cedran Frostmere—a world-renowned elder scholar and master of spirit-crystal verification whose word was absolute law across all wolf territories—released an official decree. He publicly verified that every single frame of Vespera Nightthorne’s graphic memory crystals was 100% authentic, staking his sacred bloodline status on the truth.

In a matter of minutes, the entire Silvermoon Dominion erupted.

“Merciful Goddess! The memory crystals are REAL!”

“Vespera Nightthorne lied to the entire Dominion! She’s a pure whore!”

“She framed Tessa Frostmere! The Thornwyck Keep is run by frauds!”

Inside the Golden Wolf Tavern, Roric Winterclaw poured a cup of spirit-ale, leaning toward Tavren Greymoor. "Who exactly is this Tessa Frostmere? Commander Garrick protects her, and now Master Cedran stakes his life for her?"

Tavren frowned deeply, sipping his drink. "Her surname is Frostmere. Could she be the long-lost youngest daughter of the Frostmere High Clan?"

Kaelen stepped into the tavern, his massive frame radiating lethal dark energy, his golden eyes locking onto the two lords. "Say that again."

Roric jumped up in surprise. "Kaelen! Where have you been? The whole Dominion is mocking your pack!"

Kaelen didn't answer. His heart was hammering against his ribs as he recalled Tessa’s regal posture, her luxury silk robes, and the absolute authority she carried.

Outside the tavern, Tessa and Brynna walked down the stone path, laughing under the moonlight.

"Master Cedran’s decree completely destroyed Vespera," Brynna cheered. "She won't be able to show her face in the Dominion for a hundred winters!"

"Vespera is just a pawn," Tessa said quietly, her dark eyes glittering with cold malice. "Lady Morwen and Odran are the real targets."

Suddenly, the crystal communicator in Tessa’s pocket buzzed violently with a secret, encrypted spirit-sigil—one that belonged to a shadow informant inside the Thornwyck Alpha Keep.

Tessa pressed the stone to her ear, listening to the hurried, panicked whisper on the other end.

"Lady Tessa... Lady Morwen just slipped a fire-lily heat toxin to Vespera. They are planning to drug Alpha Kaelen at tonight's mating feast... and they have set up a secret binding array under his bed."