I stood frozen in the hallway for what felt like hours. The words echoed in my mind, not even a question. Not even a moment's hesitation. Just an immediate decision to displace me for her comfort.

I packed my belongings in silence, each item a reminder of how little I had ever truly belonged in this house. Three years of trying to belong, reduced to so little.

The basement room was cold and damp, with stone walls that seemed to mock my new status in this house. I stared at the bare walls, wondering how I had fallen so far from the woman who once had a real room upstairs.

But there was one thing that still belonged to me - the picture frames lining the walls of our... Kai's house. Three years of memories captured in silver frames, moments when I had foolishly believed we were building something real together.

I climbed the stairs to find Sophia sitting at our kitchen table, my kitchen table, wearing one of Kai's oversized shirts. She looked perfectly at home, her long legs curled underneath her as she sipped coffee from my favorite mug.

"Hi, Elena," she said brightly, as if we were old friends having a pleasant chat. "I hope you are well. I know the basement can be a bit... rustic."

Kai emerged from the kitchen carrying a plate of perfectly scrambled eggs and fresh fruit. He set it down in front of Sophia with such gentle care that my heart clenched.

I couldn't bear to look at them anymore.

I walked slowly, my injured foot still throbbing from the glass incident. The main hallway was lined with our wedding photos, vacation pictures, and formal pack portraits. All of them showed me trying so hard to look like I belonged beside Kai, while he looked like he was enduring some unpleasant duty.

I started with the largest frame - our official mating ceremony portrait. As I lifted it from the wall, my hands shook with more than just the weight. The heavy frame slipped from my trembling fingers.

"Careful!" I gasped, trying to catch it, but my weak wolf reflexes failed me. The frame crashed to the marble floor, glass exploding in all directions.

I lunged forward, trying to save the photograph itself, but my foot landed wrong on the scattered glass. Sharp pain shot through my leg as I tumbled forward, my knee slamming hard against the broken frame. More glass embedded itself in my palms as I tried to break my fall.

Blood began pooling beneath me, mixing with the shattered glass and the torn photograph of what used to be my wedding day.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kai's voice boomed from the stairway.

I looked up at him through tears, my hands and knees bleeding, surrounded by the destroyed remnants of our fake happiness. "I was just... removing the pictures. I thought Sophia wouldn't want to see them."

Kai's face darkened with annoyance. "This is exactly why I need you to focus. Stop being clumsy and useless. We have the Alpha Council meeting tonight, and I need you to be prepared."

"Prepared for what?" I whispered, still sitting in the glass.

"You're my secretary for the evening. The other Alphas will expect to see some level of competence from my staff." He looked down at me with disgust. "Clean this mess up and get yourself together. The meeting starts in two hours."

I nodded, carefully pulling glass shards from my palms. "What should I wear?"

"Doesn't matter. Just look professional." He turned to leave, then paused. "Actually, Sophia will need your formal Luna dress. The one with the silver embroidery. She's attending as my plus-one."

My heart stopped. "My Luna dress?"

"It's the only one appropriate for a formal pack gathering. She can't attend in casual clothes." His tone suggested I was being unreasonable for even questioning it.

That dress had taken me six months to save for. It was the most beautiful thing I owned, custom-made with silver thread that caught the light like moonbeams. I had worn it to exactly three events, and each time I felt like I finally looked worthy of standing beside an Alpha.

"Of course," I managed to say. "I'll have it ready for her."

Kai nodded and walked away, leaving me bleeding alone in the hallway.

An hour later, I stood outside Sophia's door - my former room - holding the dress bag. She opened the door looking radiant, her hair already styled in elegant waves.

"Oh, Elena! You look..." She paused, taking in my bandaged hands and the simple black dress I'd chosen. "Well, you look like you tried. Is that my dress?"

My dress, I wanted to scream. Instead, I handed over the bag. "It should fit you perfectly."

She held it up against herself in the mirror. The silver embroidery caught the light, making her skin glow. On her tall, graceful frame, it looked like it had been made for her.

"It's gorgeous! I'll take such good care of it." She smiled at me with false sweetness. "You don't mind, do you? I know how much you love pretty things."

I shook my head, not trusting my voice.

Two hours later, we arrived at the Alpha Council meeting. The grand hall was filled with the most powerful wolves in the region. Five Alphas sat at the head table, their Lunas beside them in elegant gowns and glittering jewelry.

Kai strode in confidently, Sophia on his arm in my silver dress. She looked every inch the Luna she was pretending to be.

I followed behind them, invisible in my simple black dress.

"Alpha Kai," the Council Leader announced. "Please, take your seat at the head table."

Kai guided Sophia to the Luna's chair without hesitation. She settled into it gracefully, smiling at the other Lunas as if she belonged there.

I stood awkwardly near the back, unsure where I was supposed to sit.

"And your secretary can sit at the staff table," the Council Leader added, pointing to a small table in the corner where the other Alphas' assistants sat.

The staff table. Not even close to the main gathering.

As I walked toward my designated spot, I heard one of the Lunas whisper to Sophia, "What a lovely dress. The silver embroidery is exquisite."

"Thank you," Sophia replied smoothly. "It's a family heirloom."

Kai and Sophia took their seats while I stayed behind them, standing like a forgotten shadow.

The meeting began with formal introductions, but I could barely focus. A strange metallic taste was filling my mouth, and my hands had started trembling uncontrollably. The bandages on my palms were seeping through, dark red stains spreading across the white gauze.

I tried to ignore it, pulling out my notepad to record the meeting minutes. But when I lifted my pen, my vision blurred so severely that I couldn't make out the words on the page.

Then the scent hit me—something sharp and medicinal that made my wolf recoil in terror deep inside my chest.

My blood turned to ice.

Wolfsbane.

My blood turned to ice.

Wolfsbane.

The metallic taste flooded my mouth as panic shot through me. Someone had poisoned me.

I needed help but the pack hospital was too far away, but there had to be something in the building's medical supplies.

I pushed back from the staff table, my legs already feeling unsteady. The other assistants barely glanced at me as I stumbled toward the service corridors behind the main hall. My wolf, already so weak, whimpered and retreated deeper inside me as the poison spread through my system.

I needed to find medical supplies before the wolfsbane completely shut down my nervous system.

That's when I heard footsteps behind me.

"Elena? What are you doing back here?"

I turned to see Sophia approaching, still radiant in my silver dress. But something about her expression—the slight curve of her lips, the way her eyes glittered in the dim light made my blood run even colder.

"Sophia," I gasped, my throat already beginning to close. "I think someone put wolfsbane in something. I need help finding medical supplies—"

"Wolfsbane?" Her eyebrows raised in perfect surprise. "How terrible! Are you sure that's what it is?"

The way she said it, the complete lack of genuine concern in her voice, made everything click into place. The abandoned canapés I'd found near the back entrance. The bitter taste I'd ignored because I was so hungry. The convenient placement, as if they'd been left specifically for me to find.

"It was you," I whispered.

Sophia's mask of innocence melted away, replaced by cold satisfaction. "You always were too trusting, Elena. Did you really think I'd let you ruin my perfect evening forever? Tonight was supposed to be about me finally taking my rightful place beside Kai."

I tried to move past her, back toward the main hall where people could help me, but she stepped into my path. The hallway was narrow, and with my weakened state, I couldn't push past her.

" Please help me," I pleaded.

"Help you?" Sophia laughed, the sound echoing off the concrete walls. "Why would I do that? Do you know what Kai said to me tonight? He said he's tired of pretending to care about you. He wants to make me his Luna officially, but he needs you gone first."

I stumbled backward, looking for another way out, but we were in a dead-end corridor. Behind me was only a storage room marked "Medical Supplies - Authorized Personnel Only."

Sophia seemed to read my thoughts. "Go ahead," she said sweetly. "Check the storage room. Maybe you'll find something to help with your... condition."

With no other choice, I fumbled for the door handle. The room was small and dark, filled with cleaning supplies and basic first aid equipment. I searched desperately through the shelves, my hands shaking as I looked for anything that might counteract wolfsbane poisoning.

That's when I heard the door slam shut behind me.

"Sophia!" I spun around and grabbed the handle, but it wouldn't budge. She had locked it from the outside.

"You know what's funny?" Sophia's voice came through the door. "I've been planning this for months and there is no way out for you.”

My legs gave out, and I slid down the door to the floor. Each breath felt like swallowing glass, and my vision began to blur as the poison attacked my nervous system.

"Why?" I managed to ask.

"Because you've had everything that should have been mine!" she snarled through the door. "The Alpha position, the mate bond, the respect of the pack. Do you think I wanted to be the adopted daughter forever?"

"I'm going to do you a favor," Sophia continued, pulling out her phone.

"I'm calling security to report an intruder in the storage room. "No..." I managed to wheeze.

"Yes," she said, dialing. "Hello? Security? I need to report someone suspicious in the storage area behind the main kitchen. Please send someone immediately."

She hung up and smiled—I could hear it in her voice. "They'll think you're some desperate omega who snuck in to steal drugs. By the time they figure out who you really are, you'll be long gone from an 'accidental' overdose."

I tried to crawl toward the shelves, but my body was failing me. The wolfsbane covered every inch of my system, and each breath felt like drowning in reverse.

"Kai will be so relieved," Sophia whispered, crouching down beside the door. "He's been looking for an excuse to get rid of you for years. This way, he doesn't have to feel guilty about it."

Through my swollen eyes, I heard her moving something outside the door—placing a sign, from the sound of scraping metal.

"There," she said with satisfaction. "'Authorized Personnel Only - Investigation in Progress.' No one will think to disturb us now."

My wolf had gone completely silent, leaving me more human and vulnerable than I'd ever been.

When I finally heard voices outside the door, I couldn't even lift my head. Security officers were discussing the report, debating whether to investigate the "suspicious activity."

I tried to call out, but only a weak croak emerged from my damaged throat.

The door finally opened, and harsh light flooded in. A security guard stepped inside, took one look at me, and immediately called for medical assistance.

"Luna Elena?" His voice was shocked. "What happened to you?"

By the time the pack doctor arrived, I was barely conscious. They rushed me to the pack hospital, where I spent the next three days in intensive care, my body slowly recovering from the severe wolfsbane poisoning.

Kai never came to see me.

When I finally returned to the pack house, I found Sophia sitting at the kitchen table, wearing my bathrobe, reading a magazine as if nothing had happened.

"Oh, you're back," she said without looking up. "Kai was worried you'd caused some kind of scandal by disappearing like that. He asked me to tell you that he's reconsidering your living arrangements. The basement room might be too good for someone so... unreliable."

I stared at her, this woman who had literally tried to kill me, and felt something cold and final settle in my chest.

She looked up then, and for just a moment, I saw fear flicker in her eyes.

"Elena?" she said uncertainly.

I walked past her without a word, went down to the basement, and pulled out my phone.

Alpha Damon answered on the first ring.

"I'm ready," I said simply.

Alpha Damon answered on the first ring.

"I'm ready," I said simply.

His voice was sharp, immediate. "Elena, you're not playing games with me again, are you? After three years of silence, you're finally calling for real this time?"

"She tried to kill me," I whispered.

"I'm coming to get you tonight." His voice turned deadly serious. "Pack whatever you need. I'm done waiting."

"No, give me five days, I need to handle things properly here first."

He was quiet for a moment. "five days. Not a second longer. After that, I'm coming to take what should have been mine from the beginning."

After I hung up, I sat in the cold basement room, staring at the concrete walls that had become my prison. Through the thin ceiling, I could hear Sophia's laughter echoing from the kitchen above.

My kitchen. My house. My life—all stolen piece by piece.

The next morning, I climbed the basement stairs to find Sophia, wearing my silk pajamas. The ones Kai had given me last Christmas, still with the tags on them because he'd never bothered to learn my size.

They fit her perfectly.

"Kai left early for pack business. He asked me to give you a message." She said.

I stood there silently, my body still weak from the wolfsbane poisoning three days ago.

Sophia looked up, her eyes glittering with malicious joy. "He's suspending you from all pack duties until further notice. Apparently, your recent instability has made the other Alphas question your competence."

My stomach dropped. Pack duties were the only thing that had given my life meaning. The only way I contributed anything of value.

"He's also asked me to take over your responsibilities temporarily," she continued, standing up and smoothing down my silk pajamas. "Starting with tonight's Luna Circle meeting. I'll need your formal blue dress, the one with the gold trim."

That dress had been my mother's. The only thing of hers I had left.

"That dress doesn't belong to—"

"Kai specifically requested it," Sophia cut me off. "Unless you want to explain to him why you're being difficult about pack business?"

I closed my mouth. We both knew Kai would side with her.

"Good girl," Sophia smiled. "Oh, and one more thing. Kai thinks you need time to... reflect on your recent behavior. You're not to leave the house without his permission."

House arrest. In my own home.

"Sophia, know your place. I'm still Kai's mate. You're just the other woman—the adopted daughter who's stealing her sister's life."

My voice was steady, calm. "Push me too far and I'll call an emergency pack meeting. Let everyone know you tried to murder their Luna with wolfsbane."

Sophia's eyes flashed with rage, but before she could respond, heavy footsteps echoed from the stairway.

Kai was coming.

Immediately, Sophia's knees buckled and she dropped to the floor, her face crumpling into perfect victim mode.

"Elena, I'm sorry—I never should have come back! I'll leave today! I'd rather die than cause problems between you and Kai!"

Before I could even react, Sophia suddenly sprang to her feet and ran straight toward the stone pillar in our foyer.

Kai rushed down the stairs just in time to catch her, pulling her against his chest protectively.

"Sophia, I invited you here. If anyone has a problem with you, they have a problem with me!"

I watched him hold her, this woman who had tried to murder me, and felt my heart turn to ice.

Kai, still cradling Sophia, turned and barked coldly at me. "Elena, apologize to her!"

"I didn't do anything wrong. I have nothing to apologize for." I met his eyes steadily. "Kai, aren't you even curious where I've been for the past three days?"

"Did you—" he began, frowning.

I cut him off. "Aren't you wondering why I missed the board meeting?"

"I don't care where you were," he snapped. "But you don't get to attack Sophia! If you don't apologize right now, you're cut off from everything—until you admit you were wrong!"

In his eyes, isolation was the perfect punishment for someone already broken.

What he didn't know was that I had only worked so hard to support his career. To prove I was worthy of being his wife.

Seeing something shift in my expression, Desmond's jaw tightened slightly. But he still turned away, guiding Sophia toward the elevator.

Before leaving, he told Jackson, who had been standing by the door, "Keep her in the guest wing. No access to the main penthouse until she apologizes."

I watched his retreating figure, watching him console the woman who had sabotaged me while I nearly died alone.

For five days, I was essentially exiled in the guest wing of my own home.

Three times a day, Jackson would bring meals to my door and ask if I had "come to my senses."

I never answered—just kept staring out the floor-to-ceiling windows, counting down.

Two more days, and I would be gone forever.

Sitting on the guest bed, my phone buzzed constantly.

Messages from Sophia, each one more cruel than the last.

On the sixth day, as I prepared for my final night in this place, another message came through.

You couldn't win over his family, and you can't keep a man. With just one call from me, Desmond won't come home for a week.

And she was right.

For two full days, Desmond didn't return to the penthouse.

But Sophia sent me audio messages constantly.

Voice recordings of her laughing with Kai during private moments.

Photos of them sharing intimate meals in restaurants I'd always wanted to visit.

In the past, I would've fought back. Now, I felt hollow. A man that devoted was already lost to me.

On the fifth day, I still hadn't "come to my senses," and the staff still ignored my calls. I survived on coffee and spite alone.

That evening, as always, I walked through the estate grounds. Suddenly, a Doberman burst from the kennels and collided with me. Normally, I could've steadied myself—but weeks of stress had left me weak. My body crumpled like tissue.

I hit the concrete, agony tearing through my abdomen. Crimson spread across my dress. My vision blurred. I knew instantly.

Kai's mother had been demanding grandchildren. Eight weeks ago, during one of our last tender nights, we'd been careless.

Now, the fire in my stomach broullllght me to my knees. Gasping, I called out to the security team.

Jackson, the head of security, carried me to his vehicle in alarm, racing toward the medical center. But traffic barriers blocked every route.

"Mrs. Elena," Jackson said quietly, "tonight's Sophia's Fashion show premiere party. Mr. Kai closed all the main streets for the celebration. We... we can't reach the clinic."

While my life bled away, champagne toasts echoed from the mansion. All for Sophia.

With trembling hands, I pulled off my mating ring and hurled it as far as I could into the darkness.

I was done. With all of it.