Janine's POV

I didn’t lift my eyes from the page when I answered him. “Nothing is wrong.”

“Is this about seeing Avery and me at the healer’s wing today?” he pressed. “I’ve already explained more than once that—”

I cut him off before he could pour out another rehearsed lie. “I told you I’m fine. You and my sister are close—best friends, soulmates, whatever you want to call it. It doesn’t concern me anymore. So if you don’t mind, I’d like to finish this chapter. It’s finally getting good.”

His jaw tightened, irritation flaring in his amber eyes. Without another word, he rose and stalked into the bathroom, the door clicking shut behind him.

I slid off the bed and headed for the kitchen, my wolf pacing restlessly inside my chest. Once there, I leaned against the counter, drawing in slow breaths to keep myself from breaking apart.

Heavy footsteps approached behind me.

“You’ve been off all day, Janine,” Lester said sharply. “If you’ve got something to say, say it.”

I turned around with deliberate calm. “I already did. I’m fine. You don’t need to babysit me. Why don’t you go worry about Avery and her pup instead?”

The air shifted instantly. His eyes darkened. “What is that supposed to imply?”

I shrugged lightly, pushing away from the counter. “Only that you seem far more invested in her well-being than mine.”

His temper snapped like a frayed leash. “You’re doing it again! She’s your sister, for the Moon’s sake. Stop acting like a jealous little cub—”

“I’m not jealous,” I said with a hollow laugh. “You two are perfect for each other.”

“Enough!” he snarled.

His hand lashed out. I was thrown backward, my spine slamming into the edge of the counter so hard I saw sparks. The breath was ripped from my lungs, and I crumpled to the floor, my belly striking the tiles with a sickening thud.

“I’ve got pack business tonight,” he muttered coldly. “Don’t wait up.”

The front door crashed shut, leaving the manor echoing with silence.

Pain radiated through my abdomen as I lay there, shock slowly giving way to terror. My hands slid to my stomach, and when I felt the warmth soaking through my clothes, I knew.

Blood.

“No… please, no…” I sobbed, struggling to sit up as the room swam. My fingers fumbled for my phone, dialing his number through tears.

It rang.

Once.

Twice.

Finally, he answered.

“R-Lester—”

“Call me again when you’re done acting like a brat,” he snapped, then cut the line.

I stared at the dark screen in disbelief. I tried again. His phone was already off.

The pain sharpened, ripping through me. I screamed and dialed emergency services with trembling hands. I couldn’t lose another child. I wouldn’t.

As darkness crept in at the edges of my vision, a single thought burned through me:

If this baby dies, Lester will suffer twice as much.

Then everything went black.

—

When I opened my eyes, harsh white lights glared down at me. The scent of antiseptic filled the air. A healer stood beside the bed, her expression gentle but heavy.

“Ms. Blackward, you’re awake.”

Fragments rushed back—the shove, the fall, the blood.

“My baby…” I whispered, panic clawing at my chest.

Her face softened, and she took my hand. “I’m very sorry. You miscarried.”

The scream that tore from me was animal, raw, echoing down the sterile hallways. My heart splintered into nothing. Tommy was gone. Now this child too. Both stolen from me by the same man.

I cried until my throat burned and my eyes were swollen shut, until even my wolf lay curled in silent agony. I stared blankly at the ceiling afterward, wishing the Moon Goddess had taken me instead.

The door creaked open.

“Janine.”

The voice was deep, cool, unfamiliar in this room of grief.

I forced my eyes open and found Killian Romano standing there—Avery’s mate—his steel-gray gaze unreadable.

I said nothing. I had no strength left for words.

He moved closer and took the chair beside my bed. “I heard what happened. I’m sorry.”

His presence only reminded me of her—of everything I’d lost. I turned my face away.

“Avery isn’t here,” I said hoarsely.

His eyes hardened. “I didn’t come for that cheating bitch.”

I stared at him in shock. “You know?”

He nodded once. “Since last week.”

“And me?” I asked.

“Just a few days,” I answered quietly.

“That’s why I’m here,” he said, his gaze drilling into mine.

“For what?” I asked, a spark of curiosity piercing the fog of grief.

He leaned forward slightly. “To make you an offer.”

“What kind?”

His lips curved into a cold, dangerous smile. “Tell me, Luna… how would you feel about revenge?”

Janine's POV

“Revenge?” The word slipped from my lips as my pulse thundered through my ears.

Killian eased himself into the chair beside my bed, the silver-gray of his wolfish eyes sharpened into something cold and lethal.

“Exactly that,” he replied quietly. “Think about it, Janine. The two people who swore loyalty to you carved your heart out. Why should they walk away untouched?”

Something fierce stirred in me, a dark spark I hadn’t felt since the night Tommy was taken from me. This wasn’t despair—it was hunger. The kind that demanded blood.

Ignoring the ache still coiled through my body, I pushed myself upright. “So you want to make Avery pay,” I said slowly.

His lips curved, but there was no warmth there. “I gave her everything I had. She trampled it into the dirt. So yes, I want her to suffer. She may share your blood, but—”

“That doesn’t matter,” I cut in flatly. “Why come to me?”

A predatory gleam lit his gaze. “Because I don’t like winning alone. You’re essential to what I have planned.”

I folded my arms across my chest. “Then stop dancing around it. What’s your plan?”

“Become my mate,” Killian said, as casually as if he were asking me to share a drink.

—

Once I was discharged, I hailed a cab back to the pack manor. I checked my phone with a humorless smile—no missed calls, no messages, not even a token inquiry from Lester. Two days in the infirmary, and I might as well have vanished from the world.

My thoughts replayed Killian’s outrageous proposal. It was madness. I wanted revenge, yes—but not another hollow bond built on convenience and lies. I had turned him down immediately, even when he slipped me his number “just in case.”

There would be no case.

At least, that’s what I’d told myself.

Lester’s car wasn’t in the driveway when I arrived, but Avery’s sleek silver sedan was. That alone told me why my absence had gone unnoticed.

The manor door creaked open, and I froze as faint sounds drifted down the hall. My wolf bristled. I followed the noise toward the master chamber—our chamber, the place where I had once believed in forever.

The door was ajar.

What I saw inside shattered whatever restraint I had left.

Lester had Avery pressed against the bed, their attention so fully tangled in each other that they never sensed me. Clothes lay strewn across the floor like evidence at a crime scene.

I had always known they were crossing lines. But witnessing it—seeing how naturally they fit together—was a different kind of wound.

Tears burned behind my eyes as their voices reached me.

“I’ve missed you more than I can say,” Lester murmured.

Avery laughed softly. “Is that because your Luna isn’t enough for you?”

“She never was,” he breathed. “Once I claim my father’s Alpha seat, I’ll give you everything.”

That was the moment everything hollowed out inside me. The grief that had been gnawing at my heart didn’t disappear—it simply went numb, replaced by something sharper, colder, and far more lethal. My wolf, silent until then, rose to her feet within my soul, eyes burning with the same resolve settling into my bones.

I lifted my phone with hands that no longer shook. One picture. Then another. And another. Proof framed in silent flashes. When I was done, I didn’t confront them. I didn’t scream or cry. I just slipped back into the hallway, plucked Lester’s car keys from the console table like I’d done a thousand times before, and walked out of the house that had once been my sanctuary.

Behind the steering wheel, I let myself look at the images only once, just long enough to feel the betrayal solidify into resolve. Then I opened my messages and typed four words to Killian.

I accept your offer.

His response came before I could even lock the screen, the vibration in my palm almost mocking how ready he had been for this.

Killian: Good. This is where the real game begins.

I leaned my head back against the seat, a broken laugh slipping out. It felt like I had just bargained with a demon—but demons were exactly what I needed.

I drove straight to the law firm Killian had mentioned earlier.

The receptionist looked up with a polite pack-trained smile. “Good afternoon. How may I help you?”

“I’m here to see Jonathan Hayes,” I said evenly. “Killian Romano sent me.”

Recognition flickered across her face. “One moment, please.”

Minutes later, I was ushered into a sleek office where a tall man rose to greet me.

“Ms. Blackward,” he said, extending his hand. “I’m Jonathan Hayes. Please, sit. What brings you here today?”

I met his gaze without flinching.

“I want to sever my bond to Lester Campbell.”

Janine's POV

I had barely pulled into the driveway when Lester burst out of the manor, eyes wild, scanning the grounds like a wolf that had lost the trail. His gaze landed on his car—parked neatly where he’d left it—and then on me. Relief flickered across his face, quickly smothered beneath a clumsy smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“Janine!” he called, hurrying over. “Where did you go? I was starting to panic.”

Panic. Right. I nearly laughed at the absurdity of it.

I offered him a gentle smile. “I was out buying something special for our anniversary celebration next week.”

He blinked like he’d been slapped. “Our… celebration?”

I tilted my head innocently. “Yes. For our anniversary. You do remember that, don’t you?” My tone was light, but I held his gaze, daring him to admit the truth.

He cleared his throat, fingers raking through his hair. “Of course I remember. How could I forget something like that?” He gave a hollow chuckle. “Work’s just been overwhelming lately, that’s all.”

A lie as thin as ash.

“Well, I wanted to keep it a surprise,” I replied. “So you’ll have to be patient.”

He smiled stiffly. “I can’t wait. You shouldn’t have gone alone, though. You could’ve called me.”

“It’s fine,” I said quietly. “You’ve been so busy, I didn’t want to disturb you.”

Guilt shimmered briefly in his eyes as he leaned in to brush a kiss over my cheek. It felt empty, like touching a stranger. “I’m glad you’re back.”

“Me too,” I lied, slipping past him into the house.

Behind me, he exhaled heavily—relieved that I hadn’t caught him with Avery earlier when I’d taken his car. If only he knew.

Upstairs, I entered the master chamber, my stomach twisting at the memory of what had happened there. The door creaked again, and I turned, expecting Lester.

It was Avery instead.

She lounged against the frame, lips curved in a smug little smile, eyes glittering with malice.

“You saw us,” she said lightly.

I kept my face smooth. “I don’t know what you mean.”

She pushed off the door and sauntered inside. “Don’t insult me. I watched you watching us.”

Silence was my only reply.

Her smile widened. “You should’ve stayed. Maybe you’d have picked up a few tricks.”

I shrugged. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to sleep. I think Lester’s downstairs waiting for you.”

That wasn’t what she’d expected. Her grin wavered, then returned sharper than before. “Fine. I’ll go finish what we started. You’re welcome to observe.”

She left, heels clicking down the hall.

I pulled out my phone and typed to Killian.

Phase one completed. Prepare yourself.

His response came back with a heart emoji.

—

For the next two days, Lester barely left my side. He hovered like a nervous guard wolf, making it nearly impossible to put the rest of my plans in motion. His instincts must’ve sensed the shift in me, though I wore my mask of calm perfectly.

I finally snapped and sent Avery a message.

Looks like Lester’s forgotten about you. He hasn’t stepped away from me once. Keep fooling yourself—he belongs to me.

Within minutes, Lester’s phone lit up with her calls and messages. He ignored them all—until he couldn’t.

When he returned, his face was grave.

“My love,” he began gently, “a sudden pack summit just came up. I have to leave tonight. It’ll take three days.”

I feigned disappointment. “But our celebration is in four days.”

“I know,” he said, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “I swear I’ll be back in time.”

Inside, I was almost giddy. Three days. Exactly what I needed.

—

Those three days disappeared like smoke on the wind, each hour devoured by frantic preparation. I barely slept, moving through the manor like a restless shadow, gathering documents, arranging transfers, double-checking every detail of the escape I had been planning for so long. And whenever doubt crept in—whenever my heart tried to soften, whispering memories of the mate I once loved—Avery would, almost on cue, send me another picture.

A photo of her curled against Lester on a hotel balcony under a foreign moon.

A shot of their hands entwined, her engagement ring from Killian replaced by the mark of my husband’s bite.

A blurry image of their silhouettes on rumpled sheets.

She thought she was breaking me.

Instead, every single image carved my resolve deeper into stone. I archived them carefully, labeling each one, building the evidence that would bury them both.

Then the day arrived—the anniversary of the bond I once believed was sacred. The same day Lester was meant to return home.

I stood alone in the living room, the manor eerily quiet, and typed one final message.

Happy anniversary. Your gift is waiting on the table.

I set the divorce documents down beside the photos—mine and hers—then blocked both their numbers.

With a suitcase in hand, I stepped outside. Killian was already there, watching me with a knowing smirk.

“Ready?” he asked.

I took his hand.

A private jet waited on the tarmac, engines humming like restrained thunder. Questions fluttered through my mind—about his wealth, his reach—but I was too drained to care.

As the plane began to move, Killian sent an email to every major pack news channel.

And just like that, the hunt began.