I never meant to eavesdrop.

My fingers traced the familiar path to Marshall's office, intending to surprise him with lunch. The door was slightly ajar—unusual for my security-conscious Alpha mate—and voices drifted through the gap.

"The wolfsbane dosage is working perfectly," Beta Roberto's voice carried clearly. "Her wolf is too weak to conceive now."

I froze, my hand hovering over the doorknob. Wolfsbane? The supplements Marshall had been insisting I take every morning?

"And Kiara?" Marshall's deep voice responded, the one that once made my heart flutter but now sent ice through my veins.

"Healthy as can be. The healer confirmed it this morning—she's carrying strong."

My knees buckled. I caught myself against the wall, my breath coming in short gasps. The supplements. The ones he'd kissed into my palm each morning, whispering about our future pups, about strengthening our mate bond.

"She doesn't suspect anything?" Roberto asked.

"Elyse trusts me completely." Marshall's tone held a note of satisfaction that twisted like a knife in my chest. "She believes they're fertility enhancers."

The floor seemed to tilt beneath my feet. My wolf, Silver, whimpered inside me, a sound so weak I almost missed it. She'd been growing quieter for months, I realized. I'd thought it was normal—that our bond was settling into comfortable maturity.

Instead, he'd been poisoning us both.

I don't know what possessed me to push the door open. Perhaps some remnant of the Luna I'd once been—before the weakness, before the doubts that Marshall had so carefully cultivated.

They both looked up, startled. Roberto recovered first, his expression smoothing into practiced neutrality.

"Luna Elyse," he said, inclining his head. "We were just discussing pack business."

"Get out," I whispered, my eyes fixed on Marshall.

Roberto hesitated, looking to his Alpha.

"Leave us," Marshall commanded, his voice carrying that edge of authority that had once made me feel protected. Now it just made me sick.

When the door closed behind Roberto, silence stretched between us. Marshall leaned back in his chair, studying me with those amber eyes I'd once found so captivating.

"You heard," he stated simply.

"The wolfsbane," I said, my voice stronger than I expected. "You've been poisoning me."

Marshall stood, moving around his desk with that fluid grace that still made my treacherous heart skip. "It was necessary."

"Necessary?" The word tasted bitter.

"Kiara is carrying my heir," he said, as if discussing the weather. "My chosen mate from before the Moon Goddess interfered with her little 'fated pair' nonsense."

The room spun around me. "Chosen mate?"

"We were promised to each other since childhood," Marshall continued, his expression almost bored. "Then you came along, and suddenly I had this... obligation." He gestured dismissively toward me. "But Kiara deserves to be the mother of the pack's future Alpha. Not my inconvenient fated mate."

Silver howled inside me, a sound of such anguish that I physically staggered. Then silence—a void where her presence had always been.

"Your Luna ceremonies," I whispered, remembering the elaborate rituals we'd performed before the pack. "Were they—"

"Fakes," Marshall confirmed with a cruel smile. "For show. Kiara and I have been performing the real ones in private."

Every memory flashed before my eyes—the marking ceremonies, the bond rituals, the promises whispered under moonlight. All lies.

"You marked me," I said, my fingers going to my neck where his teeth had claimed me. "The mate bond—"

"Is inconvenient," Marshall finished. "But useful for appearances. The pack needs to believe they have a proper Alpha pair."

Silver didn't respond when I called to her. The space inside me where her spirit had always burned bright felt hollow, empty.

"She's gone," I whispered.

Marshall frowned slightly. "Who?"

"My wolf," I said, tears streaming down my face. "Silver's gone."

He shrugged, turning back to his desk. "Collateral damage."

Collateral damage. Three words that shattered everything I thought I knew about love, about fate, about the sacred bond that was supposed to last a lifetime.

The Moon Goddess had blessed me with a mate who saw me as nothing but an obstacle to his true happiness. Who had systematically destroyed the very essence of what made me a wolf.

I stood there, empty and hollow, as Marshall dismissed me with a wave of his hand.

"Elyse," he said, not bothering to look up from his papers, "don't make this difficult. You're still useful as my public Luna."

But Silver was gone. And without her, I wasn't sure who I was anymore.

I woke to the sound of unfamiliar footsteps in the hallway outside our bedroom. Our bedroom—though it hadn't felt like mine for weeks now. Silver remained silent within me, a hollowness where her presence should have been.

The door swung open without a knock. Kiara stood in the doorway, her auburn hair cascading over her shoulders, wearing one of Marshall's shirts that hung loosely over her slender frame.

"Good morning, Elyse," she said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "I hope you don't mind that I had my things moved in yesterday."

I sat up slowly, my body still weak from the wolfsbane. "This is my room."

"For now." Kiara smiled, running her fingers along the dresser that held my few remaining possessions. "Marshall thought it would be best if I stayed closer to him. For the baby's sake."

The baby. The heir she carried while I had been poisoned to prevent the same.

"I need you to clear out the east wing guest room," she continued, tossing a set of sheets at me. "Marshall's mother is arriving tomorrow, and she'll need proper accommodations."

I stared at the sheets in my lap. "I'm still Luna."

Kiara laughed, the sound like breaking glass. "Are you? Marshall says otherwise."

She left me sitting there, clutching the linens like a servant. When I finally made my way to the east wing, I found Beta Roberto directing pack members to move Kiara's belongings into the Luna suite—my suite.

"Roberto," I said quietly. "What's happening?"

He wouldn't meet my eyes. "Alpha's orders, Luna."

"Stop calling me that," I whispered.

Later that day, I found Dr. Marcus Reed waiting for me in the small garden behind the pack house. His face was grim, his healer's bag clutched tightly in his hands.

"Luna Elyse," he said, glancing around to ensure we were alone. "I need to examine you."

"Why?" I asked, though I already knew.

"The supplements," he said, his voice barely audible. "I've been analyzing them."

He led me to his private office, locked the door, and motioned for me to sit on the examination table.

"The wolfsbane concentration is increasing," he said after checking my pulse and blood pressure. "Your wolf—"

"Is dying," I finished for him.

Dr. Reed nodded grimly. "If you continue taking these supplements, your connection to Silver will be permanently severed. And..." he hesitated, "the poison could eventually kill you."

I stared at my hands. They looked normal, but inside me was a wasteland where Silver should be singing.

"There must be something we can do," Dr. Reed said, his healer's instincts kicking in. "I need to tell Alpha Marshall—"

"No," I said quickly. "He knows."

Dr. Reed's expression shifted from confusion to horror. "He knows?"

I nodded.

"I need to report this to the Council," he insisted, reaching for his phone.

The door burst open. Marshall stood there, his amber eyes cold.

"Dr. Reed," he said, his voice deceptively calm. "I believe your services are needed elsewhere."

"But Alpha, Luna Elyse is being poisoned—"

"Enough." Marshall's Alpha tone filled the room. "You're dismissed. And if you speak of this again, I'll have you banished."

Dr. Reed looked at me, desperation in his eyes. I turned away.

That evening, Marshall called a pack meeting. I stood beside him, the perfect picture of a Luna, though we both knew the truth.

Kiara stepped forward, her hand resting protectively over her stomach.

"I have wonderful news," she announced, her eyes finding mine in the crowd. "I'm carrying Alpha Marshall's heir."

Gasps and murmurs rippled through the assembled pack members. I felt their eyes on me, some pitying, others gleeful at my humiliation.

Marshall placed his arm around Kiara's shoulders. "Once our mate bond is properly dissolved," he said, looking directly at me, "Kiara will take her rightful place as Luna."

Inside me, Silver retreated further into silence. I could feel her fading, a star dying in the darkness.

As the pack erupted in applause, I stood frozen, watching as my world collapsed around me. Marshall didn't even look at me as he guided Kiara through the crowd, accepting congratulations.

Beta Roberto approached me, his face a mask of formal courtesy.

"Luna Elyse," he said, loud enough for nearby pack members to hear. "Alpha Marshall requests that you begin preparing for the dissolution ceremony."

The pack members around us fell silent, their expressions a mixture of pity and disdain.

"Yes," I whispered, though no one was listening anymore. "Of course."

Silver didn't respond. She was too far gone now, retreating to a place where even I couldn't reach her. And without her, I wasn't sure how much longer I could survive in this pack—or anywhere else.

I waited until the pack house fell silent before slipping from my room. Three days had passed since Marshall's public humiliation of me, three days of pretending to accept my fate while Silver retreated further into the recesses of my mind. The wolfsbane was working—I could feel her fading with each passing hour.

My fingers trembled as I gathered the few belongings I could call my own. A small bag with clothes, a photograph of my parents, and the silver pendant my grandmother had given me before she died. "For strength when you need it most," she'd whispered.

I needed it now.

The hallway stretched before me, moonlight filtering through the windows. If I could reach the eastern border, there was a path that led to the neighboring territory. Maybe there, I could find help—someone who could reverse what Marshall had done to me.

"Going somewhere, Luna?"

I froze at Beta Roberto's voice. He stood at the end of the corridor, flanked by two warriors whose faces I recognized but whose names I'd never bothered to learn.

"I need some air," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

Roberto's eyes flicked to my bag. "With all your possessions?"

Two more warriors appeared behind me. I was trapped.

"Alpha Marshall anticipated your attempt to leave," Roberto said, stepping closer. "He's ordered you be returned to your quarters. For your protection, of course."

"Protection," I echoed hollowly.

"He worries about you, Luna," one of the warriors said, not meeting my eyes.

I didn't resist as they escorted me back to my room—the small guest room I'd been relegated to while Kiara took my place in the Luna suite. Roberto stood watch outside my door as another warrior locked it from the outside.

"Your morning supplement is on the nightstand," Roberto informed me through the door. "Alpha Marshall insists you take it promptly at dawn."

Of course he did. The wolfsbane that was killing Silver, delivered with the same tenderness he'd once shown when giving me real supplements.

* * *

"The entire pack will participate in training exercises today," Marshall announced at breakfast, his eyes sweeping across the dining hall. "Including you, Elyse."

I looked up from my untouched plate. "I'm not feeling well."

"This isn't a request." His voice carried that edge of Alpha command that made my bones ache.

Kiara sat beside him, her hand possessively on his arm. "Everyone must contribute to pack defense," she said sweetly. "Even... former Lunas."

The training field was a flat expanse of land just beyond the pack house. Warriors demonstrated combat techniques while younger wolves practiced shifting and pack formations. I stood apart, my body heavy with exhaustion.

"Elyse!" Delta James called. "You're with Group Three for patrol simulation."

Patrol simulation meant moving through the forest in formation, practicing defensive maneuvers against potential threats. Normally, Silver would have been eager for the exercise. Now, I could barely feel her presence.

We'd barely reached the tree line when the first rogue appeared. Then another. And another.

"They're everywhere," someone shouted.

The rogues moved with coordinated precision that seemed rehearsed. They bypassed stronger groups, converging on my location with frightening purpose.

"Shift!" James yelled at me as a massive rogue lunged.

I reached for Silver, desperate for her strength. She responded weakly, my body beginning the painful transformation—but stopping halfway. My limbs caught between human and wolf, vulnerable and defenseless.

Pain exploded across my back as claws tore through my flesh. I fell forward, tasting blood and dirt.

"Elyse!" James's voice seemed distant as he fought off two rogues.

More claws found me—my legs, my sides, my arms. I tried to shift again, but Silver was too weak, too damaged by months of wolfsbane.

Through a haze of pain, I saw Marshall burst into the clearing, his massive wolf form cutting through the rogues like a blade. Relief flooded through me—he'd come for me.

But he didn't even look my way.

Instead, he charged toward the far end of the field where Kiara stood frozen in mock terror. One rogue had cornered her, though he made no move to attack.

Marshall's massive jaws closed around the rogue's throat, ending him instantly. Then he positioned himself protectively before Kiara, ignoring the rest of the battle.

"Elyse needs help!" someone shouted.

Marshall didn't turn. Instead, he gently nudged Kiara with his muzzle, guiding her toward safety while my blood soaked into the forest floor.

I watched through blurring vision as he carried her to safety, her arms wrapped around his wolf neck, her face pressed against his fur.

Not once did he look back at me.

Silver's presence flickered within me, a candle in a storm. As darkness closed in around my vision, I heard her whisper one last time.

*Hold on.*

But I wasn't sure how much longer either of us could.