Ivy POV

The concrete hallway of the Omega Quarters smelled like damp mold and forgotten wolves. I hated it here. I hated that Elara, my best friend, was forced to live in this depressing shoebox while her sister paraded around in luxury.

I pounded my fist against the peeling paint of her door. "Elara! Open up!"

No answer. My inner wolf, a fiery red she-wolf, clawed frantically at my mind. Because Elara was wolfless, I couldn't just reach out to her through the Mind-Link. I had been calling her cheap cell phone all night, only to be met with voicemail.

I pressed my nose to the doorframe, inhaling deeply. Her faint scent—usually a soft, barely-there jasmine—was soured with the pungent, suffocating stench of absolute despair.

I didn't hesitate. Channeling my Warrior strength, I kicked the door right off its hinges.

The wood splintered with a loud crack. "Elara!"

She was curled on the bed, a shivering, broken doll wrapped in a thin blanket. The room was a mess, but I only had eyes for her. I rushed to her side, pulling the covers back. When I brushed her tangled hair away from her face, my blood turned to ice.

A massive, dark purple handprint marred her pale cheek. Lingering over her skin was the heavy, aggressive scent of an Alpha.

"Tell. Me. Who. Did. This." I growled, every syllable dripping with lethal intent.

She flinched, fresh tears spilling over her bruised cheek. She squeezed her eyes shut, her voice entirely hollow. "Rhys."

"That son of a bitch!" I roared, my claws instinctively elongating, tearing into the fabric of her mattress. "Because of Cadence? That venomous viper!" I spun toward the door, my Warrior instincts fully overriding my rational thought. "I'm going to rip his throat out!"

"No, Ivy, please!" Elara scrambled off the bed, her weak hands gripping my legs with surprising desperation. "Don't fight the Morrison Pack for me. Please. You'll get hurt."

I looked down at her, trembling on the floor. But then, she lifted her chin. Her eyes, usually so submissive, flashed with a spark of pure defiance. "I will not be his Mate! I will reject him!"

The dam broke. She didn't just cry about the slap; she poured out years of silent, agonizing torture. She told me how Rhys had publicly humiliated her at the Elders' Gathering, mocking her wolfless status when she stumbled over a sacred Moon Goddess prayer. She sobbed about the healing salve she’d spent weeks making for his inner wolf, only for him to throw it into the fire, sneering that Alpha power came from blood, not Omega tricks. She even confessed the truth about the Alpha's Feast—how he forced her to eat the raw stag's heart meant only for shifted wolves, laughing when her fragile human stomach violently rejected it in front of his allies.

My heart ached so fiercely I could barely breathe. "Did you tell your parents?" I demanded, kneeling to grip her shoulders. "You told your mother what he did last night?"

Elara let out a broken, humorless laugh. "She called me. She... ordered me to apologize to him, or I'd be a Rogue."

A red haze descended over my vision. "Of course!" I spat, disgusted to my very core. "They'd probably hand Cadence a silver dagger to finish the job if it meant securing the alliance! They don't see a daughter, Elara, they see a commodity!"

Elara flinched, but she didn't argue. The harsh truth settled in her eyes, finally extinguishing the last pathetic ember of hope she held for her family.

I pulled her up from the floor, my mind made up. I wasn't going to let her rot in this dark room, drowning in the scent of her own misery.

"You're done crying over them," I declared, marching straight toward her tiny closet and throwing the doors open. "If you're going to reject a future Alpha, you're not doing it looking like a victim. Get up, Elara. We are going out."

Elara POV

"Take this off," Ivy ordered, tossing a scrap of crimson silk onto my bed.

Ten minutes later, I was shivering in the dress, desperately pulling my heavy, oversized wool coat tightly around my shoulders. Because I was wolfless, I lacked the naturally high body temperature that kept shifted wolves warm. The night air biting through my window felt like ice against my bruised skin.

Ivy planted her hands on her hips, her eyes flashing with frustration. "You look like you're attending your own funeral, Elara. Take the coat off."

"At least I won't end up in the pack infirmary with hypothermia," I muttered, wrapping my arms around myself. It wasn't just the cold; the coat was my armor. I felt entirely too exposed, too raw.

Ivy rolled her eyes, letting out a heavy sigh. "Fine. But we are leaving this depressing shoebox right now."

*The Crimson Fang* was a high-end club in neutral territory, a playground for the elite of various packs. The moment we stepped inside, the heavy bass vibrated in my chest, but it was the overwhelming wall of scents that made me nauseous. The air was thick with the aggressive, territorial pheromones of Alphas, Betas, and Gammas.

Ivy immediately went into hunter mode, her Warrior senses scanning the dimly lit room. "See the guy at the bar?" she shouted over the music, pointing discreetly. "Smells like ozone before a storm. A powerful Rogue. Perfect rebound to make you forget everything."

I shook my head, my stomach churning. "No."

"What about the Blackmane Pack Gamma in the corner? Leather and whiskey. I hear he's got great stamina."

"Ivy, please," I pleaded, shrinking deeper into my coat. The mere thought of another male wolf's possessive scent made my skin crawl. "I don't want anyone."

Ivy groaned in exasperation. "You can't just cower like an abandoned Omega pup in the corner—"

She stopped mid-sentence. Her fiery red aura spiked so violently I could almost feel the heat radiating off her. The color drained from her face as she stared toward the back of the club.

I followed her rigid gaze to a dim VIP booth. My blood turned to absolute ice.

It was Rhys. And curled intimately against his chest, her fingers tangled in his hair, was my sister, Cadence. The sister who had supposedly left the pack in a noble sacrifice.

Ivy grabbed my arm to pull me away, but I was already moving closer, slipping through the dancing crowd like a ghost. I stopped just behind a velvet pillar, close enough to hear them over the thumping bass.

Cadence let out a wicked, melodic laugh. "That mug with my face was a stroke of genius, Rhys. I knew that wolfless bitch would touch it."

Rhys smirked, kissing her neck. "I almost laughed when she broke it. Forcing her to her knees with the *Alpha's Command* to clean up the pieces felt incredible."

"Now everyone thinks you sacrificed for me," Cadence purred, tracing his jawline. "They think she drove me away out of pure jealousy and destroyed my things. She'll never wash the stain off her name, and I can finally come back to be the Morrison Pack's true Luna."

The air in my lungs vanished. My heartbreak, my humiliation, the slap that still throbbed on my cheek—it wasn't a tragic end to a relationship. It was a calculated, malicious execution.

The paralyzing sorrow that had weighed me down all night suddenly snapped. In its place, a cold, destructive rage awakened in my chest.

My mind went blank. All I wanted to do was destroy them.

I was prepared to die.I reached out and grabbed a heavy, half-full bottle of expensive amber liquor from a passing waiter's tray. Ignoring Ivy's shocked gasp, I marched straight toward the booth.

Just as Rhys leaned in to kiss my sister again, I swung the bottle with every ounce of strength I possessed.

*CRASH.*

The thick glass shattered against the side of Rhys's head. Amber liquor and dark crimson blood instantly streamed down his forehead, soaking his expensive shirt.

Cadence shrieked, scrambling backward in horror. Rhys clutched his bleeding head, his eyes wide with absolute, offended fury. "Are you insane?!" he roared, his Alpha aura exploding. "My father will make you a Rogue for this!"

Ivy lunged forward, her claws fully extended, ready to shred Cadence's face.

I was intimidated by Rhys Alpha's aura, but the anger in my heart continued to burn. I forcibly suppressed my fear of Alpha and said"No." I held up a hand, stopping Ivy in her tracks. I looked down at the bleeding future Alpha and my treacherous sister, feeling nothing but pure disgust. "Enjoy my leftovers."

Ivy caught my gaze, a vicious smirk spreading across her lips.

I turned on my heel and walked toward the front doors. But as the heavy club doors closed behind us and the freezing night air hit my face, the adrenaline suddenly evaporated, leaving my hands shaking violently.