Three months had passed since the night that shattered my world. Three months of living as a ghost in my own pack, watching Dominic play house with his precious Vivienne while I withered away in the shadows.

Maya slammed her fist on my bedroom table, making the untouched breakfast tray jump. "This is insane, Scarlett! Look at yourself!"

I glanced in the mirror and had to admit she had a point. Dark circles shadowed my eyes, my cheeks had hollowed out, and my clothes hung loose on my shrinking frame. But it wasn't from lack of eating—it was something far worse.

"You're literally dying," Maya continued, her voice cracking with emotion. "And for what? For a man who treats you like you don't exist?"

"I know what I look like," I said quietly, turning away from my reflection. The truth was, I felt as bad as I looked. Every day brought new symptoms—fatigue that sleep couldn't cure, a constant ache in my chest, and Luna's increasingly weak presence in my mind.

Maya grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to face her. "Then do something about it! Reject him back! Let him watch you die if that's what it takes to make him realize what he's throwing away!"

The suggestion hit me like a physical blow. "Maya—"

"No, I'm serious!" Her eyes blazed with righteous fury. "You're the daughter of two of the bravest warriors this pack has ever known. They didn't die protecting cowards. Fight back!"

Before I could respond, a soft knock interrupted us. Dr. Elena entered without waiting for permission, her weathered face grave as she took in my appearance.

"How are you feeling today, Scarlett?" she asked, though her clinical eye was already cataloging my deterioration.

"Fine," I lied.

Dr. Elena's expression turned stern. "Don't lie to your healer. Maya, give us some privacy."

Maya shot me a worried look but left reluctantly. Dr. Elena closed the door and turned to face me with the kind of serious expression that made my stomach drop.

"Your wolf is dying," she said without preamble. "The unmarked mate bond is killing you both."

I sank onto my bed, Luna whimpering weakly in my mind. "How long?"

"Six months, maybe less." Dr. Elena sat beside me, her voice gentling. "You need Alpha Dominic to mark you, or you'll be dead before your twenty-third birthday."

A bitter laugh escaped me. "He won't even touch me. How am I supposed to get him to mark me?"

Dr. Elena was quiet for a long moment, clearly wrestling with something. Finally, she sighed. "Seduce him. Make him unable to resist the bond."

The words hung in the air between us like a challenge. "Seduce him," I repeated slowly.

"The mate bond creates a powerful attraction, but it works both ways. He may be fighting it with his conscious mind, but his wolf recognizes you. His body knows you're his mate, even if he won't admit it."

After Dr. Elena left, Maya returned, taking one look at my face and immediately demanding to know what the doctor had said. When I told her, she exploded.

"Seduce him?" Maya's voice rose to a near shriek. "Are you kidding me? Why should you have to beg for scraps from a man who publicly humiliated you?"

"Because I don't want to die at twenty-two," I said firmly, surprised by the steel in my own voice. "Because I refuse to let his stupidity be the end of my story."

Maya stared at me, her anger slowly giving way to something like admiration. "You're really going to do this?"

"If I have to seduce him to survive, then that's what I'll do." The words tasted bitter, but beneath the humiliation was something else—determination. "I'm not going down without a fight."

That night, I began my reconnaissance. I slipped through the pack house like a shadow, learning Dominic's routines with the precision of a hunter studying her prey. He woke at five-thirty every morning for his run through the eastern forest trails. He spent his evenings in his office until precisely ten o'clock, then went to Vivienne's room.

But here was the interesting part—he never stayed the whole night. I watched from my window as he left her room around two in the morning, his shoulders tense with frustration. And I began to notice other things too. The way Vivienne always had an excuse when he tried to get close. A headache, exhaustion from her "trauma," the need to "take things slow" after her ordeal.

She was playing him, keeping him at arm's length while maintaining her hold on his heart. But why?

The answer would have to wait. Right now, I had more pressing concerns—like staying alive long enough to find out.

I studied myself in the mirror, cataloging every asset I had. My dark hair fell in waves past my shoulders—too innocent, too safe. My clothes were modest, practical—completely forgettable. If I was going to make Dominic's wolf take notice, I needed to become someone he couldn't ignore.

The next morning, I walked into the pack house salon with grim determination.

"I want it all cut off," I told the stylist, gesturing to my long hair.

She gasped. "All of it? But your hair is so beautiful—"

"Cut it," I said firmly. "Make it sleek. Sophisticated. Sexy."

Two hours later, I stared at my reflection in shock. The woman looking back at me was a stranger—confident, alluring, dangerous. My hair now fell in a sleek bob that framed my face and emphasized my cheekbones. Without the weight of long hair, my features looked sharper, more defined.

Next came the wardrobe overhaul. I threw out every modest dress and loose-fitting top, replacing them with form-fitting athletic wear that showcased the curves I'd been hiding. Sports bras that emphasized my chest, leggings that hugged my hips and legs, tank tops that showed just enough skin to be tantalizing.

But the real transformation came from the training regimen I threw myself into with single-minded focus. Every morning at five, I was in the pack gym, pushing my body to its limits. The physical exertion helped with the constant ache of the incomplete bond, and more importantly, it was reshaping my body into something that would be impossible to ignore.

Within two weeks, the changes were dramatic. My muscles were more defined, my waist smaller, my entire silhouette more athletic and alluring. The intense exercise also seemed to amplify my natural scent production—something I'd learned from Dr. Elena's discrete research into mate bond biology.

"You look amazing," Maya said one morning, watching me lace up my running shoes. "But are you sure about this plan?"

"Too late for second thoughts," I replied, checking my reflection one last time. The woman in the mirror looked like she could take on the world—or at least one stubborn Alpha.

It was time to put my plan into action.

I timed my departure perfectly, slipping out of the pack house just as the first hints of dawn painted the sky pink. The eastern trail was Dominic's favorite route—I'd confirmed it through careful observation. All I had to do was position myself at the right spot and let nature take its course.

The morning air was crisp against my skin as I began my warm-up routine, stretching in ways that emphasized my new physique. Every movement was calculated, designed to showcase the results of my transformation. When I heard the steady rhythm of approaching footsteps, my heart began to race.

This was it. Time to see if three months of planning would pay off.

Dominic rounded the bend at his usual pace, but the moment he caught sight of me, he stumbled to a stop. His golden eyes widened as they took in my transformed appearance—the sleek hair, the form-fitting clothes, the confident way I moved through my stretches.

I could practically see his wolf stirring restlessly beneath his skin.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice rougher than usual.

I looked up at him with carefully practiced innocence, letting my gaze linger on his sweat-dampened shirt clinging to his muscled chest. "Training. I want to get stronger." I stood slowly, making sure he got the full effect of my new look. "I don't want to be a useless Luna."

The word 'Luna' seemed to hit him like a physical blow. His nostrils flared as he caught my scent—concentrated and potent from my workout, carrying the unmistakable signature of his mate.

His eyes began to shift from brown to gold, and I knew I had him.

His golden eyes locked onto mine, and I watched the exact moment his control began to fracture. The morning air between us crackled with tension as thick as honey, and I could practically taste his wolf's recognition of me.

"Training," I repeated, letting the word roll off my tongue like a challenge. I took a deliberate step closer, close enough that my scent would hit him full force. "I realized I've been... weak. Passive. That's not the kind of Luna this pack deserves."

Dominic's jaw clenched so hard I could hear his teeth grinding. His hands fisted at his sides, and I caught the flash of his canines as they partially extended—a sure sign his wolf was fighting for control.

"You should train elsewhere," he said, his voice strained and rough. But he didn't move away. If anything, his body seemed to lean toward mine, drawn by invisible threads.

I tilted my head, letting my new shorter hair catch the early morning light. "Why? This is pack land. I have every right to be here." I moved closer still, until I could feel the heat radiating from his skin. "Unless..."

"Unless what?" The words came out as more of a growl than human speech.

I looked up at him through my lashes, my voice dropping to barely above a whisper. "Unless you're afraid you can't control yourself, Alpha."

The effect was instantaneous. His eyes flashed from brown to molten gold and back again, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he fought some internal battle. The scent of pine and leather and something uniquely him wrapped around me like a drug, making Luna stir weakly in my mind.

"Don't." His voice was barely human now, all gravel and warning. "Don't test me."

But I was past caring about warnings. Three months of being ignored, of watching him lavish attention on another woman while I slowly died inside, had burned away my caution. I stepped even closer, so close that our bodies were almost touching.

"Test you how?" I asked innocently, even as I let my gaze drop to his lips, then back to his eyes. "I'm just trying to have a conversation with my Alpha."

His control snapped like a rubber band stretched too far. In one fluid motion, he grabbed my shoulders, his grip firm enough to leave marks. For a heart-stopping moment, I thought he might kiss me, claim me right there on the forest path.

Instead, he pushed me away with enough force to make me stumble.

"Train somewhere else," he snarled, his voice thick with barely contained need. "That's an order."

He turned and ran, leaving me standing alone on the path with my heart hammering and a triumphant smile spreading across my face. I'd seen the hunger in his eyes, felt the tremor in his hands when he'd touched me. His wolf wanted me, even if the man was too stubborn to admit it.

It was a start.

---

That evening, I made sure to walk past the dining room just as Dominic and Vivienne were finishing their dinner. I caught a glimpse of them through the doorway—her delicate hand resting on his arm, his face a mask of polite attention that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Darling, you seem distracted tonight," Vivienne's voice carried clearly into the hallway, sweet as poisoned honey. "Is everything alright?"

I slowed my pace, pretending to examine a painting on the wall while I listened.

"I'm fine," Dominic replied, but even from here I could hear the tension in his voice.

"You've barely touched your food." There was a note of petulance creeping into her tone. "And you keep... looking around. Like you're expecting someone."

I held my breath, wondering if he would mention our encounter this morning.

"Just pack business," he said finally. "Nothing for you to worry about."

But I could hear the lie in his voice, and apparently so could she.

"Dominic." Her voice turned sharp, losing some of its practiced sweetness. "I've been back for months now, and you still seem... distant. I thought once we were together again—"

"We are together," he interrupted, but there was no warmth in his words.

"Are we?" The question hung in the air like a challenge.

I didn't wait to hear his response. I'd heard enough to know that my morning's work was already bearing fruit. Dominic's wolf was stirring, making him restless and distracted. It was only a matter of time before his human resolve crumbled entirely.

---

Three days later, I woke to a sensation I hadn't felt in months—heat building low in my belly, spreading through my limbs like liquid fire. At first, I thought it was just the usual ache of the incomplete bond, but as the intensity increased, I realized with growing alarm what was happening.

My heat. Weeks early.

Dr. Elena had warned me this might happen. The stress of the incomplete mate bond was wreaking havoc on my natural cycles, and now my body was desperately trying to complete what should have happened months ago.

I stumbled to my bathroom, splashing cold water on my face, but it did nothing to cool the fire building inside me. Within an hour, my scent had intensified to the point where it was seeping through the walls of my room, flooding the pack house with pheromones that would drive every unmated male into a frenzy.

I could already hear the signs of chaos beginning—raised voices in the hallway, the sound of scuffling as males fought for dominance, the worried calls of mated females trying to control their partners.

"Shit," I whispered, pressing my back against my bedroom door. This wasn't part of the plan. I'd wanted to seduce Dominic gradually, on my terms. Not like this, when I was weak and vulnerable and barely in control of my own body.

Luna whimpered in my mind, her voice stronger than it had been in weeks. "Mate," she whispered. "Need mate."

The heat was building to unbearable levels now, making my skin feel too tight and my thoughts scatter like leaves in the wind. I crawled onto my bed, curling into a ball as waves of need crashed over me.

Somewhere in the pack house, I heard a door slam with enough force to shake the walls. Heavy footsteps pounded down the hallway, getting closer and closer to my room.

My heart hammered as I recognized the familiar rhythm of his stride.

Dominic was coming.