"Looks like the mistress isn't even as pretty as the bonded mate. What was that wolf thinking?"

Raven's face twisted with fury. She lunged at me, claws extending as her fingers tangled in my hair. "I'm the mistress?!"

"I've been mated to my mate for three years! I just whelped his son! His mother even performed the naming rite herself!"

"Don't let her deceive you with her lies!"

Our bodies crashed together, struggling for dominance—and that's when my heightened senses caught it.

The moon-gold chain gleaming at her throat.

One of the pieces from my pup's stolen heirlooms. Seren's favorite, etched with protective runes by my own mother.

Rage ignited in my chest like wildfire. I tore the chain from her neck with a sharp yank. "You dare wear my pup's things?!"

"You're not worthy of touching them!"

She wasn't prepared for the force behind my pull. Raven crashed to the cobblestones, a thin line of blood welling where the chain had scraped across her skin.

I hadn't planned to cause a scene in the market-den.

But seeing my daughter's belongings displayed so boldly around this she-wolf's throat—I couldn't swallow that insult down.

I held up the necklace for the gathered pack members to see, my voice cutting through the murmuring crowd. "There's an engraving on this. My pup Seren's initials, marked in the old script!"

"You and Kael can expect a summons from the pack tribunal!"

The words had barely left my mouth when something slammed into me from behind.

I lost my footing. The necklace was wrenched from my grip.

Kael's voice exploded above me: "Who the hell said those are your pup's initials?!"

I was on the ground. My knees had landed on scattered shards of broken pottery—pain shot through me, sharp enough to steal my breath.

I looked up, my wolf snarling beneath my skin.

Kael had Raven cradled protectively against his chest, his body curved around her in a shielding stance. And behind him stood Morwen, his mother, holding an infant wrapped in ceremonial swaddling in her arms.

So that was Kael's illegitimate pup.

When I'd whelped Seren, Morwen had claimed she wasn't experienced enough to assist with the birthing. Said she'd rather hire an expensive nursemaid from the healer's circle than risk harming my daughter with her inexpert hands.

Now I understood the truth. She simply preferred male heirs to carry the Ashvale name.

Before I could process any of it, Kael turned to face me fully. The disgust burning in his amber eyes hit me like a physical blow.

"Lyra!" His lip curled back, revealing the sharp points of his canines. "Are you done with your little breakdown? Then get out of here. Stop harassing my mate!"

Mate?

Kael was publicly acknowledging his affair? Claiming this she-wolf as his bonded before the entire pack?

He didn't wait for my reaction. He turned back to Raven, gently refastening the moon-gold chain around her throat, his gaze soft with concern as he smoothed her disheveled hair. "Sweetheart, are you hurt anywhere?"

"You just whelped—you can't let yourself get upset like this. Does your belly pain you?"

Raven melted against his broad chest, pointing at me through theatrical sobs that filled the air with the sharp scent of false distress. "My love, she said the nesting grounds you gave me are hers. She even tried to steal the moon-gold you had crafted for me!"

"Who... who is she?"

Kael glanced at me, his expression flat and cold as winter stone. "I told you before. There's a rogue omega at the pack hall who won't stop throwing herself at me. That's her."

"I'll handle this nuisance. Don't worry your pretty head about it."

The crowd's murmuring shifted. Understanding dawned on their faces—followed by open contempt. They looked at me and laughed, their scorn washing over me in waves.

"Oh, so she's the delusional rogue. I was wondering why any wolf would stray with someone plainer than his bonded mate."

"Trying to seduce someone's mate and then destroying his mate's claimed territory? What's wrong with this she-wolf?"

"Why are you so obsessed with another wolf's belongings? Howling about it won't make them yours."

I laughed—a hollow, disbelieving sound that scraped from my throat.

I looked straight at Kael, each word precise and clear. "Kael. That moon-gold has my pup Seren's initials engraved on it. You commissioned the work yourself from the pack smith. What exactly are you trying to claim?"

His jaw tightened, a muscle jumping beneath his skin. "Who told you that?"

"The initials are obviously my mate's and my surnames. S and L."

What?

My mind went blank. S and L? For... their names?

But Kael had told me himself—our pup would be called Seren, Seren of the Ashvale line, because she was the living proof of our sacred bond.

Which meant...

When my daughter was born, they were already together.

The cruelest irony of all? Even our pup's name was a monument to their betrayal.

I drew a slow breath, letting the cold air fill my lungs as I pulled the true territory claim seals from my satchel and pressed them hard against his chest. "Kael Ashvale. Luna's nesting grants are not pack-shared assets—I'm telling you for the last time: get your she-wolf out of my claimed grounds."

"And return every piece of my daughter's moon-gold. All of it."

Kael hadn't expected this. He'd assumed I'd swallowed his lies like a submissive omega should—never imagined I'd show up armed with proof of my bloodline's authority.

He froze for a heartbeat, his wolf's surprise bleeding through his carefully controlled expression. Then he snatched the sealed documents and shredded them with his claws, scattering the pieces at my feet like fallen leaves. "You think a few forged scraps prove anything?"

Morwen rushed forward to support her son, her aging wolf's hackles raised beneath her skin. "Just go, will you? The Winter Moon Festival is almost here—we won't petition the pack tribunal."

I almost laughed at the absurdity. "You won't press charges?"

She faltered, a flicker of guilt crossing her weathered face, but she lifted her chin with false pride. "That's right. Now leave—unless you'd rather be dragged out by the enforcers."

Kael stepped closer, his dominant scent pressing against me as he lowered his voice to a threatening growl. "Lyra. I told you through the pack-link to stay out of this."

"Raven gave the Ashvale bloodline a son. My mother is overjoyed at the prospect of a male heir—if you make a scene and she suffers a moon-sickness collapse, that burden falls on you."

"Return to the den quietly, and you can still carry the title of Ashvale Luna. Officially."

I used to love the way his scent wrapped around me—cedar and wild rain. Now it made my wolf recoil in disgust.

A small voice cut through the gathered pack members: "Mommy!"

Every nerve in my body went taut. My wolf surged to the surface as I spun around.

Seren stood at the edge of the onlookers in her pup-school uniform, her little pack-satchel bouncing as Rowan guided her through the gawking wolves.

"Mommy, why are you on the ground?" Her keen young eyes found the blood on my knee, and tears spilled instantly down her round cheeks. "Mommy, you're hurt!"

My heart seized. I scrambled to my feet, desperate to reach her first.

Too late.

Raven recognized her in an instant—caught her scent on the wind. She lunged forward with predatory speed and grabbed Seren by her small shoulders. "So it's you!"

Then she whirled on me and cracked her palm across my face with enough force to make my ears ring. "You knew your ugly little runt wasn't good enough for my son—so you decided to seduce my mate instead!"

The blow sent white spots dancing across my vision.

Seren burst into terrified sobs, her young wolf whimpering beneath her skin. She looked frantically at Kael, her voice breaking with confusion. "Daddy… why is she hitting Mommy…"

Raven rounded on her with a vicious snarl, her fangs glinting. "Who are you calling Daddy?"

"That matchmaking scry-post was a jest! A grubby little omega runt like you could never bond with my son—not in a thousand moon cycles!"

Seren was wailing now, her whole body shaking with fear—but Kael only frowned, his expression cold and distant.

"Take your mother back to the den," he said flatly.

When I didn't move, he flicked a commanding glance at Rowan. The pack escort stepped forward immediately, reaching for my arm with reluctant hands. "Come along, my lady. Let's go—you're shaming yourself before the pack."

What?

The gathered wolves heard it. Heard my lady spoken to me as though I were a stranger. And suddenly their judgment swung toward my daughter like a pack turning on the weak.

"Moon's mercy—her own father is standing right there and she's calling some stranger 'Daddy'? The pup's already learned to chase status."

"Mother's lost her mind, daughter's a rank-climber. What a pair of rogues."

"She's got her little pup chasing dominant wolves already? What kind of she-wolf raises a pup like that?"

Seren was only five winters old, but she understood enough.

She looked up at Kael through her tears, her small hands trembling. "Daddy… are you leaving me and Mommy?"

He didn't answer. His wolf's eyes remained cold and distant, as though she were a stranger's pup.

She stared at him, biting down hard on her lip, her small face crumpling with bewildered hurt that no child should ever know.

I pulled her tight against me, wrapping my arms around her protectively, shielding her as best I could from the cruel whispers and colder stares. Then I lifted my head and met Kael's eyes with all the fury of my bloodline burning behind my gaze.

"Kael Ashvale." Each word was ice, sharp enough to cut. "Aren't you afraid of what happens when my parents find out about this?"

At the mention of my parents, Kael's composure cracked—just for a second, but I caught the flicker in his amber eyes.

He quickly suppressed the smirk tugging at his lips and lowered his voice. "They claimed they were traveling to distant territories to rest five years ago. Strange how they never returned to the pack."

"You think I haven't pieced it together?"

I didn't understand what he meant. He continued, "I've known for a long time. They weren't seeking peace—they were fleeing."

"Consider it carefully. The Nightbloom Territory is vast, our pack's dominion unmatched. You truly believe your father built that empire of resources and hunting grounds alone?" He scoffed. "Please. There had to be blood-debts and forbidden dealings involved."

"The way I see it, spending the wealth and territory claims he left you on Raven and her pup is practically an act of mercy. I'm helping ease their guilty consciences before the Moon Goddess judges them."

It finally clicked.

This was why he dared treat me this way. He believed my parents had fled to distant lands because they'd committed some crime against pack law.

What he didn't know was that my parents had spent the past five years expanding the pack's influence across foreign territories and forging alliances with packs beyond our borders.

Their holdings in those distant lands alone were now worth hundreds of bloodline seals and resource claims.

And today was the day they were returning home.

I'd sent them my scent-trail and location through our bond before I even left the den. They'd be here any moment.

The thought steadied my wolf, calming the trembling in my limbs. I took Seren's small hand in mine. "Sweetie, Mommy's taking you home to our true pack. If Daddy wants to be some other pup's father so badly, let him."

Seren couldn't process it. Until today, Kael and Morwen had showered her with affection within the den walls.

Tears streamed down her face as she looked at Kael, shaking her head stubbornly. "Daddy..."

The next second, Raven lunged at my daughter like a feral she-wolf, shoving her toward the cobblestone path leading to the main thoroughfare. "What are you, a stray omega? Crying at someone else's den entrance!"

Seren was small for her age, her wolf not yet awakened. She went down hard, tumbling onto the stone road.

A pack transport carriage was coming, drawn by swift horses.

I didn't think. I just moved, throwing myself toward her with every ounce of strength my body possessed. "Seren!"

Seeing Seren nearly trampled, Kael and Morwen's faces went pale as moonlight.

Kael took a step forward—but Raven grabbed his arm, her claws digging into his sleeve. "My mate... my belly aches so terribly... I think the wound from the confrontation might have torn open..."

He stopped. His expression softened as he steadied her against his chest. "Don't fret. I'll take you to the healers right now."

Seren and I lay crumpled on the cold stones, inches from the carriage's screeching wheels. Kael cradled Raven in his arms like she was made of spun moonsilver.

I couldn't hold back anymore. "Kael! You're going to regret this!"

He paused, then turned to look at me with those cold amber eyes. "Raven cannot bear pain well, and you made her wound reopen with your accusations. I haven't even settled that score with you yet."

"You'd better pray to the Moon Goddess she heals properly." His voice turned cold as winter frost. "Otherwise, you and your pup are going to kneel before her and beg forgiveness."

"You don't get to leave this market square until she grants it."

The words had barely left his mouth when the carriage door behind me swung open with a thunderous crack.

My father's voice—the voice of a true Alpha—thundered across the scene, carrying the weight of absolute dominion. "Kneel? The only one who should be kneeling is you, whelp."