Wynne POV:

Before Xander's fingers could graze my skin, a sharp, metallic ring sliced through the air.

Fiona, the Royal Gamma and head of the royal guards, stepped between us. The gaslight caught the deadly edge of her drawn silver sword.

Xander stopped instantly, his boots skidding on the stone. His golden eyes locked onto the lethal metal.

"The Supreme Luna has not dismissed her," Fiona warned, her voice low and dangerous.

The Supreme Luna leaned forward on her carved wooden throne. Her gaze shifted from Xander to me.

"A Mate bond is sacred, ordained by the Moon Goddess," the Supreme Luna said slowly. "I will not sever it simply because of jealousy. You must provide substantial proof that Alpha Xander has broken his vows."

Elder Xenia pushed her way to the front, her chin raised in arrogance.

"She has no proof of anything!" Xenia sneered. "She is just a barren female! Three years, and she has failed to produce an Alpha heir for our bloodline. Now she uses a lucky rescue to threaten the Royal Pack!"

The crowd murmured. In our society, a Luna's inability to bear an heir was a heavy shame.

I looked at Xenia's smug face. My inner wolf bared her teeth.

"I cannot bear an heir," I started, my voice ringing loud and clear, "because for three years, the Obsidian Pack has forced me to drink Wolfsbane mixed with silver dust."

Total silence fell over the courtyard.

Wolfsbane was a lethal herb. Even in small doses, it suppressed a wolf's ability to shift and destroyed a female's fertility. Mixing it with silver was an act of pure malice.

"That is a vile lie!" Xander shouted, his face turning pale.

"Is it?" I pointed a trembling finger toward the crowd of servants. "Clara! Step forward."

Clara, a young Omega maid from the Obsidian manor, was pushed to the front. She was shaking violently, her eyes wide with terror.

"Tell the Supreme Luna," I commanded. "Tell her what Elder Xenia ordered you to brew in the kitchens every night."

Clara looked at me, then her eyes darted to Elder Xenia. Xenia's eyes narrowed into dark slits, a silent promise of torture.

Clara's body folded in on itself, her forehead hitting the dirt with a soft thud.

"I... I don't know anything about poison!" Clara cried out, her voice breaking. "The Elder only told me to brew a stamina potion for the Luna's weak body! That is all I swear!"

A heavy weight settled in my stomach. Fear was a powerful master.

Serena hid her face in Xander's chest, letting out a loud sob. "She is trying to frame our Elders, Xander. She is trying to destroy your family name."

Xander's jaw clenched. He looked at Fiona's silver sword, then up at the Supreme Luna.

"Supreme Luna, my mate is clearly delirious from her silver wound," Xander said, forcing his voice to sound reasonable. "Let me take her back to the manor. I will compromise. I will have Serena move out of the secondary castle to give Wynne peace of mind."

He looked at me, expecting me to be grateful for his crumbs.

I reached into the inner pocket of my torn cloak. My fingers brushed against a thick stack of folded parchment.

"I do not want your compromise," I said coldly.

I pulled out the papers and held them up. "These are the kitchen ledgers. Three years of continuous, secret purchases of high-grade Wolfsbane and silver powder, stamped with the Obsidian Pack's seal."

Fiona immediately stepped forward, took the ledgers from my hand, and presented them to the Supreme Luna.

The Supreme Luna unrolled the parchment. Her eyes scanned the ink. The scent of ozone around her grew heavier, thick with anger.

She looked down at Xander. "Did you know of this, Alpha Xander?"

Xander stared at the ledgers. The color drained from his face as his eyes locked onto the words 'Wolfsbane' and 'silver powder'. He had seen those ledgers before—months ago, left carelessly open on his desk. I had begged him to look at them, to question his mother's household accounts. He had chosen to close the book and tell me I was being paranoid, that his mother would never harm me. He had buried the suspicion deep, convincing himself that it was easier to doubt my complaints than to confront the mother who had raised him. Now, the truth was undeniable. He staggered back a step, as if the ink on the page had struck him like a physical blow. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"I thought as much," the Supreme Luna said in disgust. She stood up. "Call the Royal Healer for the girl. This Rejection will be heard in the Royal Court in exactly three days."

Fiona sheathed her sword and gently took my arm. The silver burn on my back flared with fresh agony, and my vision blurred as she guided me toward a royal side chamber.

As the unoiled brass hinges of the doors gave a low groan behind us, the clamor from the courtyard was instantly severed. A spine-chilling, agonized wolf howl tore through the night outside. It was Xander.

A moment later, the two door panels slammed violently against the walls, shaking loose a fine dust of plaster from the top of the archway, and the air filled instantly with the scent of old, splintered wood. Xander stood in the doorway, his chest heaving, his eyes wild and dark.

"Why did you hide those ledgers from me?!" he demanded, stepping into the room.

But the question hung in the air between us, and I saw it in his eyes—the flicker of recognition. He knew. Some part of him had always known. And he had chosen to look away.

Wynne POV:

I sat on the edge of the velvet bed, letting the Royal Healer carefully cut away the burnt fabric from my back.

I looked at Xander standing in the doorway. His chest was rising and falling rapidly. He smelled of sweat and misplaced anger.

"Hide them from you?" I let out a dry, breathy laugh. "You knew she was taking my gold, Xander. You just didn't care as long as it kept your pack afloat and your pride intact. If I had shown them to you, you would have burned them to protect your mother."

Xander flinched, stepping further into the room. "She is my mother, Wynne! You humiliated our pack in front of the entire kingdom. You made us look like monsters."

"You sit at this velvet-draped table, sipping the tea my gold paid for," I said flatly, "and then watch, without a flicker of concern, as poison is poured down my throat."

Xander ran a hand through his dark hair, looking frustrated. "I knew she gave you tonics—I told myself they were for your health, for the pack's stability. I saw the ledgers once and chose not to read them. I told myself I would confront her later, that you were exaggerating. There was always later." His voice faltered, as if the words sounded hollow even to his own ears. "Serena's dresses were gifts from my mother, and I saw no harm in letting her have them—she had so little growing up. You are overreacting. You know how fragile Serena is. And as for you leaving... you know the laws. An Omega who leaves her pack without a new Alpha becomes a Rogue. You will be hunted."

He thought I was just a weak Omega. He had no idea the White Wolf blood was running through my veins, growing stronger with every passing second—now that the poison's effects were finally receding.

That cold presence inside me stirred again, sending a ripple of frost through my blood. I felt it—an instinct, a whisper—telling me that Xander's threats were hollow. The White Wolf would not bow to any Alpha's law. Not anymore.

"I would rather sleep in the muddy ditches with Rogues than spend another night in your filthy manor," I spat.

Xander's face hardened. The muscle in his jaw ticked. "Fine. Freeze out here. When you discover that without my protection, you cannot survive even in the mud-caked alleys beyond this city's walls, you will beg to come back."

He turned on his heel and stormed out. I knew exactly where he was going. He was going to Serena's room to seek comfort in her fake tears.

The Healer applied a cooling herbal paste to my silver wound. I hissed in pain, but the burning slowly began to fade.

As the pain receded, so did the White Wolf's presence, retreating back into the depths of my soul. But I knew now—it was waiting. Biding its time.

The next morning, the heavy curtains of the chamber were pulled back. The gray morning light spilled across the stone floor.

Fiona walked in, her boots clicking sharply. She carried a silver tray with a cup of hot tea and a stack of parchment.

"Your Alpha has been busy," Fiona said, her tone laced with disgust. "He submitted a formal letter to the court this morning. He claims you are suffering from severe jealousy and hysteria. And that female, Serena, sent a letter begging for your forgiveness."

I picked up my teacup. "Let me guess, she played the ultimate victim."

Fiona let out a rare, low chuckle. "She practically painted herself as a saint."

I set the tea down and pulled a fresh sheet of parchment toward me. I picked up a quill, dipped it in dark ink, and began to write.

I wrote the ancient, standard words of the Rejection. Every stroke of the pen felt like a chain breaking off my soul.

Just as I finished signing my name, loud voices echoed in the stone hallway outside.

"I am the Elder of the Obsidian Pack! Move aside, guard!" Xenia's shrill voice rang out.

I stood up, pulling my heavy cloak over my bandaged back. I walked to the door and pulled it open.

Elder Xenia and Serena stood in the hallway. Fiona's royal guards had their spears crossed, blocking their path.

When Xenia saw me, her face twisted into an ugly sneer. "You ungrateful little rat. If you do not withdraw this Rejection nonsense today, I will have the Obsidian Pack cut off all trade routes for your family's merchant caravans in the capital. Your family will rot in poverty."

"You are threatening my family?" I stepped forward, the coldness in my voice making Xenia take a step back.

Serena peeked out from behind Xenia. "Wynne, please don't be so angry. We just want to bring you home."

"What is going on here?" Xander's voice echoed down the hall. He walked briskly toward us, glaring at me. "Wynne, stop causing a scene. You are embarrassing yourself."

He reached into his coat and pulled out a folded piece of parchment.

"I was trying to protect your dignity, but you leave me no choice," Xander said, his voice dropping low. "I found this letter in your desk. A secret correspondence between you and a male named Lucian."

He waved the letter in the air. "Withdraw your Rejection request, Wynne. Or I will present this to the Supreme Luna and prove that you have been unfaithful to our Mate bond."

I stared at the letter in his hand. I didn't panic. I didn't beg.

"Do what you want, Xander," I said quietly. Then I slammed the heavy door, the sound of the bolt shooting home echoing the finality in my heart.

I walked back to the bed and closed my eyes. I reached deep into my mind, pushing past the pain, until I found the familiar, glowing thread of my family's pack connection.

I opened the Mind-Link.

Lucian, I called out in my mind.

A moment later, a deep, steady voice answered in my head. I am here, My Lady. We have arrived.

Good, I replied, a cold smile forming on my lips. Prepare the ledgers. The trap is set.

*But as I severed the link, the White Wolf whispered through my thoughts, soft as falling snow: They think they are hunting you. But you are the hunter now. *