The celebration continued around me, but I barely heard the music anymore. My focus narrowed to Pierce and Jazmine as they moved away from the crowd, heading toward the Alpha's private den. The same den where Pierce and I had spent countless nights planning for our pack's future, where he'd whispered promises of forever against my skin.

I followed them through the shadows, my heart hammering against my ribs. The incomplete mate bond pulled at me with each step, a constant reminder of what I'd lost—or what I thought I'd lost. Now I wasn't sure what was real anymore.

They disappeared inside the den, but the windows were open to catch the night breeze. I crept closer, pressing myself against the stone wall beneath the main window. Their voices carried clearly in the still air.

"That went perfectly," Jazmine's voice was different now—sharper, colder. Gone was the sweet, submissive tone she'd used during the ceremony. "Your pack bought the grieving widower story completely."

Pierce chuckled, a sound that once made my heart flutter but now turned my stomach. "Of course they did. Dorothy was always too trusting, too naive. She probably cried over the death notice."

"Speaking of Dorothy," Jazmine's voice took on a predatory edge, "we need to deal with her and that wolfless brat of yours. They're loose ends we can't afford."

My blood turned to ice. Summer. They were talking about Summer.

"I've already set things in motion," Pierce said, and I heard the clink of glass—probably pouring himself a drink. "The pack council will vote next week to recall all exiled members for 'community service.' Dorothy will be forced to return as a servant, nothing more. A rejected mate with no status, no protection. She'll be at our mercy."

"And the girl?"

"Summer's wolfless condition makes her perfect for our needs. Carter's been asking for someone untraceable to run messages between his rogue network and the surrounding packs. A child that can't shift, can't defend herself—she'll be completely dependent on his protection. And if something happens to her..." Pierce's voice trailed off with cruel indifference.

Jazmine laughed, a sound like breaking glass. "Brilliant. We eliminate Dorothy as a threat by breaking her spirit completely, and we get rid of the girl while gaining Carter's loyalty. Two birds, one stone."

"Plus, with Dorothy serving as a cautionary tale about what happens to rejected mates who don't know their place, the pack will never question my authority again. And Marcus will finally have the territory rights that should have gone to him from the beginning."

Marcus. Jazmine's son. They were planning to destroy my daughter's life to secure territory for Jazmine's child.

Rage built in my chest like a living thing, hot and violent. My wolf clawed at the edges of my consciousness, demanding blood, demanding justice. But I forced myself to stay hidden, to listen to every word of their conspiracy.

"What about the mate bond?" Jazmine asked. "It's still incomplete. Dorothy could still cause problems if she finds the right backing."

"The bond is weakening," Pierce said dismissively. "Another few months of separation and it'll snap completely. Besides, who would back a rejected mate? She's nothing now. No pack, no status, no future. Just a cautionary tale."

I'd heard enough. More than enough. But as I started to pull away from the window, Pierce's next words froze me in place.

"The moonstone pendant was a nice touch, by the way. Dorothy's mother's protective charm looks perfect on you."

"It belongs to a Luna," Jazmine replied smugly. "And I'm the only Luna this pack has now."

My mother's pendant. The one thing I had left of her, the protective charm she'd worn until her dying day. Pierce had taken it from our home when he exiled us, and I'd assumed it was lost forever. But he'd given it to her. To Jazmine.

Something inside me snapped.

I didn't remember moving. Didn't remember walking to the front door of the den or pushing it open. But suddenly I was standing in the doorway, staring at the two people who had destroyed my life.

Pierce looked up from his drink, his face cycling through surprise, annoyance, and finally cold dismissal. "Dorothy. I should have known you'd show up eventually. Always did have trouble following orders."

Jazmine smiled, her fingers toying with my mother's pendant. "Hello, Dorothy. So sorry for your loss." Her voice dripped with false sympathy.

"You faked your death," I said, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me. "You let me believe you were gone."

Pierce shrugged. "It was cleaner this way. Easier for everyone involved."

"Easier?" The word came out as a snarl. "You think destroying our mate bond, abandoning your daughter, and plotting to use her as rogue bait is easier?"

"Summer isn't my daughter anymore," Pierce said coldly. "She's a wolfless mistake who brings shame to my bloodline. At least this way, she'll serve some purpose before she inevitably gets herself killed."

The casual cruelty in his voice hit me like a physical blow. This wasn't the man I'd mated with. This wasn't the Alpha who'd sworn to protect our pack, our family. This was a stranger wearing Pierce's face.

"You're trespassing on pack territory," Pierce continued, setting down his glass and moving toward me. His Alpha aura pressed against me, trying to force submission. "I could have you arrested. Thrown in the dungeons for violating your exile."

I stood my ground, meeting his eyes without flinching. "Go ahead. Call your guards. Let the whole pack hear about your conspiracy with rogues. Let them know how their Alpha plans to sacrifice children for territory rights."

Pierce's face darkened. "You always were too smart for your own good. But it doesn't matter what you know. No one will believe a rejected mate over their Alpha."

"We'll see about that," I whispered.

His hand shot out, gripping my chin with bruising force. "Let me make something very clear, Dorothy. I never loved you. The mate bond was a mistake, a cosmic joke. You were adequate for breeding purposes, but you were never Luna material. Jazmine understands what it means to serve an Alpha. You never did."

Each word was a knife to the heart, designed to break me completely. And maybe, four years ago, they would have. But I wasn't the same broken woman he'd exiled. I was a mother with nothing left to lose.

I smiled, and Pierce's grip loosened in surprise.

"Thank you," I said softly. "For showing me exactly who you really are."

Then I turned and walked away, leaving them staring after me in confusion. But I wasn't running this time. I was planning.

The Moon Goddess had shown me the truth tonight. Now it was time for justice.

Three days had passed since I'd confronted Pierce and Jazmine in their den, three days since I'd learned the true depth of their betrayal. I'd returned to Old Martha's cabin with my heart full of rage and my mind spinning with plans for revenge. But all of that fell away the moment I saw Summer.

She was burning with fever, her small body trembling beneath the thin blanket Martha had wrapped around her. Her skin was pale as moonlight, and when she opened her eyes, they were glassy and unfocused.

"How long has she been like this?" I asked, pressing my hand to her forehead. The heat radiating from her skin made my wolf whimper with distress.

"Started yesterday morning," Martha said, her weathered face creased with worry. "Right after you left. It's not natural, Dorothy. This is the kind of fever that kills wolfless children. She needs pack healing, needs the Alpha's healer."

My blood turned to ice. Without her wolf to help fight the illness, Summer was defenseless. Human medicine wouldn't be enough—she needed the mystical healing that only a pack's designated healer could provide.

"Mama?" Summer's voice was barely a whisper. "I hurt everywhere."

I gathered her into my arms, feeling how light she'd become, how fragile. "I know, baby. I'm going to fix this."

But even as I said the words, I knew what I had to do. I had to go back to Shadowridge Pack and beg Pierce for help. Had to swallow my pride and plead with the man who'd betrayed me to save our daughter's life.

The journey back to pack territory felt like walking through a nightmare. Summer's fever had worsened, and she drifted in and out of consciousness in my arms. By the time I reached the pack grounds, my shirt was soaked with her sweat and my wolf was howling with desperation.

I found Pierce in his office, going through territorial maps with his Beta. When he looked up and saw me holding Summer, his expression didn't change—not even a flicker of concern for his dying daughter.

"She needs the pack healer," I said without preamble. "She's dying, Pierce. Whatever you think of me, she's innocent. She's your blood."

Pierce leaned back in his chair, studying us with cold calculation. "Is she? Because from where I'm sitting, I see a rejected mate and her wolfless burden trespassing on my territory."

"She's your daughter," I repeated, my voice breaking. "Please. I'll do anything. I'll serve the pack, I'll accept any punishment, just please let the healer see her."

"Rejected mates and their offspring have no claim to pack resources," Pierce said, his voice utterly without emotion. "The healer's time is reserved for true pack members, not mistakes from my past."

Summer stirred in my arms, her small hand reaching for Pierce. "Daddy?" she whispered, her voice so weak it was barely audible.

Pierce didn't even look at her. "I suggest you find help elsewhere, Dorothy. Perhaps the rogues you've been living with have some folk remedies."

The casual cruelty of it hit me like a physical blow. This was his child, his blood, and he was willing to let her die to prove a point about pack hierarchy.

"You're a monster," I whispered.

Pierce shrugged. "I'm an Alpha who understands that resources are finite and must be allocated appropriately. Your poor choices don't create obligations for my pack."

I turned and left without another word, Summer's labored breathing the only sound in the terrible silence that followed.

* * *

The territorial gathering was my last hope. Held on neutral ground between three major packs, it was where disputes were settled and alliances formed. If I couldn't find help there, Summer would die.

I arrived carrying her wrapped in Martha's old shawl, my own strength nearly depleted from the journey. The gathering was already underway, various pack members mingling in the large clearing surrounded by ancient stone markers that declared the space sacred and neutral.

That's when I smelled it—pine and cedar, wild and intoxicating, cutting through all the other scents like a blade through silk. My wolf, dormant since Pierce's rejection, suddenly lifted her head and howled with recognition and pure, overwhelming joy.

Mate.

I turned toward the scent, my heart hammering, and found myself looking at the most magnificent man I'd ever seen. He was tall and powerfully built, with dark hair and eyes that seemed to hold starlight. But it was his aura that took my breath away—pure, commanding Alpha energy that made every wolf in the clearing turn to look at him.

Lycan Prince. The knowledge hit me like lightning. This wasn't just any Alpha—this was Lycan royalty.

Our eyes met across the clearing, and I watched his nostrils flare as he caught my scent. His expression shifted from polite interest to something fierce and possessive, and he began moving toward me with predatory grace.

"Well, well," a familiar voice said behind me. "Look what the cat dragged in."

I turned to see Jazmine approaching, Pierce at her side, both wearing expressions of cruel amusement. My mother's moonstone pendant caught the light at Jazmine's throat, and rage flared in my chest.

"Dorothy," Pierce said loudly, his Alpha tone carrying across the gathering. "Still clinging to that wolfless mistake, I see. How pathetic."

But before I could respond, before the humiliation could fully register, a new voice cut through the air like a blade.

"That's enough."

The Lycan Prince stepped between us, his aura flaring with such power that Pierce actually took a step back. When he looked down at Summer in my arms, his expression softened with genuine concern.

"She's sick," he said gently, and when he reached out to touch Summer's forehead, she stirred and looked up at him with wonder instead of fear.

"Who are you?" she whispered.

"Someone who's going to help," he said, and for the first time in days, I felt hope bloom in my chest.