The nightmare came again.
It was always the same one.
Dark woods. Yellow eyes glowing in the shadows.
The wet sound of claws tearing through skin. Hot blood splashing across my face. And those eyes—filled with hate and hunger—staring at me like I was prey.
I woke up gasping.
My heart pounded so hard it hurt.
Sweat soaked through my silk nightgown.
The bedroom was dark except for a strip of silver moonlight cutting across the floor.
I reached across the bed without thinking.
Cold sheets, space.
Leighton wasn't home. Again. I sat up slowly, pushing my dark hair out of my face.
My hands were shaking.
The nightmare always left me shaky, but tonight felt different.
Worse somehow.
My wolf stirred inside me—restless. She'd been like this for weeks now. Always on edge. Always sensing danger, I couldn't see.
Something is wrong, she whispered in the back of my mind.
Something bad is coming.
I wanted to tell her she was being paranoid. But I couldn't. Because I felt it too.
For the past six months, Leighton had been coming home later and later. Occasionally, he didn't come home at all. He always had the same excuse: "Pack business, Sophia. You know how it is."
But I was the Luna. I handled pack business alongside him. And lately, he'd been shutting me out of everything.
No more strategy meetings. No more territory patrol schedules. No more sitting beside him during Elder Council sessions.
Just... nothing.
I swung my legs out of bed. My bare feet touched the cold marble floor, and I shivered. I needed water. Something to wash away the taste of fear in my mouth.
I grabbed my silk robe from the chair and tied it around my waist. The palace hallways were quiet at this hour—just after three in the morning. Most of the pack was asleep.
I strolled down the corridor, my footsteps barely making a sound. The paintings on the walls watched me pass. All those proud Alpha ancestors staring down with their hard golden eyes.
Leighton used to look at me differently. Soft. Warm. Full of love.
When did that change?
I couldn't remember exactly. It happened so gradually I barely noticed until it was too late.
First, he stopped holding my hand during pack gatherings. Then he stopped asking about my day. Then he stopped sleeping in our bed.
And I... I made excuses for him.
He's stressed. Being Alpha is hard. He's just tired.
But deep down, I knew better.
My wolf knew better.
I was halfway to the kitchen when I heard it.
A laugh.
Soft, coming from the end of the hallway. From Leighton's study.
I froze.
The laugh came again—light and playful. Definitely not Leighton's voice. She was a woman.
No. No, it couldn't be.
But my feet were already moving. I walked toward that half-open study door like I was in a trance. Every step felt heavy. Like I was walking toward the edge of a cliff.
The closer I got, the clearer the voices became.
"Leighton... stop it! You're so bad!" The woman's voice was young. Sweet. Teasing.
My fingernails dug into the wall.
"Am I?" Leighton's voice was playful too.
Happy.
I hadn't heard him sound like that in months. "You're the one who came to my study wearing that dress."
"I wore it for you." Her voice dropped lower. Intimate. "Do you like it?"
"I love it. Come here."
The sound of rustling fabric. A soft gasp. Then giggling.
I pressed myself against the wall, my whole body trembling. Part of me wanted to burst through that door right now. To scream at both of them. To shift into my wolf and tear them apart.
But another part of me—the stupid, hopeful part—wanted to be wrong. Wanted this to be some kind of misunderstanding.
I moved closer to the door. Just close enough to see through the crack.
What I saw made my blood turn to ice.
Leighton sat on the edge of his desk, his shirt unbuttoned. A young woman stood between his legs, her hands on his bare chest. She had long red hair and perfect pale skin. She wore a tight green dress that showed off her figure.
Julia. From the Blood Moon Pack up north.
She'd arrived three months ago for some kind of "alliance exchange program." Young wolves from fresh packs living together, learning from each other. Building connections.
I'd welcomed her myself. I fed her at my table. Smiled at her during pack gatherings.
And now she was in my husband's study at three in the morning, with her hands all over him.
"Are you sure that old woman won't catch us?" Julia asked, running her fingers down his chest.
Old woman?
The words hit me like a slap.
I was only thirty years old! How dare she—
"Her?" Leighton laughed. Actually laughed. "You mean Sophia? Don't worry about her."
He said my name like it was nothing. Like I was nothing.
"She barely has any power left these days," he continued. "Can't even shift fully anymore. She's always tired, always weak. Completely useless as a Luna."
Each word was a knife in my chest.
"But she's still your wife," Julia said, though she didn't sound concerned at all. "The pack's Luna."
"Not for much longer." Leighton's voice turned cold. Hard. "Tomorrow at the full moon ceremony, everyone will see the truth. That she's not fit to be Luna anymore. Her power is fading. The pack members already doubt her."
He pulled Julia closer.
"And you, my beautiful Julia—you'll be the new Luna. Your bloodline is pure. Your power is strong. You're everything this pack needs."
The world started spinning.
I grabbed the wall to keep from falling. My legs felt like water. My heart was breaking into a thousand pieces.
Three years. For three years, I'd been his wife. I'd given birth to his daughter. I'd fought for this pack. Bled for this pack. Nearly died protecting pack children from Shadow Hunters.
And he was throwing me away like garbage.
"What about the ceremony tomorrow?" Julia asked. "How will you get rid of her?"
"Simple. I'll announce that she's stepping down for health reasons. Everyone already sees how weak she's gotten. They won't argue."
"And then we can be together?"
"Then we announce our engagement. You, from the noble Blood Moon family, will make a perfect Luna. Much better than her."
I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood.
"What about Erica?" Julia asked. "Your daughter. The heir."
There was a long pause.
Then, Leighton said something that shattered whatever was left of my heart.
"Erica?" He scoffed. "That little failure? She inherited her mother's weak bloodline. She can barely shift at all. She'll never be a strong Alpha."
My baby. My sweet twelve-year-old daughter, who was still learning, still growing.
He called her a failure.
"I need a proper heir," Leighton continued. "A strong one. With pure Blood Moon genetics."
"Well..." Julia's voice turned sly. "What if I told you you'll have one soon?"
Silence.
"Are you saying...?"
"I'm pregnant, Leighton. With your son."
The joy in his voice made me want to vomit.
"That's perfect! That's precisely what I required! A strong son to lead this pack into the future!"
They kissed. I could hear it. The wet sound of their lips meeting. His hands on her body. Her soft moans.
I'd heard enough.
I pushed away from the wall, ready to run. To get away from this nightmare. But my vision was blurry with tears, and I bumped into a side table.
CRASH.
A vase fell to the floor and shattered.
The sounds from the study stopped immediately.
"What was that?" Julia whispered.
Footsteps. Coming toward the door.
I tried to move, but my feet wouldn't work. I just stood there, frozen, as the study door swung wide open.
Leighton filled the doorway.
He was shirtless, his hair messy. Fresh scratch marks ran across his chest—from her nails. His eyes met mine, and for just a second, I saw surprise.
Then it was gone. Replaced by cold annoyance.
"Sophia." He didn't even sound guilty. "I see you were listening."
My mouth opened, but no words came out.
"Julia, come here," he said, reaching back.
The red-haired woman appeared beside him. She linked her arm through his, her green dress still wrinkled. She looked at me with fake sympathy.
"Good evening, Sophia." She smiled. "Or should I call you... Ex-Luna?"
Something inside me snapped.
"How dare you!" My voice came out as a snarl. "How dare both of you!"
"How dare I?" Leighton stepped forward.
Suddenly, the air got heavy. Thick. His Alpha power pressed down on me like a physical weight. My knees buckled, and I gasped for air.
This was alpha dominance—the power every alpha had to force wolves to submit. I used to be immune to it. But now, weakened as I was, it crushed me.
"I'm doing what's best for this pack," Leighton said coldly. "Choosing a Luna who can actually do the job. Not some aging failure who can barely function."
"I'm your wife!" The words tore out of me. "I gave you everything! I almost died for this pack!"
"That was before." He looked at me with disgust. "Look at you now. Weak. Powerless. Your scent is so faint I can barely smell it anymore."
He walked closer, and I stumbled backward.
"The pack needs fresh blood. Strong genes. Julia's bloodline is pure Blood Moon—one of the strongest in the north. And she's already carrying my son."
"You're disgusting," I whispered.
"I'm practical." He shrugged. "Tomorrow, everyone will see the truth. You'll step down. And Julia will take her rightful place."
"The Elders won't allow this!"
Leighton laughed. "The Elders? Those old fools? I've already bought each one of them. Power, money, promises—they all caved. They'll support whatever I say."
Betrayed. Bye, everyone.
"And Erica?" My voice cracked. "What about our daughter?"
"Erica will undergo re-education by the Elder Council. Maybe they can fix whatever weak genes she got from you."
Re-education. That was pack code for brainwashing. For breaking a young wolf's spirit and rebuilding them from scratch.
"You monster," I breathed.
"Call me whatever you want." He turned back to Julia. "Tomorrow, everyone will know the truth."
He walked back into his study and slammed the door in my face.
I stood there in the empty hallway, tears streaming down my cheeks. Everything I'd built—my marriage, my position, my life—was crumbling around me.
And there was nothing I could do to stop it.
Or was there?
I wiped my eyes and took a shaky breath. My wolf stirred inside me, angry now instead of afraid.
We won't go down without a fight, she growled.
No. We wouldn't.
I turned and walked back to my bedroom. My mind was already racing, planning, and strategizing.
If Leighton wanted a war, he'd get one.
But first, I needed to figure out why I'd gotten so weak in the first place. Because six months ago, I could've fought off his alpha dominance. I could've shifted fully. I was strong.
Now I was barely functioning.
Something had happened to me. Something deliberate.
And I was going to find out what.
I reached my bedroom and locked the door behind me. Then I walked to my vanity and stared at myself in the mirror.
Dark circles under my eyes. Pale skin. Thin arms. I looked sick.
When did this happen?
I opened my jewelry box—the velvet one Leighton had given me on our first anniversary. Inside were all the gifts he'd given me over the years. A necklace. A bracelet. Earrings. My wedding ring.
I picked up the ring and held it to the light.
Beautiful white gold with an enormous diamond. It had always been a little heavy, but I'd assumed that was just the style.
Now, looking closer, I noticed something strange.
A tiny mark on the inside of the band. Almost invisible. A symbol I didn't recognize.
My heart started pounding.
I grabbed the necklace next. The one with the giant sapphire. Also from Leighton. I examined it carefully, running my fingers over every inch.
There. Another mark. Hidden under the gem setting.
What was this?