The next thirty-six hours were a blur of silver silk, sharpeners, and a silence so thick it felt like a physical weight in the hallways. Silas had retreated into the cold, impenetrable shell of the High Alpha, his presence in the house marked only by the dropping temperature whenever he entered a room. He was preparing for a gala; I was preparing for a trial.
But while the tailors fussed over the hem of my gown, my mind was clawing at the bars of the cage Silas had described. Luna Theft. A death sentence. A law designed to keep bloodlines pure and prevent Alphas from warring over the same woman.
"Poppy," I whispered, keeping my head perfectly still as the head tailor pinned a delicate spray of diamonds into my hair.
Poppy was standing by the window, checking the guest list on her clipboard. She looked up, her expression softening. "Yes, Sera?"
"I need you to do something for me. I need you to find the foundational texts on Luna Theft. The full legal code from the High Council. I want to see the specific definitions of a mated union."
Poppy paused, a look of confusion crossing her face. "The law books? Sera, that's a bit of a heavy read for a gala morning, isn't it? They aren't restricted—anyone can read the Great Code—but it's mostly just dry statutes. Why the sudden interest in pack law?"
"Silas mentioned it," I said, my voice steady despite the flutter in my chest. "I just want to understand the boundaries. Knowledge is a weapon, right?"
Poppy shrugged, though her eyes remained curious. "I suppose so. I'll grab the volumes from the main library. It's an odd ask, but if it keeps your mind off Julian, I'm all for it."
Three hours later, while the tailors were at lunch, Poppy returned. She didn't just bring one book; she brought a stack of three, their leather covers cracked with age and their pages smelling of old vellum and wax.
"I found the section you were looking for," she said, sliding the heaviest book onto the table. "It's a bit archaic, but it's all there."
I leaned over the text, my eyes scanning the dense lines of the Old Tongue. My heart was a drum in my ears. I searched for the definition of a Luna, for the moment a woman officially becomes the property of her pack's lineage in the eyes of the High Council.
Everyone—Silas included—treated my marriage to Julian as a finalized, divine fact. We had stood before the elders. We had exchanged vows in the Great Hall of the Silver-Moon. To the world, I was the mated Luna of Julian's line. Silas was convinced that the soul-bond had been sealed, making me legally untouchable.
Then, I found the clause that changed everything.
"A marriage of state or ceremony is but a contract of the hand. The Title of Luna and the protection against Theft are only invoked when the Alpha has placed his mark upon the female's body. Only when the skin is broken and the scent is merged is the claim absolute. Without the mark, the female remains a free agent of the Moon, and the marriage is a voidable union of flesh, not a binding of souls."
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. It was a loophole so large it felt like a canyon.
Silas assumed Julian had claimed me. Because we were married, he believed the mark was there—hidden, perhaps, on a shoulder, a hip, or a wrist. He believed that by keeping me, he was stealing a sealed mate. He was willing to sacrifice his own happiness and risk my return to that hell because he thought the "soul-bond" was legally untouchable.
But I knew the truth.
Julian had never bitten me. Even on our wedding night, he had looked at me with such profound loathing that he wouldn't even touch his teeth to my skin. He didn't want the mark of a "dud" on his soul any more than he wanted the world to see his mark on me. He wanted the title of a husband and the power over my life, but he was too arrogant to tie his spirit to mine. He had left me "unsealed," thinking I would never have the strength to tell anyone—or the power to make it matter.
"Is everything alright?" Poppy asked, watching my face.
"He never did it, Poppy," I whispered, looking up at her. "Julian never marked me. Not on my neck, not on my shoulder... nowhere. Not once."
Poppy's jaw dropped. "What? But the wedding... the ceremony was public. The High Council recognizes the marriage."
"The High Council recognizes the bite," I said, a slow, dangerous smile spreading across my face. "The marriage is just paperwork. The mark is the law. And Julian was too disgusted by me to give it to me. He wanted to keep his soul clean in case a 'better' Alpha female came along."
"If there's no mark, there's no theft," Poppy breathed. "Silas is fighting a war with himself for a law that doesn't even apply to you. Sera, you have to tell him! He's miserable because he thinks he's losing you to a 'fated' claim."
"No," I said, my voice hard as titanium. "I'm not telling him yet."
"Why not?"
"Because Julian is going to stand up in that gala tonight and play the part of the grieving, betrayed husband. He's going to act like I'm his fated Luna to save face in front of the other Alphas. He won't admit he never marked me, because it would prove he was a coward who didn't trust his own 'dud' wife." I looked at the silver dress hanging on the mannequin. It looked like armor. "I'm going to let him lie. I'm going to let the Silver-Moon pack parade me around one last time. And then, I'm going to humiliate them in front of every High Alpha in the territory."
I stood up, the power of my new wolf humming beneath my skin. I reached out and touched the fine silver silk, my fingers tracing the lines where the fabric met.
"I'm going to show the world that my skin is unbroken. I'm going to show them that their 'Alpha' was too weak and too arrogant to even seal his own marriage. I'm going to break the Silver-Moon, Poppy. And then, I'm going to show Silas Thorne that I belong to no one but myself."
I turned to the mirror, a devious, sharp smile pulling at my lips—a look that belonged entirely to the silver wolf.
"Poppy," I said, my voice purring with intent. "I think we need to alter my dress a bit."
I gestured to the side panels and the long, sweeping back of the gown. "I want the silk layered. Removable panels. And underneath... nothing but sheer, see-through mesh. I want every inch of my skin visible once those panels come off. If they want to look for a mark, I'm going to give them nowhere to hide."
Poppy's eyes went wide as she realized the sheer audacity of the plan. "Sera... that's... that's scandalous. The Council... the other Alphas..."
"Let them look," I said, my eyes flashing silver in the light. "Let them see exactly what Julian was too afraid to touch."