Chapter 5

“Elena.”

Liam’s voice rolled through the infirmary, low and commanding—an Alpha’s growl meant to dominate, not soothe. “Camilla wants to speak with you.”

Camilla’s smile was soft, angelic, every inch the perfect Luna-in-waiting. “I came to tell you I forgive you.”

Forgive.

The word burned worse than silver.

I stared at her, my voice a rasp. “You want me to apologize… for something I didn’t do.”

“Stop lying,” Liam snapped, his aura flaring. The Alpha pressure slammed into my chest like a physical blow, forcing my head to bow whether I wanted to or not. “Everyone saw you strike her.”

“Liam, I didn’t—”

“You humiliated the pack!” he roared. “You nearly killed her!”

Camilla gave a small, delicate shiver, clutching her shawl. “Please, Alpha… she’s not well. Don’t hurt her anymore.”

He softened instantly at her touch. “You see, Elena? Even now she shows mercy.”

Mercy.

My nails dug into the blanket. “You don’t know what she’s done—”

He moved closer, shadows cutting across his face. “Enough.” His scent—cedar and dominance—filled the room, choking me. “Apologize.”

I laughed—a hollow, broken sound that echoed off the ward’s silver-lined walls. “You want your Luna on her knees?”

His jaw tightened. “Now.”

My wolf whimpered.

The bond, though severed, still thrummed faintly with instinct.

Even stripped of status, my body still responded to his Alpha command.

Slowly, painfully, I swung my legs off the bed. The wounds along my abdomen tore open again, blood seeping through the bandages. The silver residue still in my veins hissed where it met the air.

Camilla’s eyes glittered with satisfaction.

“Fine,” I whispered. My knees hit the cold tile. “You want it? You’ll have it.”

I lifted my chin, forcing my gaze to meet hers. “I’m sorry for everything you think I did.”

The smirk that curved her lips could’ve cut steel.

“See?” she said softly to Liam. “She’s learning her place.”

Then she leaned forward, her perfume heavy with that sweet metallic undertone—silver jasmine, the scent that made my wolf recoil.

As if by accident, her knee pressed hard against my stomach. Right over the wound the healers had sewn shut.

Agony burst through me like lightning.

I gasped, blood soaking the edge of my gown.

“Oh!” Camilla feigned shock, stepping back. “I didn’t mean to—oh dear, you’re bleeding again.”

Liam’s expression darkened with disgust—not for her, but for me. “Always dramatic.”

I clutched my abdomen, the pain too sharp to hide. “Liam, please—”

He turned away. “Pathetic.”

Camilla brushed invisible dust from her skirt. “We’ll begin the public apology next week,” she said lightly. “Lucas has already arranged the list. It’ll help repair your… reputation.”

Her smile widened as she walked to the door. “Rest well, Luna. You’ll need your strength to kneel.”

They left together, hand in hand.

The door clicked shut.

And I stayed on the floor, bleeding onto the sterile tiles.

A young healer rushed in minutes later, pale and shaking. “Moon above—Luna, what happened?”

I didn’t answer. My voice was gone.

She tried to lift me, but I waved her off. “Leave it.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “You’ll die if you keep bleeding—”

“Then let me.”

The room tilted. The lights above blurred into halos.

Somewhere deep inside, my wolf whimpered again—weak, fading, her voice like a ghost in a storm. We can’t die yet.

“Why not?” I whispered aloud. “There’s nothing left to live for.”

Because vengeance still breathes.

Her words flickered like embers in the dark.

And for the first time since I’d lost my pup, I felt something other than pain.

Cold.

Sharp.

Alive.

It was the birth of something new—something feral.

Not love.

Not forgiveness.

Revenge.