Chapter 2

By the time morning light broke through the clouds, I'd been lying awake all night.

The sounds from next door finally stopped just before dawn.

I heard soft footsteps—Lina slipping out of Derek's room, making her way back to her guest quarters on the far side of the estate. I'd taken pity on her once, after she lost her mother, and let her work here.

I hadn't known she was my father's illegitimate daughter.

What a foolish decision that had been.

I took a deep breath and rose from the bed. The woman in the mirror had slightly swollen eyes, but her gaze was sharper and clearer than it had ever been.

"Remember this moment, Ella," I told my reflection. "This is day one of your revenge."

I washed, dressed, and chose a pale blue dress—my mother always said this color brought out my eyes. Then I stepped into the hallway and nearly collided with Derek.

He was just leaving his room, hair slightly tousled, a lazy smile on his lips. When he saw me, that smile shifted instantly into tender concern.

"Good morning, Ella." He moved toward me, arms open for an embrace. "Did you sleep well?"

I let him pull me close, counting my heartbeats in silence.

One. Two. Three.

Stay calm. Keep smiling. Don't let him see anything wrong.

"Mm, I slept deeply," I said, looking up at him with a docile smile. "I've been so tired lately, I guess."

"My poor darling." He bent to press a kiss to my forehead. "Only seven more days until our marking ceremony. After that, I'll take good care of you."

His lips were warm, but to me they felt like a serpent's kiss.

"I can't wait," I said—and I meant it. Just not in the way he thought.

At breakfast, everyone was gathered around the dining table.

My father, Victor Silverman, sat at the head—commanding, composed—showing no sign of being a man slowly murdering his own wife.

Lina sat beside him in a pink dress, looking soft and harmless.

She spotted me and flashed a sweet smile.

"Good morning, Ella!"

I smiled and nodded. "Good morning, Lina."

And my mother...

Elena Silverman sat on my father's other side, so pale she was nearly translucent.

She had once been the most beautiful, most powerful warrior of the Silver Moon Pack—the pride of Elder Silverman.

She'd used her family's influence to help my father claim the Alpha title, won him countless victories and honors.

Now she could barely grip her knife and fork.

When she saw me, her eyes lit up.

"Ella, darling, you look pale. Didn't you sleep well?"

Even in her pain, her first thought was for me.

My heart clenched as if someone had wrapped a fist around it.

"I'm fine, Mom." I walked to her side and took the seat next to her, gently holding her hand. Her fingers were ice-cold, thin as bird bones. "How are you feeling today?"

"Better." She smiled, but exhaustion shadowed her expression. "The medicine's working."

Medicine.

She thought that medicine was healing her, never knowing it was stealing her life drop by drop.

My fist tightened beneath the table.

I had to find a way to speak with her alone today.

...

The opportunity came sooner than I expected.

After breakfast, Derek announced he needed to discuss pack alliance matters with my father. Lina began her daily work around the estate.

I helped my mother back to her room and settled her into her reclining chair.

"Mom." I closed the door and turned to face her. "There's something I have to tell you."

She looked at me, worry flickering in her eyes. "What is it, darling?"

I knelt before her and took her cold hands in mine.

"Last night, I received a vision from the Moon Goddess."

Her body tensed. Among our kind, a vision from the Moon Goddess was the most sacred prophecy. No one would lie about such a thing.

"The Moon Goddess showed me what happens seven days from now." I drew a deep breath. "At the marking ceremony, Derek will drug me with heat-inducers and throw me to rogue wolves. They'll make everyone watch while I'm... violated."

My mother's face went ashen. "What?"

"And you—" My voice began to tremble. "You'll die from the shock."

"Ella—"

"That's not even the worst part." I cut her off, tears finally spilling down my cheeks. "Mom, your illness isn't real. It's Father. Father's been poisoning you. He's been killing you slowly."

She went rigid. Her lips trembled, trying to form words, but nothing came.

"Lina is Father's illegitimate daughter," I continued. "She and Derek are working together. They plan to destroy me, have Lina take my place, marry Derek. Once you're dead, there'll be no one to stand up for me, and Father can give everything to Lina without question."

"No... it can't be..." My mother's body began to shake violently.

I held her tight. "I know this is hard to accept. But Mom, you have to believe me. The Moon Goddess doesn't lie. And last night... I heard Derek and Lina in the next room. Together. Talking about their plan. They thought I was drugged, that I couldn't hear anything."

She was silent for a long time.

When she finally spoke, her voice was strangely calm.

"I should have seen it." Her whisper was barely audible. "Victor... he changed. After he became Alpha, the way he looked at me changed. He didn't need me anymore—he only feared my family's influence with the Council of Elders."

"Mom..."

"My body's grown weaker every day, but no examination ever found a cause. I thought fate was playing cruel tricks on me." A bitter laugh escaped her. "Turns out it was my husband all along."

She raised her head and met my eyes. Those eyes, once bright as stars, now burned with the fire of vengeance.

"Tell me, Ella. What's your plan?"

I wiped my tears and let a cold smile cross my face.

"First, we save you. Do you still have people you can trust?"

She thought for a moment. "Helen. She's an omega who's been with me from the start—completely loyal. And Marcus, my father's former guard, now head of estate security. They're both mine."

"Perfect," I said. "We need to find a reliable healer. Someone who can cure poison. Without Father finding out."

"Helen's mother is an herbalist. She lives in the forest at the edge of pack territory," my mother said. "She's not an official pack healer, but when it comes to curing poison... no one's better." Her voice dropped. "She was exiled for killing her husband."

"Have Helen contact her secretly. We need to purge the poison from your system within seven days."

My mother nodded, a calculating look in her eyes. "And then?"

I rose and walked to the window, gazing out at the garden below.

Lina was strolling through the flowers, looking so innocent, so beautiful in the sunlight.

"Then," I said, "we give them a taste of their own medicine."