CHAPTER 2

Elsie’s POV

Adira.

My own younger sister.

The girl I had grown up with. Shared meals with. Laughed with. Trusted. Loved.

My knees nearly buckled.

Adira.

Of all people.

A thousand thoughts raced through me, but I couldn't make sense of any of them.

All I could feel was this ache—this enormous, searing ache in my chest that threatened to swallow me whole.

Adira had held my hand when the council pressured Lucas to take another Luna. She’d comforted me when I thought I might never conceive. She had told me I was strong.

So everything she ever told me was a lie?

The sisterly bond we shared meant nothing to her?

The silence didn’t last long.

I heard sheets shifting, a soft rustle, then Adira again—her voice laced with that same syrupy smugness.

“You must’ve missed me… the way I touch you. The way I understand what you need.”

I wanted to scream.

Lucas answered—hesitant, weak.

“Don’t, Adira… It’s not that simple.”

“Oh, but it is,” she purred. “You can’t keep pretending. You miss me. You need me. She doesn’t satisfy you—not like I do.”

I bit the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted blood.

Lucas groaned softly. “Stop. Just… give me time. I need more time.”

More time.

More time for what? To betray me in stages?

To keep sharing our bed while filling hers?

“Time?” Adira scoffed. “You’re still protecting her. Why? You know the council only tolerated her because you begged them. She's weak. Barren—”

“She’s not barren,” Lucas snapped, suddenly defensive.

As if that could undo his infidelity.

Adira fell silent for a beat. “Then why don't you have a pup after all these years?”

I could feel my pulse pounding in my ears.

Adira’s voice lowered, intimate and cutting. “You’re wasting time on a lost cause, Lucas. I’m already carrying your son.”

The world tilted.

I staggered back a step, a hand flying to my mouth.

No.

No.

My heart screamed, but no sound left my lips.

“She doesn’t even know yet,” Adira continued, voice dripping with satisfaction. “She probably thinks today’s anniversary will save her. That some flowers and a kiss will make up for everything. But you and I both know—I am your future.”

That was it.

Something inside me cracked wide open.

Before I knew what I was doing, my hand gripped the doorknob and twisted. The door slammed open against the wall as I stepped into the room.

They both froze—bodies tangled in sheets, faces pale.

My eyes burned. My chest heaved.

There they were—tangled, guilty, and silent.

My voice came out hoarse and shaking, but it rose with every word, my rage tearing through me.

“How dare you?”

Lucas flinched. Adira just blinked.

“How the fuck could you do this to me?” I shouted, my voice breaking. “Was I that easy to betray? That simple to discard?”

Lucas scrambled to pull on his pants, his face pale and panicked. “Elsie—baby, please—it’s not what you think—”

“Not what I think?” I laughed—bitter and wild. “Lucas, I heard everything! The moans. The lies. Her voice telling you she’s carrying your child!”

He rushed toward me, reaching out, but I stepped back.

“Don’t touch me.”

“Elsie—”

SLAP!

The sound of my palm meeting his cheek echoed through the room.

He staggered back, clutching his face, eyes wide.

“Don’t you dare say my name like it means something to you,” I hissed. “You gave it all away. You laid it all out on that bed—for her.”

Adira had the nerve to gasp, rushing toward him like she was the one being wronged.

I turned on her, heat pulsing in every inch of me. “You. You ungrateful, backstabbing snake.”

She raised her brows, feigning surprise. “Now, that’s harsh.”

“Harsh? Harsh? I trusted you with everything Adira! I shared everything with you!”

“And I let your husband into my bed,” she replied sweetly, then smirked. “Even before you two got married.”

I stared, stunned.

Lucas didn’t deny it.

Adira crossed her arms, her chin tilted high. “You really thought he chose you over me? Out of pity, maybe. He always came back to me. Always.”

I clenched my jaw, fury burning hot behind my eyes.

“And now,” she said with a smile, “I’m carrying his heir. Which makes me the real Luna, don’t you think?”

My breath shook in my chest, tight with grief and betrayal so deep it rooted in my bones.

Lucas didn’t say a word.

He just stood there.

Silent.

His jaw clenched. His eyes distant.

Not once had he tried to defend me. Not once had he told her to stop. He let her twist the dagger, and now he watched me bleed.

That hurt more than anything else.

He had abandoned me in the worst way.

I swallowed hard, but the burn didn’t go away.

My hands trembled, clenched at my sides. The tears that pricked at the corners of my eyes didn’t fall—they evaporated in the heat of my rage.

“Say something,” I whispered, my voice cracking. “Say something, Lucas.”

He looked at me then, and I wished he hadn’t. There was guilt, yes. But not enough. Never enough.

Instead, he said quietly, “You don’t understand—”

“No,” I cut him off, voice rising. “I understand perfectly.”

My fingers curled into fists. My heart beat like a war drum.

“I gave you everything, Lucas. My loyalty. My love. My trust. And you crushed it for her—for my own sister?” I turned to Adira. “And you—you knew how much he meant to me. You were there when I was broken, and still, you smiled while stabbing me in the back.”

Adira rolled her eyes. “Spare me the dramatics. You were never meant to be Luna. You were always too weak, and to top it all off, you were barren. He needed someone better—he needed me.”

That did it.

Something inside me snapped.

Calm, kind Elsie? She was still here—but she was furious now.

I turned back to Lucas, voice low and trembling with the fury building inside me.

“I’m not going to beg. I’m not going to cry. But I will speak the truth.”

He stiffened.

“You think this ends with me walking away quietly?” I shook my head. “You should know me better.”

Lucas’s expression shifted—just slightly.

But it was enough.

I saw it—the flicker of panic.

“I’m going to the council,” I growled, “And I’ll tell them the dark, ugly secret you’ve been hiding from them for years.”

His face turned to stone. “You wouldn’t dare.”

Adira blinked, her amusement fading. “Wait—what’s she talking about?”

I looked between them, and for once, I felt stronger than both of them.

“You think I don’t know?” I whispered. “You think I never figured it out?”

Lucas took a step forward, eyes dark, his wolf brushing the edge of his voice. “Elsie—stop.”

I didn’t.

“You killed them,” I said, staring straight at him. “Your brothers. All three of them.”

Adira gasped, eyes widening.

I didn’t flinch.

“You used wolfsbane. Slow. Painful. Untraceable if done right—and you did it right, didn’t you, Lucas? One by one, until the Alpha title could only go to you.”

The room went still.

Lucas growled low in his throat, his wolf rising in fury. “You don’t understand what was at stake—”

“I understand exactly what was at stake,” I hissed. “Power. Control. Everything you now claim as yours was built on their graves.”

Adira stumbled back a step. “He... what?”

Lucas didn’t answer her. His eyes were fixed on me.

I took a breath, steeling myself. “If I tell the council, they’ll strip you of everything. Your title. Your land. Your name. And as for you…”

I turned slowly, letting my gaze fall on Adira like a blade, a cold smile curving my lips.

“…the Luna title you spread your legs for?” I hissed. “It’ll be ripped from your filthy hands before you ever get to wear the crown.”