Back to Eine Point of bView /b

Back at the estate. the tension was unbearable.

bEvery /bcorridos pulsed with unease. The air was thick with whispers and silent nces. Healers moved with solemn expressions, guards stood like statues in every corner, and the staff barely spoke above a murmur. From the outside, it looked like the household was grieving

bAnd /bin a way… it was

But the truth was carefully buried beneathyers of deception.

I sat curled on the velvet couch in our private chambers, a hemy wool nket draped over my shoulders even though I wasn’t cold. My hair was damp from the cloth Audrey had pressed against my forehead earlier for appearances. Everything was for appearances now.

Across the room, Francesco stood rigidly at the tall window. His bback /bwas to me, his shoulders drawn tight. His hands were clenched at his sides, so tightly his bknuckles /bhad gone white, I knew he was furious. I could feel the storm radiating from him,

I didn’t need to see his face to know what he was thinking

The same thing I had been thinking since that night.

Katrina had tried to kill me.

It still didn’t feel real, even after all the evidence. The ss. The scent of wolfbane. The surfeince footage. The shift in her eyes when she handed bme /bthe drink

But it was real.

She had done it. She had smiled andughed with me, pretending to be my friend, all while hiding poison in her purse. And I, like a fool, had trusted her

I remembered the exact moment it happened. The way bher /bhand lingered too long. The way her gaze flicked toward me–not with affection, but calction

That was when Mika stirred.

My woll, always alert, bhad /bgrowled inside me with sudden warning. Don’t drink it. I had obeyed. I had faked it. Lifted the ss to my lips and pretended to sip, then tucked it away behind a velvet curtain when no one was looking.

Thad danced with them. Laughed with them. Pretended everything was fine.

But insideb? /b

I was crumbling.

an artist

Katrina had been one of only three humans I allowed into my world. One of the few I had trusted–that I was just a university student or an

When I’m with them I wasn’t the Luna of the Italian pack

But she’d tried to kill me.

Not by ident. Not in a moment of panic.

With intention.

She had

known exactly who I was

b1/5 /b

And that made it worse.

That made it treasonb. /b

That night, when the party ended, the halls emptied and everyone has return from our nan celebration, I couldn’t keep the truth to myself any walked into the heater, Lina form–ss still hidden in my bag and told her to check it fast.

Francesco aived minutester after I summoned him, and his expression when he saw me there with Line–arms crossed, cheeks torstained, heart bruised–was one I would never forget.

He listened.

Silentlyb. /bCarefully

And bwhen /bI had said all there was to say–how Mika had warned me, how I had faked the sip, how Katrina had looked me in the eye and still gone through with it—he didn’t speak

He just pulled me into bhis /barms and held me.

Held me like I might shatter.

Then Francesco turned to Lira, his expression unreadable.

“Can you analyze what’s inside that drink?” he asked, bhis /bvoice low but firm.

Lira nodded immediately. “I’ll try. I may need a few hours, but if there’s anything magical or chemical in it beyond wolfbane, I’ll find n.”

I watched her leave with the ss carefully wrapped in cloth, a small pang of bunease /btugging at my stomach. My mind was still reeling, but I kept my posture steady I couldn’t afford to appear shaken.

Momentster, I saw Francesco pause. His eyes zed slightly–he bwas /breceiving a mind–link.

“Alfonso is summoning mo,” he said with a lifted brow. Then he turned to me. “Let’s go.”

I nodded without hesitation.

We walked through the corridors side by side, silent but connected, I could feel bhis /bprotectiveness humming through the band, his emotions carefully held bback /bso he wouldn’t overwhelm me. My fingers tightened slightly around bhis /bas we approached the private strategy room tucked beneath the west wing of the estate–rarely used unless there was war on the horizon.

Beta Alfonso was already waiting inside. The thick, bsoundproof /bwalls were lined with old maps, and an unused projection screen sat rolled up in theer. His arms were crossed, but as soon as he looked up and saw me walking in behind Francesco, his entire body tensed.

“Luna?” he asked, clearly startled, “Are you… are you alright?”

The way he asked it made one thing painfully clear–he truly believed I had been poisoned.

“Why do you think I wouldn’t be?” I asked, keeping my voice calm,

Alfonso hesitated, then exhaled. “Forgive bme/b, Luna, it’s just… we found evidence. I thought–Nn thought–that the poison had already affected you.

He quickly began recounting everything they had discovered. The scent of wolfbane. The broken ss. The small vial. Nn’s susps. The CCTV footage. All of it. And how none of them could imagine the drink bhadn’t /bbeen consumed.

Francesco stood beside me in silence, still holding my hand. His silence was not indifference it bwas /bcalction. I could almost hear his thoughts turnii behind his eyes, pieces clicking into ce.

bWhen /bAlfonso finished, I turned toward my mate.

“Francesco?” I said gently. “What are you thinking?”

He didn’t speak right away, instead, he brought a hand to his chin, rubbing it in deep throgh

Alfonso blinked, confused. “What do yo

1 you

mean, Alpha

Francesco tuned to face him more fully. “Imean they whoever is behind this they summoned me here, you didn’t know that the both of us were already aware of the poison

Alfonso’s eyes widened as realization began to dawn

“That’s true,” he said slowly. “We assumed the attempt sorrended. That you, tona, were already affected

Francesco nodded. “Exactly. So let them think that.”

There was a long pause.

Alfonso blinked, stunned. “You mean… let the rumors continue

I spoke up, my voice steadier now. “Yes. Spread the information. Let it be known that fue fallen ill after the celebration. That copsed shortly afterward. That the healers are doing everything they can, but I’m not improving

Francesco’s voice joined mine, lower and more lethal. “Let them think they’ve seeded it will draw them out. They’ll be can

It clicked in Alfonso’s expression. He straightened, his stance tightening with focus

The murmured. Then he bowed deeply. “Understood. I’ll inform Marlow and Nn They! ordingly

I nodded. “Audrey and Monica need to be told as well. Audrey is my personal guard, and Monica is my assigned nurse, if they

or guarding my room, it will look suspicious.

Francesco and Alfonso both bnodded /bin agreement

“You can’t be seen, amoreb,/b” Francesco said gently, brushing a hand through my hair. His voice softened only for me, protective and warm despite the danger we were facing

“I know,” said quietly. “If we want this deception to work, I need to disappear from the public eye. Completely

For a moment, none of us

us spoke.

The weight of what we were about to do settled around us like fog.

We were faking my illness. Faking my copse. Faking my weakness–all to draw out the enemy

It was risky. But it might be the only way to make them slip up.

“You’ll have to stay in the healer’s wing.” Francesco said “Under lock and spell. We’ll limit who’s allowed near you. Audrey and Monica will rotate shifts at your side. Lira will continue masking your scent.”

“I’ll handle the outer perimeter,” Ansa added. “Guards will act anxious. I make sure whispers reach our neutral allies even let some overhear

conversationsb./b”

I nodded.

Then I turned to Francesco, a quiet thought grawing at my chest. “Do you think Katrina was working with Luca

Francesco’s

sjaw tightened. “Yes, no human knows about us unless someone told her

bAlfonso /bagreed. “This was nned. Too precise. She had to bhave /bhad guidance. I bmean/b… She just human, how bcan /bshe has that horrible things on her is a

big question

Francesco’s eyes darkened. “Then let thermost

vink they can finish.

And I knew then this wasn’t jou about surviving

It was about making

You don’t touch. ma and walk away

it was a dangerous n.

But it was the only way.

So we let the be spread. That the Luna-|–|

had copsed shortly after th

That I was gravely ill. That no one except my mate and the h

Francesco yed the grieving, desperate Alpha perfectly. Audrey whispered carefully crafted stories to known gossips. The guards, who knows, concern Lira made sure no one could sense my presence by masking my scent with old herbs andyers of ancient concealment speils

naday.

And within a day, the rumor grew wings.

The Luna is dying

I stayed hidden deep beneath the estate. Only small people besides Francesco and the knew the truth Beta Alfonso, Marlow, Nn, Audrey, Monica Healer Lira and some of trusted warrior

Everyone else mourned.

I became a ghost in my own home.

All of it a performance. All of it–bat.

Let the traitors think they had won.

Let them rx.

Let them crawl out of hiding

And then? IT

Let them bleed

Now, in the present, I looked at Francesco. He still hadn’t moved from the window. The light from outside cast his silhouette in sharp golds and shadows.

“Thate this,” said softly

He turned at once and came to me, kneeling in front of the couch. His eyes met mine–bburning/b, bbut /bgentle,

“I know,” he murmured “But you’re strong. Stronger than they think. And this…this gives us a chance”

I swallowed hard, my threat thick.

She smiled at me, Francesco,” I whispered. She handed me that drink whileughing Like we were still friends. How–how could she?”

He didn’t answer with words.

He took my hands in his–warm, steady, anchoring me in a sea of pain I hadn’t dared in speak.

“She won’t sndle again,” he said finally, his voice like thunder ready to break.

I didn’t finch at the promise in his tone. I didn’t stop him or beg him to be merciful.

Because I knew what this was.

She hadn’t just betrayed me.

She had betrayed the pack. Betrayed the trust of our kind. Betrayed thews that bound un

She had attempted to assassinate the Lama.

There was no forgiveness

ess for that.

“I just want you to be careful,” whispered. “I don’t want them to hurt you, too.”

His jaw ticked, golden eyes darkening. “Let them try”

And I knew–it Katrina and whoever sent her dared to show their bfaces /bbagain/bb, /bFrancesco wouldn’t hesitate

And this time… neither would 1.

A