Luna's POV
They're going to kill you and frame me for it? I repeat, my voice rising with panic. How? When?
Kael's hands shake as he reads through the documents. Tomorrow night. At the pack council meeting. According to these messages, someone's been planning this for weeks.
My legs go weak. Elena catches my arm to steady me.
Who? I demand. Who's the spy?
Kael's enforcer looks sick. The messages are signed with initials only. S.G.
The room goes silent.
Sienna Graves, Kael says quietly, and his face goes pale. My Beta.
I stare at him in shock. Your Beta is trying to kill me?
It makes sense, Elena says grimly. Sienna's been in love with Kael for years. She expected to become his chosen mate. Then Luna came back pregnant with his baby.
But why frame Kael? I ask. If she loves him
If I'm removed as Alpha for ordering an illegal execution, the council would need a new leader, Kael says, his voice hollow. Sienna is my Beta. She'd be next in line. She'd become Alpha of Silverpine Pack.
Horror washes over me. She's willing to kill me and destroy you just for power?
Power and revenge, the enforcer adds. There's more in these documents. Diana Cross the woman who attacked you is Sienna's aunt. They've been working together.
Everything clicks into place. That's how Diana knew where I was staying. Sienna told her. She knew about the secret cottage because she's your Beta. She has access to everything.
Kael's eyes flash gold with rage. Where is Sienna now?
At her apartment, Alpha. Should we arrest her?
Not yet, Kael says, thinking fast. If we arrest her now, we don't know who else is involved. She might have other accomplices. We need to catch everyone at once.
So what do we do? I ask.
Kael looks at me with determination. We set a trap. Tomorrow night at the council meeting, we let Sienna think her plan is working. When she makes her move, we expose her in front of the entire pack.
You want to use me as bait? I ask, my hand moving protectively to my stomach.
I'll never let anything happen to you, Kael promises. You'll be surrounded by my most trusted enforcers the entire time. Tobias will be with you every second. And I'll be watching.
This is insane, Elena protests. Luna is pregnant! You can't put her in danger!
I'm already in danger, I point out. Diana tried to kill me tonight. Sienna will try again. At least if we control the situation, we have a chance to stop her.
Kael looks at me with something like admiration. You don't have to do this.
Yes, I do, I say firmly. Sienna wants me dead because I'm carrying your baby. Because she thinks I'm stealing her future. I won't let her win. I won't let her hurt my daughter.
Our daughter, Kael corrects quietly, and my heart skips.
It's the first time he's said it. Our daughter. Not your baby or the baby. Ours.
What's the plan? I ask, pushing away the emotions swirling in my chest.
Kael spreads out the documents on the table. According to these messages, Sienna plans to poison your drink during the council meeting. She'll use wolfs bane it's deadly to pregnant she-wolves. Within minutes, you'd collapse. She's arranged for the pack doctor who's loyal to her to pronounce you dead before Elena can examine you.
There's a doctor working with her too? Elena gasps.
Dr. Marcus Reynolds, the enforcer confirms. He's mentioned in the messages.
So Luna drinks the poison and 'dies,' Kael continues, his voice tight with controlled rage. Then Sienna produces 'evidence' that I ordered the poisoning because I didn't want to acknowledge the baby. The council would arrest me for murder. Sienna takes over as Alpha.
Except I won't actually drink the poison, I say, understanding. We'll switch the drinks.
Exactly, Kael says. Elena will prepare a fake poison that looks and smells like wolfs bane but is actually harmless. You'll drink it and pretend to collapse. When Sienna reveals her 'evidence' against me, we'll expose her instead.
What about Diana Cross? I ask. She's in the holding cells. Won't Sienna realize something's wrong when she finds out Diana was caught?
We're keeping Diana's arrest secret, Kael says. Only the enforcers in this room know about it. As far as Sienna knows, Diana escaped after attacking you.
Elena shakes her head. This plan has too many risks. What if something goes wrong? What if Luna actually gets hurt?
Then I'll die protecting her, Kael says simply, and the certainty in his voice makes my breath catch. But I won't let Sienna destroy my pack or hurt my family. Not without a fight.
My family. He said my family.
I'll do it, I say. I'll be the bait.
Kael nods. Then we have one day to prepare. Elena, you'll make the fake poison. Tobias, gather the enforcers we can trust only wolves who've been with me since before Sienna became Beta. We can't risk any of her loyalists finding out.
Yes, Alpha, Tobias says.
What about me? I ask. What do I do?
You stay here where it's safe, Kael says. Rest. Protect the baby. Tomorrow night is going to be dangerous.
I'm not hiding, I protest. I want to help
You are helping, Kael interrupts gently. By staying alive. By trusting me to keep you safe. That's all I need from you right now.
His golden eyes hold mine, and I see the fear beneath his Alpha mask. He's terrified of losing me. Of losing our daughter.
Okay, I agree quietly. I'll stay here.
The meeting breaks up. Enforcers leave to carry out their orders. Elena hugs me tightly before she goes.
Be careful tomorrow, she whispers. Please.
I will.
Finally, it's just Kael and me. He walks me back to Elena's apartment where I'm staying tonight the cottage isn't safe anymore since Diana found it.
At the door, Kael stops. Luna, I need to tell you something.
What?
My father's files about your parents' execution. I've been reading through them tonight. There are... inconsistencies. Things that don't add up.
My heart pounds. What kind of inconsistencies?
Your father supposedly confessed to leaking pack secrets, Kael says slowly. But the confession was never recorded. There are no witnesses listed. And the evidence against him was all circumstantial.
What are you saying? I whisper.
I'm saying my father might have executed innocent wolves, Kael says, his voice filled with pain. I'm saying your parents might have been framed. And if they were, then Diana Cross has been trying to kill an innocent woman for twenty years of lies.
My world spins. Why would your father frame my parents?
I don't know yet, Kael admits. But I'm going to find out. I promise you, Luna. I'll discover the truth about what happened that night.
He starts to leave, but I grab his hand without thinking.
Kael, wait.
He turns, and we're standing so close I can feel his warmth.
Thank you, I say softly. For believing me about the baby. For protecting us. For investigating my parents. Thank you.
Kael's hand comes up to cup my face, his thumb brushing my cheek. I should have believed you from the start. I should have protected you three years ago instead of pushing you away. I have so many regrets, Luna. But the biggest one is letting you go.
My eyes fill with tears. Kael
His phone buzzes, shattering the moment. He checks it and his face goes pale.
What's wrong? I ask.
It's from Sienna. He shows me the message: I know Luna is staying at Elena's apartment tonight. Sleep well, traitor's daughter. Tomorrow is your last day alive.
Below the text is a photo.
Of me and Kael standing at Elena's door.
Taken from across the street.
Taken thirty seconds ago.
She's watching us right now, I whisper in horror.
Kael spins around, his eyes scanning the darkness. But the street is empty.
His phone buzzes again. Another message from Sienna: P.S. – I knew about Diana's attack. I planned it. But I wanted Luna to survive... so I could kill her myself tomorrow in front of everyone. Sweet dreams, Alpha. Tomorrow you lose everything.
Kael's face goes deadly calm. Get inside. Lock the door. Don't open it for anyone but me or Tobias.
Where are you going?
To have a conversation with my Beta, Kael says, and his voice promises violence. She just made a fatal mistake. She threatened what's mine.
He kisses my forehead quickly, then shifts into his black wolf and disappears into the night.
I stumble inside Elena's apartment, my hands shaking.
Sienna knows we know. She's not even hiding anymore.
Tomorrow's trap just became a thousand times more dangerous.
Because now Sienna knows we're coming for her.
And she's ready.