Magnus's POV Johanna's story was one the entire Shadowbane bloodline liked to pretend never happened. But Aysel asked-and once she looks at me with those bright golden eyes, even Rafe folds his ears back and grumbles just tell her. So I did. "Johanna once entered the Sanchez estate under the guise of a private tutor," I told her, my arm around her waist."But her reason was revenge-her father's blood had been spilled, and she wanted payment." The rest? Pure wolf-realm melodrama. Rafe huffed inside me. Our pack... full of rut-addled idiots. He wasn't wrong. Back then, Phelan, Kurt, and Lyall all fell for the same woman. Even Conor-our notorious, reckless fourth brother-kept trying to sink his fangs in whenever he saw an opening. Phelan, already mated to Ulva and destined to inherit Bastien's mantle, was the one Johanna focused on. She wanted proximity to power; wolves like her always do. Kurt, a mild-tempered bastard son, only managed a quiet, pathetic infatuation. Lyall... Lyall was two years younger than her. Barely counted in her eyes back then. Still, the entire estate fell into chaos. Phelan nearly divorced Ulva-his arranged mate-because of Johanna. And then Ulva became pregnant. And then Phelan died. When the investigations finally unearthed the truth, they found Johanna had leaked Phelan's movements to several illegitimate sons and to rival packs. Business secrets had been traded in the shadows.Phelan was gone. Bastien lost his favorite heir. And though many hands had shaped the final outcome-bastard sons, jealous brothers, outside enemies-everyone agreed on one thing: Blame Johanna. Wolves were calling for her blood. That was when Lyall finally revealed his fangs. He threatened his father with his life, demanded Johanna be released, promised to give up everything-his name, his rights, the protection of the Shadowbane banner. He said he'd go into seclusion with her. Everyone thought he'd lost his mind. It was his own brother who'd been killed. But that's when we all realized-the quiet, unnoticed fifth son had been obsessed with Johanna all along. She really was a curse on our bloodline. The result was exactly as the outside packs whispered: Lyall defected for a woman. Vanished. Bastien wrote him off as dead. Aysel let out a low whistle. "He was a walking love-struck disaster. The rest of the Sanchez heirs must've celebrated. One dead. One ran away. Competition instantly reduced." I nodded. "Johanna chose Lyall partly because staying in the capital meant death. Leaving with him was her only escape." Aysel's nose wrinkled. "Shadowbane's family bonds are really something... He ignored his brother's death just for her."Rafe bared his teeth, annoyed. Not all wolves deserve to be called family. "It wasn't just that," I murmured. "No wonder Bastien hates her." "That's not why," I said. Aysel blinked. "Then why?" I exhaled slowly. Rafe snorted. Tell her. She'll enjoy this. "If Phelan hadn't died," I said, "Johanna would've likely become their new Luna. Their stepmother." Aysel choked on her own spit. She stared at me like I'd just told her the moon fell out of the sky. I didn't bother softening it-there was no lie in my scent, no flicker of deception in my aura. Her expression turned... complicated. The exact same one on my face years ago when I first learned this. Bastien had wanted Johanna. He was barely older than she was. "Your grandfather..." she whispered. "Truly... shameless." "Mm." Johanna wasn't even a renowned beauty. Shadowbane wolves are born with striking features, and our chosen mates tend to be exceptional. Compared to them, Johanna didn't stand out. But she was one of those soft-spoken, calm-eyed, quietly entrancing wolves. A beauty who grew on you. Even when Bastien was publicly humiliating her, calling her spineless and faithless, she never changed expression. If one got close-if one talked to her long enough-she felt like warm spring wind. No wonder the Sanchez men wanted her. Their tastes were... depressingly consistent."In a way," Aysel mused, "Johanna succeeded in her revenge. She shattered the entire second generation. Forced Bastien to start grooming third-generation heirs." "Lyall might even be the biggest winner," she added with a snort. "He beat his brothers, took the woman he wanted, all or nothing." My voice dropped. "He was loyal to Johanna. But to the rest? Not necessarily." Aysel straightened in my arms. "Meaning?" "No proof," I said, "but it's very likely Lyall had a hand in Phelan's death." Aysel's breath caught. I didn't throw out baseless accusations. Rafe didn't either. We only spoke when the scent trails aligned. "Does Bastien know?" she whispered. I shook my head. "When the future heir was killed, everything spiraled. Dozens of elders and outside branches were purged. Even several unrecognized bastard sons died in the aftermath. Bastien eventually stopped digging. He didn't want to uncover something... unforgivable." Aysel let out a long hiss through her teeth. Compared to Shadowbane's hidden rot, her old Moonvale life must've looked like a friendly little forest. She shivered lightly. Not from fear-Aysel never feared wolves. It was disgust. Suddenly she punched my chest. I caught her fist easily, amused. "Scared?" I teased. "It's your fault," she snapped. "You shouldn't have told me all this. Now I can't even look them in the eyes at dinner.""Yet I'm the one suffering for their sins?" I asked innocently. "That's right. You're a Sanchez." I leaned in. "I can take your surname." "No way. I hate mine too." "Then when we get married," I said, brushing my thumb over her knuckles, "we can choose a new one together." She burst into laughter. "Your father and Bastien would die on the spot." "Let them." Rafe purred, tail flicking arrogantly. She wants to share a name. Good. That is a mate's promise.