Third Person's POV How could they be laughing and celebrating outside while she was confined to this den? Celestine's fury radiated like wildfire through her body, dragging the neighboring bunks into chaos. Beds were trampled, drenched in water from her rage. Prisoners who had returned from labor stood aghast, claws clenched and tails bristling with anger. "Damn it! Celestine, who do you think you are-some pampered highborn wolf? Throwing tantrums in the den like this!" fists and boots swung at her, but she darted with sharp agility, avoiding blows with practiced precision, her growl low and steady in her throat. The Moonvale Pack had failed her. Worthless wolves! Worthless! If they could reduce her sentence, why couldn't they move her to a better den? Why let her suffer in this cage, watching her strength and spirit crushed? Did they think her worth lost when her mate sought higher ground? A mockery. Aysel Vale would never look back. And no one would escape her attention either. Her heart ignited, fury coiling like a wolf poised for attack. The fires of vengeance burned not only for the Moonvale Pack, but also for Damon Blackwood, who had abandoned her protection after she fell. Since her incarceration, he had never come. Yet Celestine's anger misjudged the web of alliances. In truth, Damon had acted out of a complex sense of honor-he had aided Celestine's last steps after the calamity, leaving matters clear between them. Knox Draven's influence weighed heavily above her, a shadow that kept the wolves from interfering. Even if a leg were broken by protocol, the Moonvale elders dared not challenge it. Magnus had ensured her den was tended to, yet still, her life was a cycle of suffering. The Moonvale family only observed, mistaking her frantic state for hysteria, oblivious to the true causes of her anguish. What was once a harmonious pack outside of Aysel was now spiraling toward estrangement, each step carrying them farther apart. Meanwhile, Damon received the same high-school reunion summons. Alongside it came his mother's cold decree for an arranged mating. Damon froze. "Mother... are you mad?" His voice carried disbelief. The engagement with Celestine had not formally dissolved. To be sent to court another, while vows with Moonvale's heir remained, was unconscionable. He had promised himself: Aysel Vale, and no other. "Mad?" Luna Blackwood sneered, eyes as sharp as obsidian, tail flicking with irritation. "You are the one who is blind, Damon. Tell me-why did you have a sentinel watch Magnus Sanchez? What were you hoping to accomplish?"Damon's jaw tightened, lips pressed into a thin line. Magnus's name alone, his reputation, set off every instinct within Damon. He had no plan to confront the Alpha outright; he sought only the slightest flaw, a weakness in the Shadowbane Alpha's hold over Aysel. A gap to pry apart their bond. The incident at the infirmary, where a misstep nearly ended a new life, had been a warning. If he did not act, Aysel would fully belong to Magnus. His most treasured prize-guarded for twenty cycles of the moon-could slip entirely from his grasp. The thought of her bearing Magnus's cubs, little pups bearing his mark, drove him toward madness. "Smack!" The slap echoed across the den, leaving Damon reeling. His mother's eyes blazed with disappointment and fury. "Open your eyes, Damon," she hissed. "Against Magnus, you strike like a pup against a lion. What right have you to contest him for this female? Your fragile claim to the Blackwood legacy is irrelevant. And your ambiguous connection to Aysel Vale-do you not see? You lost the moment her talons met your heart. From the birthday gathering onwards, you have been beaten, utterly." Memories of that night resurfaced like jagged teeth: the descent into misfortune, the unraveling of every wolf's path. Luna Blackwood regretted ever trusting the lies spun by Aysel's brother and Moonvale's elders, believing Aysel would surrender willingly to the engagement. A dark intuition whispered that if Damon had not been cornered by Magnus, pushed to act with desperation, he would never have conspired with Moonvale, never attempted to force Aysel's compliance with a grandmother's talisman.