Kael's POV The rain didn't stop. It came down like a curse from the Moon Goddess herself-cold, relentless, and unforgiving. I'd been kneeling outside the Duskgrave estate for what felt like a lifetime. In truth, it had only been two hours, but every minute in that storm felt like a blade slicing through my spine. My knees were numb. My fingers too stiff to curl. My wolf was silent. And my heart? Shattered. I wasn't here to make a scene. I wasn't here to beg for pity. I was here because I'd wronged her-Riley. My little sister. My blood. My adopted sister offended my biological sister, and I want to ask for her forgiveness. Riley has always been easy to coax. As long as I am a little gentler to her, she will do exactly what I say. But I don't know why this time, she seems really heartbroken. I deserved the pain. It was the only thing that made sense anymore. The downpour blurred everything-my vision, my thoughts, my pride. I don't remember falling. One second I was kneeling... the next, the world tilted sideways. Cold water rushed up to meet me, soaking into my clothes and lungs. Then, black. When I came to, it wasn't the rain I felt-it was heat. Clean, dry, suffocating heat. Hospital lights. I blinked against the brightness, my throat burning, my body aching in places I didn't know could ache. My limbs felt like they were made of lead. The IV line tugged slightly as I shifted, and a dull beep rang from some monitor nearby. Then, my phone rang. A shrill buzz that cut through my skull like claws on stone. I fumbled for it, pressed it to my ear, my voice a rasp. "Hello...?" "Alpha Kael! Finally! Where the hell have you been?! I've been calling all night!" It was Luca-my assistant, his voice cracking under pressure. "You need to get to the company. Now. It's... it's over. The company-Vale Industries-it's gone. We're bankrupt." I bolted upright. Pain ricocheted through my skull, but I didn't care. "What did you just say?!" "I-I said we're finished! The board's in chaos, the banks froze our assets, the media's already outside. We're under investigation for tax fraud. And Alpha..." His voice dropped, trembling. "The council has been alerted." I stared blankly at the white walls around me. "Impossible. We were fine yesterday. We just signed off on the new trade route with the Blackmaw border fleet. There's no way we could've collapsed overnight." But deep down, I knew that wasn't true. The truth? We'd been bleeding for months. Debt. Corruption. False reports. The façade I helped build to keep the pack's reputation intact was crumbling-because of me. Because I was too arrogant to admit that Riley had seen it all first. That her warnings weren't paranoia... they were prophecy. Lucien. My teeth ground together. Stormridge's infamous Alpha. Riley's so-called savior. He'd done this. He must've. No one else had the power-or the motive-to tear down Ebonclaw's pride in a single night. I ripped the IV from my arm, blood dripping down my wrist. The nurse outside shouted something, but I was already pulling on my coat. Hospital gown still clinging to me like shame, I didn't care. I had to see it for myself. The ride to the company was a blur. The streets still slick with rain, the sky a murky gray like it hadn't yet decided whether to give me a second chance or bury me for good. When I arrived at the Vale Industries tower, it wasn't the chaos that got me-it was the silence. No lights on. No staff rushing through the doors. Just cold wind and wet concrete.And the cops. Three enforcers from the Lunar Tribunal stood at the front gate. One of them stepped forward. "Alpha Kael Vale?" I squared my shoulders. "What do you want?" "Vale Industries is under investigation for severe tax violations and regulatory fraud," the wolf said. "You are listed as the registered Alpha-owner and legal representative. You'll need to come with us." His words didn't land right. Registered Alpha-owner? Legal representative? That wasn't possible. I was never made the formal head of the company. My father was the founder. The true Alpha of Ebonclaw's financial arm. I was just the heir. The name on the documents... was never supposed to be mine. "What the hell do you mean I'm the legal representative?" I snapped. "That's impossible." But even as I said it, pieces were falling into place. The day Father left for the Western Territories. The emergency documents he pushed in front of me. "Just sign it, Kael. We need a name to secure the deal before the council interferes." I signed it without reading it. I thought it was temporary. I thought I was just holding the reins until he came back. My own damn name. And Goddess... what if this was always the plan? What if my father never intended to come back? What if I'd been made a scapegoat from the beginning?The enforcers moved in. I didn't resist. There was nothing left to fight for. Only one face haunted me now-Riley's. My little sister. The one I locked away. The one I called a traitor. The one I beat and betrayed to protect a lie. She once warned me to be cautious after learning about it-being the legal representative of a company is no easy task. But I brushed it off as her showing off some petty tricks in front of me. I didn't listen to her. In fact, I coldly warned her to mind her own business. I didn't listen. Now the world was burning, and I was the fool kneeling in its ashes.