Alpha Alaric had always known keeping Tessa of the Blackmaw Pack alive would come back to ruin him. If he'd known things would spiral like this, he should have ended her when she'd still been locked in that endless, vegetative silence. Who could have predicted that a wolf trapped in darkness for years would ever awaken? The muscles in Alaric's jaw twitched with tension, though he forced himself to stand tall, masking the sudden thundering of his pulse. "I don't understand a word you're saying," he said flatly. A cold, humorless laugh slipped from Tessa's lips, her voice carrying the edge of a blade. "Isn't this exactly what you and Scarlett whispered about upstairs five years ago?" Her words were venom, but she wasn't finished. "Not just that-you plotted to drive your lawful mate into madness, wear the mask of the devoted husband, and once you seized full control of the Ebonclaw Pack's holdings, you planned to kill her and wed your precious mistress, Dean Elira Blackthorn. As for Kael Vale? You wanted him chained for life to serve your mistress and her children, with not a single coin from your estate to his name when you were gone." "That's a lie," Alaric snapped, a note of panic threading his voice. "The lot of you are conspiring to frame me." "Frame you?" Tessa's sunken eyes widened, the gaunt hollows of her face making her stare all the more haunting. "I heard every word between you and Scarlett. That's why you shoved me to the forest-you thought the Rogues would kill me. But I lived. And my survival ruined your plan, so you pinned the attempt on Riley, making her take the fall for your crime." She shifted her gaze to Luna Zara, her voice dripping with scorn. "Alpha's mate, you truly are the perfect wife for him-and the perfect mother for Scarlett. Riley could have cleared her name. But you... you destroyed the security footage that would have proved her innocence, ensuring she was thrown into the dungeons for five long years to rot in the dark." Luna Zara froze, her blood running cold, every bone in her body trembling. She had thought the betrayals she'd already uncovered-Alaric casting Riley out, causing her father's death, keeping a mistress, and placing the mistress's pup in her arms to raise-were the worst blows she could bear.But this truth... this was cruelty of another breed. Five years ago, Alaric and Scarlett, wolves without conscience, had tried to murder Riley. When they failed, they branded her with the blood-guilt of attempted murder. And Luna-goddess help her-had destroyed the one proof that could have set the girl free, then convinced Riley to take the punishment in Scarlett's stead. Her breath came faster and faster, her heart clamped in an iron fist. The pain tore through her chest, sharp and relentless, a metallic taste flooding her mouth. She couldn't hold it back-blood spilled past her lips with a harsh cough. Her knees buckled. Through the dimming haze of her vision, she looked toward Riley, guilt carving deep furrows in her soul. Her hand lifted, trembling, desperate to touch the girl's face-to convey the apology she could never voice. But the darkness swallowed her before her fingers could reach. She collapsed hard onto the cold floor, her last sight the unyielding figure of Riley seated on the couch, unmoved, her eyes like shards of winter glass. Once, Riley would have risen. Once, there had been warmth. Luna Zara understood now-she had destroyed it herself. Riley... it's your mother who wronged you. Her eyes slid shut, and consciousness left her. Riley didn't so much as flinch, letting Luna lie where she fell. The silence shattered as the heavy doors to the Duskgrave pack's grand hall opened. Duke entered first, his steps crisp, his presence all business. Behind him came Scarlett, Dean Elira Blackthorn, and Ronan Duskcliff. "Alpha," Duke announced to Lucien Duskgrave, the Stormridge prince, "everyone you requested is here." Lucien's gaze swept the room, his tone dark and edged with anticipation. "Good. The players are all assembled... let the show begin." Few understood his meaning, and fewer still dared to ask.Tessa and her mother turned their eyes on Scarlett, hatred sparking like wildfire. In contrast, Alpha Alaric's chest loosened in visible relief at the sight of his beloved daughter freed from the holding cells. So his influence still carried weight-enough to force even the Stormridge heir's hand. His expression softened, paternal warmth sliding into place, but the moment his eyes caught on her shaven scalp, rage blazed hot and unrestrained. "Scarlett, who dared do this to you?" His voice was a growl. "Tell your father. I will see to it they pay in blood. I'll show them what it means to cross the daughter of the Ebonclaw Pack's Alpha." Scarlett, however, had gone utterly still, frozen the instant her eyes locked on Tessa. Fear poured into her veins like ice water. And when she met the burning stares of Tessa, her mother, and her father, her heart lurched violently in her chest. They knew. Tessa must have told them everything about what happened five years ago.