Mira's POV
I can't watch anymore.
The videos on the phone show everything. Damon kissing Selene. Damon holding her. Damon whispering words he used to say only to me.
"I love you." "You're my everything." "I can't live without you."
All lies. Everything was a lie.
"Turn it off," I choke out, shoving the phone back. "I can't... I can't see anymore."
The figure—someone I still can't believe is helping me—takes the phone gently. "I'm sorry, Mira. I truly am. But you needed to know."
"Why?" I'm crying now, ugly sobs that shake my whole body. "Why tell me? Why not just let me live in ignorance?"
"Because ignorance doesn't protect you. It just makes you vulnerable." They hesitate. "And because they're planning something. Something that will hurt you even more."
My head snaps up. "What do you mean?"
"Damon is going to reject you. Officially. He's planning to do it at the next full moon ceremony—three days from now. In front of the entire pack."
The world tilts.
Public rejection. The ultimate humiliation. Every wolf in our pack watching as my mate severs our bond forever.
"And Selene?" My voice is barely a whisper.
"He's going to claim her as his true mate immediately after. Make her Luna in your place."
Luna. My position. My title. Everything I've worked for, everything I've built in this pack for seven years.
Gone. Given to her.
"What about Kai?" Panic floods through me. "What about our son?"
"That's the worst part." They look away. "Damon plans to petition for full custody. He'll claim you're unstable. Unfit. He has pack members ready to testify against you."
"That's insane! I'm a good mother! Kai is my life!"
"I know. But Damon has been preparing this for months. Collecting 'evidence.' Building a case." They meet my eyes. "Mira, if you don't act first, you'll lose everything. Your mate, your position, and your son."
My wolf roars to life. Protective. Furious. Ready to fight.
No one takes my child. No one.
"What do I do?" I ask. "How do I stop this?"
"You beat him to it. Reject him first. Tonight. Before he can humiliate you publicly." They pull out papers from their jacket. "I had these drawn up. Rejection papers. All you need to do is sign them, perform the rejection ritual, and file them with the Pack Council tomorrow morning."
I stare at the papers. My hands won't stop shaking.
Reject Damon. End our mate bond. Become nothing to each other.
Can I do that? Can I destroy the bond that's defined me for seven years?
"If you don't, he will," they remind me. "And when he does, you'll have no power. No standing. No way to fight for Kai."
They're right. I know they're right.
But my heart is screaming.
"I need proof," I say suddenly. "The Council won't just take my word. I need evidence of the affair. Of everything."
"You have it. That phone has copies of everything. Photos, videos, text messages. Enough to prove infidelity and grounds for rejection."
"Then why haven't you shown the Council already? Why wait for me?"
They're quiet for a long moment. "Because it wasn't my place. This is your marriage. Your choice. Your justice to claim."
Something about their tone makes me study them closer. "You're not doing this just to help me, are you? You have your own reasons."
"Maybe. But that doesn't make the evidence less real. Or the danger less urgent." They check their watch. "You have three days before he rejects you publicly. Use them wisely."
They turn to leave.
"Wait!" I call out. "Why are you really doing this? What did Damon do to you?"
They pause. Look back at me with eyes full of old pain.
"He destroyed someone I loved. And I've been waiting for the right moment to return the favor." They smile sadly. "Consider this my gift to you, Mira. And my revenge against him."
Then they disappear into the shadows, leaving me alone with the phone full of evidence and papers that could end my marriage.
I look at the rejection documents. Read the formal words that will sever the mate bond forever.
Can I do this?
My phone buzzes. Damon calling again.
I don't answer.
Instead, I dial a different number. One I haven't called in years.
"Hello?" A familiar voice answers.
"It's me," I say. "I need your help. And I need it now."
"Mira? Is that you? What's wrong?"
"Everything. Everything is wrong." I take a deep breath. "I need a lawyer. The best one you know. And I need them tonight."
There's a pause. "What happened?"
"Damon's having an affair. With Selene. He's planning to reject me and take Kai." My voice breaks. "I need to strike first. I need to protect my son."
"I'm on my way. Stay where you are. Don't go back to that house. Don't talk to him. Don't sign anything until I get there."
"Thank you."
I hang up and sink to the ground, exhausted. My wolf is still raging, demanding we go back to the Packhouse and fight. Claim what's ours. Make them pay.
But the human part of me just wants to curl up and die.
How did I not see this? How did I miss the signs?
All those late nights "working." All those times he was "too tired" to be intimate. All those moments when he seemed distant, distracted.
He wasn't working. He was with her.
He wasn't tired. He was saving his energy for her.
He wasn't distracted. He was thinking about her.
And I was too stupid, too trusting, too busy being the perfect wife and mother to notice.
A sound makes me freeze.
Footsteps. Someone's coming through the forest.
Multiple someones.
I scramble to my feet, clutching the phone and papers. My wolf senses danger.
Three figures emerge from the trees. Pack warriors. Damon's most loyal guards.
"There she is," one says. "The Alpha wants her brought back. Now."
My heart races. "I'm not going anywhere with you."
"That wasn't a request, Luna." They spread out, surrounding me. "The Alpha says you're experiencing a mental breakdown. That you need help. Medical attention."
Mental breakdown. Just like the mysterious helper warned. Damon's already starting his campaign to paint me as unstable.
"I'm perfectly sane. Leave me alone."
"Can't do that. Alpha's orders." The lead warrior steps closer. "Come peacefully, or we take you by force. Your choice."
My wolf snarls. We're outnumbered, but we won't go down without a fight.
I'm about to shift when another voice cuts through the night.
"Touch her, and I'll rip out your throats."
Everyone freezes.
A figure steps into the moonlight. Tall. Powerful. Radiating alpha authority.
My rescuer. The friend I called. The one person I should have turned to from the beginning.
"This doesn't concern you," the lead warrior says nervously.
"Mira is my pack sister. That makes it my concern." He moves to stand beside me. "And I outrank all of you. So when I say back off, you back off."
The warriors hesitate. They know who he is. Know his power. Know they can't win this fight.
"The Alpha won't like this," one mutters.
"Then the Alpha can take it up with me directly. At the Council meeting. Tomorrow morning. Where we'll discuss his illegal attempt to kidnap his wife and paint her as insane." His smile is cold. "I'm sure the elders will be very interested in hearing about that."
The warriors exchange glances. Then slowly back away.
"This isn't over," the lead one says.
"No," my rescuer agrees. "It's just beginning."
They disappear into the forest.
I sag with relief. "Thank you. If you hadn't come—"
"I told you I was on my way." He wraps an arm around my shoulders. "Come on. My car's just beyond the tree line. Let's get you somewhere safe."
"What about Kai? I can't leave him there. Not with Damon. Not after—"
"Already handled. My sister picked him up twenty minutes ago. Told Damon's mother there was a pack emergency and Kai needed to stay with us tonight." He guides me through the forest. "He's safe. Playing with my nephew. Completely unaware anything's wrong."
Fresh tears spill down my cheeks. "How did you know? How did you know to come?"
"Because I've suspected something was wrong for months. I've been watching. Gathering my own evidence." He looks grim. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I wasn't sure. Didn't want to accuse your mate without proof."
"But you have proof now?"
"Enough to bury him at the Council hearing." We reach his car. He opens the door for me. "Get in. We have a lot to discuss. And only three days to prepare."
I climb into the passenger seat, still clutching the phone and rejection papers.
Three days. That's all I have to save my son, my dignity, and my life.
As we drive away from the forest, away from the Packhouse, away from everything I thought was my home, one thought consumes me.
Damon wanted to destroy me quietly. Privately. Push me out and replace me like I never mattered.
But he made one fatal mistake.
He underestimated me.
And now? Now I'm going to show him exactly what happens when you betray a wolf mother protecting her cub.
"Where are we going?" I ask.
My rescuer—my friend, my brother in all but blood—smiles grimly.
"To see the Pack Council. Tonight. Emergency session." He glances at me. "Because by tomorrow morning, everyone will know what Damon and Selene did. And by tomorrow night?"
"What happens tomorrow night?"
"You reject him first. In front of the entire pack. At the Alpha's Hall. Where everyone can witness his shame." His hands tighten on the steering wheel. "And then we take everything from him. His reputation. His position. His future."
"What about Selene?" My voice is cold. Unfamiliar. "What happens to her?"
"That's up to you. You're the wronged party. The Council will let you decide her punishment."
Punishment. For my best friend. The girl I trusted with my secrets, my son, my life.
The girl who stabbed me in the back and smiled while doing it.
What punishment fits that betrayal?
My phone buzzes. A text from Damon.
Where are you? The warriors said you attacked them. That you're having a breakdown. Mira, please come home. Let me help you. I'm worried.
I stare at the message. At his fake concern. His manipulation.
He really thinks I'm going to fall for this. Really thinks I'm weak enough to crawl back.
I type a response with shaking hands.
I know everything. About Selene. About the affair. About your plan to reject me and take Kai. See you at the Council meeting tomorrow. Bring a lawyer. You're going to need one.
I hit send before I can second-guess myself.
Three dots appear immediately. He's typing. Panicking.
Then my phone rings. Damon calling.
I decline the call. Block his number.
Another text comes through. From Selene this time.
Mira, please! It's not what you think! Let me explain! I never meant to hurt you! You have to believe me!
I block her too.
"Good," my rescuer says, watching me. "Cut them off completely. Don't give them a chance to manipulate you."
"I won't." My voice is steady now. Strong. "I'm done being the naive wife who believes in fairy tales."
"What are you going to do?"
I look at the rejection papers in my lap. At the phone full of evidence. At the future I'm about to claim with both hands.
"I'm going to destroy them," I say quietly. "Both of them. Completely. So thoroughly that they'll wish they never betrayed me."
"Good girl." He grins. "That's the Mira I remember. The fierce warrior who doesn't back down from a fight."
We drive through the night, heading toward the Council building. Toward justice. Toward revenge.
But as we pull into the parking lot, my phone buzzes one more time.
Unknown number. Different from before.
Congratulations on finding your courage. But be careful, Mira. Damon isn't your only enemy. There are others who want you gone. Others who've been working with him. Trust no one. Not even the friend driving you right now.
The game is bigger than you know. And you're about to walk into a trap.
My blood runs cold.
I look at my rescuer—my friend, my brother, the man I called for help.
The man who knew exactly where to find me. Who had "evidence" ready. Who's taking me to an "emergency Council meeting" in the middle of the night.
What if this is the trap?
What if I just traded one betrayer for another?
"We're here," he says, parking the car. "Ready to face the Council?"
I look at the building. At the lights blazing inside. At the figures I can see through the windows.
This is it. The moment that will change everything.
Trust him and possibly walk into danger.
Or run and lose my only chance to save Kai.
"Mira?" He's watching me carefully. "What's wrong? You look pale."
"Nothing," I lie, slipping my phone into my pocket. "I'm fine. Just nervous."
"Don't be. I've got your back. Always."
Always. The same word Damon used in our wedding vows.
The same word Selene used when she promised to be my friend forever.
Words mean nothing. Actions are all that matter.
I step out of the car, my hand clutching the rejection papers like a weapon.
Whatever happens tonight, whoever is lying, whatever trap is waiting...
I'll face it.
Because I'm not just fighting for myself anymore.
I'm fighting for Kai. For his future. For his right to have a mother who doesn't give up.
And I won't stop fighting until either I've won...
Or I'm dead.
The Council building doors open.
My friend—or enemy—gestures for me to go first.
I take a deep breath.
And walk straight into whatever fate is waiting on the other side.