Chapter 4

Alessia POV:

The drive back to the Pack House was silent. Santino gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were white. He dragged me into the house and shoved me into the guest room on the first floor-not even our bedroom.

"You stay here until you come to your senses," he spat. Then he locked the door from the outside.

I didn't bang on the door. I didn't cry. I sat on the edge of the bed and waited.

I could hear them in the living room. Valentina's high-pitched, fake sobbing. Santino's murmuring comfort.

"She's crazy, Santino. She attacked me with her eyes. Did you see them?"

"She's just jealous, baby. Ignore her."

My stomach growled. I hadn't eaten all day. My metabolism was spiking as my body burned through the last of the suppressants. I needed meat. Raw meat.

I waited until morning. When the lock finally clicked open, I was weak, but my mind was razor-sharp.

I walked out into the hallway. The house was quiet.

I went to the kitchen to find food, but stopped when I passed the living room mirror.

Valentina was there, admiring herself. She was wearing a silk robe-my silk robe. But that wasn't what stopped my heart.

Around her neck hung a delicate silver chain with a glowing, pale blue stone.

My mother's Moonstone necklace.

It was an heirloom from the Royal Family. It wasn't just jewelry; it was infused with the Moon Goddess's blessing. It was the only thing I had left of my mother.

"Take it off," I whispered.

Valentina jumped and turned around. When she saw it was me, she relaxed and smirked. She fingered the stone possessively.

"Oh, this?" She giggled. "Santino gave it to me this morning. He said it's a protection charm for the baby. It looks better on me, don't you think? It brings out my eyes."

"That belonged to my dead mother," I said, stepping closer. The air around me began to crackle. "Give it to me."

"No," Valentina said, pouting like a child. "It's mine now. Santino said everything that was yours is now mine."

She took a step back, and whether it was clumsy or intentional, she yanked the chain.

Snap.

The delicate silver links broke. The necklace fell.

It hit the hardwood floor. The Moonstone, brittle with age and magic, shattered into three pieces. The soft blue glow inside it flickered and died.

Time stopped.

I stared at the broken pieces of my mother's legacy. It felt like she had died all over again.

A scream tore from my throat. Not a human scream, but a primal sound of loss.

I moved faster than I ever had before. I closed the distance and slapped Valentina across the face.

Smack!

It wasn't a hard blow, just enough to shock her. She stumbled back, clutching her cheek, eyes wide.

"Santino!" she shrieked.

Santino appeared instantly, as if he had been waiting for this. He saw Valentina holding her cheek, saw the broken necklace on the floor.

He didn't ask what happened. He didn't look at the heirloom.

He looked at me with pure hatred.

"You dare touch her?" he roared.

He raised his hand.

In werewolf culture, an Alpha never strikes his Luna. It is the ultimate taboo. It is a sign of a broken leader, a tyrant.

But Santino didn't care.

His heavy hand swung through the air and connected with my face.

CRACK.

The force of the blow threw me to the floor. My head slammed against the wood. I tasted copper. Blood filled my mouth.

For a second, there was silence. Absolute, terrifying silence.

I lay on the floor, my hair covering my face.

Something inside me snapped. The final chain holding back the White Wolf shattered.

The pain didn't make me cry. It made me... free.

I pushed myself up slowly. My hair fell away from my face.

"Alessia?" Santino's voice wavered. "I... I didn't mean to hit you that hard. But you defied me."

I stood up. I wiped the blood from my split lip with my thumb and looked at it.

Then, I looked at him.

Santino gasped and took a step back. Valentina let out a strangled whimper.

My eyes were no longer brown.

They were silver. Glowing, radiant, terrifying silver. The mark of the Royal Bloodline. The mark of the White Wolf.

The air in the room grew heavy, charged with ozone and static. The furniture began to rattle.

"I am not Alessia, the submissive wife," I said. My voice sounded different-layered, as if two beings were speaking at once.

"Who... what are you?" Santino stammered, fear finally dawning in his eyes.

"I am the judgment you brought upon yourself," I said.

I raised my hand. I didn't need a phone. I didn't need to shout. I spoke directly into the Mind-link, but not the pack link. I spoke into the ancient, dormant channel that connected me to my father's army.

Damien, I commanded. "Now."