Chapter 4

Alessia's POV:

Santino dragged me inside the Packhouse and shoved me into the first-floor guest room.

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

I didn't pound on the door, and I didn't cry.

I could hear them in the living room. Valentina's shrill fake crying, and Santino's low voice comforting her.

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

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

My stomach rumbled. I hadn't eaten all day. As the suppressants metabolized out of my system, my inner wolf fully awakened.

I needed meat. Raw meat.

I waited until dawn. When the lock finally clicked open, I was physically exhausted, but my mind was startlingly clear.

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

I was heading to the kitchen to find something to eat, but I stopped when I passed the mirror in the living room.

Valentina was right there, admiring her reflection.

Around her neck hung a delicate silver chain, featuring a shimmering, light blue gemstone.

My mother's moonstone necklace.

It was a royal heirloom. It wasn't just jewelry; it carried the Moon Goddess's blessing. It was the only thing my mother had left me.

"Take it off," I said softly.

Valentina jumped and spun around. When she saw it was me, she relaxed, a smug smirk forming on her lips. She traced the stone with her fingers.

"Oh, this?" she giggled. "Santino gave it to me this morning. He said it's a talisman to protect the baby. Don't you think it looks better on me?"

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

"No," Valentina pouted like a spoiled child. "It's mine now. Santino said everything that used to be yours is mine now."

She took a step back, and whether out of clumsiness or deliberate malice, she yanked on the chain.

Snap.

The delicate silver chain broke. The necklace fell.

It hit the hardwood floor. The moonstone, fragile from age and magic, shattered into three pieces. The soft blue glow inside it flickered once, and then went completely dark.

Time stopped.

I stared at the shattered pieces of my mother's legacy, feeling as if she had died all over again.

A scream ripped from my throat. It wasn't a human scream; it was a primal wail of sheer agony.

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

Smack!

She stumbled backward, clutching her cheek, her eyes wide.

"Santino!" she shrieked.

Santino appeared instantly, as if he had been waiting for this exact moment. He saw Valentina clutching her face and the broken necklace on the floor.

He didn't ask what happened, nor did he even look at the heirloom.

He looked at me with a gaze full of pure hatred.

"How dare you touch her?" he roared.

He raised his hand.

In werewolf culture, an Alpha never strikes his Luna. It is an absolute taboo, a sign of a failed leader and a tyrant.

But Santino didn't care.

His heavy hand swung through the air and struck me across the face.

Crack.

The force of the blow knocked me to the floor. My head slammed heavily against the wooden floorboards. I tasted copper. Blood welled up in my mouth.

For a split second, there was total silence.

I lay on the floor, my hair falling over my face.

Something deep inside me snapped. The final chain binding the White Wolf shattered.

The pain didn't make me cry; instead, it set me... free.

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

"Alessia?" Santino seemed to suddenly regain his senses, his voice trembling. "I... I didn't mean to hit you that hard. But you defied my command."

"Yeah, if you were just a bit more obedient, I wouldn't have hit you. You need to reflect on your actions."

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

Then, I looked at him.

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

My eyes were no longer brown.

They were silver. Glowing, blinding, terrifyingly brilliant silver.

It was the mark of the royal bloodline. The mark of the White Wolf.

The air in the room grew heavy, and 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.

"What... what are you?" Santino stammered, a flicker of genuine terror finally crossing 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. The channel that connected me straight to my father's army.

"Damian," I commanded. "Now."