Daisy’s face drained of all color as she slowly climbed back to her feet. Her heart was pounding so hard she could barely catch a full breath. How... how the hell could Seraphine know? No one knew that secret.

She had buried it so deep that not even Ravyn had ever suspected a thing. Forcing herself to stay steady, she clenched her trembling fingers into tight fists.

"Sera..." Her lips curled into a stiff smile that never reached her frightened eyes. "What exactly are you implying?"

Seraphine looked at her without the slightest hint of warmth. That icy stare alone was enough to twist Daisy’s stomach into knots. "I should be asking you that."

Ravyn’s eyes immediately swung toward Daisy. A heavy knot formed in his chest. His voice turned serious. "What is she talking about?"

Daisy’s heartbeat nearly stopped cold. Seeing the suspicion already creeping into his eyes terrified her more than Seraphine’s words ever could. She quickly forced out a laugh.

"I... I don’t know." She shrugged, trying to play it off like she was just confused. "She’s only jealous because I’m Luna now while she’s just a nobody in—"

Smack!

Another sharp slap cracked through the gym. Daisy never even saw it coming. Athaliah’s palm connected with her cheek hard enough to send her crashing onto the floor all over again.

Gasps exploded around the room. Even the Alphas sitting closest widened their eyes in shock. Nobody had expected the princess to step in like that.

"Princess!" Ravyn’s furious roar shook the entire hall.

Athaliah slowly lowered her hand and turned toward him. Her beautiful face stayed perfectly calm, but the quiet authority in her eyes was impossible to ignore.

"You should have taught your Luna how to address her elders." Her voice was cool and carried the full weight of royalty.

"Even if Seraphine is no longer the Luna of this pack, she still deserves respect. She gave everything she had to this pack while she carried that title."

The entire hall fell dead silent. No one dared challenge the princess. Corvine couldn’t stop the small smile tugging at his lips.

When they began to plan the whole revenge thing, Athaliah wasn’t even been part of the equation. Yet somehow, she was making everything so much easier, better than any of them had imagined.

His eyes drifted toward Voren. The Alpha remained seated, looking completely at ease. Not once had he tried to step in. He trusted both Seraphine and Athaliah to handle the situation exactly the way they wanted.

Daisy suddenly laughed. The sound came out bitter and full of humiliation. She slowly stood again, one hand covering her burning cheek.

This time she wisely kept her distance from both Seraphine and Athaliah. Instead, she circled around the tables until she reached Ravyn’s side. Standing beside him gave her a thin scrap of confidence.

She lifted her chin with a mocking smile. "Sera..." Her voice dripped with sarcasm. "You’ve been divorced from Ravyn for years." She looked Seraphine up and down. "I heard you’ve become pretty powerful in the human world." A smirk spread across her face. "I honestly thought someone would’ve wanted you by now."

The room instantly grew colder. Voren’s eyes darkened. The possessiveness inside him surged so fast that even Corvine felt the change in the air.

Every instinct screamed at him to walk over, pull Seraphine into his arms, and make it clear to every last person in the room that she belonged to him. She was his wife. His soon to be Luna. The mother of unborn pup. But Seraphine had a plan, and he respected her enough to let her finish it.

Then another thought crossed his mind. Almost everyone living in the city knew about Seraphine and Leon. Even though their relationship had only been an act, the rumors were still floating around.

Maybe... he could use those same rumors to keep every other man the hell away from her. His jaw clenched. He had already noticed the hungry stares several Alphas kept throwing in Seraphine’s direction. Every single glance made his wolf more restless.

’Just let me rip their eyes out,’ Bloodfang growled.

Hearing his wolf’s voice caught Voren off guard. For a second surprise flashed across his face, then quiet amusement followed, because... he wanted exactly the same damn thing.

’Not yet,’ Voren answered inwardly. ’They deserve one warning before you start making a mess.’ He couldn’t help adding another thought. ’Besides, didn’t you say that you were exhausted?’

Bloodfang ignored the question completely. ’What’s the plan?’ His voice carried unmistakable excitement. ’I’ve been saving my strength for today.’

Voren nearly choked. ’Saving your strength?’ His brows knitted together. ’I thought all your energy was going toward supporting the pup.’

’Last night was boring,’ Bloodfang grumbled. ’There couldn’t even be blood because of the full moon. Disgust filled his tone. That’s not my kind of entertainment.’

Voren was left speechless. Only Bloodfang would complain about exhaustion because there wasn’t violence.

Nearby, Seraphine noticed Corvine opening his mouth to answer Daisy. Before he could get a single word out, a deep voice rolled across the gym. "Who said she needs another man?"

Every head snapped toward the back. "I’m right here."

The entire room froze. Shock spread across every face gathered inside the gym where everyone had taken shelter from the heavy snowfall. No one expected him.

At that exact moment the Alpha King walked inside. Snow still clung to his coat as he brushed it off with one hand.

Behind him came Alpha Vladimir and Olivia. Earlier, Killian had texted him that the princess was once again finding trouble.

Concerned, the Alpha King had left the safe house immediately. Vladimir had sensed something much bigger was unfolding and decided to follow, dragging Olivia along to keep his eyes on her.

Athaliah nearly stopped breathing. "Oh no..." She already knew what her reckless brother was about to do. She quickly prepared to mindlink him, but before she could get the words out he opened his mouth again. "I came here for Sera." His voice carried absolute confidence. "As I’ve been trying to reach her ever since hearing of the divorce, and I’m willing to pay the price."

Ignoring the murderous glare his father threw at him, he walked straight toward Seraphine. Every step only made the atmosphere heavier. When he finally stopped in front of her, his expression softened.

"If you marry me..." A gentle smile appeared on his face. "You’ll never have to worry about anything again."

The temperature inside the gym seemed to drop another ten degrees. Voren’s expression turned frighteningly dark. The murderous aura rolling off him was impossible to miss. At the same time, why did Ravyn’s face darkened just as hard?