Chapter 2

Pain greeted me before consciousness fully returned. A searing, all-consuming agony that seemed to burn from within my very bones. My eyelids felt weighted with lead as I struggled to open them, the harsh fluorescent lights of the pack infirmary stabbing into my retinas.

I tried to scream, but only a raspy whisper escaped my throat. My vocal cords felt raw, as though I'd swallowed glass.

"Water," I croaked, my tongue thick and dry.

A figure appeared in my field of vision—Marcus Vale, our pack healer. His face remained impassive as he looked down at me, no trace of compassion in his eyes.

"Alpha's orders. Limited fluids until you're stable." His voice was cold, clinical. "Your wolf should be healing you by now."

I tried to respond, but the pain intensified, white-hot needles piercing my skin from the inside out. My body was wrapped in bandages from neck to toe, the scent of antiseptic and burned flesh overwhelming my senses.

"My wolf," I managed to whisper. "Can't shift."

Marcus's expression hardened. "Convenient excuse. The Alpha says you've been faking your inability to shift for months."

He checked my vitals with mechanical precision, avoiding my eyes. "You're lucky to be alive, Celine. Though I doubt you deserve it after what you did."

"What I did?" The words scraped against my damaged throat.

"The fire." He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. "We all know you set it yourself. Desperate attempt to get attention, to ruin the ceremony."

I shook my head weakly, tears stinging my eyes. "No..."

"Save your strength." Marcus straightened, adjusting his white coat. "Your pain medication is being restricted. Alpha's orders. He says your wolf should handle the healing."

He knew I couldn't shift. Everyone knew. The trauma from my miscarriage had left my wolf silent, unreachable. But Declan had chosen to believe I was lying about that too.

---

Days blurred together in a haze of pain and fever. When I could bear it, I reached for my phone on the bedside table, wincing as the movement pulled at my burns.

The pack's social network app loaded slowly on the cracked screen. My heart sank as I scrolled through the posts.

Alina's face smiled back at me from dozens of photos. Her in Declan's arms. Her wearing the Luna's ceremonial necklace. Her fresh marking proudly displayed.

"New beginnings with my Alpha," read one caption beneath a photo of them kissing.

"The ceremony was perfect," declared another, showing off her ring.

But worse than the public posts was the private message that popped up as I scrolled.

"Enjoying the show, Celine?" Alina's name flashed on my screen.

I opened the message with trembling fingers. A video began to play automatically.

Alina's voice purred from the speakers. "Miss me?"

The camera panned to show her in the Alpha suite—our suite—wearing nothing but Declan's shirt. She was sprawled across his bed, running her fingers through her dark hair.

"This is from three weeks ago," she said, smiling directly at the camera. "Right after you lost your pup. While you were still bleeding, actually."

The camera moved, revealing Declan entering the frame. He kissed her neck, right over the spot where he would later mark her.

"He never went back to you after that night," Alina continued. "Every time you think he was with you, he was with me."

I dropped the phone as though it had burned me worse than the fire.

---

A soft knock at the door startled me from my misery. I expected Marcus with more accusations, but instead, a young woman slipped inside, closing the door quietly behind her.

"Elena?" I recognized her vaguely as one of the lower-ranked wolves who worked in tech support.

"Shh." She glanced nervously over her shoulder. "I don't have much time."

She approached my bed, her eyes darting to the door every few seconds. "I saw what happened," she whispered. "The security logs."

My breath caught. "What logs?"

Elena reached into her pocket and pulled out a small phone—a burner model with no markings. "I work in the security office. I saw the records from the night of the fire."

She pressed it into my hand, closing my fingers around it. "The Alpha remotely locked the shutters after the fire alarm went off. He did it from the Pack House, during the ceremony."

"Why are you helping me?" My voice was barely audible.

Elena's eyes filled with tears. "Because my sister was rejected too. She didn't survive it."

She straightened as footsteps approached in the hallway. "Hide this. They're monitoring everything else."

As she turned to leave, she paused at the door. "The truth is in there. What you do with it is up to you."

The door closed behind her, leaving me alone with the small device that held the key to my revenge—and perhaps my salvation.