LILA

I fucking loathe road trips, there was nothing spectacular about greenery and nature.

I sat in the back of the car watching the landscape blur past while my chauffeur navigated the road toward Stormshadow territory.

Maya sat beside me silent and obedient in the way I had trained all my girls to be, hands folded in her lap and eyes forward unless I gave her permission to look at me directly.

I had two missions today and I was going to accomplish both of them.

"Are we going to finalize the wedding date and hall today?" Maya asked, her voice tentative.

I glared at her for interrupting my thoughts. "Yeah yeah yeah."

She flinched. "Sorry Luna Lila for distracting you."

This was why I liked Maya more than the rest of the pussy-eating slaves and maids I kept around. Unlike the others who constantly needed instruction and validation, Maya knew exactly how to stick to whatever script I gave her without deviation or question.

She understood that I did not need conversation, just compliance.

I glanced at my chauffeur through the rearview mirror. "Head over to the Stormshadow pack border."

"Yes Lady Lila," he responded immediately.

Maya’s confusion was visible in her peripheral expression but she knew better than to voice it. "What are we going to do at Stormshadow pack? Is that not the pack of Luna—"

She paused when she saw my face contort into a venomous glare.

"I meant Amaris’s pack," Maya corrected quickly, dropping the title I had explicitly forbidden anyone to use for that wench.

"Yes," I confirmed. "I am meeting with Alpha Darius."

Maya looked thoroughly confused now but had the intelligence to close her mouth and not ask follow-up questions that would irritate me further.

I knew I was supposed to be planning a wedding and selecting floral arrangements and tasting cake samples like a proper bride-to-be.

But none of that mattered if the wedding never actually happened.

The look Rowan had given Amaris during the engagement party had been haunting me for days, playing on repeat in my mind whenever I tried to sleep. I had seen that expression before, recognized it immediately because it was the same look Cole gave me when he thought I was not paying attention.

It was a possessive gaze of admiration and a longing close to devotion.

If I did not do something about Amaris soon, I would never become Luna of Gravemoon. The wedding would fall apart, Rowan would find some excuse to break the engagement, and all my careful planning would dissolve into nothing.

Getting rid of her from within Gravemoon was nearly impossible considering how powerful Alpha Corvin was and how closely he guarded what belonged to him.

So I needed to eliminate her from the outside instead, and needed to destroy her credibility before she could sink her claws any deeper into what was mine.

The chauffeur slowed after thirty minutes of driving and announced our arrival.

Alpha Darius and I had agreed to meet at a location carefully chosen to avoid suspicion, a spot just before the entrance to Stormshadow territory where the borders were between packs.

His car was already parked outside the secluded bar we had selected, a rundown establishment that sat in the no-man’s-land between Stormshadow and Gravemoon.

I had very specific reasons for choosing this particular location where loyalties were ambiguous and witnesses were unlikely.

I looked at Maya and my voice dropped to that commanding tone that made everyone around me scramble to obey. "Stay in the car."

She nodded quickly.

I adjusted my transparent black veil to cover my face before stepping out into the afternoon sun. The gravel crunched under my heels as I walked toward the bar entrance, my posture perfect and my movements calculated to project exactly the image I wanted Darius to see.

The bar was empty when I pushed through the door, which was expected given it was barely past noon and most wolves were either working or sleeping off hangovers from the night before.

Alpha Darius sat in the far corner wearing a black suit and sunglasses like some underpaid bodyguard from a bad action movie.

But he did not look terrible, I observed while approaching. If men like him were not too proud to degrade themselves by joining a harem, I would have enjoyed discovering what that tongue he had used to lick Amaris’s feet could do between my legs instead.

I sat down across from him and lifted my veil slowly, letting the fabric slide up to reveal my face inch by inch.

He removed his sunglasses and his eyes widened slightly. "I was quite surprised when I received your call today. It is unusual to have a lady like yourself reach out to me directly."

I smiled and felt satisfaction bloom in my chest. He still considered me a lady, which meant he was already falling into the trap I was setting.

"Yes I was skeptical about calling," I lied, twisting my voice into that gentle helpless tone I used on unsuspecting men. The damsel in distress act that worked on Rowan and apparently worked on Alpha Darius too. "But I felt I had to."

"Whatever I can do to be of service to the heir of Ironcrest pack would be my pleasure," Darius responded, leaning forward slightly.

I feigned hesitation, letting my fingers twist together on the table. "I saw what happened during the engagement party."

His entire countenance changed even though he tried to hide it behind a neutral expression. His jaw tightened and his shoulders went rigid.

"It was so unfair what Luna Amaris made Alpha Corvin do to you," I continued, watching his reaction carefully.

Darius’s eyes flashed. "What do you mean Amaris made him do it?"

I widened my eyes and pulled back like I had just revealed a secret I was not supposed to share. "I am sorry, I am not sure I was supposed to tell you that." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"Speak," he commanded, and there was the dominance I had been counting on, the pride that would not let an insult go unanswered.

I bit my lip and dropped my voice lower. "My fiancé Rowan told me in confidence that Amaris manipulated Alpha Corvin into humiliating you publicly. Something about revenge for how you treated her growing up."