Chapter Ten

Serena’s POV

The midnight deadline pressed against my spine like a blade, but fear had burned away hours ago. All that remained was cold, calculated resolve. I moved through the pack house like a ghost in my own home, heading for the study. I needed the last of my private files before I disappeared for good.

The guards were conveniently distracted by a manufactured “disturbance” at the border. Someone’s clever misdirection. I didn’t care whose.

As I rounded the corner into the master corridor, I froze. The door to the master suite stood wide open. Servants hurried in and out like ants, carrying armfuls of silk gowns, designer heels, and ornate vanity cases containing Liliana’s things. They were already erasing me.

“Careful with those!” a maid called, flushed with excitement. “The new Luna wants everything placed exactly as she instructed. Not a single trace of the old atmosphere left behind. She said the room still smells like failure.”

Another servant laughed nervously. “Can you blame her? Three years of pretending to be Luna. I’d want it all gone too.”

My blood turned to ice, then lava. I was being scrubbed from the walls of my own life as if the last three years had been a stain they couldn’t wait to forget.

I slipped past them into the adjacent study, once my sanctuary, now stripped bare and impersonal. The warmth I’d carefully built was gone. Books I had organized were shoved aside, my favorite chair replaced with something sleek and cold that screamed Liliana’s taste.

“Serena?” Elias startled, nearly dropping the folders in his hands. The pack’s head treasurer looked exhausted, his eyes darting nervously toward the hallway. “You shouldn’t be here. What are you doing?”

“I’m finishing my work, Elias.” My voice stayed steady. “Unless Caden’s decided I’m no longer entitled to my own documents. Or has he already handed everything over to his new Luna?”

Elias swallowed hard, glancing over his shoulder again. “He… didn’t say anything specific, but things are volatile right now. The whole pack is on edge with the ceremony preparations. If he finds you here, he won’t be as lenient as before. They’re already talking about crowning her at dawn. Everything is moving faster than we expected.”

“Faster than they planned, you mean,” I replied, stepping closer to the desk. “Tell me, Elias, have you seen the transfer logs for the northern border expansion this quarter? The ones I requested last week?”

Elias paled visibly. His knuckles whitened around the folders. “Those are restricted now. My orders come directly from Belinda. I can’t discuss pack finances with you anymore, Serena. Please, don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

I studied his fearful expression, the way his shoulders hunched like he expected a blow at any moment. “She must be terrifying if you’d rather sink with this ship than jump early. Or are you hoping for a promotion once Liliana takes over? Tell me, Elias, how much have they promised you to stay quiet?”

He flinched but didn’t deny it. “You don’t understand the pressure. The pack needs stability. Caden says the old ways weren’t working. I’m just following orders.”

“Orders to ignore theft?” I pressed, but he was already backing away.

“I have to go. For your sake, Serena, leave now.” He turned and fled, footsteps echoing too loudly in the hollow room.

Good. His cowardice was confirmation enough. The rot went deeper than I imagined.

I dropped into the chair at the desk and yanked open the lower drawers. I wasn’t searching for memories. I was hunting evidence. Old correspondence and tax forms flew aside until my fingers found the false bottom in the side drawer. I pried it open with a letter opener, heart hammering.

Inside lay a thin, leather-bound ledger that didn’t belong with the standard accounting books. I flipped it open and the numbers hit me like a punch to the gut. Massive unauthorized withdrawals. All routed to an offshore shell corporation tied to Liliana’s birth name. Every transfer dated within the last twelve months, exactly the length of their so-called “fated” affair. Millions siphoned away while the pack struggled with “budget constraints” that had forced me to cut staff and delay repairs.

“You weren’t supposed to find that.”

The voice was pure ice. I spun around, clutching the ledger to my chest.

Caden stood in the doorway, his face half-shadowed, eyes burning with that unnatural predatory gold. No Alpha mask. No fake concern. Just raw, lethal intent.

“Is this why you kept me so busy, Caden?” I lifted the ledger so he could see I understood everything. “Bleeding the pack dry to fund her? Building your mistress a private fortune while I scraped by on duty and pennies? Answer me!”

“I did what I had to do,” he growled, stepping inside. He didn’t deny a single word. “She was a rogue. A commoner. She needed resources to stand beside me as Luna. You…” His lip curled in disgust. “You were already part of the machine. Born into this world, handed everything. What did you ever sacrifice?”

“Sacrifice?” I roared, my voice echoing off the walls. “I sacrificed everything for you! I stood by your side through challenges, through wars, through your father’s death. I managed the pack’s affairs while you chased your ‘fated mate.’ And all this time, you were stealing from the people who trusted you? How dare you!”

Caden’s eyes narrowed. “Stealing? Call it investment. Liliana deserves the best. The pack will thrive once she’s Luna. You were just… temporary. A placeholder to keep things stable until I could bring her in properly.”

“Temporary?” I laughed bitterly, backing toward the heavy terrace drapes while keeping the ledger tight against me. “Three years of marriage, of loyalty, of pretending your late nights and secret meetings meant nothing. You used me as cover for your theft! The northern expansion? The border defenses? All lies while you funneled money into her accounts. What kind of Alpha betrays his own pack like this?”

He lunged for the ledger. I twisted away, my shoulder brushing the drapes. “You’re not getting this back. This is a confession. Dates, amounts, shell companies, everything. If I walk out of here, I go straight to the Alpha Council. They’ll strip your title before sunrise. The Elders will tear this pack apart when they see the evidence.”

Caden stopped, chest heaving, claws sliding out with a sickening scrape. “You won’t make it to the border. Guards are at every exit. I have loyal wolves everywhere. You think you’ve uncovered some grand conspiracy?” A cruel smile twisted his mouth. “You’ve only uncovered why you’re never leaving this house alive. Drop the ledger, Serena. Now. Maybe I’ll make it quick.”

I met his stare without flinching, fury burning brighter than any fear. “Then it’s lucky I’m not the only one who knows. Gale already has the digital copies. Every page scanned and ready. If I don’t check in by dawn, the entire supernatural world will know exactly what kind of Alpha you really are. A thief, a liar, and a weak man hiding behind his fated mate.”

Shock flashed across his face, quickly swallowed by murderous rage. “Gale? That traitorous bitch. You’ve been planning this?”

“Planning? No. Surviving. I saw the signs months ago, but this?” I shook the ledger. “This is worse than I imagined. How long did you think you could keep draining the treasury? The pack is suffering while Liliana wears designer gowns paid for with stolen blood money.”

“Enough!” Caden snarled, advancing slowly. “You always thought you were smarter than everyone. Always the perfect Luna on paper. But you never understood power. Real power. Liliana does. She makes me stronger.”

“Stronger?” I spat. “She makes you a fool. And when the Council comes you’ll lose everything. The title, the pack, her. All of it.”

His fists clenched, body coiled like a predator ready to strike. “You won’t live to see that.”

I didn’t wait for him to recover. I turned and ran for the terrace, the ledger secured inside my jacket, ready to leap into the night and finish what he had started.

The cold air rushed up to meet me as I pushed through the drapes, his furious roar chasing me into the darkness.