The pack dining hall buzzed with its usual evening energy as I took my seat at the head table beside Thaddeus. Luna remained coiled tight within me, her presence a secret weapon I kept carefully hidden. For three days now, I'd been pretending nothing had changed, playing the role of the devoted, wolfless Luna while gathering intelligence.
"Juniper seems distracted lately," Beta Harrison commented from across the table, his weathered face creased with concern. "Perhaps the stress of the upcoming alliance ceremony is affecting her."
Thaddeus's hand found mine, his fingers intertwining with a practiced ease that once made my heart flutter. Now it felt like shackles.
"She's been having trouble sleeping," he said, his voice carrying that familiar note of protective concern that had fooled me for so long. "Haven't you, darling?"
I felt the familiar tingle at the edge of my consciousness—the artificial warmth that I'd mistaken for our mate bond. But this time, Luna was ready.
*Block it,* she snarled, and suddenly I could feel the manipulation like oil on water, slick and unnatural as it tried to seep into my thoughts.
The sensation was nauseating. Thaddeus was attempting to flood my mind with artificial calm, to make me compliant and agreeable. How many times had he done this? How many of my thoughts had actually been my own?
*Play along,* Luna advised. *Let him think it's working.*
I forced my shoulders to relax, allowing a serene smile to spread across my face. "Much better now," I said softly, exactly the kind of response he'd programmed me to give. "Thank you for being so patient with me."
Satisfaction flickered in his dark eyes, and I wanted to claw them out.
Throughout dinner, I watched him work. Each time a topic arose that might concern me—pack finances, territorial disputes, personnel changes—I felt that oily intrusion trying to redirect my attention. When Gamma Dylan mentioned concerns about the old training equipment still stored in the eastern warehouse, Thaddeus's mental manipulation spiked, trying to make me lose interest in the conversation.
But Luna held firm, and for the first time in five years, I heard every word.
"That equipment should have been destroyed after the incident," Elder Margaret said, her silver hair catching the candlelight. "It's a liability."
"Mckenna's handling the disposal," Thaddeus replied smoothly. "She's been coordinating with several other packs who've expressed interest in studying the technology."
I felt his mental touch again, stronger this time, trying to make me think about something else entirely. The manipulation was so invasive, so violating, that Luna's rage nearly broke through my careful facade.
*Five years,* she whispered. *Five years of him controlling our thoughts, our reactions, our very sense of self.*
After dinner, I excused myself early, claiming fatigue. In the privacy of our bedroom, I pulled out the encrypted phone Marcus Stone had provided and typed a careful message:
*The mind-link manipulation is active and ongoing. He uses it to control my emotional responses and redirect my attention from sensitive topics. How many others?*
Marcus's reply came within minutes: *You're the third case I've documented this year. The technology comes from banned texts—ancient pack magic combined with modern neural manipulation. Your husband didn't develop this alone. There's a network.*
My blood ran cold. *A network?*
*Alphas sharing techniques, equipment, even covering for each other's crimes. Your pack isn't the only one where Lunas have mysteriously lost their wolves. I need more evidence before we can move. Can you access his private files?*
I stared at the message, Luna's determination strengthening my resolve. *Working on it.*
The next morning brought the monthly pack training session. I'd always been excluded from combat training since losing my wolf, relegated to administrative duties while the others honed their skills. But as I reviewed the schedule Mckenna had prepared, Luna's sharp eyes caught something I'd missed before.
*Look at the pattern,* she urged.
Every important pack meeting, every strategic planning session, every discussion about alliances or territorial matters—I'd been systematically scheduled away from all of them. Medical appointments that coincidentally ran long, Luna ceremonies I was deemed 'too fragile' to attend, charity events that required my immediate attention.
Mckenna had been isolating me from pack affairs for years, and I'd been too manipulated to notice.
I found her in the training yard, clipboard in hand as she directed the warriors through their exercises. Her auburn hair was pulled back in a severe ponytail, and she wore fitted athletic gear that showed off her toned figure. Several unmated males watched her with obvious interest, but her attention was focused entirely on the large tablet in her hands.
"Mckenna," I called out, approaching with what I hoped looked like casual curiosity. "I was reviewing this month's schedule and noticed I'm not listed for any of the strategy meetings."
She looked up, her green eyes flickering with something that might have been panic before smoothing into professional concern. "Oh, Luna, I thought you'd prefer to focus on the cultural events this month. The alliance ceremony preparations require so much attention to detail."
"I'd like to attend the territorial review meeting tomorrow," I pressed gently. "As Luna, I should be informed about our border security."
"Of course," she said, but her fingers were already flying across her tablet. "Though I should mention, Alpha King specifically requested that meeting be kept small. Just senior leadership. He was concerned about information security."
Luna's senses picked up the lie immediately—the slight elevation in Mckenna's heart rate, the tension in her shoulders, the way her scent shifted with deception.
*She's been gatekeeping your access to pack business for years,* Luna observed. *Making herself indispensable while making you irrelevant.*
I maintained my pleasant smile. "I understand. Perhaps you could provide me with the meeting minutes afterward?"
"Absolutely," Mckenna replied, but we both knew those minutes would never reach me.
As I walked away, I felt the weight of five years of systematic isolation pressing down on me. They hadn't just stolen my wolf and faked our mate bond—they'd erased me from my own pack, turning me into a decorative figurehead while Mckenna positioned herself as Thaddeus's true partner in all things.
But their carefully constructed prison was about to become their downfall. Luna and I were no longer the broken, compliant victim they'd created.
We were something far more dangerous: a Luna who finally knew the truth.
