Katarina POV:
Three days later, I walked.
It hurt. Every step sent a jolt of lightning up my thigh, but the silver was gone, and the bone had mostly knit. I refused the wheelchair. I refused the crutches.
Tonight was the Pack Charity Auction. It was the social event of the season. Every high-ranking wolf from the neighboring territories would be there.
Alessandro had sent a message earlier: I will pick you up at 7. Wear the blue dress. It's modest.
I looked at the blue dress hanging in my closet. It was high-necked, long-sleeved. It was the dress of a dutiful, invisible wife.
I took a pair of scissors and shredded it.
At 7:00 PM, Alessandro's car idled in the driveway. I did not go out.
Instead, I called Mark.
"Gamma," I said. "Escort me."
Mark arrived at my door in five minutes. When he saw me, he stopped dead. His mouth opened slightly.
I was wearing red.
It was a gown of blood-red silk, backless, with a slit that went up to my thigh-the injured one. I wore no bandages. The faint, pink scar from the surgery was visible, a badge of survival.
"Luna," Mark breathed. "You look... dangerous."
"Good," I said. "Let's go."
We arrived at the venue separately from the Alpha. When I walked in, the room went silent.
The red dress was a scream in a room of polite pastels. I held my head high, my arm linked with Mark's. I saw heads turn. I smelled the confusion and admiration of the other wolves.
Then, the doors opened again.
Alessandro entered. Aria was clinging to his arm.
She was wearing white. A flowing, lacey thing that looked like a wedding dress.
The audacity took my breath away. She was parading as the Luna.
Alessandro saw me. His eyes widened. He scanned the red dress, the exposed skin. His nostrils flared. He was angry. Possessive. But mostly angry that I had disobeyed.
He marched Aria over to the head table, seating her in my chair.
I didn't make a scene. I simply walked to the table, pulled out the chair next to Mark, and sat down.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the auctioneer announced. "Tonight's final item. The Heart of the Blue Moon."
A hush fell over the crowd.
A staff member brought out a velvet case. Inside sat a necklace. A massive blue sapphire surrounded by diamonds. It was said to be blessed by the Moon Goddess herself. It was a traditional gift for a Luna.
"Oh, Alessandro!" Aria squealed, loud enough for half the room to hear. "It matches my eyes! I want it!"
Her eyes were brown.
Alessandro smiled at her, that savior smile. "Anything for you, princess."
"Bidding starts at one hundred thousand," the auctioneer said.
"Two hundred," Alessandro called out, raising his paddle.
"Three hundred," a voice said.
It was me.
Alessandro whipped his head around. "Katarina? What are you doing?"
"I like the necklace," I said coolly. "Four hundred."
"Stop this," Alessandro hissed. "You're embarrassing me."
"Five hundred thousand," I said to the auctioneer.
"One million!" Alessandro shouted. The room gasped.
He was bidding against his own wife. Using Pack funds to buy a Luna's necklace for a Rogue mistress.
"One point five million," I said calmly.
"Two million!" Alessandro roared. He looked at me with pure hatred. "Stop it, Katarina."
"Three million," I countered.
"Five million!"
The room was buzzing. This was madness. Five million could build a new hospital wing.
"Six million," I said. I raised my paddle.
The auctioneer looked at his screen. He frowned. He tapped a few keys.
"I'm... I'm sorry, Luna De Luca," the auctioneer stammered. "Your bid is... rejected."
"Excuse me?" I asked.
"The payment method linked to your paddle... it's been declined. Code Red. Alpha Override."
I looked at Alessandro.
He was smirking, holding his phone. He hadn't frozen the Pack accounts-he couldn't do that without a Council vote. But he had used his Emergency Alpha privilege to lock my personal access, citing 'mental instability.' It was a nuclear option, one that would trigger an audit later, but right now, it crippled me.
"It seems my wife has forgotten her place," Alessandro announced to the room. "She is a bit... unstable lately."
He turned to the auctioneer. "Five million. Sold."
He walked up to the stage. He took the necklace.
He didn't bring it to me.
He walked back to the table, stood behind Aria, and clasped the heavy sapphire around her neck.
"Beautiful," he whispered.
Aria beamed, touching the jewels. She looked at me and smirked. It was a victory lap.
The humiliation burned hotter than the silver. Everyone was staring at me. The rejected Luna. The woman whose husband just publicly replaced her.
I didn't run. I didn't cry.
I stood up.
I walked over to their table. I leaned down, bringing my lips close to Alessandro's ear.
"Enjoy the necklace, husband," I whispered. "It will look beautiful around her neck when I rip it off."
I turned and walked out. The silence in the room was deafening.
But inside me, the silence was breaking.
Deep in my soul, Winter opened one icy blue eye.
