Lucian found me in the hallway Thursday morning, his expression calm and satisfied. He'd been watching me since the banquet. Waiting for me to break.
I didn't.
"Autumn," he said, his tone casual. "We're hosting an alliance dinner Saturday night. Three neighboring packs. Important guests."
I kept my face neutral. "Of course. What do you need from me?"
His smile was thin. "I need you to serve."
I blinked. "Serve?"
"As Omega staff." He said it slowly, like he was explaining something to a child. "Gianna will sit at the head table as Luna. You'll wear servant's clothing. You'll address her properly. You'll pour wine."
He stepped closer. I could smell his wolf—restless, anticipating a reaction.
"Do you understand?" he asked.
"Yes, Alpha," I said quietly.
He watched my face for a long moment. Looking for tears. For anger. For anything he could use.
I gave him nothing.
Finally, he nodded. "Good. The invitations go out this morning."
He walked away. I stood there in the empty hallway, my hand pressed to my belly, feeling the pup kick.
Inside me, my wolf laughed. It was a low, dark sound that made my bones hum.
*He has no idea,* it said.
I smiled.
That afternoon, I was in Maren's office photographing the last of her supply records when I felt it—a sharp, sudden pressure behind my eyes. My vision blurred. For a second, the room tilted.
Then my wolf surged.
It wasn't a hum anymore. It was a voice. Clear and ancient and furious.
*Three days,* it said. *We have three days.*
I gripped the edge of the desk and breathed through it. My hands were shaking. My bones ached like they were trying to reshape themselves from the inside.
When the pressure eased, I looked down at my hands. They looked the same. But I could feel something beneath the skin. Something vast. Waiting.
I finished photographing the records and left the office. My legs felt strange—too light, like I was walking on the edge of something.
That night, I caught my reflection in the darkened window of my room. For just a fraction of a second, I saw something else looking back. Something silver and gleaming, with eyes that burned.
I pressed my fingertips to the brand on my neck. The spot I'd touched a thousand times, believing it sacred.
Then I dropped my hand.
I would not touch it again.
Friday morning, I found Sable in the laundry room. She was alone, folding linens with quick, practiced movements.
"I need you at the alliance dinner tomorrow," I said quietly. "You, Kira, and Lena. Volunteer for Omega staff duty."
Sable looked up sharply. "Why?"
"Because when I move, I need witnesses in the room."
Her hands stilled on the fabric. "You're doing it tomorrow."
"Yes."
"What do you need from us afterward?"
"Testimony," I said. "Before the Lycan Council. All three of you. Documented evidence of what was done."
Sable set down the linens. She met my eyes. "We'll be there."
"It won't be safe," I warned. "When it starts—"
"We've been waiting for someone to name it," Sable said quietly. "We'll be there."
I nodded once. Then I left before anyone could see us together.
Saturday morning arrived cold and bright. The alliance dinner was set for seven. I had nine hours.
I spent the first hour laying out my evidence on my bedroom floor. The Registry printout. Maren's purchase logs. The photographs of the wolfsbane tin. The bond scan results. The documented testimony from Sable, Kira, and Lena.
Everything I needed to invoke the Luna Accord and collapse Lucian's world in a single legal stroke.
I folded the Registry printout carefully and tucked it against my skin, beneath my shirt. Then I dressed in the servant's clothing Lucian had left outside my door—plain grey fabric, no pack insignia, nothing that marked me as anything but Omega labor.
I braided my hair back. No jewelry. No decoration.
When I looked in the mirror, I saw exactly what Lucian wanted to see: a woman diminished. Powerless. Broken.
I smiled at my reflection.
*Not yet,* my wolf said. *But soon.*
At noon, I found Sable, Kira, and Lena in the servants' preparation room. All three were dressed in matching grey, their faces carefully blank.
I closed the door behind me and pulled out my phone.
"I need you to see something," I said.
I showed them everything. The Registry printout first—the bond scan result with the blank signature field and the chemical composition readout. Kira's hand flew to her mouth. Lena made a sound like she'd been punched.
Then Maren's records. The bulk wolfsbane orders. The account traces. Their names, highlighted and dated, spanning years.
Kira was crying silently. Lena's hands were fists.
Sable just stared at the screen, her jaw tight.
"This is what I'm doing tonight," I said. "I'm going to stand in that hall and let Lucian parade me as his Omega servant. I'm going to let every Alpha in that room see what he thinks I am."
I looked at each of them in turn.
"And then I'm going to show them what I actually am."
"What do you need from us?" Sable asked.
"Testimony," I said. "When the Lycan Council convenes—and they will—I need you to stand before them and tell them what was done. Every dose. Every year. Every lie."
Kira wiped her eyes. "We'll do it."
"It's going to be dangerous," I warned. "When my wolf surfaces—"
"We've been waiting for someone to name it," Sable said again. Her voice was steady. "We'll be there."
Lena nodded. Kira nodded.
I looked at the three of them—women who'd been told they were wolfless, powerless, worthless. Women who were none of those things.
"Then let's go," I said.
We walked down to the great hall together. The tables were already set. Candles flickered. Silver gleamed.
Lucian stood at the head of the room in formal Alpha wear, Gianna beside him in a gown that cost more than most pack members earned in a year.
He saw me enter in my servant's grey and smiled.
I smiled back.
Inside me, my wolf pressed against my ribs. My bones ached. My vision sharpened.
*Three hours,* it said.
I pressed my hand to the Registry printout folded against my skin.
*Three hours,* I agreed.
Then I picked up a tray and went to work.
