Kimberly POV:
My coat. She was wearing my coat.
But it wasn't just the clothes. It was the air around her. She had sprayed herself with high-grade pheromones, a synthetic mimicry of an Alpha female's scent. To a low-ranked wolf like Ms. Albright, Evalena probably smelled like royalty. Austyn had clearly been laying the groundwork for this coup for months, slowly replacing my image with hers while I was overseas.
To me, she smelled like a sewer covered in air freshener. She was a Rogue-a wolf without a pack, usually criminal or exiled-masking her rot.
"Get away from the child, Kimberly," Evalena sighed, acting the part of the weary matriarch perfectly. "You're scaring the poor thing."
"Scaring her?" I tightened my grip on Lily, who was trembling violently against my leg. "This teacher was about to whip a five-year-old with wolfsbane."
Evalena tutted, walking further into the room. She glanced at the riding crop on the floor and then at Ms. Albright. "Ms. Albright was merely instilling discipline. We can't have thieves in the pack, can we?"
"She stole Master Jaylin's toy!" Ms. Albright chimed in, puffing out her chest. She looked at Evalena with pure adoration. "Thank goodness you're here, Luna. This woman... she broke down the door. She's violent."
Luna. The word tasted like bile.
"I am the Luna of this pack," I said, my voice low. "I am Kimberly Miller. This is my territory."
Evalena laughed. It was a practiced, tinkling sound that made my skin crawl. "Oh, honey. See? I told you she was having an episode. Austyn warned us she gets like this when she forgets her medication. Delusions of grandeur are a side effect."
She tapped her temple significantly, looking at the other parents who had gathered in the hallway, drawn by the noise.
"Poor thing," a mother whispered loudly. "I heard she's been in a Swiss asylum for months."
"I heard Austyn only kept her around because he felt sorry for her," another whispered.
I looked around the room. Their eyes were filled with pity and disgust. Austyn. He had done this. He used my absence to rewrite history. Three months was plenty of time to poison the well when you hold the checkbook. He had turned me into a charity case in my own kingdom.
Ms. Albright stepped forward, her eyes glowing with a faint Beta yellow. Betas were the enforcers of order, stronger than regular wolves but weaker than Alphas. She thought she could intimidate me.
"Let go of the girl," Ms. Albright growled, grabbing my shoulder. "You are not fit to be here."
She shoved me. She actually shoved me.
My back hit the chalkboard. Lily whimpered.
My Inner Wolf snarled, clawing at the cage of my mind. Rip her throat out. Show them.
I could have flattened the entire building with a single release of my Alpha Aura. But Lily was right there. High-level Alpha pressure could burst the eardrums of a pup that hadn't shifted yet.
I swallowed the rage. I forced my muscles to relax, though my veins felt like they were filled with lava.
"Don't touch me," I said. The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees.
Ms. Albright hesitated, her hand hovering. For a second, instinct warned her. But then she looked at Evalena, her fake Luna, and found courage in stupidity.
"I will have the guards drag you out," Ms. Albright threatened.
"Yes," Evalena said, checking her nails. "Call Austyn. Tell him his... houseguest is causing a scene again."
"I'm right here."
The voice came from the hallway.
The crowd of parents parted like the Red Sea. Austyn walked in. He was wearing a tailored Italian suit I had bought him. He looked handsome, in a superficial way-blonde hair, square jaw. But I knew the truth. He was a weak Alpha, barely stronger than a Beta. He relied on my strength, channeled through our mating bond, to command the pack.
"Daddy!" A boy's voice rang out.
Jaylin pushed through the crowd and ran to Austyn. In his hand, he clutched the Starlight Moonstone Beast. He was dragging it by its ear across the dirty floor.
My heart shattered.
Austyn looked at me. For a split second, I saw terror in his eyes. He knew who I was. He knew what I could do. But then his gaze flicked to the crowd, calculating. He had the numbers. He had the narrative. He thought my suppression of my aura meant I had lost it.
But then he looked at Evalena. She gave him a small, encouraging nod, touching the heavy emerald necklace around her throat.
My grandmother's necklace.
Austyn took a deep breath, his face hardening into a mask of arrogant pity.
"Kimberly," he said, his voice smooth and practiced. "I thought we agreed you would stay at the facility until you were well."
