The first message arrived on a Tuesday night, just after I tucked Daisy into bed.
My phone buzzed on the kitchen counter. The screen glowed in the dark room, showing a text from an unknown number.
*He likes it when I'm loud. He said you were always too quiet. Too cold.*
I stared at the bright screen. Inside my chest, my wolf, Sera, let out a low, vicious snarl. She wanted to hunt. She wanted to find the scent of magnolia and tear it to shreds. I took a slow, deep breath and pushed her anger down. I needed ice, not fire.
I tapped two fingers against my wrist. *Tap. Tap.*
A minute later, the phone buzzed again.
*The pack deserves a real Luna. Someone who actually knows how to keep an Alpha satisfied. You should start packing your bags, Madelyn. Oh wait, you already did. Lol.*
It was a cheap burner phone. Camila clearly thought she was untraceable. She thought she was being clever, hiding behind a blank number to throw stones at the woman she was trying to replace. But she was reckless. Her arrogance was making her stupid.
I didn't reply. I didn't block the number. I wanted her to feel brave. I took a screenshot of the messages and dropped them into a secure, encrypted folder on my laptop. I named the folder 'C.F.'
*Keep typing, Camila,* I thought, closing the laptop. *Give me everything I need.*
But texts from a burner phone weren't enough. I needed ears inside the pack house. I needed to know Scott's schedule, his movements, and his lies before he even told them. I needed a spy.
I knew exactly who to use.
Jessica Rivera was an Omega who followed the brightest light in the room. She was Camila's closest friend, but only because Camila was currently standing next to the Alpha. Jessica wasn't malicious. She was just shallow. She chased status the way a starving dog chases a bone.
On Thursday morning, I sent her a text. *Coffee at The Roasted Bean? I'd love to catch up.*
We met at ten o'clock. The café was just outside pack territory, a neutral ground filled with humans and the smell of burnt espresso. Jessica looked nervous when she sat down. She wore a bright pink sweater and kept glancing at the door, probably terrified Scott or Camila would walk in.
I wore a simple beige cashmere sweater. I smiled warmly. I was the perfect, gracious Luna.
"Jessica, it is so good to see you," I said softly. "I know things have been a bit tense lately. But I want to stay connected to the pack. I miss seeing friendly faces."
Jessica relaxed a fraction. She ordered a large vanilla latte and gave me a sympathetic, practiced pout. "Of course, Madelyn. I mean, Luna. We all miss you so much. It's just... crazy at the pack house right now."
"I can imagine," I murmured. I took a sip of my black coffee. Then, I reached into my leather tote bag.
I pulled out a thick, cream-colored envelope. The edges were lined with heavy gold foil. I set it gently on the table between us.
"I actually received this yesterday," I said casually. "It's an invitation to the Northwest She-Wolf Social next month."
Jessica stopped breathing. Her eyes locked onto the envelope.
The Northwest Social was the most exclusive event in the region. Only high-ranking females were invited. Alphas' mates, elite Beta wives, and wealthy pack daughters. Camila had been begging Scott to get her an invitation for weeks. It was pure, undeniable status.
"I have a plus-one," I continued, my voice smooth and light. "And honestly, I thought of you. You always have such wonderful style, Jessica. I think you'd really fit in with the Crescent Moon and Blackmoor ladies."
I watched the math happen in her head. It took exactly thirty seconds.
Camila offered her secondhand gossip and the vague promise of future power. I was offering her a golden ticket to the top of the social ladder right now.
Jessica reached out and touched the gold foil. When she looked up at me, her loyalty to Camila had completely evaporated.
"Oh, Madelyn," Jessica leaned forward, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I am so glad you reached out. You have no idea what is going on. Camila is completely out of control."
I smiled. "Really?"
"Yes!" Jessica's eyes gleamed with the thrill of the betrayal. "She acts like she owns the pack house already. She's been dragging Scott away every weekend. He's totally whipped."
"That sounds exhausting for him," I said smoothly. "Where does they even go?"
Jessica didn't know she was an intelligence asset. She thought we were just two friends gossiping over coffee.
Over the next week, my phone lit up constantly.
*Jessica: They are going to the Starlight Motel on Route 9 tonight. She bragged that he rented the deluxe suite with the hot tub.*
I sat at my kitchen table, bathed in the blue light of my laptop. I opened the Ironvale treasury ledger. I scrolled down to the current date.
There it was. A withdrawal for four hundred and fifty dollars. The label read: *Pack vehicle maintenance.*
I tapped my fingers against my wrist. *Tap. Tap.* I took a screenshot and dragged it into the folder.
Two days later, another text.
*Jessica: You won't believe this. She came to work wearing a diamond tennis bracelet. She said Scott bought it for her as a one-month anniversary gift!*
I opened the ledger again. I scanned the recent transactions.
Two thousand, eight hundred dollars. The label read: *Emergency medical supplies for the pack clinic.*
My jaw tightened. He was stealing money meant for sick pack members to buy diamonds for his mistress. It was sickening. But it was also perfect.
I cross-referenced every single detail Jessica gave me. Motel names. Restaurant dinners. Gifts. I matched every single one to a fake entry in the pack's financial records.
The file was growing heavy. It was a masterpiece of embezzlement and deceit. Scott was systematically draining the pack's resources, and Camila was proudly handing me the receipts.
My burner phone buzzed again on the desk.
*Unknown Number: He's taking me to the Pack Banquet next week. He says it's time to make things official. Enjoy your little cottage. You're history.*
I read the message twice. The annual Pack Banquet. Every Alpha in the region would be there. Scott was going to present his new, broken alliance proposals to the visiting leaders, and he was going to parade Camila around as his prize.
I didn't feel sad. I didn't feel jealous. I just felt the cold, sharp edge of a blade finally sliding out of its sheath.
I took a screenshot of her message. I dropped it into the folder.
*See you at the banquet, Camila,* I thought, shutting my laptop. *Make sure you dress up. It's going to be a hell of a show.*
