Luna returned to the ballroom on shaking legs, her mind churning with Celeste's revelation. The gala was winding down, guests beginning to leave with promises to support Damon's candidacy.
He stood near the entrance, shaking hands and accepting congratulations, Celeste at his side like she belonged there.
Like she was already his mate.
Luna slipped past them, heading for the private wing of the estate. She needed to think. She needed to plan.
"Luna."
Damon's voice stopped her at the base of the grand staircase.
She turned to find him coming toward her, his expression pleasant for any watching guests but his eyes promising violence.
"Where are you going?"
"I have a headache." Her voice came out quiet. "I thought I'd retire early."
"Not yet." His hand closed around her upper arm. "We need to talk. My study. Now."
He didn't wait for a response, steering her through the hallways to his private study.
The moment the door closed behind them, his pleasant mask dropped.
"You left the gala." His voice was dangerously soft. "You abandoned your post during the most important night of my political career to wander around the gardens like some lovesick fool."
"I needed air—"
"You needed to do your fucking job!" Damon's hand shot out, gripping her throat and slamming her against the wall. "You're my mate, Luna. My property. You don't leave my side without permission. You don't embarrass me in front of Council members and pack leaders. You don't—"
"I know about Celeste." Luna gasped. "I know about your plan to commit me to Silverpine."
Damon's eyes widened slightly, then narrowed. "Did that bitch tell you? I told her to wait until after the Council vote." He released her throat, letting her slide down the wall. "Well, it doesn't matter. You knowing changes nothing."
Luna coughed, gasping for air. "My brothers won't let you off."
Damon laughed coldly. "Your brothers abandoned you three years ago when you chose me over them. Or did you forget? You're the one who cut ties, Luna. You're the one who told them you didn't need their protection, their warnings, their love. Why the fuck would they help you now?"
Those words were like sledgehammer because they were true.
"That's right." Damon continued, seeing the despair on her face. "You have no one. You made sure of that when you decided you knew better than everyone else."
He crouched in front of her, his expression almost pitying. "You really thought you mattered, didn't you? You thought being an Ashford princess meant something. But you're nothing, Luna. You're a broken wolf with a famous name that you made worthless by cutting ties with your family. That name is the only thing keeping you alive right now, and even that's running out of value."
"Then why not just kill me?" Luna whispered.
"Because I need you alive and cooperative until after the Council vote." Damon's tone was matter-of-fact. "Your brothers' support, even from a distance, your family's reputation, the image of the devoted mate standing beside me. All of that requires you to be breathing and playing your part. But after?" He smiled. "After the vote, you'll have a very public breakdown. You'll become violent, unstable, a danger to yourself and others. And I, your devoted mate, will have no choice but to commit you for treatment. You'll disappear into Silverpine, and I'll be free to take Celeste as my true mate."
He stood, brushing off his pants as if their conversation was nothing more than a minor inconvenience. "Now, you have two choices. You can cooperate. Continue playing the perfect Luna, support my candidacy, and make this easy on everyone. Or you can fight, and I'll make the next few weeks so painful you'll beg me to send you to Silverpine."
"I won't help you!" Luna's voice rang out with a strength that surprised them both, echoing off the mahogany walls of his study like a battle cry. "I won't betray my family's legacy for your twisted ambition."
For a moment, something flickered across Damon's face. Then his expression hardened into something truly terrifying.
"Wrong answer."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees.
Damon moved to his desk and pulled out a thick folder, handling it like a loaded weapon.
"Do you know what this is?" His voice was silk over steel. "Evidence that your father, the great Alpha King Theron Ashford, embezzled millions from allied packs before his death. Detailed financial records, signatures, witness testimonies. If you don't cooperate, I'll release this to the Council within the hour."
Luna's world tilted on its axis. "You're lying."
"Am I?" Damon's smile was sharp as he tossed the folder at her feet.
The papers scattered across the floor like fallen leaves.
"Your father's legacy will be destroyed overnight. Your brothers will spend the rest of their lives fighting these accusations, watching everything your family built crumble to ash. The Ashford name will become synonymous with corruption, betrayal, and disgrace."
"Those are fabricated. They have to be!" Luna's voice cracked as she stared at the damning papers.
Her father's signature stared back at her from multiple documents, perfect forgeries that would fool even experts.
"Look for yourself," Damon's voice was deceptively gentle. "Don't force my hand, Luna. You know I'll do it."
Luna's hands shook as she knelt, gathering the papers with trembling fingers. Bank transfers, secret accounts, communications that painted her beloved father as a monster who'd stolen from his own allies.
It was all lies. It had to be. But it looked so real, so convincing.
Her father had been a good man, an honorable Alpha. The thought of his legacy being destroyed, of her brothers fighting these false accusations while the pack world watched their family name burn...
It would be her fault. Again. First she'd rejected them, broken their hearts, walked away from their protection. And now, if she didn't cooperate, she'd be the one to destroy the one thing they had left of their father. His honor.