phin

ing the shift in the political climate, suddenly remembered urgent appointments and phantom cho

st, sun-drenched room: me, a furious Genevieve, and a terrified young maid

herself. The mask of the serene, untouchable Matriarch

stured with a sharp, imperious finger to the single armchair

my back ramrod straight, my ankles crossed neatly. I would not give her the satisfa

tray. On it sat a single, steaming cup. The liquid inside was dark, almost black, and it em

en us with a soft clink, her hands shaking

pale Earl Grey. "The pack needs an heir, Seraphina," she said,

a series of calculated blows. "And yet, for over a year, you have failed in your most fundam

in my head, I didn't need to taste it to know what it was. A potent, dangerous cocktail of herbs designed to force ovulation. A crude, br

ips, but I suppressed it. I kept my face a per

apologies, my tearful promises to "try harder." My current

hisper, "if you cannot, or will not, fulfill your purpose... there are others who would be more

e threat was as subt

ealous pain through my heart, now did nothing but

mic cup. I lifted it from the tray, the heat a comforting anchor in the cold room. I didn't bring

almost a purr. "If Lilith is so perfect for the job, so ready to b

supposed perfection, was not Damien's fated mate. Her bloodline was unknown, her rank questionable. Any child she bore Damien o

essed my advantage. I swirled the dark liquid

. "You want a vessel. A walking incubator with the right pedigree. Some

aling the ugly, grasping woman beneath. Her finger trembled as she pointed it at me.

lm. I placed the cup of poison back

y gaze unflinching. "

l tell Damien of your behavior. I will tell him how you attacked a l

ce the most terrifying thing in

ease do," I said, a genuine smile finally gracing

at the sputtering, furious old woman and felt a

d to force his rejected mate to drink poison because his

's face t

she is the Luna every time she smiles at your son across a room. But when it comes to the Carlisle bloodline, she is still

k her harder th

flared. "You

to call me vile while you sit there with a cup of breeding pois

de a tiny, strangled sound in the corner

failure as a Luna. You're terrified because you know Lilith can take my place in Damien's bed, in

y around her teacup that the porc

s. "You need my name. You need the bond you have all spent

Carlisle, queen of polished cruelty and weaponized etiquett

her one

like a mate. Instead, he spent the night holding another woman's hand in

to a whisper meant only for her,

You have a son who wants a mistress, a mother who wants a dyna

ace went from red to a

ned and walked toward the door,

cy, who was still clutching the silver tray as if it were a life

ped out into the bright, sunlit hallway, l

over. The war for my fre