Luna Rejects Alpha Mate

"You're lying," Rosa hissed, her fingers still nervously fingering the moonstone pendant. "You have no proof."

I stepped closer, holding the vial up to catch the moonlight. "This is proof, Rosa. Your scent on grandmother Luna's teacup is proof. The wolfsbane residue is proof."

Her eyes darted around the garden again, calculating, searching for an escape route or witnesses. Finding none, her shoulders slumped slightly.

"Fine," she said, her voice suddenly calm. "Yes, I poisoned her."

The casual admission hit me like a physical blow. Aria growled deep within me, urging me to shift and tear this murderer apart.

"Why?" I whispered, though I already knew the answer.

Rosa's lips curved into a smile that chilled me to the bone. "She was an obstacle. She saw through me, always had. She was planning to tell Wilson the truth about me."

"The truth?"

"That I'm not the sweet, innocent omega he thinks I am." Rosa's voice hardened. "That I've been manipulating him since we were children. That I deserve to be his Luna, not you."

I shook my head in disbelief. "Grandmother Luna took you in when you had nothing. She loved you like her own granddaughter."

"And she still chose you," Rosa spat, her composure cracking. "Even after everything I did to be perfect for her, she chose you as Wilson's mate. She was going to expose me, Clara. I couldn't let that happen."

The moonlight caught the tears streaming down her face, but they didn't move me. These weren't tears of remorse—they were tears of frustration.

"You killed her," I said flatly. "You murdered the one person who truly cared for both of us."

Rosa wiped her tears away with savage movements. "And now you know. What are you going to do about it?"

Before I could answer, she grabbed my wrist, her grip surprisingly strong.

"Wait," she said, her voice suddenly softening. "We can work this out, Clara."

I tried to pull away, but her fingers dug into my skin. "Let go of me."

"Listen to me," Rosa pleaded, her eyes wide with false sincerity. "Meet me at the sacred lake in an hour. We can negotiate."

"Negotiate what?"

"Your silence." She released my wrist and stepped back. "I know you're leaving the pack, but imagine how much easier your life would be with a generous settlement. Meet me at the lake, and we can arrange it."

I should have known better. I should have called for the pack guards immediately. But something in me needed to hear her confession in full, needed to understand the depths of her betrayal.

"One hour," I agreed reluctantly.

As I walked away, Aria warned me through our bond. *It's a trap.*

"I know," I whispered. "But we need to know everything."

The sacred lake lay at the heart of our territory, its waters silver-blue under the full moon. Ancient trees surrounded it, their branches reaching out like gnarled fingers. I arrived early, wanting the advantage of choosing my position.

Rosa appeared exactly one hour later, her silver dress replaced by a simple black one. She carried something in her right hand, concealed in the folds of her skirt.

"You came alone," she said, sounding relieved. "Good."

"What settlement did you have in mind?" I asked coldly.

She laughed, the sound echoing across the water. "Oh, Clara. You really are naive."

In one fluid motion, she pulled out a knife—its blade gleaming with a silvery substance that made my wolf recoil.

"Silver," I breathed, backing away. "Rosa, you've lost your mind."

"No," she snarled, advancing on me. "I've found my purpose. Wilson was supposed to be mine. The mate bond was supposed to be mine."

Her face contorted with rage as she lunged forward, the knife slashing through the air where I had been standing a moment before.

"You never deserved him!" she screamed, her eyes wild with a madness I'd never seen before. "You never deserved any of this!"

The knife slashed again, catching the edge of my sleeve. I felt the burn of silver against my skin as I dodged away.

"He's mine!" Rosa howled, her voice breaking. "He's always been mine!"

In the moonlight, with her face twisted in hatred and the silver knife gleaming in her hand, I finally saw the truth—Rosa wasn't just manipulative.

She was completely, dangerously insane.