Mira POV
Mira waited two weeks before she started.
Two weeks of watching. Two weeks of listening. Two weeks of learning exactly which pack members were most afraid of Kael, most unsure about their alpha's choice, most willing to doubt.
Then she made her move.
She found Kess, the ambitious young elder, in the training yard. He was watching Cassian work with the warriors, his expression sour. Good. The seed was already there. Mira just needed to water it.
"He's pushing them too hard," she said softly, appearing beside him like she'd just happened to be passing by. "All of them training like this when resources are already stretched thin."
Kess glanced at her. "It's necessary. We have threats."
"Of course," Mira agreed, her voice carrying gentle concern. "Though I have to wonder if the real threat is closer than anyone realizes."
She let that sit for a moment, then continued before he could ask.
"I've noticed things," Mira said quietly. "About her. About the one he keeps in that room."
Kess's interest sharpened immediately.
"What kind of things?" he asked.
Mira looked around like she was worried about being overheard. "Have you noticed her eyes? The way they glow silver sometimes? That's not normal. Normal wolves have amber or gold. Not silver like... like something else."
"She's different," Kess said. "That doesn't make her dangerous."
"Maybe not," Mira said, and her voice was so reasonable, so gentle. "But combined with the other things? The ancient language she speaks? The way she screams in the night like she's being possessed? The ritual scars that Lyra said pulse with power?" She shook her head sadly. "I'm just worried about the pack. About all of us. That's all."
She left him there, watching the worry bloom across his face.
The next day, she found Sarah, the mother whose child Kael had protected. They were having tea in the healing rooms when Mira brought up the fight.
"You were so brave bringing her those gifts," Mira said warmly. "Though I have to ask... are you sure about her? I mean, about trusting her around the children?"
Sarah looked shocked. "She saved them."
"I know," Mira said, reaching over and patting the woman's hand sympathetically. "And I'm sure her intentions were good. But think about what she was doing out there. Fighting like an animal. No control. No restraint. What if she'd lost control during the battle? What if she'd hurt one of them without meaning to?"
"She protected them," Sarah insisted, but Mira could see the seed had taken root. Could see the woman starting to doubt her own memory of what had happened.
Over the next week, Mira had similar conversations with a dozen different people. Always soft. Always sympathetic. Always framed as genuine concern.
She never said Kael was cursed. She just asked questions. Mentioned observations. Let other people draw their own conclusions.
The effects were subtle but noticeable.
Pack members who'd been leaving gifts outside Kael's door stopped. Warriors who'd been friendly became distant. Children who'd been curious started hiding behind their mothers when Kael walked past.
Mira watched it happen with deep satisfaction.
She also watched Cassian. Watched the way he looked at Kael when he thought no one was paying attention. The way his entire face changed when she entered a room. The way he touched her like she was precious. Like she was his everything.
It made Mira's skin crawl.
Three years ago, Cassian had looked at her like she was nothing. Had rejected her engagement with ice in his eyes. Had humiliated her publicly by refusing a politically powerful alliance for no reason anyone could understand.
And now he was treating a feral rogue like she was the greatest gift the moon goddess had ever given him.
It wasn't fair. Mira had been trained to be an alpha female. She understood politics and strategy. She knew how to run a pack. She had connections and power and everything Cassian needed to make Northern Ridge unstoppable.
Instead he'd chosen a broken girl who still barely knew how to form words.
The rage in Mira's chest burned hotter every day.
One afternoon, she was walking past Cassian's office when she heard voices. His voice and Ronan's. Without thinking about it, she moved closer to the door, keeping herself hidden in the shadows of the hallway.
"I don't know when it happened," Cassian was saying. His voice was different. Softer. More vulnerable than Mira had ever heard it. "But I can't imagine this compound without her. I can't imagine my life without her."
Mira's breath caught.
"You're falling in love with her," Ronan said. Not a question. A statement of fact.
"I'm already there," Cassian replied quietly. "I fell the moment my wolf recognized her. Everything else has just been catching up."
The world tilted.
Mira grabbed the wall to keep herself upright. She could feel her heartbeat in her throat, in her ears, everywhere. Could feel the rage rising up like a red tide, threatening to drown her.
He was in love with her. With the rogue. With the feral beast that didn't even deserve to breathe the same air as him.
Mira's hands clenched into fists so tight her nails drew blood.
Three years of waiting. Three years of planning. Three years of carrying the humiliation of his rejection like a knife in her chest. She'd convinced herself that eventually he would see his mistake. That eventually he would come to understand what a perfect match they would have been.
But he never would.
Because of Kael.
Mira's vision went black at the edges. She felt something shift inside her. Something that had been human becoming something else. Something darker. Something that wanted blood.
She pulled herself back from the brink with effort, forcing her breathing to slow. Forcing her wolf to retreat. She couldn't let anyone see her like this. Couldn't let anyone know how close she was to losing control.
But later, alone in her room, she sent a message to her brother that was different from the others.
Kill her. Mira typed with shaking hands. Bring her to me alive if you can, but if you can't, bring me proof that she's dead. I don't care anymore. I just need her gone.
Theron's response came minutes later.
Consider it done. We march within the week.
Mira set down the phone and stared at her reflection in the mirror.
The woman looking back at her was unrecognizable. Eyes blazing with fury. Face twisted with hate. A monster who would burn down everything just to erase one mistake from her life.
But she couldn't stop now.
She wouldn't stop now.
Even if it meant burning with the fire.