Chapter 4

I hadn't even caught up on my sleep when Angelica—my best friend, my ride-or-die, and the only person in this pack with a functioning brain—shook me awake like she was trying to exorcise my soul.

"Jasmine, wake up! Check the trending news!"

With a groan, I snatched my phone off the nightstand, only to be blinded by the sheer number of notifications. My wolf stirred groggily in the back of my mind, mumbling something about how we should still be asleep.

I clicked on the top headline.

"Alpha Harvey of the Silver Claw Pack caught in a scandalous act with his mistress in the study, leading Luna Jasmine to leave the house in distress late at night!"

I blinked.

Angelica cackled. "Girl, you've gone viral!"

The entire werewolf community was dragging Yvonne through the mud. Her Facebook account had crashed from the sheer volume of hate. The comments were brutal:

"Homewreckers like Yvonne deserve to be exiled!"

"Does Alpha Harvey think with his brain or his knot?"

"Luna Jasmine, you deserve better, queen!"

I set my phone down, massaging my temples. My wolf perked up, amused. Finally, some justice.

Yvonne must have leaked this herself.

But why?

I didn’t have time to ponder before the bedroom door burst open.

Alpha Harvey stormed in, his aura crackling with unchecked fury. His wolf flickered in his golden eyes, barely restrained.

Before I could react—SMACK!

Pain bloomed across my cheek. A slap.

From my mate.

I saw red. My wolf growled in my head, ready to sink her teeth into his throat.

"Jasmine!" he roared. "I never knew you could be so vicious! No wonder you didn't react last night—this was all part of your scheme to go after Yvonne, wasn’t it?!"

Scheme?

He thinks I did this?

"Come with me to the hospital and apologize to her." His voice was shaking with rage. "Do you even realize what you've done? Yvonne has depression! You pushed her to the brink—she tried to slit her wrists! If I hadn’t found her in time, she’d be dead right now! And even now, she doesn’t blame you! She just wants you to apologize and clear her name!"

I stared at him.

Then, I laughed.

Because what else could I do?

"Don’t you, of all people, know the truth about her innocence?" I asked, voice dripping with sarcasm.

His jaw clenched. He didn’t care.

He just wanted me to play the villain in Yvonne’s sob story.

Before I could refuse, he grabbed my wrist and dragged me to the hospital.

The hospital room.

Yvonne lay on the bed, her wrists wrapped in bandages, looking delicate and pitiful like a tragic heroine. A model patient. A master manipulator.

The second we stepped inside, reporters swarmed the room.

"Luna Jasmine, are the photos online real, or did you fabricate them?"

"Luna Jasmine, is Miss Yvonne really a mistress?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but—

Alpha Harvey's grip on my wrist tightened. Hard.

He leaned in, his voice a low, threatening growl. "You know what to say and what not to say."

I looked down at my wrist. Still healing. Still sore.

But the pain was nothing compared to the hatred simmering inside me.

I pulled my hand free, my smile dripping with sarcasm.

"Don’t worry, Alpha Harvey. I’m here to set the record straight."

Turning to the cameras, I bowed to Yvonne.

"Miss Yvonne, I’m sorry."

Gasps rippled through the reporters. Alpha Harvey looked smug.

Then, I continued:

"You’re not a mistress. Last night, you were simply meeting with Alpha Harvey to discuss business. I was the malicious one who intentionally took out-of-context photos and uploaded them online. I even hired trolls to attack you on social media."

More gasps. The reporters scribbled furiously.

I bowed again, making sure the cameras caught every angle.

"Miss Yvonne, from start to finish, you and Alpha Harvey have been completely innocent. It was my jealousy that led me to use such underhanded tactics to frame you. Please forgive me."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Yvonne’s face drained of all color.

One of the reporters hesitated, then asked, "Luna Jasmine, your apology doesn’t seem genuine. Look at what you’ve done to Miss Yvonne—she’s terrified!"

Terrified?

No, she was seething.

Grateful for the lifeline, Yvonne seized the moment to play up her role.

"I’m not a mistress! I’m not a mistress!" she whimpered. "I just admire Alpha Harvey. Is it so wrong to love someone? If loving him is a crime, then I might as well just die..."

Cue the tears.

Cue the trembling lips.

Cue Alpha Harvey’s protective instincts. He pulled her into his arms, rubbing her back soothingly.

"Yvonne, there’s nothing wrong with loving someone. Don’t blame yourself."

Then, he turned to me, his eyes cold as death.

"Jasmine, kneel and apologize to her."

Yvonne, nestled in his embrace, smirked smugly at me from behind his shoulder.

My wolf growled low in my throat.

Kneel? Over my dead body.