Author’s pov
The hospital room door flew open, slamming against the wall with a force that made the medical equipment rattle.
Alpha Gavin strode in, his powerful frame filling the doorway, eyes flashing with barely contained fury.
"Leave us," he commanded the hospital staff without even looking their way.
The nurses in the hallway scattered like startled birds.
Alpha Gavin’s normally handsome features were twisted into a mask of cold rage.
The events of the past twenty-four hours had pushed him to his limit.
Yesterday’s tedious pack meetings had already left him exhausted; then came the frantic call from Boulder police, forcing him to drop everything and race across state lines to bail out his mother.
But it was what he’d learned at the police station that truly shook him to his core.
"Murder?" The word had hung in the sterile air of the station like poison. "A body buried in an orchard five years ago? My mother as an accomplice?"
Five years ago, he’d been studying international business at Oxford, building connections for the Shadow Pack’s future.
Nobody had bothered to mention that his spoiled sister might have committed homicide.
He’d always known Cici was trouble - the baby of the family, indulged beyond reason.
Her obsession with Alpha Xavier, the Blood Moon Alpha, had driven her to increasingly desperate acts.
But this? This crossed every line of pack law and human decency.
Now he stood beside her hospital bed, his anger rolling off him in waves.
"Tell me the truth," he demanded, voice deceptively soft but carrying the unmistakable edge of an Alpha’s command. "Is it true about the boy?"
The hospital room fell into suffocating silence.
Mrs. White couldn’t meet her son’s eyes, her normally imperious demeanor crumbling under his scrutiny.
Cici made a dismissive sound, like this was all some minor inconvenience.
"I didn’t do it on purpose," she muttered, examining her manicured nails. "It was an accident. If Mason had just listened to me instead of playing hard to get, none of this would have - "
The crack of Alpha Gavin’s palm connecting with her cheek echoed through the room like a gunshot.
"MURDER," he roared, "This isn’t some school yard bullying! You took a LIFE! A wolf’s life! Do you think this is some fucking GAME?"
Cici’s eyes widened in shock as she touched her reddening cheek, tears welling instantly.
"Your entitled tantrums have brought our pack to the brink of war multiple times," he continued, leaning closer. "We’ve cleaned up your messes, paid off your victims, and covered your tracks for years. But now you’ve dragged Mother into a murder investigation. Do you understand what that means? Accessories to murder face pack exile! "
"You hit me," Cici gasped, eyes wide. "My own brother."
Alpha Gavin’s jaw clenched so tightly, it looked like his molars might shatter.
Mrs. White rushed in, throwing herself around her daughter as if to shield her.
"Hush, baby. Your brother didn’t mean it. " She turned to Alpha Gavin, voice sharp. "Don’t be so dramatic. I’ve already spoken to Detective Zack - he’s on our payroll. No body, no crime. Nicole’s testimony won’t hold. Detective Zack promised to delete the recordings. It’s handled."
"You bribed the cops?" Alpha Gavin’s voice dropped, stunned.
This wasn’t just about Cici anymore. His mother had dragged their entire pack into a corruption scandal.
Mrs. White smirked. "Zack is reliable. He’s helped us before. He knows who pays his bills."
Cici sneered. "Let Cecilia try something. She and that lunatic she dragged in won’t make it ten feet in court."
Alpha Gavin saw the flicker of cruelty in Cici’s eyes and felt his stomach turn.
"Do you even know who posted bail for Cecilia?" he asked quietly.
"Alpha Sebastian Black," he added. "He was at the precinct before the paperwork even printed. First stop? The Chief of Police’s office."
Their faces drained of color.
"That’s impossible," Mrs. White whispered. "He didn’t even file charges when Cici stabbed him. He didn’t even help that human draft her settlement. He clearly doesn’t give a damn about her."
Alpha Gavin barked a humorless laugh.
"You think a man like Alpha Sebastian shows his cards before he makes his move?"
He stepped forward, voice cold and sharp.
"I told you - leave Cecilia alone. But no. You kept poking the bear. Now the bear’s awake... and pissed."
Cici crossed her arms, defiant. "So what? He rescues his little human pet? There’s no body anymore. He’s got nothing."
"Exactly," Mrs. White echoed. "No body, no proof. We’ll be fine."
Alpha Gavin leaned in. "Then tell me - where is the body? Who moved it?"
"No," she whispered. "That’s not possible. He wouldn’t do that to me."
Her voice rose to a hysterical pitch. "You’re lying! Our ceremony will proceed as planned! I’m his mate! His MATE!"
She thrashed wildly, trying to get out of bed despite her injuries.
Blood began seeping through the bandages on her shoulder and hand where Nicole had stabbed her.
Mrs. White finally snapped.
"Open your eyes, Cici! Xavier stood there while Nicole came at you with a knife - he didn’t even flinch! What kind of mate watches his own get attacked and does nothing? You’ll never be happy with someone that cold."
She reached out, gently stroking her daughter’s hair.
"Forget the mating ceremony. We’ll raise the baby together, just us - like a real family."
"Baby?" Alpha Gavin let out a dry laugh and rubbed at his temple. "I spoke to her doctor ten minutes ago. There is no baby."
The room went still.
Mrs. White froze. "...You’re not pregnant?"
Cici didn’t say a word. Her silence said everything.
In Denver, she could bribe doctors, twist testimonies, stage whatever fantasy she needed. But Boulder wasn’t Denver - and this time, she’d run out of time.
Alpha Gavin’s voice was flat. "I don’t know how you got Luna Dora to lie for you, but you actually convinced Xavier. Tricked him into a mating ceremony. Why? There are dozens of strong, unmated males who’d gladly fight for a chance with you. So why chase the one man who wants nothing to do with you?"
Mrs. White’s face shifted, something dark settling in her eyes.
"Now it all makes sense," she muttered. "Xavier must’ve found out the truth. That’s why he turned on her. That’s why he teamed up with that woman - to tear Cici down."
As her mother ranted, Cici’s expression shifted.
The pout disappeared, replaced by something sharper - colder.
Her smile turned razor-thin, no warmth, just realization and poison.
It wasn’t Xavier.
It was Luna Dora.
She was the traitor.

Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Abandoned Luna Now Untouchable (Cecilia)
Loving the story. But only 2 pages a day. 😢...