Chapter 45: Lyssa's Final Gambit

POV: Lyssa Hart

I can feel the Council mark burning on my collarbone.

It's supposed to be hidden under my clothes but I swear everyone can sense it. I swear they can feel that I belong to them now. But no one's said anything. No one's noticed. I'm still moving freely through Silver Crest's camp while the war rages in the distance.

Perfect.

Tonight I complete the plan.

The Council's forces are positioned exactly where they need to be. All I have to do is lead them to Dominic's command post. One simple signal. One moment of exposure. And suddenly the Council knows where to attack. Suddenly Aria Blackwood's greatest advantage disappears.

And suddenly I'm Luna again.

I move through the camp in darkness. The fighting is distant enough that no one's paying attention to me. Everyone's focused on the battle. Everyone's thinking about survival.

No one is thinking about betrayal.

I reach the designated point on the ridge overlooking the valley. I pull out the small mirror the Council gave me. I angle it toward the moonlight. One flash. Two flashes. Three flashes.

The signal for the Council forces to move in.

It's done.

It's actually done.

I feel triumphant. I feel powerful. I feel like I've finally taken control of my own fate instead of letting it be determined by Dominic's feelings for someone else.

Hands grab me from behind.

I scream and try to run but there's already a warrior blocking my path. And another one. And another one. I'm surrounded by Silver Crest wolves and they're looking at me with expressions that say they know exactly what I just did.

"No," I say. My voice shakes. "No, you don't understand. I was just—"

"Signal the Council?" a warrior finishes. He's one of Dominic's personal guard. His expression is disgusted. "Yeah. We know."

They drag me toward the command post.

Dominic is waiting.

He's standing in the center of the camp with his inner circle surrounding him. When he sees me, his face goes completely cold. This isn't the Alpha who's been trying to reclaim his rejected mate. This is a different version of him. This is the version that's willing to execute his own people for betrayal.

"You betrayed your pack," he says. His voice carries across the entire command post. Everyone hears it. Everyone understands what he's saying. "You betrayed Silver Crest to destroy your rival. You wore the Council's mark. You signaled their forces. That's treason."

"Dominic, I can explain—" I start.

"You can't," he says. His eyes are ice. "There's no explanation that justifies what you've done."

He gestures to the warriors holding me.

"Strip her of all titles," he says. His voice is completely formal. Completely final. "Remove her from Silver Crest pack. She's no longer one of us. She's exiled. She's rogue now. And rogues have no protection under pack law."

"No," I say. The word comes out broken. "No, you can't do this. I'm your chosen mate. I'm supposed to be Luna. You can't just—"

"I can," Dominic says. "And I am."

The warriors start dragging me away.

"Wait," I scream. "Wait, please. I did this for us. I did this so we could be together. I did this so Aria couldn't keep pulling you away from—"

"That's exactly why," Dominic cuts me off. His voice is sharp as a blade. "You did this out of jealousy. Out of desperation. Out of fear that I would never look at you the way I looked at her. And you were right to be afraid. Because I never will."

The words hit harder than any physical blow.

"The Council mark will keep you bound to them," Dominic continues coldly. "You signed a contract with demons. Now you live with that contract. You're their property now, Lyssa. Their agent. Their tool. Congratulations. You got exactly what you deserved."

The warriors push me toward the edge of the camp.

My mind is spinning. This isn't how this was supposed to go. I was supposed to succeed. I was supposed to eliminate Aria and reclaim my position. I was supposed to be important again.

Instead, I'm being exiled.

"Where do I go?" I call after them. My voice is desperate. Broken. "What am I supposed to do?"

"That's not my concern anymore," Dominic says. He doesn't even look at me. "You made your choice. Now live with it."

The warriors throw me out of the camp.

I land hard on the rocky ground and feel something crack in my ribs. I try to stand but the pain is too intense. I try to shift but the Council mark flares and paralyzes me.

I'm trapped.

Completely and utterly trapped.

The Council marked me, which means I can never escape them. Dominic exiled me, which means I have no pack. No home. No protection. I'm a rogue now and rogues are hunted. Killed. Destroyed.

I did this to myself.

I made a deal with the Council to destroy Aria and instead I've destroyed myself. I tried to manipulate the situation and instead I became a pawn in a game that's so much bigger than me.

From where I'm lying, I can see the battle raging in the distance.

The Council's forces are moving toward Dominic's command post like I signaled. But Dominic was expecting them. He's already moved his people. The Council forces will find an empty position and then they'll be surrounded.

My betrayal didn't work.

My sacrifice was pointless.

I lie on the ground with broken ribs and a burning Council mark and realize that I'm about to die. Not in battle. Not with honor. But alone and exiled and completely forgotten.

The irony is suffocating.

Dominic walks out of the camp one last time. He stands over me and for a moment, I think maybe he'll show mercy. Maybe he'll kill me quickly instead of letting me suffer.

But he just looks at me with something that's worse than anger.

Pity.

"You could have had anything," he says quietly. "You could have been a great Luna. You could have led wolves. You could have built something meaningful. But you chose jealousy instead. You chose to destroy someone else instead of building yourself up. That's why you're lying there. That's why you're broken. Not because Aria won. But because you lost to yourself."

He turns and walks away.

I watch him go and understand something fundamental.

I lost the moment I decided that having power was more important than being good. I lost the moment I put on the Council's mark and decided that betrayal was acceptable if it served my goals.

I lost the moment I chose destruction over creation.

And now I get to live with that loss. Get to experience it as I slowly die alone and exiled, marked by demons, rejected by my own pack.

The Council forces are still moving toward the battle.

And I realize with absolute horror that my betrayal might actually work.

Not the way I intended. Not to eliminate Aria. But to pull Dominic's forces away from the main battle. To create a vulnerability that the Council can exploit. To possibly give the Council the opening they need to capture Aria and enslave her.

My last act of betrayal might actually doom everyone.

Including the man I was trying to impress.