The silence in the penthouse was deafening.

Shards of broken glass crunched beneath Nikolai Volkov’s boots as he paced the destroyed living room like a caged beast. The Moonshadow Medallion still glowed faintly on the floor where it had fallen, casting shifting golden light across the wreckage — a mocking reminder of the truth he could no longer escape.

Lana Reed had not fled far.

She returned less than twenty minutes later, escorted by two of his elite guards. Her eyes were red and swollen, makeup streaked down her face. She looked small. Desperate. Nothing like the triumphant woman who had once stood beside him at galas.

Nikolai stopped pacing. The temperature in the room seemed to plummet as his wolf rose fully to the surface. Dark fur rippled across his forearms. His ice-grey eyes burned molten silver. Fangs elongated behind his lips.

“Leave us,” he commanded the guards, voice distorted by the partial shift.

The two men obeyed instantly, closing the door behind them with quiet finality.

Lana stood trembling in the center of the room, surrounded by broken glass and overturned furniture. “Nik… please. I was scared. I made a mistake. I can still be useful to you. I know things about the Silverfang pack. I can—”

“Be quiet.”

The Alpha command rolled through the room like thunder. Lana’s mouth snapped shut, her body instinctively submitting even as tears continued to stream down her face.

Nikolai stalked toward her slowly, each step deliberate and predatory. The bond with Elena throbbed painfully in his chest — a constant, burning reminder of every cruel word he had spoken, every humiliation he had forced upon the woman who had actually saved him.

“You stole from my mate,” he growled, voice low and lethal. “You lied to my face for weeks. You let me destroy the one person fate chose for me. All while smiling and pretending to be my savior.”

Lana dropped to her knees among the broken glass, shards cutting into her skin. Blood welled up, staining her designer dress. “I’m sorry! I didn’t know it would go this far. I just wanted to survive—”

Nikolai’s hand shot out, gripping her throat with controlled strength. He lifted her off her knees until only her toes touched the floor. His claws pricked her skin, drawing thin lines of blood.

“You wanted power,” he snarled, fangs fully extended now. “You wanted the crown that belonged to *her*. You watched me break Elena’s heart and said nothing. You let me threaten her family. You let me dance with you while she stood there bleeding inside.”

Lana gasped for air, clawing weakly at his wrist. Her eyes were wide with terror. “Please… I love you…”

The words only fueled his rage.

Nikolai’s wolf howled for justice. This woman had poisoned his bond. She had nearly cost him the one person who was meant to stand beside him as Luna. The primal part of him — the Alpha who had risen through blood and betrayal — demanded retribution.

“You don’t know what love is,” he whispered, voice dark and final. “But you will understand betrayal.”

With a sudden, violent motion, he threw her across the room. She crashed into the glass bar cart, bottles shattering around her in a cascade of expensive liquor and crystal. The sharp scent of alcohol mixed with blood filled the air.

Lana coughed, struggling to push herself up. Glass cut into her palms. “Nikolai… please… have mercy…”

“Mercy?” He laughed, but there was no humor in it — only cold, primal fury. “You showed no mercy to the woman who saved my life. You stole her moment. Her proof. Her future.”

He crossed the room in two powerful strides and hauled her up by her hair. Lana screamed as he dragged her toward the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city.

The Moonshadow Medallion continued to glow on the floor behind them, bearing silent witness.

“You wanted to be Luna so badly,” Nikolai growled against her ear, his breath hot and deadly. “Then die like one.”

Lana’s sobs turned into full-blown panic. “No! No, please! I confess everything! I stole the medallion! I lied about saving you! I manipulated you! Just don’t kill me — I’ll disappear, I swear!”

Nikolai’s claws lengthened fully. His wolf was in complete control now. The beast demanded blood for blood. Justice for his mate.

With one final, merciless motion, he slashed his claws across her throat in a clean, brutal strike.

Lana’s eyes widened in shock. A wet gurgle escaped her as blood poured from the fatal wound. She clutched at her neck, staggering backward until she hit the window. Her body slid slowly down the glass, leaving a dark red smear in her wake.

Nikolai stood over her, chest heaving, blood dripping from his claws onto the marble floor. The golden light from the medallion reflected in the growing pool of blood, turning it into liquid fire.

He watched without remorse as the light faded from Lana’s eyes. The woman who had deceived him, who had nearly destroyed his true mate, was gone.

When it was over, Nikolai dropped to his knees beside her body. The rage drained out of him, leaving only hollow exhaustion and crushing guilt.

His wolf whimpered.

*We avenged her,* the beast whispered. *But we still hurt her first.*

Nikolai reached out with a bloodied hand and picked up the Moonshadow Medallion. It glowed softly in his palm — warm, forgiving, and full of promise.

He stared at it for a long moment, then whispered into the blood-scented silence:

“Elena… forgive me.”

The storm of rage had passed.

Now the real reckoning — the groveling, the atonement, the desperate chase — would begin.