Cassandra’s POV
There was no way I would tell him the truth—that I figured Katrina was having sex with the man I loved? That kind of revelation would make my father send Adolphus away forever. And despite everything, I still wanted him close to me. I needed him close.
Something in my father’s face shifted. "Katrina?"
I nodded, then lifted my gaze to meet him fully, letting my anger seep through just enough.
"Aside from that, I will ascend as a Luna soon, and any wolf-less warrior in my security can make me vulnerable."
It was true, in part. When I turned eighteen and experienced my first shift, I would carry the Lunar Flame—the legacy of Luna blood passed through our line. And I didn’t want Katrina beside me when that happened. She didn’t belong at my side anymore. She was a liability. A traitor. A reminder of my failure to see what had been right in front of me all along.
Adolphus was who I needed.
Who I chose.
Who I would bind to me, one way or another.
The Alpha leaned back in his chair, his expression unreadable.
"I see," he mused.
For a moment, silence settled between us. I was raging. This is the first time he’d seen me like this, but I wasn’t finished yet.
If Katrina thought she could betray me, steal from me, then she needed to learn her place.
I took a step closer to my father, lowering my voice just slightly.
"I want her demoted."
That got his attention. His brows snapped together.
"Demoted?"
"To an Omega."
His reaction was instant. His eyes widened in surprise, his entire body tensing.
"Cassandra, that is a serious request."
"I know." My voice was firm.
And I meant every word.
Silence again.
Then, slowly, my father leaned forward, resting his forearms on his desk.
"Do you understand what that means?"
I lifted my chin.
"Yes. It means she will be at the lowest rank in the pack. She will no longer be allowed to train as a warrior. She will have no rights, no privileges. She will serve the pack as nothing more than a—"
"A servant," my father finished, his voice low.
I met his gaze without flinching.
He sighed, rubbing his temple. "And this is because of Adolphus?"
"This is because she betrayed me." My voice was ice-cold. "I don’t care if he wants her. She will be so beneath him that he won’t even consider it. She won’t even be worthy of standing in the same room as him."
He was silent for a long time. I could almost hear the wheels turning in his mind—calculating consequences, weighing appearances, considering the future of the pack. But I knew him. Knew how to tilt the scales.
Then something in his expression shifted.
"The full moon was today," he said slowly. "And she didn’t shift. It’s been two weeks already."
There was something like pity in his voice, but it didn’t sway me. "See, she deserves it, Father."
He gave me slow nod. "Then do what you must, my Princess."
A chill of satisfaction ran through me, but I kept my expression neutral.
"She will be stripped of her warrior status immediately," I announced, my voice steady. "She will be given Omega duties at sunrise."
That was all I needed.
Bowing slightly, I turned on my heel and left, my heart pounding—not with anger anymore, but with victory.
Katrina would learn.
She should never have lied to me.
And she should have never tried to take what was mine.