Kieran steps into Lila's room, his sharp gaze sweeping across the neatly arranged space.
His nostrils flare as her scent lingers in the air, but the absence of her presence makes his jaw clench.
"I told her to stay inside!" he mutters under his breath, his fists curling. "Does she ever listen?"
He paces back and forth, the faint hum of tension building in his chest.
Ever since Lila agreed to help cover for him as his mate, he had made it clear: no unnecessary risks, no venturing out without him.
Suspicion was already a knife's edge within the pack. If anyone discovered the truth—that Lila wasn't truly his mate—it would unravel everything he had fought so hard to control.
Kieran stops, exhaling sharply. "She must have gone to find the witch," he surmises, his voice tight.
The suggestion had been hers, after all. The soul swap. A solution to the mate bond he couldn't bear.
The very thought of it unsettles him, but desperation has a way of silencing reason. He runs a hand through his hair, frustration simmering just beneath the surface.
°
Lila moves through the dense woods, the moonlight filtering through the canopy above.
She walks with purpose, her heart hammering in her chest—not from fear, but from anticipation.
For years, her plans had simmered beneath the surface, she had even almost given up, but now she thinks they were quietly waiting for the right moment to boil over.
And now, with Kieran's desperation, the moment had arrived.
Her lips curl into a sly smile as she recalls the conversation that started it all.
It had been days after Kieran confided in her, his resolve cracked under the unbearable weight of the mate bond.
Lila had been careful, sympathetic, and patient, coaxing him until he spilled the truth.
How the Moon Goddess had cursed him with a male mate. How the pack elders pressured him to take a mate to secure his position. How he loathed himself for the pull he couldn't resist.
Her heart had leapt with dark delight. She had offered him a solution, carefully phrased to sound selfless.
The soul swap.
A way for his mate's soul to inhabit her body, allowing him to continue the façade while still appeasing the bond.
She had painted it as a perfect solution, but her motives were anything but pure.
•
Lila's motives had been forged in fire and fury long before Kieran's confession.
Born with an insatiable hunger for power, she had turned to dark magic in her youth, seeking ways to elevate herself above the constraints of the packs.
But her ambition had come at a price. The Moon Goddess, enraged by her arrogance, had cursed her to a life without a mate.
A punishment meant to strip her of the connection and power she so desperately craved.
But Lila was not one to be cowed.
The curse had only fueled her determination, pushing her to delve deeper into forbidden magic.
She had spent years plotting her revenge—not just against the Moon Goddess, but against the packs that worshipped her.
They had mocked her, called her cursed and useless, a blemish on the werewolf kind.
After kieran asked her to be his pretence mate, she was beyond happy. She started plotting things.
First, she would solidify her position as Kieran's mate. No one would dare question her once the Alpha himself claimed her.
And she just became even happier , praising her dark magics when Kieran mentioned his sorrows and she offered a solution of soul swap. And he somehow accepted it.
Soul swap__ would transfer Kieran's true mate into her body, tainting him with her dark magic.
It would drive him to ruin, turning him into a weapon against the packs he was supposed to protect alongside Kieran.
She knew the magic in her body is strong enough for that mate to control.
And since her soul will be in that male mates body, she'll continue with her evil plans still.
And finally, when the Moon Goddess inevitably intervened, she would ensure Kieran bore the brunt of her wrath. She would punish and curse kieran for accepting to do that sought of a thing.
With the strongest Alpha destroyed and the packs scattered, Lila would step into the chaos and finish what she had started all those years ago.
○
When Lila returns to the mansion, the sight of Kieran pacing in her room greets her.
She smirks, her expression carefully schooled into one of mild amusement.
"You're back," Kieran says sharply, turning to face her. His eyes narrow, but there's a hint of relief beneath his stern exterior.
"I found her," Lila announces, ignoring his tone. "The witch. She'll help us. All we need now is your mate."
Kieran's jaw tightens at the mention of his mate, but he nods. "He's here. In the mansion."
Lila raises an eyebrow, curiosity flickering in her gaze. "Really?" she asks, feigning indifference. "I suppose I should meet him, then. We'll need to know what we're working with."
Kieran hesitates, but eventually, he nods again. "Fine. But don't push him. He's... difficult."
Lila smiles, her mind already racing.
Difficult or not, she would find a way to make this work. She follows Kieran through the winding halls, her excitement mounting with each step.
When they reach the door to Ace's room, Kieran pauses. As if doubting what he's doing. Then he says, "Don't mention anything to him, he won't like it."
Lila chuckles. "I don't need him to like it. I just need him to cooperate."
Kieran opens the door, revealing Ace sitting on the edge of the bed, his expression sullen and defiant.
The moment Lila steps inside, Ace's head snaps up, his eyes narrowing as they lock onto hers.
Something stirs within him, a low hum of power that sends a chill down his spine.
He doesn't know what it is, but he knows one thing for certain: this woman is nuisance, he can feel it.
The power that stirs in Ace now is the reason why he was born, him mated with Kieran __ the powerful alpha among all alphas and packs.
The moon goddess did it for the defeat of Lila.
__Ace's mark start glowing inside of his hoodie faintly, as if feeling the presence of the enemy.
Lila's smile is disarming, but Ace doesn't trust it. "So," she says, her voice smooth and honeyed, "you're the mate. I've heard so much about you."
Ace doesn't respond, his gaze unwavering.
He feels the power within him stir again, stronger this time, as if it's reacting to her presence.
A sense of unease settles over him, but he pushes it down, refusing to show any weakness.
Lila takes a step closer, her smile widening. "You're even more interesting than I expected."
Ace clenches his fists, his instincts screaming at him to keep his distance. But he doesn't move, his jaw set as he meets her gaze head-on.
The tension in the room is palpable, a silent battle of wills between them.
Lila doesn't know it yet, but Ace is not the helpless pawn she thinks he is. And as she studies him, a flicker of doubt crosses her mind.
For the first time in years, she feels a hint of uncertainty.