Three months had passed since I began living with the twins.

The days bled into one another—sunrise, sweat, blood, and bruises. Every morning, I was up before the birds, every night, I collapsed into the mattress with limbs aching and bones sore. My training wasn’t easy. It wasn’t meant to be.

Kelly taught me how to carry myself with restraint and precision. She showed me how to move like a Luna, how to look at someone and make them feel small without saying a word. Nelly, on the other hand, broke me down. She forced me into the dirt, into the shadow of who I used to be, and only then did she allow me to rise.

And I rose.

Not as Leo Winslow.

But as Alex Monrage.

Julian helped with the paperwork. He was the only person from my past I dared trust. An old friend from a better time, before betrayal tasted like home. He wiped Leo from existence entirely. Death certificate, identity, public record—gone. Alex Monrage now lived in his place: no past, no baggage. Just a silent, heavy storm waiting to be unleashed.

I had nothing. No money. No property. No family.

But I had value.

As a Luna, I was an asset more powerful than gold. A whispered legend come to life. In the right circles, I could marry into wealth with little more than a look and a touch. My scent alone could command nations—or start wars.

But I didn’t want marriage.

I wanted revenge.

---

Kelly had done as I asked. She checked in on my family. My so-called husband. My bloodline.

My parents… were still pleading for Iris to come home. Publicly, they portrayed grief over my death, but behind closed doors, they were already clawing at their remaining child to uphold the family name. I wasn’t surprised. Disgusted, yes. But not surprised.

As for Simon…

He’d remarried.

To Loac.

And they were happy. Disgustingly happy.

While I lay rotting in a coma, barely surviving the remnants of my ruined body, they were basking in each other’s warmth—moaning in the same bed I had bled in. That betrayal still burned behind my ribcage, like acid licking at my spine.

Six months of pain for me. Six months of bliss for them.

It wasn’t fair.

But fairness had nothing to do with this world.

---

I’d learned a lot in these three months. About myself. About what it meant to be a Luna.

We’re not just rare—we’re sacred. Dangerous.

First, we can mask our scent completely—something even Enigmas can’t do. In a room full of Alphas, I could become invisible, untouchable. Second, like Omegas, we can bear children. But unlike them, we can merge DNA—create a child that’s genetically superior. Third, Lunas are capable of surpassing even Enigmas in physique and power. Fourth, we can claim and bond with a mate. Not just submit. Not be claimed—but do the claiming.

And lastly…

Lunas sit at the very top of the hierarchy.

Above Elite Primes.

Above Enigmas.

Above all.

That’s why the government watches us. Hunts us. Offers power and riches in exchange for loyalty—and children.

But I wasn’t interested in their deals.

I wasn’t for sale.

---

I made a vow.

I would remain in hiding—for now.

To investigate the truth behind my “accident.”

To find out why Iris really left.

To find her.

To tell her everything.

And then, to burn Simon’s life to the ground.

---

“You should remarry,” Nelly suggested one day as we sparred. She swept my leg and sent me crashing into the ground with a smirk.

I groaned, glaring up at her from the floor.

“Just hear me out,” she added. “You marry Simon’s rival. Steal everything from him. His pride, his legacy, his future. That way, he loses what he has—and what he could’ve had.”

I didn’t respond.

Kelly, who was watching from the porch, chimed in, “And Loac. We can’t forget about that spineless leech. He needs to suffer too. Maybe even more than Simon.”

Something inside me twisted—dark and ancient. My chest tightened, and heat coiled at the base of my spine. I wasn’t doing it on purpose, but suddenly the air around us changed. It crackled. Thickened.

Kelly’s eyes widened. Nelly stumbled back, both of them raising their hands to their faces, trying to suppress the overwhelming flush spreading across their cheeks.

They were Prime Omegas. Strong.

But my scent broke through their defenses like it was nothing.

“I’ll make them wish for death,” I said, my voice raw, trembling with fury. “I’ll make them kneel. I’ll make them understand they were never powerful. Never important. They’re the ones who are useless. They’re the ones who never mattered.”

The moment passed.

I clenched my jaw and forced my aura down, chest heaving. The silence that followed was thick and still.

“I’m sorry,” I muttered, glancing away. “That wasn’t supposed to happen.”

Kelly waved me off, though her cheeks were still flushed pink. “No… It’s fine. You’re evolving, Alex. It’s natural. Just—be careful. That kind of power will attract attention.”

---

Later that night, I sat in the twins’ living room, fingers curling around a steaming cup of tea. The room was dim,bathed in orange lamplight, quiet except for the occasional hum of traffic from the street outside.

“How would I even find Simon’s rival?” I asked aloud. “Does someone like that even exist? Someone more powerful than him?”

Kelly perked up. “Julian,” she said simply. “He used to work as an intel for your parents. If anyone can find Simon’s enemies, it’s him.”

My heart thudded. Julian had been instrumental in faking my death. Quiet, composed, loyal. If he was still in the game…

“We’ll reach out to him,” I said, gripping the mug tighter. “Tell him I need information. Everything he can get.”

Nelly grinned. “Now this is starting to get interesting.”

I smiled faintly.

Not because I was happy.

But because the plan had begun.

Simon thought I was dead.

Loac believed I was forgotten.

My parents prayed I never came back.

They were all wrong.

I wasn’t gone.

I was just getting started.