* Eleanors POV*

Vivienne steps into my cell like she owns it, her silk dress rustling against the damp stone walls. The contrast is jarringher ethereal beauty against the grimy dungeon, like a flower blooming in a graveyard.

"Why?" The word tears from my throat, raw with pain and fury. "Why are you doing this to me? I never tried to hurt you! I never even knew you existed until Luke brought you back!"

Vivienne's lips curve into a cruel smile. "Oh, Eleanor. Sweet, naive Eleanor. Still pretending you don't understand."

She moves closer, her eyes gleaming with malicious satisfaction. The torchlight flickers across her face, casting dancing shadows that make her look almost demonic.

"I never wanted to hurt you," I continue desperately. "When Luke told me about your history, I accepted it. I knew he loved you first. I never tried to come between"

"Accepted it?" Vivienne laughs, the sound sharp and cutting. "You accepted it? How generous of you to accept what was never yours to give!"

Her voice rises, years of buried resentment pouring out like poison.

"Luke and I were childhood sweethearts! We grew up together, planned our future together! He was supposed to be mine!" She paces the small cell like a caged predator. "We were perfect togethereveryone said so. The golden couple of our generation."

I stare at her, confusion mixing with growing dread. "But the arranged marriage"

"Was supposed to be with me!" Vivienne shrieks, her composure finally cracking. "His father promised my family that Luke would marry me! We were engaged, Eleanor! Engaged for two years!"

The words hit me like physical blows. "That's... that's not true. Luke never"

"Luke never told you?" Vivienne's smile turns vicious. "How typical. Did you really think your marriage was random? That the great Alpha Philip just happened to choose the Blake family's daughter?"

My mind reels. "I don't understand..."

"Your precious husband broke our engagement three days before our wedding," Vivienne continues, her voice dripping with venom. "Three days! The invitations were sent, the dress was fitted, my family had already paid the dowry!"

She stops pacing and fixes me with a look of pure hatred.

"Do you want to know why he chose you instead?" she asks sweetly. "Because your father offered a better political alliance. More territory. More warriors. More money."

Each word is a knife to my heart. "No..."

"Luke traded me for a better deal," Vivienne says with savage satisfaction. "Cast me aside like garbage for a richer bride. And you? You were so grateful to marry the great Alpha heir that you never questioned why."

I sink back against the cold wall, my legs unable to support me. Everything I thought I knew about my marriage, about Luke's feelings, crumbles to ash.

"I loved him," I whisper.

"Love?" Vivienne throws back her head and laughs. "You think Luke ever loved you? You were a business transaction, Eleanor. A broodmare who couldn't even do her job properly."

The cruelty in her voice makes me flinch. But she's not done.

"Six years," she continues, circling me like a shark sensing blood. "Six long years of watching you play house with the man who should have been mine. Six years of watching you fail to give him the one thing he actually needed from you."

"I tried"

"You failed!" Vivienne snaps. "And now justice is finally being served. I'm going to take back everything you stole from me."

She smooths her hands over her still-flat stomach with obvious satisfaction. "I'm carrying Luke's child now. His heir. The future Alpha of Icefang Pack."

"Luke will get what Luke wants," Vivienne stared at me as a victor. "An heir. A Luna who can give him children. A wife who doesn't embarrass him with her barren womb."

She leans closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "And you, dear Eleanor, will rot in this cell while I take your place in his bed, in his heart, in his future."

My hands clench into fists. "You won't get away with this. Luke isn't stupidhe'll figure out what you've done."

"Will he?" Vivienne straightens, smoothing her dress. "He seems perfectly happy to believe you're a cheating whore. Amazing how quickly love dies when it's convenient, isn't it?"

The casual cruelty of her words steals my breath.

"Besides," she continues conversationally, "even if Luke had doubts, they'll disappear soon enough. Grief makes people so... pliable. And he'll need comfort after his beloved wife's tragic execution."

"You're insane."

"I'm victorious," Vivienne corrects. "I'm going to be Luna, mother to the heir, and you're going to be a cautionary tale mothers tell their daughters about the price of betrayal."

She pauses at the cell door, her hand resting on the bars. "Oh, and Eleanor? There's one more thing you should know."

The malicious glee in her voice makes my blood freeze.

"You're not as barren as everyone thinks," she says softly. "That little secret you're keeping? That change in your body you've been wondering about?"

My heart stops. "What?"

"Dr. Simmons is such a dedicated physician," Vivienne continues with mock admiration. "So thorough in his examinations. So... discreet when the situation requires it."

The world tilts around me. "You knew."

"Of course I knew." Vivienne's smile is radiant and terrible. "Did you really think your pregnancy would stay hidden? The Moon Goddess has such a sense of irony, doesn't she? Finally giving you Luke's child just in time for your execution."

I can't breathe. Can't think. The confirmation of what my body already knew hits me like a physical blow.

"I'm pregnant," I whisper, the words feeling foreign on my tongue.

"You were pregnant," Vivienne corrects cheerfully. "Past tense is important here, Eleanor. Because you and that inconvenient little heir are going to disappear together."

She starts to leave, then pauses. "Oh, and don't bother hoping Luke will save you when he finds out. Who do you think ordered Dr. Simmons to keep quiet?"

The words shatter something inside me. "Luke knows?"

"Luke knows everything," Vivienne says with cruel satisfaction. "The pregnancy, the frame job, all of it. And he chose me anyway."

She steps through the door, her voice echoing in the stone corridor. "Sweet dreams, Eleanor. Try not to think too hard about the child you'll never hold. Or the husband who threw you both away for something better."

The cell door clangs shut, leaving me alone in the darkness with the devastating truth.

I'm carrying Luke's childthe heir he's always wantedand he's going to let us both die to make room for Vivienne and her lies.

My hand presses against my stomach protectively, and for the first time since this nightmare began, I feel something other than despair.

I feel rage.

Pure, burning, righteous rage.

'You want to destroy me?' I think, staring at the door where Vivienne disappeared. 'You want to steal my life, my husband, my child's future?'

I think of Ashley, broken and crying because no one would listen to an omega's truth. I think of Dr. Simmons, betraying his oath for money or threats. I think of Luke, choosing his mistress over his wife and unborn child.