Lila's hidden agenda.

Kieran steps into Lila's room, his sharp gaze sweeping across the neatly arranged space.

His mind is a mess, unsure of what he is doing. It feels as though he can't think straight anymore.

His nostrils flare as Lila's 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.

---

Meanwhile,

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 just quietly waiting for the right moment to boil over.

Destroy all the packs that had treated her ruthlessly, casting her out of her own pack, sent away even by her own family! Called cursed and a lone werewolf all because of a mate!

She had sworn to do this for a long time, trying and failing!

She only thinks of how the packs treated her, but not even once has she ever asked herself why the Moon Goddess cursed her, denying her a mate.

Ever since Lila was a young girl, she dreamed of being a powerful Luna. She had a male best friend who was bound to be an Alpha, and they saw each other as mates already, even before the time came for them to recognize their mates.

To her disappointment, the Goddess mated her younger sister with her dream husband, her mate.

It made her uncomfortably angry, and to make it worse, the man was happy with the bond between Lila's sister and him.

She even wished to kill her own sister, to destroy the bond between Henry—her best friend—and Elsa, her younger sister.

And when her own mate showed up, she killed him without a second thought.

She consulted dark magic, strong witches, and tried so hard to destroy what was between Henry and Elsa. But the Moon Goddess's power is untouchable.

The Moon Goddess wouldn't even let her kill her sister.

Her bitterness led her to detest the Moon Goddess. It even led her to believe she could seek revenge against the Goddess for what she had done to her.

She thought, even if she couldn't reach the Goddess, she could use the packs. She would ruin them, destroy them so thoroughly that the Goddess herself wouldn't have any werewolves left to rule.

---

And now, with Kieran's desperation, the moment had arrived.

Her lips curled into a sly smile as she recalled the conversation that started it all.

---

It had been days after Kieran confided in her, his resolve cracking 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 leaped 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.

---

After Kieran asked her to be his pretend mate, she was beyond happy. She started plotting again.

First, she would solidify her position as Kieran's mate. No one would dare question her once the Alpha himself claimed her.

And she became even happier, praising her dark magic when Kieran mentioned his sorrows and she offered the solution of the soul swap. Somehow, he accepted it.

The 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.

She knew the magic in her body was strong enough to control his mate.

And since her soul would be in that male mate's body, she'd continue with her evil plans.

Finally, when the Moon Goddess inevitably intervened, she would ensure Kieran bore the brunt of her wrath.

She would punish and curse Kieran for agreeing to such a thing, just like Lila herself had been cursed.

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 after a while. "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 a nuisance—he can feel it.

---

The power stirring in Ace now is the reason he was born. Being mated with Kieran—the powerful Alpha among all alphas and packs—was the Moon Goddess's way of ensuring Lila's defeat.

The goddess had grown tired of Lila's schemes and wanted to punish her physically for being such a nuisance.

Ace's mark starts glowing faintly inside his hoodie, as if sensing 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 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. As she studies him, a flicker of doubt crosses her mind.

For the first time in years, she feels a hint of uncertainty.