---- She stroked the pack mark on her neck, her voice dripping with fake sympathy. "Selena, you must have had it so hard all these years. But don't worry," she looked at Damon, a malicious glint in her eyes, "Damon and I have already discussed it. If you're willing to swallow your pride, we can take you in." "Take me in?" "As a handmaiden, of course. After all, in your current state... I doubt you'll find any other options," she sighed dramatically. "At least in the pack, you won't have to worry about where your next meal is coming from." Suppressed chuckles rippled through the crowd. Making me, the former princess, her Omega handmaiden. A truly exquisite humiliation. "What a... generous offer," I said. Lyla smiled, thinking I was about to break. But Damon had a bigger bomb to drop. ---- "But before that," he cleared his throat, raising his voice, "I have an announcement to make." All eyes turned to him. "After a formal deliberation by the Blood Moon Elders, we have officially stricken Selena's name from the pack's sacred lineage." What? "Furthermore," he pulled Lyla closer, "we have officially confirmed Lyla's noble bloodline and have adopted her as the pack's daughter and rightful heir." My blood ran cold. Not because my name was removed, but for what it implied. If my father, an Elder, had truly made that decision, it could only mean one thing. Something had happened to my mother. "So, Selena?" Damon looked at me, his eyes filled with malice. "Do you still think you have any right to ---- be standing here?" I stared at them, my mind racing. My mother was fine when I left five years ago. Lyla suddenly having a "noble bloodline" was no coincidence. She must have done something to my mother.