A Mate's Betrayal, An Alpha's Claim.

Camila's POV

The woman's sharp blue eyes lingered on me, her smile unreadable. There was something unsettling about the way she looked at me—not with curiosity, but recognition. As if she already knew exactly who I was.

But that was impossible.

I had lived my entire life in Silvercrest. The only wolves who knew me were the ones I had grown up around. I had never left the pack, never traveled beyond its borders. So how did she—how did any of them—know me?

Nathaniel didn't introduce her. He didn't need to. The way she held herself, the quiet authority in her stance, told me everything.

She was important. Respected.

And by the way she was looking at me, she didn't approve of whatever Nathaniel was doing.

"Nathaniel," she repeated, her tone sharper now. "I asked you to explain."

His jaw tightened. "Camila is under my protection. She stays here."

A muscle in her cheek twitched, but she didn't argue. Instead, she tilted her head, studying me once more.

"So it's true," she murmured, almost to herself. "You're her."

The hairs on my arms rose.

Who?

I opened my mouth, but no words came out. I had no idea what to say, how to ask the question screaming in my mind.

Nathaniel's patience thinned. "Not now, Selene."

Selene.

The name sent a jolt through me. I had heard it before—Alpha Nathaniel's Beta. His second-in-command. Some said she was just as ruthless as he was.

Her smile returned, but it was sharper this time. "Not now?" she echoed. "You bring her here, cause a storm at the auction, claim her in front of the entire Council, and you want to pretend this isn't bigger than it is?"

I stiffened.

Claimed?

No. No, he hadn't—

Nathaniel's voice was like steel. "She is mine to protect."

Selene arched a brow, her eyes flicking between us. "Right," she said smoothly, but there was something in her voice. Doubt. Suspicion. Like she knew something I didn't.

I swallowed hard.

I had spent my entire life as a nobody in Silvercrest. A wolf with no rank, no status, no importance. The only thing that had ever made me special was the fact that I had been Aiden's mate.

And now I wasn't even that.

So why were they all looking at me like I was something more?

Why did it feel like I had just stepped into a world where I wasn't just a slave, wasn't just some runaway wolf—

But a secret.

A secret everyone here already knew.

Except me.

A tense silence filled the space between Nathaniel and Selene, thick with something unspoken. I could feel it in the way they looked at each other—like there was an entire conversation happening beneath their words, one I wasn't a part of.

And I hated it.

Because it was about me.

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. "What does she mean?" My voice was hoarse, but steady. "What am I supposed to be?"

Selene exhaled slowly, shifting her gaze back to me. "You really don't know, do you?"

My pulse quickened. "Know what?"

Nathaniel moved then, stepping in front of me, his body a shield between me and Selene. "Enough."

Selene's jaw tightened, but she didn't push further. Instead, she turned to Nathaniel with a knowing smirk. "You can't keep this from her forever. They already know. It's only a matter of time before she finds out, too."

A chill ran through me.

They?

Nathaniel's entire body radiated tension. "We're leaving," he said, his voice leaving no room for argument. Then he turned to me, his eyes darker than I'd ever seen them. "Come."

I hesitated, my mind reeling with unanswered questions. But I had no choice. I followed.

The ride back to his territory was quiet. Too quiet.

Nathaniel rode ahead, his posture stiff, his hands gripping the reins with a force that made his knuckles pale. The warriors flanked us, moving in perfect formation. But not one of them spoke to me.

Not one of them even looked at me.

Like I was something fragile. Or dangerous.

The unease in my stomach only grew as we crossed into his land.

The Blackwood Pack's territory stretched vast and untamed, the thick forest giving way to the grand estate that served as their pack house. It was bigger than Silvercrest's—more fortified, more powerful.

And now, it was my prison.

Nathaniel didn't wait for me to take in my surroundings. He dismounted, handed his horse off to a waiting stablehand, and turned to me. "Come inside."

I didn't move. "Not until you tell me what's going on."

His gaze locked onto mine, unreadable. "Inside."

The authority in his tone sent a shiver through me, but I didn't back down. Not this time.

"You dragged me here," I said, my voice hardening. "You bought me like I was—like I was property. And now people are looking at me like I'm someone—like I'm something that I don't even understand." I took a step closer, my heart pounding. "Tell me why."

Nathaniel's expression darkened. For a moment, I thought he wouldn't answer.

Then he exhaled, a muscle in his jaw twitching.

"You were never just a slave, Camila." His voice was quiet, but firm. "You were never just an omega."

The world seemed to tilt beneath my feet.

My breath caught. "What are you talking about?"

Nathaniel studied me for a long moment, as if weighing how much he should tell me.

Then, finally—

"You don't belong to Silvercrest," he said. "You never did."

The ground dropped from beneath me.

I stumbled back, shaking my head. "That's not possible."

"It is."

"No." My voice cracked. "I've lived there my whole life. I was born there. My parents—"

Nathaniel's eyes flashed. "Who told you that?"

I opened my mouth. Closed it.

Memories flickered through my mind—blurred, distant. I had never questioned them before. Never needed to.

But now…

I couldn't remember my parents.

Not their faces. Not their voices.

Nothing.

Panic clawed at my chest.

Nathaniel stepped closer, his voice lower now. Steadier. "You don't remember, do you?"

I shook my head, my hands trembling. "That's not—"

"I know what you were told. That you were born in Silvercrest. That you were raised there. But the truth?" His gaze locked onto mine, unwavering. "You were taken."

The air rushed from my lungs.

No.

No, no, no.

I would have known. Someone would have told me—

Wouldn't they?

Wouldn't Aiden have told me?

And then, suddenly—

I understood.

Why Alpha Greene looked at me the way he did.

Why Aiden had been so desperate to keep me from leaving.

Why Selene had recognized me.

Because they all knew.

Everyone knew the truth about me—

Except me.