The concrete floor pressed cold against Trash’s hip as she lay curled in the dark corner, sweat clinging to her skin despite the chill. Her back still ached from the salve-stiffened wounds. Her body begged for more sleep, but her instincts never truly rested. Not here.

The creak of the basement door snapped her eyes open.

She froze. Her heart leapt up into her throat.

Footsteps.

She knew that rhythm. But something was wrong. The scent that followed wasn’t Luther’s, it was too light, too sweet. Florals, perfume, something carefully curated. Her stomach turned.

Trash pressed herself tighter into the wall, biting her lip and slowing her breath, feigning sleep.

The footsteps stopped a few feet away. For a moment, there was only silence.

Then Gabrielle spoke.

“I know you’re not asleep.” Her voice was smooth, unbothered. “You’re never asleep when someone comes down here.”

Trash didn’t move.

“I came to warn you.”

That caught her attention, but she stayed still, eyes narrowed in the dark.

“The Alpha Alric has sold you,” Gabrielle continued, her voice cool and even. “To some other pack. I think it was a trade deal. I heard something about political leverage, but really, Alpha Alric just wanted to get rid of you.”

Trash felt her stomach drop. Her breath hitched, just once, barely audible. She’d suspected something was coming. But this…

Gabrielle’s heels clicked softly as she stepped closer. “Luther isn’t happy about it. Actually, he lost his damn mind.”

Trash still said nothing.

“He said you’re his. That he won’t let anyone take you.”

A bitter smile curled at Gabrielle’s lips, audible in her voice. “Honestly? I don’t get it. I don’t know what he sees in you. You’re a mute. You can’t do anything right, and you’re plain and boring.”

Gabrielle paused, then crouched, but kept her distance. “But he’s serious about keeping you. Scary serious.”

Trash turned her face into the wall. She didn’t know if it was fear, or hope, or something else clawing its way up her throat.

Trash remained motionless, heart thudding, body alert beneath the blanket of feigned sleep. She could still sense Gabrielle in the room, lingering like the scent of her expensive perfume, sweet and sour at once.

“I should also tell you,” Gabrielle said, her voice softer now, almost kind. But Trash didn’t trust that tone. It was the same voice the pack used on scared animals before snapping necks.

“The Alpha’s stepping down soon,” Gabrielle continued. “Luther’s going to take his place.”

Trash blinked once. She knew that day would come eventually. The entire pack had been preparing for it. But hearing it now after everything made the world tilt slightly.

“And I’ll be Luna.” Gabrielle moved closer, her shoes scraping the floor. “I’ll be standing beside him at every ceremony. Every gathering. Every decision.”

A pause.

Gabrielle crouched near her again, closer than before. Trash could see her shape now in the faint light. her perfect hair, her tailored coat, the way she looked down at her like someone inspecting dirt on the heel of her boot.

“I’m not stupid,” Gabrielle said quietly. “I know you’ve got his attention. I know he comes down here at night, early in the morning when he thinks everyone is asleep.”

Trash’s blood turned to ice.

Gabrielle leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.

“You don’t belong in our world. You don’t even speak. You’re nothing to him.”

She stood again.

“Once I’m Luna, I won’t allow this little… indulgence to continue. I’ve let it go because it was beneath me. But if you continue to be a distraction, if you keep pulling him away from what he’s meant to be…”

Her heels clicked back toward the stairs.

“I’ll make sure you disappear. Permanently.”

“You have two choices,” Gabrielle continued, tone clipped, final. “Take the bookbag. There’s a thousand dollars in cash inside. I know you don’t know what that means, but it’s enough for a plane ticket. Maybe even a shitty motel room for a while. You can go far. Far away from here. Somewhere, he won’t find you.”

Trash blinked slowly, her eyes locked on the bag without reaching for it.

Gabrielle took a step back, arms crossed. “Or…” Her voice dropped lower, crueller. “You can stay.”

She leaned in, face suddenly close. “And disappear. For good. I don’t care if it’s an ‘accident’ or an official exile. By the end of the year, you’ll be gone one way or another.”

Trash swallowed hard, her body frozen.

“I’m giving you an out,” Gabrielle said. “Take it.”

With that, she turned and walked away, heels echoing against the stairs. This time, the door shut with force.

The silence afterwards was deafening.

Trash stared at the bag.

She didn’t know what a thousand dollars looked like, but she knew one thing: Gabrielle wasn’t bluffing.

And the choice laid before her wasn’t really a choice at all. It was survival.