Lucy's POV
I swallowed hard, willing myself not to tremble. The air in the room was suffocating, filled with his domineering presence and the scent of his cologne—a mixture that turned my stomach. I was no stranger to his cruelty, neither was the way he treated me new. He loved to degrade me.
But tonight, a deep-rooted anger simmered beneath my usual numbness. I remained seated on the bed, calm but defiant, refusing to comply with his evil command. He continued with his work, expecting that I'd have obeyed when he turned back.
He finally finished with the files in his drawer and turned to me fully this time, his brows furrowing as he noticed my stillness. His cold eyes looked threatening.
“Did you not hear me? How many times do I have to repeat a single command?”
he barked, the edge of annoyance already creeping into his voice.
I flinched at his tone, but I refused to speak. My silence was my rebellion, small as it was, and I enjoyed the way it fueled his anger.
He strode over, towering over me, his presence looming. Without warning, he grabbed my legs and yanked them apart with a force that made me wince. I bit into my lower lip, not willing to plead with him.
“You’re always so disobedient,” he snarled. “Always testing my patience.”
He muttered more about my insolence, but I didn’t respond. I kept my expression neutral, offering no reaction to his insults. I knew it infuriated him to be ignored, and though my defiance was dangerous, it was one of the few ways I could assert control.
His hand slid under my robe, his fingers invading me without permission or care. I clenched my jaw, my nails digging into my palms as I fought the rising bile in my throat. He leaned closer, his face hovering near mine, waiting for a reaction. When I met his gaze, it wasn’t with fear or submission, but with pure, unfiltered disgust.
That look was all I could give him. It was my truth, my hatred laid bare. He pressed his lips to mine, and I gagged, turning my head away as my stomach lurched.
“When are you going to accept me as your mate?” he demanded, his voice dripping with mockery. “It’s been two years. You’re my Luna, whether you like it or not.”
The words were a spark to the anger that had been burning in my chest. I met his gaze with a glare that could have turned stone to ash.
“I’ll accept you,” I spat, my voice dripping with venom,
“But only when you bring my parents back to life. The ones you murdered.”
My words hit him like a slap, and for a moment, he said nothing. His expression hardened, and his grip on me tightened. He opened his mouth to retort, but before he could speak, his body jerked. His face twisted in pain as he clutched his chest, a guttural scream ripping from his throat.
I recoiled, my heart pounding as confusion and shock replaced my anger. Daven staggered, his knees buckling beneath him as he fell to the floor. The sound of his agony echoed through the room, and within seconds, the door burst open. Guards rushed in, their eyes darting between me and the Alpha writhing on the floor.
“What happened here?” one of them demanded, his voice sharp with alarm.
I couldn’t respond. I sat frozen, clutching my robe tightly around my body.
Was this real? Could the universe finally have intervened against this man who had caused me so much pain?
The Beta entered, his presence commanding immediate order.
“Take the Alpha to the pack doctor,” he instructed the guards. “And do it quickly.”
The guards lifted Daven, who groaned in agony, his breaths ragged and shallow. I watched in stunned silence. What was happening to him?
Would he make it out alive, whatever it was?
Could this be my chance to finally be free?
As the guards carried Daven out, I hesitated. I had no love for the man—no pity or concern for his suffering. But curiosity gnawed at me. This was something I had not seen coming. In two years, I had never seen Daven falter, never seen him vulnerable. What could have caused this?
Driven by the need to know, I followed them to the pack hospital, keeping a careful distance. I slipped into the hallway outside the examination room, listening intently as the doctor spoke to the Beta.
“It’s ischemic heart disease,” the doctor said gravely. “His condition has worsened significantly.”
The Beta’s expression darkened. “What are you saying? I didn't even know he had this disease, how am I finding out now that his condition has worsened?”
The doctor hesitated before continuing. “He doesn’t have much time left. His heart is failing. I suggest he puts his affairs in order. There isn’t much I can do.”
My breath caught in my throat. I pressed my back against the wall, my mind spinning. Daven, the man who had stolen everything from me, was dying. The powerful, undefeatable Alpha of the Moongrowl Pack was finally in a weak state.
For a moment, I felt a rush of vindication, as though the universe had finally answered my silent prayers. But the feeling was temporary. Daven’s death could bring chaos. What would happen to me? To Rosa? To the other survivors of the Bloodbath Pack who had been enslaved here?
A part of me longed for his end, for the chance to reclaim my freedom. But another part, the part that had learned to fear uncertainty, whispered that his death might not mean safety. It might only bring more pain.
But then, I would be the Luna and ruler of the pack and that would mean the liberty to do what I wanted to do. That would mean the freedom to let my people go.
I balled my fists, trying to keep my rioting thoughts in check. I turned and walked away from the hospital, my footsteps echoing in the silent corridor. Whatever the disease was, it was clear from the doctor’s tone that he was not going to make it out of this phase alive.
Author's POVIn a cruel, twisted way, the universe had given Scott what he truly desired: freedom. For the longest time, he thought about how he was going to get his life back together, especially when he was bound to a woman that he could never love, and had to take over Moonstruck pack from his aunt soon. He didn't think that things could have gotten so cruel to the extent that Annabella could actually die. As much as he didn't like the woman, he didn't actually wish for her to die, even though what she had done to him was something he could never forget.But what could he do?The little innocent child she left behind looked so much like her, with her dark hair and pale skin. He couldn't find the energy in himself to extend the anger he felt towards the child's mother to the little bundle of innocence. After all, it wasn't the child's fault that her mother drugged him and then lied to force him into a marriage that he wanted no part in. In his study, wallowing in his usual broodin
Lucy's POVThe morning of Annabella's burial was cold. The birds were oddly quiet, and even the grasses and leaves didn't rustle as they usually did in the wind. It was as though even the nost unlikely things were paying homage to her death. Or, maybe, it was all in my head and I was the one whose mind still couldn't wrap itself around the truth of her loss.I thought I hated her for what she did to Scott, but hearing that she died during childbirth, and receiving the story of how she had even gotten pregnant in the first place, touched a deep place in my heart. I could understand what it was like to have someone you didn't even like put their hands on you. My time with Daven was complete proof of that. I recalled being so hellbent on never getting pregnant for him that I took medicine on purpose to make it almost important for me to conceive. I knew very well back then that even having a child for him would have sealed my destiny with him, and I didn't want that.Even though what she
Author's POVAt this point, Scott and Annabella were still lawfully wedded, against Scott's better judgement. His aunt had given him an offer that he didn't quite want to accept, but also couldn't turn down either. Moonstruck was going to need a new Alpha soon, and he was the only was eligible to take on the role once his aunt stepped down. He also didn't want to disappoint the woman who had been like a mother to him and his brothers for 13 years. Annabella had grown more docile after the exile of her sponsor, the woman called Agatha. With that woman gone, and the full scrutiny of her mother now on the marriage, the young woman had decided to leave her ambitions behind and focus on being a dutiful wife. The weeks throughout their imprisonment by the Shadow Howl had been torturous, as that was the period when her life too a major shift that ruined things forever.One of those days, while she had been carrying out the slave duties handed over to her, one of the high-ranking guards work
Lucy's POVThe sound of a baby crying filled the room. All shoulders sagged with relief. The child could cry, which meant that the child was doing alright.“She's strong,” Katrina said, looking down at the little bundle in her blood-stained hands. “It's a good sign.”The wailing tugged at my heart. I could see my baby as she held out her arms and cried with every ounce of power in her lungs. Katrina placed her on my chest, and I held on to her, taking note of the fact that we were both still connected by the umbilical cord. “Everything about her is perfect,” I said. My voice was so hoarse, even to my ears as a result of all my crying and shouting, but in the end, it had all amounted to something good. My child had been born without any issues. I turned to Katrina. “She'll be okay, right? There's nothing wrong with her?”Katrina clasped her hands together. “None that I'm aware of, Lucy.” She came over to me and stared at the baby. “We'll have to observe her for a little while, and aft
Lucy's POV Pain. It was the only thing I could feel. A pain far greater than I had ever experienced before. A pain so great that my entire body could no longer feel anything else but it. It hurt terribly, sinking past my flesh and into my bones. I couldn't breathe, and I couldn't feel anything below my waist anymore.A disorienting wailing kept pounding into my years, a wailing that only intensified as time went on, and with every waking moment that passed. Immediately Shaun had found me in the room, he didn't waste any time in taking me to the infirmary. As he rushed me there, I would have been lying to myself if I said that he wasn't scared. I could feel the fear pulsating from him in great waves. Fear that he couldn't rub off nor could he leave behind. And that, made the anxiety I felt all the more greater.Katrina wasn't in the hospital at the time we got there, so instead, the person who received us was young, fresh-faced man that still appeared to be learning about what it mea
Lucy’s POVFive months into my pregnancy, and I knew that something wasn't exactly the way it should have been, but I just didn't know how to explain it. For one, my morning vomiting didn't stop, lessen, or even subside. I was frequently irritable and tired, often hungry, and on the verge of cursing someone who even dared to look at me we wrong way. Shaun was the one who suffered it the most, because he had to deal with all my impromptu crying and tantrums. For someone who was known for his hot-headedness, when it came to my case, he was as gentle as a flower. Of course, the weight of responsibility eas bound to change certain things about him, but I could just see how much effort he put into trying to be present for me at every point that I needed him.There was a particular day that I hadn't been able to hold anything down, and had requested for a specially prepared kind of meat that took a long time to prepare. I was so desperate to taste this meal that I broke down in tears and s