第2章

"Deal with this mess yourself." Derek's words hit me like a sledgehammer as he turned away without hesitation, taking Victoria with him.

The ceremony was over, but my humiliation wasn't. That evening, I learned through pack gossip that Derek had taken Victoria to the Maldives—our planned honeymoon destination.

The mind link we'd just formed flickered with his message: "What happened at the ceremony upset Victoria deeply. Let's give our honeymoon to her as compensation. You should take this time to reflect on your behavior. I need to help Victoria relax."

I stumbled back to our bedroom—no, his bedroom—where rose petals still covered the sheets. I was too exhausted to clean them, so I simply swept them onto the floor before collapsing onto the mattress in my still-damp clothes.

The pack members had doused me with water after Victoria pushed me into the fire, but no one had offered me dry clothes or treatment for my burns.

While plugging in my phone to charge, I "accidentally" saw Victoria's Instagram post. The photo showed Derek with his arm around her, their faces inches apart, almost touching. Both wore matching arm bands—traditional symbols of devotion in werewolf culture.

A month ago, I would have shifted immediately and raced across the territory to demand an explanation. But now, I simply turned off my phone and rolled over to sleep.

For years I'd believed Derek's coldness was just his way, that his devotion to Victoria was merely familial obligation.

I'd made excuses for him, fought for his attention, earned my place. Now I saw clearly: I had never been his priority.

It’s time to end all this.

The next morning, with steady hands that surprised even me, I signed the mate bond severance documents and took them to the Alpha Council.

Because Derek was the pack's Alpha, we needed the Alpha Council's approval to sever the mate bond.

However, fate seemed determined to deny me peace.

On my way back from the Council, in a secluded part of the territory, I found myself surrounded by wolves from the rival Bloodmoon Pack. Their eyes gleamed with hatred and savagery as they circled me.

I tried to shift into my wolf form to fight them, but only then did I discover I was pregnant. The pregnancy had temporarily disabled my ability to shift—the most vulnerable time in a she-wolf's life.

As panic set in, I heard the rival Alpha's thunderous growl: "Your mate drove my entire pack from our territory! Because of him, we lost everything! Our hunting grounds, our dens, all gone!"

He stalked closer, his massive black form towering over me. "We heard your mate has just inherited the Shadow Pack. Once we have you, he'll trade those lands for your return!"

Hearing they only wanted territory gave me a flicker of hope. Maybe they would spare my child if Derek cooperated.

Desperately, I reached out through our newly formed mate bond. Nine desperate mental calls met with nothing but silence.

My hands trembled against my stomach, protecting the life I'd just discovered inside me.

Derek, please! I'm pregnant with your child! They'll kill us both! Tears streamed down my face, my legs giving out as I fell to my knees on the forest floor.

On the tenth try, Derek's cold rejection came through: "Are you done with the dramatics? My sister Victoria isn't feeling well. Stop bothering me."

His dismissal stripped me of any value in my captors' eyes.

I fought desperately, but with my wolf dormant, my resistance was meaningless. The rival Alpha's claws tore savagely and precisely at my stomach. Horror froze me as I watched them rip my unborn child to pieces.

As my blood soaked into the forest floor, a pain I'd never known tore through me—warm and sticky. My child was gone, just like that.

Hatred crystallized in my heart, unleashing my Alpha wolf in one final surge of power. I managed to kill the wolf who had murdered my child before escaping the rival pack's encirclement.

Back in safe territory, clinging to my last breath, I called my father.

"Father," I whispered, my voice barely audible, "I won't be Luna of the Shadow Pack anymore. I agree to return and inherit the Silver Moon Pack."