第3章

What Derek never knew was that I was actually the daughter of the Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack, the most powerful pack in the Northern Territories.

My parents had always wanted me to inherit the Alpha position, but I had refused for Derek's sake.

Derek and I had been together for six years, since we were teenagers in rival packs. Though we'd only recently held the mating ceremony, we'd actually completed the mate bond ritual right after graduating from pack training.

During these years, I had secretly used my family connections to help elevate Derek from a mid-ranking wolf to the Shadow Pack Alpha position.

He had once been a warrior who didn't understand leadership, even nearly plunging the entire pack into crisis because of his arrogance and impulsiveness.

It was my strategic planning that guided the pack through that disaster. He said he needed me, so I stayed with the Shadow Pack.

I helped him manage the entire Shadow Pack, transforming it from one of the weakest packs into one of the five strongest packs in the Northern Territories.

Recently, I'd even been helping him campaign for the Alpha King position.

I had stood by him as he grew from an inexperienced warrior into the Alpha of Shadow Pack. But now, I truly understood that all my sacrifices meant nothing to him. His heart had never belonged to me.

My parents received news of my condition and immediately rushed from the distant Northern Territories to care for me.

For an entire month, Derek never appeared once.

My father insisted on accompanying me to my final check-up before discharge.

We were leaving the obstetrics and gynecology department—the same department where I had lost my baby, where I had spent weeks recovering from having my womb torn apart—when I saw them.

Derek and Victoria stood at the reception desk, her hand placed protectively over her stomach, his arm wrapped around her shoulders. The sight stopped me cold. My father's hand tightened on my wheelchair.

Victoria spotted us first. Her eyes widened before a smile spread across her face—a smile that didn't reach her eyes. She tugged at Derek's sleeve and whispered something, guiding him toward us.

"Scarlett!" Victoria called out, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "What a surprise to see you here!"

She stepped closer. One hand remained curved protectively around her belly. "Why are you here? Are you sick?"

Victoria's smile widened as she moved even closer, deliberately making sure I could see the hand cradling her stomach.

"I'm pregnant," she announced, her eyes gleaming with malice disguised as joy. "My brother is so worried about me that he's been accompanying me to see the healer. You don't mind, right?"

Every word was like a dagger. Just weeks ago, I had been pregnant with Derek's child—a child torn from me while he ignored my pleas for help.

Derek shifted uncomfortably, unable to meet my eyes. "Scarlett, don't get me wrong. She is my sister, I just accompanied her to see the healer."

My father stepped forward, his Alpha presence expanding until the air itself seemed to vibrate with power.

"Derek," my father growled, his voice barely above a whisper yet reverberating through the entire department, "is this how you take care of my daughter?"