Cord Blood Lies: The Whole Family Begged for Forgiveness

The bitter taste of the draught lingered in my mouth as I returned to the Pack Alpha’s house—his house, never mine. I went straight to his study, scrawled my name on the mate-bond severance papers, and locked them in the silver-lined safe.I was heading to gather my meager belongings when the front door exploded inward.I flinched, my wolf recoiling inside.Lysander crossed the room in two strides, his hand clamping around my wrist like a silver manacle. “Aria. The Healer re-checked your scans. There’s a complication with the pup. We need to go to the clinic. Now.”I tried to pull back, but his grip was iron. My skin burned, reddening under the pressure.“No. The Healer today said the pup was healthy. Why would the clinic contact you and not me directly?”His eyes, usually a calm grey, were wolf-gold and frantic. “It was your mother. She reached out through the pack link. You doubt your own mother’s judgment?”As if summoned, my parents walked in. My mother’s face was carved from ice.

My dead hope flickered, a tiny, treacherous flame.“You dropped this.” Bryce walked over, holding out my small leather ID pouch—the one holding my bloodline sigil. He handed it to my mother. His eyes never left mine.“Thank you, Enforcer,” my mother gushed, her voice too high.I fought against the bonds, the silver wires searing my wrists. “Br—!”Lysander’s large hand clamped over my mouth again, muffling my cry. “Shh, mate. Almost there. The Healer will help you.”He practically threw me into the back seat of the SUV. My mother climbed in after me, pinching and slapping my arms. “One more sound, and I’ll dose you with enough wolfsbane to make you wish you were never born.”Lysander drove like a demon, ignoring traffic signals, his Alpha aura pushing other cars aside. We screeched to a halt at the private pack infirmary’s rear entrance.I was dragged through sterile halls into a cold, bright operating room. The smell of antiseptic and fear was overwhelming.I tried to struggle, to run,

The door to the operating theater slammed open.Bryce, the Pack’s lead Enforcer, stood framed in the doorway, his expression a thundercloud. Behind him, several Council Guards shifted nervously, their scents sharp with alarm and anger.“I knew something was wrong when you dragged her out,” Bryce’s voice was a low growl, cutting through the sterile air. “If she was in labor, why were you silencing her? Why force her to move? I used the pack link to check with the main infirmary. No birth was scheduled for Aria today.”His furious gaze swept over Lysander and my mother, Serena. Then it landed on me.A collective, sharp inhale came from the Guards.I was strapped down, my abdomen laid open without anesthesia, silver sutures clutched in my mother’s bloody hand. My skin was peeled back, the raw, brutal evidence of their butchery on full display.“Moon God above,” one Guard whispered, turning pale.“She is your family!” Bryce roared, his control snapping. “How could you do this?”He turned a

The pack link broadcast went wild.“So the Alpha’s true love is his mate’s stepsister? And her parents helped? This is a Moon-forsaken mess.”“I feel sick. The level of betrayal…”“He married her just to breed a cure for his lover? What kind of twisted logic is that?!”On the link, Lysander’s voice sharpened with sudden suspicion. “Aria… that echo… are you broadcasting this? Is this a trap? You’re setting me up!”He was still trying to blame me.A cold laugh escaped me. “Your own actions condemn you, Lysander. Don’t you ever dream of him? The pup you all pulled from me, broken and still?”“If I go down, I’m taking you with me,” he seethed, shifting tactics. “Remember, we are still mated. Your fate is tied to mine!”“Are we?” I asked softly. “Do you remember the mate-bond dissolution papers you signed? To prove your devotion when we bonded?”A pause. A sharp intake of breath.“You… you filed them? How? You’ve been here!”I could almost hear him scrambling, drawers slamming. His panic wa

My hands were steady as I activated the public pack link feed.There it was. My name, trending at the peak.#AriaFrey: Terminated Eight-Month Pup to Condemn Sister##TheTruthBehindTheSurgery#I opened the first thread. Lysander had posted a crystal-clear image. A medical record from a discreet, private birthing clinic on the edge of our territory. A date from weeks ago. A service listed: ‘Voluntary Termination (Late Term) Consultation & Scheduling.’And at the bottom, a signature. Mine.The comments section was a tidal wave of reversal.“Moon’s mercy… there WAS a plan.”“She had a choice? To save both her pup AND her sister? And she chose… this?”“No wonder her family despised her. She’s ice-cold.”“To kill your own unborn heir… what kind of she-wolf does that? Maybe the Alpha was right to love the other one.”The vitriol was instant, and it was physical. My personal stone started ringing with blocked signatures shouting curses. Mind-link pulses, heavy with hate, slammed against my men