Chapter 2

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. “This is your own fault. You’ve been careless, straining the bond with the pup. You’re coming with us.”

My father stood beside her, a solid, disapproving wall. “Your mother is the Head Healer for births. Are you calling her a liar?”

I grabbed the doorframe of the bedroom with my free hand, claws extending slightly to dig into the wood. “I’m not going. It’s late. I feel fine. Tomorrow.”

Mother snarled, a low, vicious sound, and pried at my fingers. “We go now. I am your mother. Do you think I’d harm my own blood?”

I had been the unwanted pup, left with my aging grandparents in a distant territory. They only took me in after my grandparents died, when the Pack Elders forced their hand. I’d spent a lifetime craving a scrap of their love.

I held on with everything I had, my strengthened muscles locking. She couldn’t budge me.

Crack.

Her palm connected with my face. The sting was sharp, humiliating.

“You will come to the clinic now,” she hissed. “If you delay and Elara suffers, you will regret it.”

My cheek flamed. A bitter laugh escaped me. “Finally showing your true fangs.”

She didn’t blink. “I’m showing you necessity. Your body can’t sustain the pregnancy. It’s a fortunate coincidence your sister needs the cord blood.”

My father stepped forward, his voice softening into that manipulative tone I knew too well. “Aria, be reasonable. You’ve always been the dutiful one. Your sister needs you. Help your family.”

I spat at his feet. A clear, defiant globule. “Stop. Her life is not worth mine. A forced birth at eight moons is dangerous. You’re asking me to risk death.”

His façade cracked. His own hand flew, slapping my other cheek. “Ungrateful whelp! She is your sister! Sacrificing one pup for family is an honor! You can have more!”

Lysander finally dropped all pretense. His hand shot to my throat, squeezing just enough to cut off my air. “Aria, Elara collapsed. She’s fading. That cord blood is needed tonight. You’re coming, willing or not.”

“Lysander… this is your pup,” I choked out.

His gaze was arctic, devoid of any warmth. “My bloodline serving to save Elara is its only purpose. Its only value. You were never fit to carry it otherwise.”

His words were the final blow, shattering the last of my world and sending me spiraling into the void.