Chapter 4

"Is there a problem?"

Caden’s voice wasn't loud, but it cut through the murmurs like a blade.

His Alpha command slammed down, and the entire hall fell silent.

His arm was a steel band around my waist, his dark eyes scanning every face in the room.

The wolves who had been whispering just moments ago now bowed their heads.

"No one was bothering me," I said, stroking his chest, playing the part of the fragile mate in need of protection. "Everyone was just concerned about me."

"You're pale," he said, his brow furrowed as he studied my face. "Did the crowd make you uncomfortable?"

"A little. It's so many people. A bit overwhelming."

"I'll take you to the sitting room to rest."

He gave no one a chance to object, steering me through the crowd toward a small door off the main hall.

"Caden," the Matriarch's voice called from behind us. "The elders are still waiting to discuss—"

"Later," Caden said without looking back. "My mate needs me."

In the sitting room, a warm fire crackled in the hearth, filling the air with the faint scent of lavender.

Caden settled me onto a plush sofa, then knelt before me.

"Better?"

"Much better."

"I'm going to speak with the elders about some pack business. You rest here. If you feel unwell at all, call me on the mind-link immediately."

"I will."

He pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead.

"I'll be back soon."

The door clicked shut.

I sat alone on the sofa, the firelight dancing across my face.

Five minutes later, the door opened again.

But it wasn't Caden.

It was Lyra.

She glided into the room, shut the door, and turned to face me.

"Well, well. A private sanctuary," she cooed. Her voice shed its fragility like a snakeskin, dripping with venom. "For the poor, delicate Luna. So precious. So protected."

I kept my expression calm.

"Is there something you want, Lyra?"

"Yes. I wanted to talk," she said, sinking into the chair opposite me, her hand resting on her swollen belly. "About that… beautiful night, eight years ago."

My blood ran cold.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You don't?" She let out a sharp, ugly laugh. "Let me remind you. The snow was falling, the moon was full, and a thriving pack was suddenly slaughtered. The men were torn apart, the women defiled, and the cries of the children echoed through the forest."

"Shut up."

"Your father, that proud Alpha, let out a desperate howl just before he died. Did you hear him? He was screaming your name, hoping you would save him." Her eyes gleamed with a sick excitement. "But you weren't there, were you? You were off at some human university, living your carefree little life."

My hands began to shake.

"And your mother," Lyra whispered, her voice full of sick glee. "She tried to shield the pups, but they tore her open anyway. Ripped her chest apart. Her blood painted the snow red. Her last thought on the mind-link? A scream. Pure agony. It was the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard."

"I said, shut up!"

"Want to hear it?" She pulled a black memory stone from her pocket. "I saved all the precious moments. Your mother's last words, your father's desperate screams, the whimpers of the children—"

"Enough!"

I shot to my feet, but Lyra was relentless.

"And the most ironic part?" She stalked toward me, a predator closing in. "They died never knowing the traitor was the sweet little Silver Moon princess they treated like their own daughter."

"You're a monster," I breathed, the words barely a whisper.

"A monster?" She laughed, a harsh, grating sound. "I was just taking back what was mine. The Luna bloodline should have been mine. Caden should have been mine. This title should have been MINE! What right does a worthless, title-stealing bitch like you have to any of it?"

Her words were daggers in my heart.

The rage of my ancestors, the power of the betrayed Moon, erupted from me.

A wave of pure, silver light exploded from my body, slamming Lyra off her feet and against the far wall.

Her eyes widened in terror, and a sharp scream tore from her throat.

"Help! Someone's trying to kill me!"

She slid to the floor, clutching her stomach, feigning an attack.

"Selene is using forbidden magic on me! She's trying to kill my baby!"

The door burst open.

Caden stormed in, his eyes blazing with a fury aimed entirely at me.

He saw Lyra, crumpled in the corner, and then me, standing in the center of the room with silver light still swirling around me.

"What happened?"

"She tried to kill me!" Lyra shrieked. "She said I didn't deserve to live and then she attacked me with her Luna power!"

"That's not true!" I argued. "She was the one who—"

"Enough!"

Caden's Alpha command crashed down on me like a tidal wave, so powerful I could barely breathe.

He shoved me. Hard. My back hit the cold stone wall, the impact knocking the air from my lungs.

Then he rushed to Lyra's side, gathering her gently into his arms.

"Are you hurt? Is the baby okay?"

"I… I don't know…" Lyra whimpered, leaning weakly against his chest. "My stomach hurts…"

"Get a healer in here, now!" Caden roared at the doorway.

The Matriarch and several elders rushed in, their faces masks of shock and rage at the scene before them.

"Selene!" the Matriarch spat, pointing a finger at me. "How could you attack a pregnant she-wolf? Have you no shame?"

"I didn't—"

"The proof is right there!" an elder interrupted. "The energy of forbidden magic is still clinging to you!"

"Apologize," Caden commanded, his voice a low growl. He never took his eyes off Lyra. "Now."

"What?"

"I said, apologize to her," he repeated, finally turning his head. The coldness in his eyes made him a stranger. "You almost killed an innocent child."

I stared at him. At the man who had once sworn to protect me.

He chose her.

Without a moment of hesitation, he chose her.

"Apologize," the Matriarch repeated, her voice like ice. "You are a curse on this family. A disgrace."

My mouth opened, but no sound came out.

The healer rushed in and began checking on Lyra.

"The baby is fine," the healer said with a sigh of relief. "She's just in shock. She needs to rest."

"Thank the Goddess," Caden breathed, holding Lyra tighter. "I will never let anyone hurt you again."

He carried her toward the door.

As he passed me, he didn't even glance in my direction.

The others followed him out, leaving me alone in the empty room.

In that moment, my heart truly died.

All my lingering attachments, all my struggles, all the false hope I had for our mate bond—it all turned to ash under his cold gaze.

So, this was my end.

Mocked by the murderer, betrayed by my lover, and cast out by the entire pack.

Goodbye, Caden.

And farewell, to this cage built upon the blood of my pack.

————

Caden's POV

Snowflakes drifted past the window.

Outside, the First Snow Festival was reaching its peak.

I stood on the main balcony, watching my pack members dance and celebrate in the gardens below, but my heart was a block of lead in my chest.

The surprise I’d planned for Selene bloomed across the night sky—a spectacular aurora of my own making.

But she wasn't there to see it.

How did everything go so wrong?

"Alpha!"

The urgent mind-link from Marcus, my Beta, snapped me to attention.

"What is it?"

"The High Council's enforcers have raided the estate! They have irrefutable proof of Lyra's treason! And..."

His mental voice trembled. "...Luna Selene has begun the Farewell Ritual. She's fading, Alpha. She's literally vanishing from this world!"