Chapter 3: Fall Of A Beta

Lunessa's POV

“No. No, no. This can't be happening…” I whispered.

I shut my eyes tightly. Just a trick of the light, but when I opened them again, the mark was still there.

A mating mark, but not just any mark. This one was different. It didn’t resemble the marks I’d seen on others, it shimmered faintly beneath my skin, pulsing with an unfamiliar energy.

I collapsed to the floor. What kind of twisted joke was this? Who disappears after a night like that, leaving nothing but a mark that felt like it bound my soul?

Panic clawed at my chest, my hands trembled as they hovered over the mark. I wanted to blame the wine, but no that would be a lie. I wanted it. My body had begged for him like it had been waiting its whole life.

‘Why are you not saying anything?’ I asked Due, my wolf.

‘Maybe... maybe he’ll come back?’ she offered, hesitant.

‘Maybe? Maybe? Who the hell marks someone and disappears without a word?’

But I knew the answer wouldn’t come, at least not today. Fussing over it wouldn’t change a thing. I forced myself to move, cleaning up quickly and slipping into my clothes. Thankfully, the hotel was nearly deserted. The celebration from last night had emptied out. I couldn’t handle curious eyes.

At the front desk, I asked the receptionist if she had any information on Azrik. She gave me a tight, rehearsed smile and shook her head. “I’m sorry, miss. Guest privacy is part of our policy.”

I gritted my teeth in frustration and walked out. At home, I hid it the best I could, high neck dresses, scarves. I even tried makeup, layers of foundation, but the mark wouldn’t fade, blend or hide.

I used my phone to search for his name, location, anything, but nothing came up. Not even the videos from me and Liora before he saved me. It's as if someone wiped it all.

Days passed. Then weeks. Still no trace of him. I tried to forget, I really did,but my mind kept going back to him. To that night. To the way he looked at me like I was the only thing that mattered.

I told myself it was over, that I’d move on, that nothing else could possibly go wrong. But I was wrong.

A month later, the sickness began. Nausea crept in morning after morning, until it became impossible to ignore. I wanted to pretend it was stress, exhaustion, anything but what Due whispered.

‘You need to take a pregnancy test,’ she said gently.

I didn’t want to believe it, but she's my wolf, she must have felt something, so I did it. It was Positive.

I stared at the test in my hand, numb. My world tilted on its axis. Pregnant with Azrik’s child. What kind of sick joke is this? How could the universe be this cruel?

I wanted to scream. To run, but instead, I told my mother. I braced myself for her disappointment, the anger, the heartbreak, but none of it came.

She sat beside me in silence for a long while listening, then pulled me into her arms. She didn’t speak. She just held me, gently stroking my hair.

“You don’t have to do this alone,” she finally whispered. “Whatever happens, you have me. We’ll face it together.”

After that, I withdrew even more from the pack. I avoided gatherings. Then, a week later, my mother fell ill. At first it was just fatigue, then the cough came, and then the fever that wouldn’t break. I watched her fade, bit by bit, and panic began to claw at my insides.

I needed to take her to the hospital, but I had no money. Kellan made me quit my job to prepare for our wedding. As I paced the room, trying to figure out my next move, she called me softly.

“I need to tell you something… about your roots.”

“Mother, not now.” I rushed to her side. “You need to rest. I’ll take you to the hospital, I just need to figure something out.”

“I’ll be fine, Lunessa.” Her voice was weak. “Please. Just listen.”

Tears stung the corners of my eyes. Her words sounded too much like the last things people say before they leave forever. I couldn’t hear it. I refused to hear it.

“I’ll go to Kallen,” I said quickly, brushing her hair back. “I’m still his Beta. He hasn’t paid me in over three months, he owes me. I’ll get the money and we’ll go. I promise.”

I didn’t give her time to argue. I left. Clinging to the fragile hope that I’d return in time. I found Kallen in his office, lounging comfortably in the warmth of his mansion.

“I need money,” I said. “My mother’s sick. I’ll pay it back, I swear.”

He didn’t flinch. Just sighed and closed a book, placing it on the table before looking up at me.

“Money doesn’t grow on trees, Lunessa,” he said coldly. “You can’t just barge in here demanding it.”

“I’m not demanding,” I pleaded, tears spilling over now. “I’m begging. Please. I’ll pay every dime back.”

There was silence.

“Fine,” he said with a casual shrug. “I’ll give you the money.”

My heart lifted, eyes wide with hope.

“On one condition.”

I froze. “What condition?”

A cruel smirk curled his lips. “You’ll become my mistress.”

I stared at him, unable to process the words at first. “What?”

“Oh, come on,” he said, as if it was the most reasonable offer in the world. “You used to be mine. So what’s the big deal? You get the money, I get you. It’s simple.”

Rage surged through me, cutting through the numbness. “Kallen, are you out of your mind?”

He raised an eyebrow, amused.

“You broke my heart,” I seethed, fists trembling at my sides. “You chose my best friend and humiliated me in front of everyone. And now you dare sit there and ask me to crawl into your bed just so my mother doesn’t die?”

His expression didn’t change, no guilt or shame.

“Are you really this heartless?” I asked, voice cracking. “Has your soul rotted that badly?”

He remained unmoved. Then, slowly, he rose from behind his desk and circled the table, closing the distance between us. His hand brushed against mine, then slid up to my shoulder.

Before I could pull away, his grip tightened, and in a swift motion, he yanked the neckline of my dress down. We both froze.

His eyes locked onto the mark, glowing faintly against my skin, then drifted downward toward my stomach. The bump wasn’t visible yet, but he didn’t need to see it. As a werewolf, he could feel the life growing inside me.

“You… You’re pregnant?” he asked, voice low and stunned. “And marked?”

He took a step back, like I was something dirty.

“Who is the werewolf?” he growled.

I couldn’t speak. I didn’t owe him the truth, but the silence only made it worse.

His face contorted with rage. “Have you no shame? Pregnant with a bastard? You? The Beta of this pack?” His voice rose. “How dare you shame this title like this!”

I flinched. I didn’t even understand why he was this furious. Was it jealousy? Ego? The fact that someone else had touched what he couldn't?

But he wasn’t done.

“I, Alpha Kallen,” he bellowed, “hereby strip you, Lunessa, of your rank. You are no longer Beta. I demote you to a slave.”

The words hit harder than any blow.

“Guards!” he roared.

They burst in almost instantly.

“Take this disgrace to the dungeon,” he spat. “Let her rot there like the traitor she is.”

“Wait…” I tried, but they didn’t let me speak.

Two guards grabbed my arms roughly, my phone fell, they dragged me backward, my feet scraping against the polished floor.

I was too stunned to fight.