Chapter 1

The first contraction hit me. But my mate, Alpha Alistair, responded by locking me in a silver cage. Its bars were carved with curse runes that sizzled against my skin. The first pup born would be the next Alpha.

"Help!"

My voice echoed in the cellar.

No one answered.

The silver bars burned my palms.

The runes etched into them flared, sending spikes of agony through my body.

Just last night, Alistair had been stroking my belly.

"Our child will be a strong pup," he’d whispered, his eyes soft.

The tenderness in them almost drowned me.

"Two more weeks. Have you picked a name for our baby? Here, drink your calming tea."

I smiled and drank it all.

For months, Alistair had made me a cup of that tea every day.

I thought his love for me was growing.

I thought he was excited for our future.

I was a fool.

But when my water broke at the same time as Livia's, the warmth in his eyes vanished.

"How is this possible?"

He cornered me, his hand clamping around my neck.

"I had the alchemist drug your tea," he hissed. "It was supposed to delay your labor. How could you be in labor now?"

My lungs burned. The world went dark. Only then did he let go.

"You're faking it!" he snarled, finally releasing me. "Livia's in labor, so you're trying to have your pup first, aren't you? I won't let you!"

After that, he ordered his guards to lock me in here.

He ignored my screams.

He let the runes tear my wolf from me, piece by agonizing piece.

A contraction ripped through me.

A tearing pain.

"Alistair!" I screamed through our mind link. "Please! The pup is coming! I'm not lying!"

But only silence answered.

Our mate bond fractured under the strain.

The pain in my chest and the contractions were about to break me.

He cut the link.

It felt like he’d cut my lifeline.

I remembered the accusation in his eyes.

The cold way he admitted to poisoning me for my entire pregnancy.

But at that moment, I was just reeling from his disbelief.

"I'm not!" I cried. "I'm not competing with Livia! The pain... it's real! Please, believe me!"

He didn't.

In the three years we'd been together, he’d never once raised his voice at me.

Never showed a moment of weakness.

That all changed five months ago.

He and his brother were ambushed by a rival pack on a bridge.

His brother took a silver bullet for him and plunged into the raging river below.

Alistair drank himself into a stupor for two weeks before taking over the pack as the new Alpha.

He told me he would always protect his brother's mate, Livia, and her unborn pup.

He even whispered in his sleep that he wished he could trade his life for his brother's.

All I felt for him then was sympathy.

I never imagined his grief would twist into such cruelty.

He thought I wanted to use my pup to steal everything from her.

But I don't give a damn about the pack's power or money.

All I ever wanted was him.

Another contraction hit.

I fell to my knees, clutching my stomach.

"Baby, I'm so sorry."

The pain was overwhelming.

"Alistair... Alistair... someone, please help me."

I was drenched in sweat, my strength gone.

Just as I was about to give up, I heard footsteps on the stairs.

It was Kira, one of the pack's omegas.

Besides Alistair, she was the one who cared for me most during my pregnancy.

Every morning, she would collect morning dew for me from the garden.

The healer said moonlight-blessed dew was best for the Luna's baby.

"Kira!" Hope flared in my chest. "Thank the Goddess! Get me out of here!"

But Kira didn't rush to me with her usual concern.

She stopped in front of the cage.

No shock. No pity.

She looked up from the shadows, a smug smile on her face.

"Look at our mighty Luna," she cooed, crouching to meet my eyes. "Caged like an animal."

What?

Why was she acting like this?

My heart sank. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

I shook the thought away.

I gripped the silver bars, crying. "Kira, please," I cried, my fingers digging into the silver bars. "My baby is dying—"

"Your pup?" she interrupted. "Or the tool you used to trap the Alpha?"

The suspicion turned to cold, hard fact.

She wasn't here to help me.

"What are you talking about? This is Alistair's child! You wanted this baby to be born more than anyone! What’s wrong with you, Kira?"

I stared at her in disbelief.

"Is that so?" She rose slowly. "Then why did the Alpha lock you in here?"

I had no answer.

Because he hated me.

Because he thought I was a manipulative bitch.

"Do you know how much I hate you?" Kira's voice grew shrill. "You got everything I ever dreamed of just because you're his fated mate."

Another contraction hit.

Worse this time.

I bit through my lip.

"I've loved him for seven years. Seven years!" She slammed her fist on the bars. "And you? You did nothing, and you got his heart."

"No... you never said anything. I never wanted to hurt anyone," I whispered, my voice trembling. "I just love him."

"Love?" Kira sneered. "You selfish bitch. You don't deserve to talk about love."

I wanted to argue, but the pain clouded my thoughts.

Kira watched me suffer, a twisted pleasure in her eyes.

Then she closed them, pressing her fingers to her temples.

She was mind-linking Alistair.

"Don't," I begged, realizing what she was doing. "Please don't tell him I'm begging."

She ignored me.

Ten seconds passed. Twenty.

She opened her eyes, her smile wider than before.

"What did he say?" I clung to the bars, my nails breaking. "What did Alistair say?"

"The Alpha says you're still acting."

My world collapsed.

"He says you're a liar and you'll never change."

"No!" I screamed. "I'm not lying! My baby is really dying!"

"He also said," Kira pulled a syringe from her pocket. A dark purple liquid sloshed inside. "It's time to teach you a lesson. So you'll finally stop playing these pathetic games."

Wolfsbane.

Concentrated wolfsbane.

"He told you to inject me with that?" I couldn't believe it.

Kira shook her head. "This was my idea. But when I asked him if I could 'discipline' you, you know what he said?"

I looked at her, my heart dead in my chest.

"He just said, 'Make her learn.'"

"This is a lesson from your Alpha. And a gift from me."