Chapter 3

"Without moonpetal, we can't save her."

The healer's words were a death sentence.

I lay on the operating table, drifting between worlds.

The wolfsbane was eating me alive.

"Link the Alpha!" Marcus roared at the healer. "Tell him to send the moonpetal over!"

"I'll try," the healer said, his hands shaking as he activated the comms device.

A few seconds later, Alistair's furious voice crackled through.

"She's acting again! Don't fall for it!"

"Alpha, please, you have to listen to me," the healer pleaded, his voice desperate. "Alpha, the dose in her system... it's enough to kill three grown warriors—"

"Enough!" Alistair cut him off. "She injected herself to get sympathy. You've all been fooled!"

I wanted to laugh, but I didn't have the strength.

Inject myself?

Who would kill their own child just to put on a show?

"Alpha, I'm begging you," the healer tried one last time. "Even one stalk of moonpetal—"

Kira's voice cut in on the comms. "Healer, don't let her fool you. I've been taking care of the Luna for months. I know her body. She'll be fine!"

"Did you hear that?" Alistair's voice was pure ice. "The one person she trusted has exposed her lies. Now we all see her for what she truly is."

The line went dead.

The healer slumped into a chair, shaking his head in defeat.

"I'm sorry, Luna," he choked out. "I did my best."

Marcus slammed his fist against the wall. "Damn it all! She's going to die!"

Yes. I was going to die.

My baby and I were both going to die.

Abandoned by the man I loved, left to die in this cold, sterile room.

My gaze drifted. I saw a shimmering, translucent figure beside me. My pup. His heart had stopped, but his tiny spirit lingered.

"I'm sorry, baby," I whispered, tears sliding down my face. "Mommy couldn't protect you."

His tiny spirit form shook his head. His voice was a fading whisper in my soul. "Find... my brother. Find Lucian."

My brother, Lucian.

Three years ago, I betrayed my family and refused my brother's protection, all to be with Alistair.

Would he even forgive me?

"My baby is right," I whispered. I closed my eyes and gathered the last shred of power I had left.

I sent out a kinship call. A desperate cry only my blood could hear.

I poured all my despair, my pain, my regret into it, and sent it to my brother, thousands of miles away.

"Lucian... save me..."

After sending the call, I finally let go.

I don't know how much time passed, but a deafening roar woke me up.

The entire hospital was shaking.

"What is that?" the healer cried, staring out the window in terror.

A dozen black helicopters sliced through the sky. Each one bore the sigil of a snarling wolf's head against a silver crescent moon. The mark of the Alpha King.

"My God, it's the Crescent Moon Pack's guards!" Marcus said, stunned.

BOOM!

The door to the operating room was kicked off its hinges.

A tall figure stood in the doorway.

Silver hair, deep blue eyes, and an Alpha's aura so powerful it was suffocating.

"Lucian," I breathed.

His ice-blue eyes landed on me. And they erupted in flames.

"Who. Touched. My. Sister?"

Behind him stood an old man wearing a mask made of bone.

His shaman.

"Save her! Now!" Lucian ordered.

The shaman rushed to my side, placing a hand on my chest.

A green light flowed from his palm.

"What about the child?" Lucian demanded.

The shaman shook his head. "No vital signs. The poison was too strong."

Lucian's fists clenched, his knuckles turning white.

"Brother," I gripped his hand. "Get me out of here."

"The ones who hurt you will pay," he said, his voice dripping with venom. "But first," his voice was dangerously low, "you need to die."

What?

"It's the only way to set you free. To erase your past." Lucian nodded at the shaman. "Begin."

The shaman began chanting in an ancient tongue.

A strange energy filled the air.

"Everyone out!" Marcus yelled at the other staff. "Now!"

The moment they fled, the room erupted in flames.

But I felt no heat.

It was a phantom fire.

"From this day on," Lucian said, lifting me into his arms, "Seraphina is dead."

I heard Alistair's roar from across the compound. "What is that fire? Seraphina! Is this another one of your pathetic games to get my attention?"

A warrior's trembling voice answered. "Alpha... the Luna... she's gone. She burned to death. There's nothing left."