LOGINOLIVIA’S POV
No one came.
The confinement room’s stone walls pressed closer with every breath, the air thick with the stench of betrayal—not just from Evelyn, my once-friend, but from Dominic.
My mate. The man who’d rather see me rot than question the lies poisoning our pack.
Five years as his Luna. Five years of enduring his contempt. And still, he didn’t know me at all.
Didn’t care to.
A whimper escaped my cracked lips. My body ached from dehydration, my wrists raw from the cuffs, but the real agony was deeper. Nestled beneath my ribs, where my pup fluttered weakly. Alive. For now.
The door groaned open.
My heart lurched—Dominic?—but the scent of pine and parchment hit me first.
My adoptive father, Beta Jason. Just his presence brought me a sliver of comfort in this nightmare.
When he entered the cell, his eyes filled with undisguised worry, the last of my composure shattered. He knelt before me, his calloused hands trembling as they closed around mine.
"Olivia..." His whisper was barely audible. "Tell me the truth. Did you hurt Evelyn?"
I shook my head violently, my lips moving soundlessly. Tears spilled down my cheeks as his grip tightened—his own eyes glistening.
"I'll get you out of here," he vowed, voice thick. "I promise."
I clutched his hands like a lifeline, sobs wracking my body. At least someone still believed in me. At least I wasn't completely alone.
"Dad... thank you. I need to see Dominic. Can you help me?"
He hesitated. "Yes, but not yet..."
Seeing my confusion, he added, "Elder Alyosha knows what's happened. She went straight to the Alpha. They're speaking now."
A spark of hope flickered in my chest. If anyone could make Dominic listen, it was Alyosha.
"I have to go," he said reluctantly, "but I'll return the moment there's news. James and I won't abandon you."
The cell door clanged shut behind him, leaving me to curl against the freezing stone. I clung to that promise, gathering my fractured strength.
Every second of waiting felt like an eternity. Then—
The screech of metal.
A guard shoved inside, unlocking my cuffs with brutal efficiency.
"Alpha's orders. You're free to go."
I stumbled into the hallway, ribs protesting, but my legs gave out halfway. A searing cramp tore through my abdomen—
No. Not the baby.
***
The sharp sting of antiseptic burned my nose as consciousness returned. James' clinic. My adoptive brother's worried face swam into view above me.
"You're finally awake, Liv." His shoulders sagged in relief. "How do you feel?"
My hand flew to my stomach before I could speak. "The baby—"
"Is fine," he soothed, squeezing my shoulder. Then quieter: "It's you I'm worried about. You shouldn't have been able to survive that crash."
"As long as the baby's safe," I whispered, tears welling. Then the realization hit. "Dominic? Does he—"
"Isn't here." James' voice turned glacial. "I sent word. He's... preoccupied."
The unspoken with Evelyn hung between us. I clenched the sheets, then made my choice. "I need to tell him."
"You'd go back?" James blocked my attempt to rise, his surgeon's voice scalpel-sharp. "After everything?"
"I have to." My palm cradled the barely-there swell beneath my hospital gown. "He deserves to know."
James exhaled hard through his nose. "Why would the Moon Goddess do this?" He turned away, running a hand through his hair—a gesture so uncharacteristically distressed it chilled me.
"James?" I reached for him. "What's wrong?"
When he finally met my eyes, his stethoscope clattered onto the tray. "Without your wolf... without Dominic renewing the mating bond..." A swallow. "The pup won't survive past twelve weeks."
The world tilted. "You're lying."
"I wish I were." His clipboard hit the counter with a crack. "Werewolf fetuses need magic from both parents. You're already at eight."
All the pain—Evelyn's schemes, the pack's hatred, Dominic's cruelty—meant nothing compared to this.
I would crawl through broken glass for this child.
Even if it meant begging the man who hated me most.
The packhouse loomed like a gilded prison.
Through the study window, I saw them: Evelyn adjusting Dominic’s collar, her fingers lingering on his neck. He allowed it—no, leaned into it—his gaze soft in a way I’d never earned.
My knees threatened to buckle.
But then—a flutter. Faint but fighting. For my child.
Taking a deep breath, I shoved the door open.
Dominic turned, golden eyes flashing with annoyance. "What?"
Every instinct screamed to run. Instead, James’ words echoed in my mind.
"I need to talk to you," I said, forcing my voice to remain steady as I looked right at Dominic.
He frowned but nodded.
I placed a trembling hand on my stomach and whispered the words that would change everything.
"I’m carrying your heir."
For the first time in years, I saw something flicker in his eyes—shock, disbelief, something else I couldn’t name.
And just like that, the fate of my child rested in his hands.
THIRD PERSON’S POVBy nightfall, the grand hall was overflowing.Every corner of the vast chamber buzzed with restless energy—the low murmur of gossip, the sharper hum of accusations, and the scratch of reporters’ pens as they jotted down every whisper. Wolves from across the pack had come, drawn not only by the promise of answers but by the spectacle of scandal. Aurelia’s disappearance had rattled everyone, and now Kael’s promise of revealing the orchestrator was the only thing holding the room together.The chandeliers glowed, casting sharp light on anxious faces, while guards lined the walls in tense silence. Every eye turned toward the dais at the far end, where Kael stood ready, his expression thunderous, his words still locked behind clenched teeth. And beside him, waiting for the signal to step forward, was Darius.But Seraphina knew what was coming.If Kael spoke that name—her name—her carefully bui
AURELIA’S POVTwo days.That was all Darius had asked of me. Two days and the rumors would die, he’d said. Two days and he’d show me the truth wasn’t as cruel as it seemed.And for those two days, I tried. I swallowed my doubt. I folded my fear small and tucked it into corners where it wouldn’t choke me. I told myself to wait, to breathe, to endure.But fate has never cared for promises. I didn’t want to hope this time. I want to trust Darius, my heart wants to hope once again but my brain-it wants to shut down. I have hoped for too long, expected too much but at the end I was the only person who got hurt. I guess Love, hope, expectations, these things are priceless in my family’s eyes.I felt suffocated inside the four walls of my own home, so I decided to step out for a moment and that’s when everything shattered.The night it happened was deceptively calm. The manor hummed with its usual rhythm—guards on rotation, servants finishing chores, Seraphina tucked in her wing pretending t
AURELIA’S POVThe smallest, most dangerous thing in me—hope—resented him for giving me that choice. I had spent everyday memorizing how to be small so I would not be noticed, and now he offered me a way out that required admitting I could not do it alone. I gripped the knife tighter and tried to make my voice a stone.“No,” I said. It came out flat, practiced. “I don’t want—” My throat closed.Darius’s eyes flicked, not unkindly, to the window. He knew. He had known before I did that my fingers would find the metal; he had seen the set of my shoulders the instant I crossed the threshold of despair. He had seen me unravel the way only the very nearest did.“You don’t have to say ‘please,’” he murmured. “You don’t have to beg me. Just—tell me you don’t want to do this alone.” A breath. “We’ll carry it with you. Two days. Two days and the pack will tire of the story. Two days and the men who feed rumors will be turned away. I’ll make it stop.”I was incredulous that he offered it so clea
SERAPHINA’S POVIf there’s one thing I’ve mastered, it’s performance.Every glance, every sigh, every tear that clung just so to my lashes—it was all calculated, measured, and delivered with the precision of a seasoned actress. And the best part? They all believed it.No one questioned how the accident happened. No one cared to wonder if perhaps Seraphina, the darling daughter, might have had a hand in her own misery. No. They were too busy gasping, too busy scolding Aurelia, too busy eating the spectacle I’d laid before them.This time, there were no accomplices within the family. No whispering to Father. No little nudges to Mother. Not even Darius or Kael. I didn’t need them. All I needed was a handful of well-placed wolves in the pack, the kind that sold secrets and gossip like bread. I fed them a story, laced with just enough truth to taste real, and let them carry it like wildfire: Aurelia had been the last one with me. Aurelia had pushed me too far. Aurelia had always been like
AURELIA’S POVDarius held his line like stone. Kael’s jaw worked in ways that looked like anger and worry braided together. They pushed the crowd back, shouted curt commands, offered clipped assurances about an ongoing investigation. They protected me — but even the shields were thin. I watched the way Darius’s eyes flicked to me from time to time, and though he didn’t speak my name with accusation, there was a coldness there I couldn’t ignore. His restraint felt less like trust and more like calculation.That knowledge settled in my gut like a bitter pill: even the people who claimed to guard me no longer trusted me entirely. Their loyalty had eroded by whispers and the ease of repeating what served them. It was easier for them to ask questions than to look for answers.But I had none.I had held myself together all day as if skin and bone were enough to keep the world intact. I answered questions with measured bows. I
AURELIA’S POVThe ride to the hospital blurred around me. My hands shook in my lap, cold and clammy, as the same questions beat against my skull—What happened to her? Why did she scream? How did she fall?But when I arrived, there was no space for questions.The sharp scent of antiseptic clung to the air, and the corridor was filled with frantic footsteps and hushed voices. At the far end, I saw them—Father and Mother, rigid and pale, their eyes fixed on the door behind which Seraphina lay.“Father…” I began cautiously, my voice trembling.They turned on me as one.“Cruel child,” Mother spat, her eyes brimming with tears that were not for me. “How could you treat your sister like this?”“You were the last one with her,” Father snarled, stepping closer, his voice echoing down the corridor. “Always bickering, always envious—was that not enough? Did you







