Chapter 6

Amber could still feel the Alpha’s rage echoing in her bones.

The memory replayed again and again—Trevor’s snarl, the way his lip curled as if she were filth, the cold blue eyes that once softened when they looked at her now burning with betrayal and hate.

He banished me. Rejected me. Threatened to have me ripped apart… torn to pieces like a traitor.

Her arms tightened around the small bundle in her lap as the car sped down the forest road. The baby stirred, soft mewling breaths brushing against her skin.

Amber’s jaw clenched.

"If I hadn’t had this child… if she hadn’t existed… none of this would have happened. Trevor would still love me. I would still be Luna." She thought.

The resentment burned hot and wild.

She looked down at the infant—Rebel—and for a fleeting, poisonous moment, Amber genuinely considered opening the car door and leaving the child in the woods for the rogues.

It would be easier. Cleaner. No one would ever know.

But the Moon Goddess would.

And Amber was already on thin ice with fate.

The car slowed before her father’s pack house—an enormous fortress of stone and glass that cast long evening shadows over the courtyard. The moment the tires touched gravel, her lungs tightened.

Alpha Alex’s wrath was nothing compared to Trevor’s… but it was colder. Sharper. Lasting.

She stepped out as the front doors burst open.

“Amber!” Her father’s voice boomed with relief, his smile wide and warm—until his eyes drifted to the bundle in her arms. “My baby girl is home.”

A flicker of curiosity. “And who is this?”

Amber’s stomach twisted. His joy was a knife she had to turn herself.

“Father,” she whispered, “we need to speak somewhere… private.”

Her gaze drifted to the pack members gathered around the steps—whispering, watching, judging. But most of all… she was watching. The Luna. Ashley. Amber’s former best friend.

Ashley’s perfect blonde hair cascaded around her shoulders. Her eyes gleamed with interest—blue and cold, like frozen lake water. Amber’s blood simmered.

You could have said no, Amber thought bitterly.

You didn’t have to marry him. You didn’t have to steal my father. You didn’t have to take my mother’s place.

But Ashley only smiled sweetly—fake, shallow, poisonous.

Amber swallowed the rising bile and followed her father inside.

The office was silent but for the ticking clock and faint scent of old books. They sat on the cold leather couch—the same one Amber had sat on when she was a child, legs too short to reach the floor. Now she felt small for an entirely different reason.

“Speak,” her father said, leaning back, fingers tapping his beard.

Amber inhaled shakily. “Why… why would the Moon Goddess give me a mate of another species? I tried to fight it—I did—but the bond was too strong. And I…” She looked down at Rebel, sleeping peacefully, unaware she was unwanted. “…I got pregnant. Father, this is Rebel. Trevor’s not her father. And when he found out… he rejected me.”

Her voice cracked. “He banished me. He would have killed me if I hadn’t run.”

Alpha Alex said nothing. His expression was unreadable stone.

“He is also the King of Magic,” Amber whispered. “I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t know where to go.”

Silence stretched, heavy and suffocating. Amber’s heart slammed painfully against her ribs.

Finally, he spoke.

“Do you want to keep this… disgrace?”

He didn’t even look at the child.

Amber felt something cruel and broken inside her respond before she could stop it.

“No, Daddy. She ruined everything. She ruined my life the moment she was born.”

His nod was slow. Calculated.

She felt him link someone through the pack bond. A moment later—

Knock. Knock.

“Enter,” Alpha Alex commanded.

Skylar slipped inside.

She looked like a ghost wearing skin—fragile, hollow, wrapped in ragged clothes that clung to her thin frame. The scent of grief clung to her; the loss of her pup had carved out pieces of her soul that would never grow back.

“You called for me, Alpha?” she whispered.

“Yes,” he said, voice smooth and cruel. “Your work has been… lacking since the death of your pup. So here. Take this thing.” He gestured to Rebel. “Raise it as your own. I’ll provide what you need. Will that be a problem?”

Skylar’s lips trembled, eyes filling instantly with tears—not of sorrow this time, but of aching, desperate gratitude. She reached out for the baby like someone starved reaching for bread.

“Th… thank you, Alpha,” she choked, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“As soon as she’s of age,” Alpha Alex continued, “put her to work in the kitchens. She will serve this pack like the Omega she is. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Alpha.”

Amber smirked slightly.

Good. The little brat deserves nothing better.

Her father continued, voice low and deadly, “No one is to know she is a hybrid of Alpha blood and Warlock. Not her origins. Not her father. Not her real mother. If the Luna finds out—” He gave Amber a pointed look. “—she will have the child killed. Do you understand?”

Skylar nodded quickly, clutching Rebel to her chest.

“Her name,” Amber reminded calmly, “so we can keep track of her.”

Alpha Alex sighed dramatically. “Fine. She will be called Rebel Teller. A disgraceful creature. Lucky to be alive. Make sure she obeys. Or it’s you who will suffer.”

Skylar gave a shaky bow and hurried out, holding Rebel like a fragile blessing she had long prayed for.

Amber watched them leave with an odd mix of relief and satisfaction. The baby was no longer her problem.

Her father’s eyes softened as he turned back to her.

“You are my only daughter, Amber. I could never turn my back on you. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have found my second chance mate. My Luna. Ashley.”

Amber forced a smile, though her stomach churned. “Thank you, Father.”

“Go on,” he said proudly. “She’s missed you.”

Amber nearly gagged.

But she left anyway—clutching to one thought like salvation:

I will find another mate—maybe even an Alpha stronger than Trevor—and I will rise again.

That night, in her old room, she sat alone on the edge of her bed. Rage festered like a living thing inside her.

That child stole everything from me.

My home. My title. My future.

Trevor.

Her nails dug into her palms until they bled.

The longer she thought, the more hatred bubbled up.

Rebel. That cursed brat. That reminder of her shame.

Amber hissed under her breath, lips curling.

I’ll make her life hell. She will know misery. She will know rejection. She will know exactly how unwanted she is.

A dark smile stretched across her face as she imagined all the ways she could break the girl.

Meanwhile, within the Enchanted Forest…

Power surged through the clearing like a storm held captive beneath the earth.

“FIND HER!” King Dakota’s voice shattered branches, shook the ground, sent birds scattering into the sky. “I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU MUST DO. BRING. MY. DAUGHTER. TO. ME!”

His magic flared, scorching the air. Smoke curled from the ground beneath his boots.

“Sire,” a trembling guard stepped forward, “if we take wolves by force, we break the treaty. We must inform the Council—”

With a flick of Dakota’s wrist, the guard flew backward, slammed into a tree, and collapsed—wheezing, terrified.

The king’s eyes blazed. Glowed.

Pure white. Pure fury.

The entire army—hunters, witches, warlocks—dropped to their knees.

“Does anyone else wish to question me?” Dakota growled, voice echoing unnaturally.

“No, Your Grace,” they all stammered in unison.

“Leave.”

The single word carried lethal promise.

They scrambled away, tripping over themselves to escape his wrath.

Dakota stood alone in the clearing, chest heaving, hands trembling with the force of the magic burning through him.

His daughter.

His blood.

His soul tethered by fate and oath.

Stolen. Hidden.

In danger.

He looked toward the horizon—toward wolf lands—and a low, feral vow formed on his lips.

“Soon, my little girl,” he whispered. “I will bring you home. Even if I have to burn their world to ash.”

His voice darkened with finality.

“The wolf who denied me will pay. I will kill every last one of them if I must.”