Chapter 1

The Alpha's heir, Rex Vaughn, only bonded with me to save my sister, Lisa Atwood. And now, while I'm still carrying his pup, he wants to sacrifice my wolf.

My family has always chosen Lisa over me, but the second I take off with my pup, they all lose their minds.

…

The sound of footsteps faded into the distance. And with that, I knew Dad, Jonah, and Rex were gone.

Tears filled my eyes, and I couldn't hold them back any longer.

Mom died giving birth to me. She didn't survive that dawn. Ever since, all I ever saw in Jonah's and Dad's eyes was coldness and resentment.

Every ounce of warmth and love they had went to my sister, Lisa, who was five years older than me.

At Lisa's coming-of-age ceremony, they slaughtered the strongest snow deer from the Blackwolf pack and gathered every werewolf for a grand celebration.

When Lisa came down with a slight fever and cough, Dad searched the entirety of Black Forest for silvermoon herb to heal her. Meanwhile, Jonah barely left her bedside the whole time.

But when a rabid beast tore up my leg and I couldn't walk for two weeks, they just tossed me a pouch of herbs and had me tend to myself. They didn't so much as ask if I was okay.

For a long time, I thought it was my fault. Mom died because of me, so someone like me didn't deserve anyone's kindness.

At least, that was what I believed, until what happened that day at Lisa's coming-of-age ceremony. She stuck her foot out on purpose and tripped me straight into the freezing lake.

Then, she yelled so the whole pack could hear. "It's her! She's the one who killed our mom! Someone like her should stay at the bottom of that lake forever!"

The icy water rushed into my lungs. I clawed at the rocks along the shore, fighting to hold on, but Lisa's goons kept kicking my hands away. Everything was going dark until someone yanked me out.

Rex threw his cloak over me. His ice-blue eyes swept over the jeering crowd, and his voice cracked like a whip. "Lily's mine. Touch her again, and you're out of the Blackwolf pack."

Back then, he was like moonlight cutting through a blizzard—sudden, brilliant, and blinding. For a moment, I thought my salvation had finally come.

It always felt like a dream.

Why would the Blackwolf pack's Alpha heir ever look twice at someone like me, someone their own family had tossed aside?

I later moved into the home he built for me. I even wore the moonlight pendant he carved by hand. Still, I'd wake in the middle of the night, my heart pounding, terrified it would all vanish.

I truly believed that the warmth in his eyes was real—until this birthday party, that is.

A year ago, an old witch from the Darkmoon pack had said that Lisa's wolf was weakening. The only way to keep it from slipping away was to sacrifice another strong wolf from the same bloodline. Her wolf would vanish otherwise, and Lisa would die with it.

Dad and Jonah combed through every record in the Blackwolf pack's archives, but they couldn't find another solution.

It wasn't until later that I learned the truth. They believed that if I got pregnant with Rex's pup, my wolf would grow stronger. And with a stronger wolf, the odds of a successful sacrifice would be higher.

So, that was the real reason Rex came close and bonded with me.

The potions he stayed up late into the night brewing and the way he shielded me from others' attempts to humiliate me were all part of a carefully crafted lie.

My heart felt like it had been torn wide open. I staggered back into the house, feeling dazed and empty.

When I passed Lisa's house, the voices inside made me stop in my tracks. My blood ran cold.

Her voice rang out, laced with smug satisfaction. "My wolf's perfectly fine. That whole 'weakening' bit is just an act. I wanted Lily to see that Dad and Jonah only care about me. Rex's no different.

"He thinks I saved him in Black Forest when we were little and stayed up with him all night while he burned with fever. But it wasn't me. It was Lily.

"She's the one he's been searching for all along. But it's too bad for them. That secret is going to the grave with me. He'll never find out."

I froze in place.

So the wounded wolf I saved in Black Forest ten years ago had been Rex. And he'd mistaken Lisa for me.

He hurt me just to protect her, who pretended to be weak, never realizing I was the one he'd spent all those years searching for.

I took a deep breath, turned on my heel, and headed straight for the healer's Stone Cabin. Right as I got to the door, Rex showed up, hurrying over.

His face was tight with worry. "Where were you? I searched the whole pack. I thought maybe…"

He always talked to me with such a tone, all gentle and concerned. It always made me feel warm inside. But now? It just felt like a sick joke.

I could not help but smirk. "You thought I ran?"

Rex's brow creased even more. "What are you even saying? You're carrying my pup. Why would I think that?"

He caught my wrist, his palm so warm that it made me want to pull away.

"Everyone in the Blackwolf pack knows that you and our pup are my whole world."

His whole world?

His face was just inches from mine now. My throat clenched around the one thing I'd been dying to say the whole way here.

"Rex, I—"

I was just about to tell him I wanted to get rid of the pup when someone sprinted over, panic written all over his face.

"Rex! You've got to come right now! Lisa just collapsed out of nowhere!" he whispered urgently into Rex's ear.

Rex's face shifted in an instant. He let go of my hand and turned to leave.

"Something's happening in the pack, and I need to take care of it. Go home. I'll catch up with you later."

He thought I hadn't heard what the messenger said, of course.

With that, he ran off.

I stood frozen, the words I hadn't spoken still stuck in my throat. Tears spilled without warning, landing on my rounded belly.

I felt a tiny stir in my belly at this moment. The pup was moving, as if he could tell what I was about to do. Every little nudge seemed to hit me right in the heart.

The healer once told me that pups could pick up on what their mothers were feeling, even before they were born. My pup had to be so scared.

I rested a hand on my belly, then turned and walked away from Stone Cabin.

I was keeping this pup. I'd take him with me, far from the Blackwolf pack and all its lies.

On the other side of Moonfall Mountains, there'd be no more Dad or Jonah picking favorites, no more Lisa acting helpless, and no more mate who saw me as something to sacrifice.

From now on, it'd just be me and my pup.