Chapter One

Serena’s POV

“It’s positive.”

The words left my mouth like a prayer and a curse at once.

My hands trembled around the parchment from the healer, the faint rune still glowing gold against the thin paper.

Nathan didn’t answer. He stood at the window, back to me, watching the rain fall over the Silvercrest grounds. His reflection in the glass looked carved from stone handsome, hard, distant.

I waited for something. A smile. A spark. Anything.

“Nathan,” I tried again, softer this time. “We’re having a pup.”

He finally turned, his gray eyes unreadable. “You’re certain?”

I swallowed a shaky breath. “Yes. Dr. Wynn confirmed it twice.”

He said nothing just pressed a hand to his jaw, the way he did when something complicated threatened to ruin his plans.

“This is good news,” I whispered, forcing the words through the ache in my chest. “It’s what we wanted.”

His eyes flicked to me, cold and distant. “It’s what you wanted.”

The quiet that followed pressed against my ribs until it hurt.

“What do you mean?”

Nathan crossed the room slowly, his scent pine and smoke usually comforting, now sharp and stinging. “Serena, our alliance was about strengthening the pack. You know that. A pup right now… complicates things.”

Complicated.

The word sank into me like a blade.

“I thought this would make us stronger,” I said, my voice barely a whisper.

He sighed, rubbing his temples. “You don’t understand the politics at play. There’s tension with Nightshade territory, investors watching every move”

I laughed, short and bitter. “Investors. You sound more like a businessman than an Alpha.”

His jaw tightened. “Watch your tone.”

My throat burned. “You’re my husband, not my boss.”

For a moment, I thought he’d snap back. But instead, he turned away and said quietly, “We’ll go to the healer tomorrow. She’ll… check things.”

“Check things?”

He didn’t answer.

That night, I couldn’t sleep. The rain whispered against the windows, and every drop sounded like a secret I wasn’t supposed to hear. Nathan had gone downstairs after saying he needed air, and something inside me the restless ache that had grown since he changed told me to follow.

I padded down the corridor barefoot, drawn by the faint murmur of his voice. His office door was slightly ajar, candlelight flickering through the crack.

“…she can’t know,” his voice was low, clipped, urgent.

A woman’s voice answered, soft, smooth, and unfamiliar. “Then end it before it ruins everything.”

My heart stumbled in my chest.

“I will,” Nathan said. “She won’t be a problem much longer.”

The woman laughed quietly, the sound cold as glass. “I told you the Luna would make things messy. You always let her believe you cared.”

“I did care,” he said, after a pause so long I almost thought he wouldn’t speak. Then his voice hardened. “But what must be done, must be done.”

My breath caught. A loose floorboard creaked beneath my foot, and I froze.

The voices stopped.

“Did you hear that?” the woman asked.

“Probably the wind,” Nathan replied. But his tone shiftedsharper now, suspicious.

I backed away before he could open the door, pressing my trembling hand over my mouth. The world tilted beneath me. My mate, my husband, was planning something. I didn’t know whatbut every instinct in me whispered that I was the problem he needed to erase.

When dawn came, he was already dressed, calm as ever.

“Ready?” he asked.

I nodded, even though everything in me screamed no.

The Healing Hall stood at the edge of the compound, where the forest began. The air there always smelled of sage and rain water like secrets.

Dr. Susanna Wynn greeted us with her usual calm smile, but today her eyes didn’t quite meet mine.

“Alpha. Luna,” she said, bowing her head.

Nathan gestured for her to stand. “We’ll need another examination. Full evaluation.”

She blinked, confused. “I just ran one yesterday.”

“Do it again,” he said, the Alpha command thrumming through his tone.

My wolf stirred uneasily within meher voice a faint whisper. Something’s wrong, Serena.

“Nathan,” I began, “that isn’t necessary”

He cut me off without looking at me. “Sit on the bed, Serena.”

His voice left no room for argument.

Dr. Wynn busied herself arranging her instruments. Runes flickered to life above the crystal monitor, casting pale blue light across the room.

“Breathe,” she murmured.

I obeyed.

The spell circle shimmered once, then steadied. The healer’s lips curved faintly. “Healthy. Heartbeat strong.”

I smiled despite the knot in my chest. “You see? The Moon Goddess blessed us.”

Nathan didn’t smile back. “That’ll be all, Doctor.”

But Dr. Wynn didn’t move. Her fingers fidgeted against the vials on the tray. “Alpha… about the next treatment”

He shot her a look that made her flinch.

My heart began to race. “What treatment?”

“Nothing,” he said quickly. “Just routine tonics.”

The healer’s eyes darted to mine, wide and frightened.

That’s when I knew.

“Susanna?” I said softly.

She froze.

Nathan turned toward the window again, his reflection hard and cold.

“Nathan,” I whispered, “what’s happening?”

He didn’t answer.

Dr. Wynn cleared her throat. “Luna, please lie down. I just need to”

“No.” My pulse pounded in my ears. “Tell me what you’re giving me.”

“It’s for your strength.”

“Then why do you look terrified?”

Her hands trembled so badly the vial nearly slipped.

“Susanna.”

She looked at Nathan once more. He gave the smallest nod.

And everything inside me broke.

“You’re not giving me nutrients,” I whispered. “You’re trying to end it.”

“Serena”

I backed away, shaking my head. “You can’t. You can’t do this.”

He finally turned, eyes like winter steel. “You’re not thinking clearly. This pup will divide the pack. We can’t afford that now.”

“It’s our child!”

“It’s a liability.”

I gasped, tears flooding my eyes. “You can’t mean that.”

He stepped forward, voice low and steady. “You’ll thank me one day.”

I slapped the vial from Dr. Wynn’s hand. It shattered, blue liquid splattering across the tiles.

Nathan’s expression hardened. “You’re hysterical.”

“No,” I said through tears, “I’m finally awake.”

I ran.

The corridor spun around me, my heart hammering against my ribs. Behind me, Nathan shouted my name, the command in his voice rippling through the wallsheavy, suffocating, full of Alpha power.

For a heartbeat, my body wanted to stopto kneel.

But my wolf pushed back. No. Protect the pup.

Run, Serena. Run now! Lily’s voice was sharp and fierce, echoing in my head like thunder.

Healers and guards turned as I passed, their eyes wide. Luna running from her Alpha was unheard of.

“Stop her!” Nathan barked.

Two guards hesitated just long enough for me to shove past.

A cold wind slammed into me as I burst through the doors of the Hall. Rain soaked through my clothes instantly. I ran across the courtyard, toward the forest beyond the compound wall.

“Serena!” Nathan’s voice carried over the storm. “You can’t outrun me!”

You can, Lily hissed. Let me in.

My lungs burned, my legs shaking. “II can’t,” I gasped.

You can!

The world tilted, heat flooding through my veins. My bones ached, my skin prickled with fire. Pain lanced down my spine, sharp and searing.

Then came the soundbones cracking, fur bursting through skin, nails curving into claws. My breath came out as a growl. The storm roared louder, as if the sky itself was shifting with me.

That’s it, Lily finally took control of my body, her voice merging with mine. He is fierce

And I know.

Four paws hit the ground where feet had been. My body surged forward, faster, lighter. Rain became mist against my fur, the wind a blur through the trees.

Behind me, I heard Nathan shift, his growl echoing across the courtyard. But he was slower, heavierhis scent fading behind me with every stride.

Faster, lily, I urged. For our pup.

I leapt over roots, through shadows, past the border fence that loomed like a barrier between life and death. Every heartbeat felt like freedom. Every breath, defiance.

“Hold on, little one,” I murmured, though my voice came out as a whine and growl entwined. Mama’s here.

The trees thinned ahead into the borderlandthe cursed line that divided Silvercrest from Nightshade territory. Everyone feared crossing it. Stories said the Nightshade Alpha killed intruders without mercy.

But death by a stranger’s claws was better than letting Nathan finish what he started.

I crossed.

The air changed cold, sharper, heavy with something ancient.

We shouldn’t be here, Lily whispered.

“I know,” I breathed, muzzle wet with rain. “But we have nowhere else.”

Lightning flashed. Pain rippled through me again, forcing my body back toward human form. I collapsed beneath a pine, half-shifted, trembling, naked, soaked, clutching my belly.

“Please,” I whispered. “Please don’t take my baby.”

A branch snapped behind me.

Not Nathanhis scent wasn’t there. This one was darker, laced with smoke and iron.

Lily stirred weakly. Alpha.

And then he appeared.

Tall. Broad. Moving like a predator who feared nothing. Lightning flashed again, revealing wet hair, eyes gleaming faint gold.

He stopped a few paces away. “You’re trespassing,” he said, voice deep, rough around the edges.

“I didn’t mean to,” I whispered.

He tilted his head. “Silvercrest scent. Nathan Gray’s Luna.”

“Not anymore.”

His gaze flicked to my trembling hands, then to my stomach. “You’re hurt.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re bleeding,” he countered, stepping closer. “And you smell like fear.”

“Stay back,” I warned.

He ignored it, closing the space between us until the rain ran down his jaw like liquid silver. “Who did this to you?”

“I just need to rest,” I whispered.

“Rest?” His tone softened, almost curious. “On my border? While your mate hunts for you?”

My knees buckled. Strong hands caught me before I fell.

Heat seared through me where our skin met. He didn’t flinch.

He stared down at me, confusion flickering in his eyes. “You’re not burning me.”

“What?”

He didn’t answer, only held me tighter. “What’s your name?”

“Serena,” I breathed. “Serena Gray.”

His mouth twisted slightly. “I’m Lucien Morric.”

The cursed Alpha.

My body sagged against him, strength fading fast. “Please,” I whispered, “save my pup.”

Something fierce flashed across his face shock, then fury, then resolve. He scooped me up effortlessly.

“Save your pup,” he murmured. “All right, little Luna. I will.”

The rain softened. The last thing I felt was his heartbeat against my cheeksteady, strong, impossibly calm.

Then everything went dark.