Chapter 1

The Alpha, so devoted in the eyes of the pack, had abandoned his own Luna in the middle of labor to be with another she-wolf.

All I could see was his retreating back, a final, resolute rejection.

A tearing pain ripped through my abdomen, and I collapsed onto the cold stone floor.

My water broke in a gush, rushing down my thighs and forming a dark, alarming pool on the stone floor.

I lifted a trembling hand, calling out weakly to the young Omega maid nearby.

"Lily... get me to the hospital... please..."

Lily stared at me in terror.

Her wolf's instinct screamed at her to help her Luna, but the Alpha's oppressive aura kept her rooted to the spot.

"Luna, the Alpha gave a direct order... I have to wait for his return. I can't defy the Alpha..."

"You can't?" I clutched my stomach, my voice shaking with pain.

"If anything happens to me or the Alpha's heir, Kael will have your head. Take me now!"

The fear of the Luna actually coming to harm seemed to jolt Lily into action.

Her expression turned to one of panic, and she scrambled toward the door.

She had barely reached the threshold when Blake, Kael's Beta, blocked her path.

"The Luna is in labor. We have to get her to the pack hospital immediately," Lily reported, her voice trembling.

Blake coolly glanced at the pool of amniotic fluid on the floor, his gaze landing on my pain-twisted face.

His tone was ice.

"The Alpha gave his orders through the mind-link. We are to wait for his return."

"He said she's just using the pup to play her games again."

"For now, help the Luna back to her room."

"What did you say?"

I forced myself up onto my elbows, my finger shaking as I pointed at him, trying to command him with my authority as Luna.

"If you delay any longer, the Alpha's heir will be lost. Can you bear that responsibility?!"

Blake offered a respectful smile, but it was laced with false deference and a chilling malice that sent a shiver down my spine.

"Luna, the Alpha is with Chole, helping her through her difficult labor. He gave explicit instructions through the mind-link for you to wait patiently."

"You know the Alpha. His command is law."

"None of us would dare defy him."

"But the pup in my womb can't wait!"

"The pup is coming now!"

The next contraction hit me like a ravenous beast, as if countless claws were shredding my insides.

I curled into a ball, cold sweat soaking my silk gown.

"What are you standing around for? Help the Luna to her room," Blake barked at the other pack members.

Two guards immediately rushed forward.

They ignored my agonizing pain, roughly seizing my arms and dragging me toward the bedroom.

Suddenly, I felt a warm, thick liquid run down my inner thigh. I looked down to see a shocking stain of scarlet blood.

"It hurts... I'm bleeding..." I grabbed a maid's wrist with a crazed strength, screaming with every ounce of my being.

"Get me to the hospital! His heir is in danger!"

"Luna, I'm just an Omega. I can't make that decision. I'll go get Linus, the pack healer."

The maid pried my fingers from her arm, her expression unconcerned with whether I lived or died.

With Kael's authority behind them, their only mission was to obey the Alpha, not to save me, their neglected Luna.

"I don't want Linus! I need the hospital!"

"Luna, please wait. I'll go ask Blake for instructions right now."

The maid threw the words over her shoulder and fled in a panic.

The pain in my abdomen was a deep, rending agony, like claws tearing me to the bone.

Cold sweat mixed with blood and amniotic fluid, soaking the priceless white wolf-pelt rug.

Minutes ticked by, but still, no one came.

I dragged my bleeding body to the edge of the bed and clutched at the robes of Martha, the pack's housekeeper, who had just walked in. I sobbed out my plea.

"Martha, please, I can't hold on much longer..."

Martha's eyes flashed with a hint of pity.

"Luna, please hold on for just a little while longer. I'll see what the delay is."

But she was blocked by Blake the moment she turned.

He walked slowly toward me. As his eyes swept over the blood-soaked wolf pelt, his expression softened for a fraction of a second before his cold mask snapped back into place.

"Have Linus examine her first."

The words had barely left his mouth when Linus bustled in with his medical kit.

Several pack members rushed forward and pinned my struggling limbs to the bed.

"Let me go! I need to go to the hospital!" I fought with all my might.

I could no longer tell if the fluid drenching my body was blood, sweat, or my own tears.

"Why won't any of you listen to me?"

"My pup can't wait!"