Chapter Three

The kick came out of nowhere, sending Katherine crashing to the cold hospital floor. A sharp cry escaped her lips as her arms flew to her stomach, a shield for the tiny, secret life within.

Before she could even catch her breath, her adoptive father, Jones, loomed over her. His hand cracked against the side of her head, the blow ringing through her skull.

“You vile, conniving creature!” Jones roared, his face a mask of pure hatred. “How dare you! How dare you drive a pure-blood like Amelia to such despair! Your life is worth less than the dirt on my boots!”

Each word was a shard of ice, piercing her heart. "Father, please," Katherine begged, her voice a broken whisper. She tasted blood on her lip. "It doesn't matter. The Moon God never intended for me to be his Luna. I don't… I don't blame Amelia for having his heart."

A soft, pathetic sob came from the other side of the room. Katherine lifted her head, her body throbbing with pain. Through her blurred vision, she saw the scene that shattered her completely.

Amelia was nestled against Charles's broad chest, her face buried in his shirt. His powerful arms held her gently, his touch a stark contrast to the violence he'd just allowed. He looked down at Amelia, his gaze soft and protective. A low, comforting rumble, the kind an Alpha uses to soothe his pack, vibrated in his chest.

Seeing that tenderness, reserved for another, was a physical blow to Katherine's heart. If I hadn't walked into the wrong room that night, she thought, the guilt a heavy stone in her gut, his true mate would be her. Not a stray like me.

That should be me, her desperate, inner wolf whined. His child is in my belly. Why does she get his comfort?

“My darling girl, why do you waste your breath defending this monster?” Freya cried out, clutching her daughter’s hand. “She is a poison! If not for her wicked schemes, you would be standing as his chosen Luna right now! You would never have felt such sorrow that you… that you tried to leave us!” She dissolved into dramatic tears. “Your heart is too pure for this world!”

“Mother, please, don’t cry for me,” Amelia said, her voice a fragile, trembling thing. She then turned her luminous, tear-filled eyes to Katherine. “Sister… we shared a roof. We broke bread. If your wolf desired him so fiercely, you had only to speak. I would have yielded. I would have borne the heartbreak. But this? This shameful trickery?” A single, perfect tear traced a path down her cheek. “You have broken more than just my heart. You have broken our bond. I am… lost.”

"I didn't do it!" Katherine insisted, her voice rising with desperate strength.

"You're still lying?" Jones roared, his patience gone. He grabbed a heavy wooden chair from against the wall. "You ungrateful wretch! I should end you here and now!"

He lifted the chair high. Panic, pure and primal, surged through Katherine. For the sake of my pup, she thought, I have to survive.

She scrambled backward, her movements clumsy with fear. "Why are you still here?" Freya hissed at her. "Do you want to be carried out?"

That was all the motivation she needed. Katherine pushed herself up from the floor and ran. She didn't look back, ignoring the hissed insults from the pack members in the hallway. She shielded her swollen face with her hand and limped towards the hospital entrance, her only thought to get as far away as possible.

Only when she reached the cold night air did she realize her phone was missing. It must have fallen out in Amelia's room. Her heart sank. She had to go back.

As she turned, she saw him. Charles. He was striding through the parking lot, his posture rigid, his expensive shoes clicking sharply against the pavement. Even from a distance, his power was a palpable force. But why was he leaving so soon? Shouldn't he be staying with his distressed, "true" mate?

She didn't have time to wonder. Lowering her head, she slipped back inside and into an elevator, feeling like a shameful thief in her own life.

She crept back towards Amelia’s room. The door was slightly ajar. She saw her phone, lying forgotten in a corner. As she bent to retrieve it, the sound of laughter, bright, clear, and utterly devoid of sorrow stopped her cold.

“Oh, you should have seen it, Mother!” Amelia’s voice was vibrant, a far cry from the weak whisper of before. “The way that little stray crumpled when Father hit her? It was priceless. I almost wished I’d had a camera.”

“Hush, my clever girl,” Freya crooned. “It was an unfortunate mistake, you going to the wrong room during the Moon Run. That low-born should never have reaped the reward.”

“Don’t remind me!” Amelia’s voice dripped with venomous disgust. “The thought of that filthy, common creature touching what is mine… it makes my wolf snarl. He is an Alpha King! And she… she is a stain. A mistake I will soon erase.”

Katherine's hand flew to her mouth, stifling a gasp. The world tilted on its axis. The truth, more monstrous than she had ever imagined, finally reared its head.

The trap had not been set for Charles. It had been set for her.