Chapter 3

Ava's POV

The pup I had carried through nine months of iron bars and concrete floors, through hunger and pain.

The child I had almost bled out bringing into this world, now stood in front of me calling another woman Mom, defending her, hitting me and spitting words at me like I was nothing.

It felt like my heart was being torn apart, slow and merciless, claws digging in and ripping it piece by piece.

I stared at him. My hand shook as I reached out, desperate to touch his cheek, to remind myself that he was real.

In a flash, he slapped my hand away. “Don’t touch me with your dirty hands!”

The words burned worse than silver.

“Jasper,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “I’m your mom.”

I sank to my knees again, not caring that he’d struck me. Pain meant nothing compared to this. Tears blurred my vision as I looked up at him, my wolf crying softly inside me.

“Jasper, I’m your real mom, I gave birth to you” I said, forcing the truth past the lump in my throat. “You—”

“Get lost!” he shouted. “I don’t have a mom like you!”

He ran back to Laura and clung to her legs, burying his face against her as if she were his safe place. “This is my mom! Stop pretending!”

Something inside me collapsed entirely.

Nora couldn’t hold back anymore. “Jasper!” she snapped, her own wolf bristling. “She’s your dad’s wife, your actual mom! Do you really want to be so ungrateful?”

Jasper hesitated, then turned back to me. His eyes were cold now, unfamiliar, like a stranger’s.

“So you’re the one,” he said. “The murderer. The one who killed someone and went to prison. You need to divorce my dad right now! I don’t want a murderer for a mom!”

Murderer?

The word hit me like a deadly blow.

My chest seized, breath tearing out of me as if invisible claws had wrapped around my heart. Tears spilled freely now, hot and unstoppable. My wolf howled in agony, crushed beneath the weight of that lie.

I hadn’t cried when I learned Victor was with Laura. I hadn’t cried when my son struck me and denied me.

But hearing him call me a murderer, hearing him demand that I leave his family, that was what finally shattered me.

Nora opened her mouth, fury flashing across her face, but I shook my head, stopping her. There was no point. No words could reach him now.

I forced myself to stand, every movement heavy, my gaze refusing to return to Jasper. I turned to Victor instead, my voice hollow.

“Where’s my daughter?” I asked.

From the moment I’d arrived, my senses had been searching for her. I had scanned every corner of the room, every cluster of guests.

But Jasper was the only one here.

Victor met my eyes. His face was blank and cold. Like the bond between us had never existed.

“She died last year,” he said.

The world went silent. What?

My daughter… had died?

The thought cracked through me like thunder, and I felt my legs give way as my wolf screamed, the sound tearing through my soul.

“Ava,” Laura cut in, her voice shaking. “Don’t blame Victor. It was my fault. When June was three, she got a high fever. It wouldn’t break for days… then it turned into pneumonia, and she… she didn’t make it…”

Her words blurred into sobs, each one scraping against my ears like broken glass. “Ava, I’m so sorry, but—”

June was gone.

The name echoed inside me, and my wolf collapsed with a strangled cry. My little girl, my beautiful pup who had never even learned to run beside me under the night sky was gone.

I didn’t want her excuses. I didn’t want her tears. Rage surged up, hot and uncontrollable, and I shoved Laura aside, my hands fisting in Victor’s collar as I dragged him close.

“What did you promise me, Victor?” I snarled, my canines pressing against my lip. “What did you swear to me that day?”

He had sworn to protect our children, to raise them, to keep them safe while I paid for another woman’s sins.

And this was the result.

My son rejected me like I was poison and my daughter had died under his watch.

Was this the price of my five years in prison?

A family torn apart, a mate stolen, one child lost to lies, the other lost forever.

And the real criminal stood right here…alive, untouched, wearing my life like a stolen pelt, throwing a celebration party without a shred of guilt.

“Have you had enough?” Victor shoved me hard, breaking my grip, then helped Laura to her feet. His eyes were cold and empty. “Laura did her best. What more do you want?”

He scanned the room, his voice dropping into that commanding alpha tone I used to trust. “Ava, if you don’t want to make headlines, go home now. This is Laura’s celebration. Stop making a scene and ruining everything. We’ll talk about this later.”

At his signal, security guards moved in, their hands rough as they grabbed my arms and started dragging me toward the exit. Nora rushed forward, shouting, but they seized her too and pushed her back.

“Get your hands off me!”

I twisted violently, my wolf surging forward, strength flooding my limbs. I wrenched myself free, my silver scars burning as I stood my ground. “I may have just gotten out of prison,” I snapped, my voice carrying a dangerous growl, “but I’m still Luna Ava. I said—let go!”

The guards faltered, unease flickering across their faces, and stepped back.

I bit down hard on my lip, tasting blood, my nails biting into my palms to keep myself from shifting right there in front of everyone. I lifted my head and fixed Victor and everyone standing with him with an icy stare.

“You don’t need to throw me out like this,” I said, my voice steady despite the storm tearing through me. “I’ll leave on my own.”

Then I met Victor’s eyes, every word sharp and final.

“I am done with you Victor. I will petition the grand council for a divorce.”