Chapter 1

Rael's Pov

The night began in silence.

The kind of silence that made my wolf restless beneath my skin, like she was pacing, her claws dragging along the inside of my chest as though warning me. I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the flicker of the candlelight on the walls, listening to the low peaceful hum of the crickets outside.

My husband had left earlier that day to attend a meeting with the Silver Fang Pack, and though he had kissed my forehead and promised to return soon, I still could not rid myself of the unease that had gnawed at me since I watched him leave.

I told myself that it was nothing... it was just that the silence of the house was what unsettled me, that the absence of his commanding presence was what made me feel so.. exposed.

My wolf-Lyric was disturbed as she kept clawing and trying to get out.

"Do you hear that?" the guard at my door called out to someone with alarm.

Then I heard it... The words barely left his mouth before the first war-cry split loud into the night.

"We're under attack!"

Then came the clash of steel, the guttural snarls of wolves mid-shift, and the sickening crunch of bodies colliding. My heart slammed against my ribs, my wolf surged to the surface, restless and wild.

I immediately shot to my feet as I rushed to the window. That was when I saw it... Shadows darted across the courtyard, warriors collided with figures that were too fast, too chaotic to belong to any trained pack.

These were.. Rogues. Dozens of them.

"No..." I whispered, my fingers trembling against the glass.

The cries grew louder, closer.. the sound of my pack, my people, drowning in utter chaos. Then, footsteps thundered down the hall. Too many. Too heavy.

I staggered backwards, my chest heaving, and my hand immediately found its way to my stomach in a desperate gesture of protection. The ache I'd been ignoring all day sharpened, and it twisted low in my abdomen, it felt hot and wrong. Not now. Please, not now.

Suddenly.. the door to my chamber burst open.

Four figures stormed in, their eyes glowing with the feral light of rogues. The stench of blood and iron clung to them like a second skin, it dripped from their claws, and it was smeared across their torn clothes.

I instinctively reached for the dagger by my bedside, but the nearest rogue lunged before my hand even touched the hilt. The weight of him slammed me back against the bed, the impact made my skull rattle for a moment. My vision sparked white, my breath shattered in my throat.

"Get off me!" I screamed, my wolf clawing inside, desperate to surface, but then all of a sudden the searing burn of silver that was pressed against my side stopped her cold.

The leader sneered, leaning close. "Tsk.. Tsk.. Tsk.. The great Luna, helpless in her own chamber. Where's your mighty Alpha now?"

"Let me go!" I screamed again.

He laughed. "We will but trust me.. You'll wish you were dead before this is all over."

Another figure approached the bed, holding a blade. My stomach immediately dropped as he dragged the edge across my arm.. shallow enough not to kill, but deep enough for blood to gush out freely.

"No.. stop!" I jerked against their grip, but they forced my arm down, smearing the blood across the white linen in slow deliberate strokes.

My heart stuttered as realization struck.

They weren't just here to take me. They were.. they were staging something.

"They'll think you died here," one of them hissed, pressing a hand against my chest to keep me still. His claws dug into my skin, pricking through the thin fabric of my nightgown.. I tried to fight and resist but the force that hit me made my resolve weak.

I shook my head violently, tears blurring my vision. "He'll find you! My mate.. he will kill you all!"

One of them sneered, clawing at the wall, leaving deep gashes like signs of a desperate struggle. "Your precious Alpha isn't here to save you. He left you today of all days. Convenient timing, don't you think?"

The words pierced me deeper than their claws.

He left. He wasn't here.

Why had he gone tonight, of all nights?

"No..." I whispered, but the doubt had already lodged in my chest, sharp and poisonous.

They forcefully dragged me off the bed, my heels scraped hard against the floor.. my knees hitting the stool by my bed. "Get her to the window," one of them ordered.

I kicked out wildly, catching one in the shin. He snarled and struck me hard across the face. Pain exploded along my jaw, and blood seeped from my mouth.

"You'll pay for that," he spat.

They yanked me forward, silver flashing in the dark with a blade pressed against my ribs, the searing burn made me gasp as my dear wolf recoiled with a pained howl inside me.

The leader growled. "Try shifting and you'll beg us to kill you."

I clenched my teeth hard, and swallowed my sob. My wolf whimpered, trapped beneath the searing pain.

Another one smashed the lantern, throwing the room into shadow. I caught glimpses of their faces, scarred and merciless, but I recognized none of them. They didn't look like Rogues.. No! These were mercenaries..

"Who sent you?" I demanded, my voice hoarse but steady.

The leader leaned close, his hot breath against my ear. "Well my dear Luna.. you won't live long to know. That's the beauty of it."

They shoved me toward the window, but I clawed at the wooden frame, nails splintering against it, leaving frantic marks. My chest heaved, my lungs burning with rage and terror.

"Corvin!" I screamed, my mate's name tearing not just from my throat but from my wolf herself. "Corvin!"

One of them struck me again, snapping my head to the side. "He can't hear you, Luna," he said with a cruel grin. "And even if he could.. what makes you think he'd actually come?"

Lyric clawed at me to fight, to endure, but the silver's burn was already eating through my strength.

Through the window, I saw the bed one last time. The crimson sheets, the claw marks, the wreckage. My chamber, my home, transformed into a scene of slaughter.

A bloodied bed.. A well staged proof of death without a corpse.

The perfect lie.

As they dragged me into the shadows, my voice broke out one last time. "He'll come for me.. He'll make you pay.."

But even as I said it, doubt laced my words.

They only laughed. "Believe that if it helps you sleep, Luna. It's over."

My strength ebbed. My vision blurred. And as the night swallowed me, my last thought was not of survival, but of betrayal.

Had he known?

Had my mate actually sent me to this fate?

As I was forcefully thrown into the stone cold cell, doubt poisoned me as surely as the silver in my veins and then I felt it..

Warmth.. Followed by a gush of fluid I felt, more than I saw, it was slick and hot between my thighs, and the pressure made my knees tremble as realization hit me..

"NO!!" I screamed as pain rushed through me, raw and merciless, until I could not even scream anymore.

My wolf screamed and cried harder than me..

My voice broke against the stone walls, and echoed back to me. Blood pooled under me and with it went the fragile heartbeat I had held onto as my last light in the dark.

I pressed my trembling hands to my belly, as though I could force the life back into me, as though my sheer will could hold it inside. But the emptiness I felt, told me the truth..

My child was gone.

And with it something inside me broke. I thought death would come for me then. I prayed for it.. I begged for it.

But death never came.

What remained now was something else.. something born from loss, rage, betrayal and survival.

"Corvin will bleed"