Chapter 4

The blood drained out of my face. I reached through the bond, screaming for my pup.

Nothing. No answer. His scent was gone.

I looked up and met Charlotte's smug eyes. Lightning struck me.

It was her.

She'd taken Andre. She'd masked his scent.

"You—you evil bitch! Where is my son? Bring him back!"

I lunged. She crumpled, all trembling and tears.

"Luna, I know you're upset that the Alpha cares for me, but Andre was with the maids when we left. You can't blame me for this."

A mother's instinct doesn't lie. My pup was in danger. I knew it.

I tried to push past Raymond. He raised his hand and slapped me hard across the face.

"Aurora, get a hold of yourself! You've had it out for Charlotte from the start. I'm starting to wonder if your depression is even real."

"If you so much as touch a hair on her head again, I'll cast you out of the pack!"

My ears rang. Blood touched the corner of my mouth.

The tears came in heavy, helpless drops.

I shook my head, biting down on the pain. "Raymond, please. Our son is in real danger."

A flicker of doubt crossed his face. He was searching for the bond too. He was finding nothing.

But Charlotte cut in fast.

"The Luna can't stand that the Alpha pays attention to me. So now she's faking that the pup is gone, just to frame me."

"It's all right. The Luna has postpartum depression. I'll apologize to her…"

She moved to drop to her knees, the picture of wronged grace.

Raymond yanked her back up before she could finish, eyes hardening.

When he turned to me, the softness was gone. There was only disgust.

"Aurora, depression is not a license to torment people. Does the whole world have to indulge you the way I do? Apologize to Charlotte. Now."

Something inside me tore.

The next second, dark blood gushed from my nose and mouth.

The room went silent. The wolves around us drew in a sharp breath.

Raymond rushed forward, his face white.

"What—what is this? Aurora, what's happening?"

I could feel the poison moving through me. A few hours, and it would be over.

But a few hours was enough. Enough to save my pup.

So for the first time, I set aside what was left of my pride. I knelt before the woman who had killed my father.

"Charlotte. I'm sorry."

Raymond's chest heaved. He stopped breathing.

Charlotte's smile froze. Then she stepped quickly in front of him.

"You're the Luna. You can't be kneeling to a secretary like me."

But under her sleeve, she tilted her phone toward me.

The screen showed Andre, dangling by the scruff of his neck over a deep, dark well.

Wolves are strong swimmers. But Andre was too small. His shifting was unstable.

I lunged. She threw herself toward me and went sprawling like I'd shoved her.

Raymond's eyes went murderous.

The kick landed in my chest with the full force of an Alpha.

He hauled Charlotte to her feet and bit out, "Aurora. You're past saving."

I watched him walk away. I lay there. I had nothing left.

A few minutes later, the bond to my pup snapped.

The poison spread. I lost consciousness.

When Raymond finished with the pack and dragged himself home, he saw the empty room.

No sign of me. No apology text. Nothing.

Something cold turned in his chest.

An empty box rolled across his feet.

The smell of wolfsbane hit him. His pupils contracted.

That was when the hospital called.