Chapter One: The Day My World Ended

​"Luna... congratulations."

​The pack healer’s smile was warm, but it barely registered over the roaring in my ears. She pressed a tiny, white silk pouch into my palms, its weight suddenly feeling like the heaviest thing in the world. Inside was a folded piece of parchment, sealed with the healer’s crest.

​"You asked me to keep this quiet until I was absolutely certain," she chuckled softly, squeezing my fingers. "Well... I’m certain now."

​My breath hitched. With trembling fingers, I broke the wax seal.

​The elegant cursive blurred as hot tears welled in my eyes.

​Positive.

​I was carrying a child. Alpha Kael Blackthorn's child.

​For a long moment, the world stood completely still. Then, a breathless laugh escaped my lips, and I pressed my hand against my still-flat stomach.

​"Our baby..." I whispered.

​Three years. For three agonizing years, I had knelt before the shrine of the Moon Goddess, begging for this miracle. Not to secure my title. Not for the intoxicating pull of Alpha power. But because I loved my husband with an intensity that consumed me—even if that love had always been a solitary ghost occupying our marriage.

​Kael had never been cruel. He provided a life of luxury. He showed me fierce respect in front of the pack. But the moment the heavy oak doors of our bedchamber clicked shut... he became a stranger. Cold. Distant. Untouchable.

​The only warmth he ever offered was on the nights he chose to fulfill his duty to produce an heir. Even then, he never stayed until morning. He would leave before the dawn, leaving nothing but cold sheets and a lingering scent of pine and ash.

​Yet, I had foolishly convinced myself that a child would change him. That one day, he would look at me and finally see me.

​Perhaps today was that day.

​"This child changes everything," I whispered, wiping a tear from my cheek.

​"The Alpha will be overjoyed, Luna," the healer assured me.

​"I hope so." Hope. It was a dangerous, fragile thing, but it beat fiercely in my chest as I hurried out of the clinic.

​The Alpha Mansion was a whirlwind of unusual chaos.

​Servants darted through the corridors carrying silver trays stacked with vintage wine. The heavy scent of fresh white roses—imported and expensive—perfumed the air, and the distant clatter from the kitchens suggested a feast meant for hundreds.

​I stopped a passing maid, my brow furrowed. "Is there a celebration today?"

​The girl bowed quickly, keeping her eyes down. "The Alpha called an emergency pack gathering, Luna."

​An emergency gathering? Excitement fluttered in my chest. Perfect. The entire pack would be there to witness our joy.

​I hurried up the grand marble staircase toward the high council hall. But as I reached the heavy double doors, two elite guards stepped forward, crossing their silver-tipped spears to block my path.

​"Luna." The guard on the left dipped his head. "The Alpha ordered that no one interrupt today's meeting."

​I offered a gentle smile. "It will only take a minute, Thomas."

​"I'm sorry, Luna." The second guard wouldn't even meet my gaze. "The Alpha's orders were absolute."

​My smile faltered. A cold prickle of unease washed over me. It wasn't just their refusal—it was the look in their eyes. It was a look I had never received as their Luna.

​Pity.

​Before I could demand an explanation, a thunderous roar of applause erupted from inside the hall. Cheers and howling shattered the silence, followed by a voice booming above the rest: "Welcome home!"

​Home?

​Panic finally overrode my decorum. I pushed past the guards, throwing the massive doors open before they could stop me.

​The grand hall fell dead silent.

​Every elder, every commander, every high-ranking wolf and noble family turned to look at me. Hundreds of eyes locked onto my form. Instinctively, I began to raise a hand in greeting, a practiced smile forming on my lips.

​Then, I saw her.

​Standing on the raised dais beside my husband was a breathtaking woman draped in crimson silk. Her delicate, pale fingers were intimately intertwined with Kael’s.

​And he wasn't pulling away.

​My hand dropped to my side. The woman looked down at me, her gaze sweeping over my clothes, assessing me like an unwanted intruder. Then, her lips curved into a smile. It wasn't kind. It was the triumphant smirk of a victor.

​Kael’s gaze finally landed on me. His striking dark eyes, usually unreadable, hardened into flint.

​"Lyra." His voice cut through the room, colder than the winter wind howling outside the frosted windows. "You weren't invited."

​The fragile happiness I had carried up the stairs shattered. "I..." I swallowed hard, trying to anchor myself. "I only came because I have wonderful news, Kael."

​For a fraction of a second, his eyes flicked down to the parchment clutched tightly in my hand.

​But before he could speak, the woman beside him let out a soft, melodic laugh. "So..." She stepped forward, her silk dress whispering against the stone. "You're the woman who took my place as Luna while I was away."

​My heart stopped.

​Away? Not dead?

​My mind raced into a panic. Kael had told me the woman he once loved had perished years before our arranged marriage. The entire pack had mourned her.

​No one dared to breathe. The silence in the room was suffocating.

​Kael stepped forward. But he didn't step toward me. He reached out, wrapping a possessive arm around her waist and pulling her flush against his side.

​"This," Kael announced, his deep, commanding Alpha tone echoing off the high stone walls, "is Seraphina."

​The name was a silver blade, plunging straight into my heart.

​Seraphina. The ghost that had haunted our marriage. The woman my husband had never truly stopped loving.

​She leaned into him with an effortless familiarity that I had spent three years begging for, resting her head against his shoulder as if she owned him. Because she did.

​"I've returned," she said, her sweet voice dripping with venom as her eyes locked onto mine. "And this time... I'm never leaving again."

​My fingers went completely numb.

​The parchment—the medical proof that I was carrying his heir, the token of the miracle I thought would save us—slipped from my hand. It fluttered silently through the air, landing face-down on the polished floor.

​Nobody looked down. Nobody noticed. Everyone was too busy watching my world burn to the ground.