Chapter 3

Yara

Chaos erupted in seconds.

Mira’s screams pierced the night, raw and desperate, drawing guards and maids from their quarters like moths to a flame. I stood frozen in the guesthouse doorway, my hands still outstretched from where I had tried to catch her. Blood pooled beneath her on the stone path, dark and accusing under the moonlight.

“I didn’t push her!” I shouted, my voice hoarse. “She tripped, she fell on her own!”

But no one was listening. The guards closed in, their expressions hardening as Mira curled protectively around her belly, sobbing dramatically.

“She pushed me… the Luna… she wanted to kill my baby… Ian’s baby…”

The words twisted like a knife in my gut. How could she lie to my face like that?

Heavy footsteps thundered toward us. Ian appeared, shirtless and wild-eyed, his face a mask of fury as he took in the scene. He dropped to his knees beside Mira, gathering her into his arms with a gentleness that used to be reserved for me.

“What happened?” he growled, his voice low and dangerous.

Mira clutched his shirt, tears streaming down her face. “I just wanted to talk to her… to make peace for the pup’s sake. She got angry. She shoved me, Ian. Hard. I felt it… the pain…”

“Liar!” I spat, straining against the guards’ grip. “She came to gloat! She stumbled on purpose. I never touched her!”

Ian's grey eyes snapped to mine, and the love I once saw in them was gone. Only rage remained. Cold, unforgiving rage.

“You would harm an innocent pup because you’re jealous?” His voice rose, echoing through the gathering crowd. “After everything, Yara? I knew you were struggling with this, but this… this is unforgivable.”

Tears blurred my vision. “Ian, please. You know me. I would never—”

“Seize her!” Ian commanded, his voice cutting through the night like a blade.

I lifted my chin, pouring every ounce of Luna authority I still possessed into my words. “You dare not lay a finger on me! I am your Luna. And I… forbid it!”

For a moment, the guards hesitated, their hands loosening slightly. But then Ian rose to his full height, his eyes glowing with pure Alpha power. For the first time in our three years together, he unleashed his full aura directly at me.

The weight slammed into me like a mountain. My knees buckled. A sharp, metallic taste filled my mouth as blood trickled from my nose, warm and humiliating. My wolf whimpered inside me, suppressed and beaten down by the overwhelming dominance of her Alpha.

Ian’s voice was ice. “I said… seize her.”

This time, the guards obeyed without hesitation. They dragged me away roughly, my feet barely touching the ground. I fought, twisting and shouting, my heart shattering with every step.

“Ian! I’m your mate! This isn’t right!”

He didn’t even look at me. His focus stayed on Mira as others carried her back toward the main pack house.

The dungeon was cold and damp, deep beneath the main hall. Silver-laced bars burned against my wrists as they locked me in a cell. I slumped against the rough stone wall, the reality crashing over me like a tidal wave. Three years of love reduced to this: accused of murdering an unborn child, cast aside for a woman I barely knew.

Hours blurred into one long nightmare. Slowly, two days passed in darkness and silence. On the third day, they dragged me out into the central courtyard, weak and filthy. The entire pack had gathered. Mira stood beside Ian on the raised platform, pale but victorious, one hand resting on her now-empty belly.

A small table held a single white porcelain bowl filled with dark, swirling poison.

Ian’s voice rang out, formal and merciless. “Yara, former Luna of the Shadowveil Pack. You stand accused of attacking my companion and causing the death of my unborn heir. For this betrayal, I, Alpha Ian, reject you as my mate. I severe any bonds between us, and as of today, you are no longer mine.”

The rejection tore through me like fire. The mate bond snapped violently, ripping a guttural scream from my throat as pain exploded in my chest.

“I hereby sentence you to death by the sacred poison,” he continued coldly. “Drink, and may the Moon Goddess judge your soul accordingly.”

My eyes caught Mira’s, but there wasn't the slightest pity on her face, only satisfaction because she knew she had won.

“You did the right thing, Ian,” she commended, giving him a light pat on the arm. “We can't keep a barren murderer in our midst anymore.”

Ian made a sound of agreement and turned to Mira with a proud smile as the guards forced me to my knees before the bowl.

With trembling hands and tears streaming down my face, I lifted the porcelain to my lips.

In those final moments, flashes of memory flooded my mind. My father’s stern disapproval, and my brother’s worried warnings. I should have listened to them when they begged me not to marry Ian that lowering my status and hiding my identity would only end in ruin. But I had been blinded by love. Now it was too late.

I desperately reached out through the mind-link, straining with the last of my strength. Brother… The connection was faint, blocked by distance and perhaps even my father’s protective wards. Still, I pushed through.

I’m sorry… Please tell Father I’m sorry. I should have listened to you. I want to…

The poison scorched down my throat like liquid fire. My body convulsed. The world tilted violently, voices fading into nothing.

…come home…

Then everything went black.