Chapter Four

DAHLIA’S POV

Not long after I settled into my new bedroom, a maid knocked softly on my door with the news that Alpha Darryn had requested to see me.

My wolf stirred inside me, releasing a small, hopeful howl. Yet beneath that excitement lived fear. Alpha Darryn would change everything—my life, my name, and my fate. He would give me wealth, status, and protection, but power had never been kind to me. What if his gentleness was temporary? What if, once claimed, he became no different from the others?

We had just met. Powerful men were rarely soft forever.

But as days turned into weeks and weeks into months, my fears slowly dissolved.

Darryn proved himself to be nothing like the men I had known. He was fierce when it came to politics and war, yet patient and respectful with me. He did not rush the mating bond. He did not demand my body or my obedience. He waited until I was ready, until I trusted him, and somehow, I did.

He showered me with gifts, jewels, gowns, rare paintings, and canvases when he learned I loved to draw. He spoke of a future beyond the pack and politics, and with him, I began to believe that freedom was real.

But not everyone shared in my happiness.

Since being stripped of her title, Luna Jane had become something darker. She smiled in public and bowed her head in obedience, but her eyes followed me everywhere. I felt her hatred like a blade against my back. She no longer had power, but she had not lost her ambition.

And she was not alone. Dimitri, the Beta.

Sometimes I caught them together, too close, too quiet. Their conversations stopped whenever I approached. The orchard meetings continued, even after I stopped watching. Something was being built in the shadows, but I chose not to question it.

My world revolved around Darryn now. Around the promise that soon, I would leave the pack behind forever. I dreamed of becoming an artist, of living a life untouched by cruelty and politics.

Eight months later, everything changed.

I discovered I was pregnant.

The news shook me, but Darryn was overjoyed. He lifted me into his arms, laughter echoing through the halls, and announced that our wedding would take place the following week.

“It’s time,” he said. “Time to begin our life.”

Preparations began immediately.

Yet as the wedding drew closer, the manor grew colder.

The servants whispered, and eyes followed me. Luna Jane’s presence around Darryn increased, along with the fake smiles, compliments, and acts of respect. Dimitri, on the other hand, became bolder, his gaze lingering on me in a way that made my skin crawl.

The night before the wedding, I saw them together again, Dimitri and my aunt, talking in hushed voices near the west corridor. When they noticed me, they separated instantly.

Luna Jane smiled, and for the first time, I felt true fear.

Morning came faster than I expected. The manor was filled with people I did not know, dressed in wealth and power, all smiling as if this were a celebration for them. I stood at the center of it all, my hands trembling slightly as I rested them on my stomach. I told myself to be calm. This was my escape from poverty and strife; this was my future.

Then the doors opened.

Beta Dmitri walked in.

“I object.”

His voice echoed through the hall, and everything froze. Darryn turned slowly, confusion crossing his face. I felt my chest tighten.

“What are you talking about?” Darryn asked.

Dmitri smiled, a cruel and confident smile. “She is lying to you, Alpha. Dahlia has been sleeping with me. The child she carries is mine.”

The hall erupted. I shook my head violently, stepping forward. “Have you gone mad? What is that supposed to mean? I don't even talk to you.”

“She begged me to keep quiet,” Dmitri continued. “She knew what she was doing. She planned to trap you.”

“I think we have a madman in our midst. There is no way Dimitri is saying this. You need to leave now.” I turned to the guards, frantic and breathless. “Throw this man out. Find him a psychiatric home. He has obviously gone mad.”

"Silence, Dahlia!”

It was Darryn; the harshness of his voice shook me to the roots.

I turned to him, my heart pounding. “Please, look at me. You know me. I would never do this. Never.”

Darryn stared at me, his jaw tight, his eyes cold in a way I had never seen before.

“Dmitri,” I said, my voice breaking. “Say it again. Look at me and say it again if you are not lying.”

He did. Without hesitation.

Darryn did not speak. He simply turned and walked away.

I followed him, tears blurring my vision. “Darryn, please. Please listen to me. I am carrying your child.”

But he did not stop.

That was when I saw Hera. She was already beside him, her hand resting on his arm as if it belonged there. She leaned close, whispering something that made him stiffen further. In that moment, I understood. She had never left. She had only been waiting.

By nightfall, I was no longer a bride.

I was stripped of my title, my room, and my dignity. It was as if Darryn never knew me. All the love in his eyes vanished, replaced with that icy glare he always threw at criminals and rogue wolves. Within 24 hours, I was back to being the nobody, the girl everyone looked at with scorn and hatred. It's all felt like a surreal dream. I was sent back to the servants’ quarters and given orders as if I had never mattered. No one spoke to me unless it was to command me. No one asked for the truth.

I became a maid again.

As my pregnancy grew, so did my certainty. My aunt and Dmitri had planned everything. The secret meetings, the lies, the night I was pushed from the window. I remembered the figure I saw that night, standing in the shadows. It had been her.

But I could not confront them. I had no power. No voice, no one to turn to for assistance. No family.

I worked every day, scrubbing floors, carrying heavy trays, enduring insults, my body aching, my heart breaking. The weight of my baby crushed my back and weakened my legs, but I dared not do my chores. Not when Luna Jane hovered around the manor, brandishing a whip; she never hesitated to tear across my back.

I tried to get Darryn’s attention, even once, to tell him this was a misunderstanding. To tell him I was ready to do a medical paternity test or undergo the wolf rituals unfaithful Lunas are subjected to, just anything to prove my honesty. But he avoided me completely, while Hera, my cousin, never left his side. Subsequently, Hera moved into my bedchamber and soon began to wear the gowns and jewelry Darryn bought for me. Soon she started to accompany him on outings, and that way, my chapter was closed.

Then came the day everything ended, the day of my strife and great despair. I was already exhausted when my aunt called me. I had just finished washing the windows and ironing her clothes. She handed me a tray with wine and crackers, her face calm.

“Take this to Alpha Darius,” she said. “To his bedroom.”

I did as I was told.

Alpha Darius drank the wine without question. Seconds later, he collapsed. Blood spilled from his nose, splattering onto the floor.

“No,” I whispered. “No, no, no.”

I screamed for help and ran to the door, but it opened before I could reach it.

Luna stood there. She looked at her husband’s body, then at me.

“She poisoned him,” she said loudly. “She killed my mate.”

People rushed in. Shouting filled the hallway. No one listened to me. No one questioned anything. They only saw me standing there.

I ran.

I ran to the basement, my heart pounding wildly. I grabbed the portfolio where I had hidden it, clutching it to my chest. I did not stop. I did not look back.

I left the manor, the pack, the bond, and the life I thought I had.

I ran with nothing but the truth and the child growing inside me.