CHAPTER 1

~ Hazel ~

I paced across the floor, biting my thumb until the skin became sore. Every few seconds, my eyes drifted back to the clock hanging on the wall, silently begging its hands to stop moving. But time refused to wait. It kept ticking away, stealing the last moments my daughter had left.

It was almost midnight, and Alpha Rowan Logan—my husband and the father of my child—still hadn’t come to us. I slowly turned toward the bed, and the sight of my little girl made me cry. Mia lay curled beneath the blankets, looking so pale and fragile that she barely seemed alive. Her breathing was weak, and every breath sounded more painful than the one before.

For days, the ancient curse that had haunted the Logan bloodline for centuries had been draining the life from her. Every firstborn in the Logan bloodline was doomed to die on their seventh birthday unless both biological parents completed an ancient ritual before midnight.

Tonight was our final chance to save her.

For days, I had begged Rowan to help our daughter. I had cried until my eyes burned, knelt before him, and thrown away every bit of pride I had because nothing mattered more than Mia’s life. Yet he ignored every plea as though I was invisible. I looked back at the clock.

11:30 PM.

Only thirty minutes remained. Maybe he had forgotten the time. Maybe pack duties had delayed him. Maybe he was already walking toward our room.

I held onto those desperate thoughts because they were the only thing stopping me from falling apart. Taking a shaky breath, I wiped my sweaty hands against my faded dress.

“I’ll go get him,” I whispered to myself. “I’ll bring him here myself.”

I hurried out of the room. I didn’t stop until I reached Rowan’s bedroom. My hand trembled as I lifted it to knock on the door, desperate to bring him back before it was too late. But before my knuckles could touch the door, a voice drifted through the door, stopping me cold.

A voice I knew all too well. A cruel voice that had haunted me for years.

“It’s almost midnight, Rowan,” Diana said with a mocking laugh. “I bet that disgusting fat pig is crying her eyes out right now.”

The words hit me like a slap.

“Her useless little daughter will be dead before morning,” Diana continued, her voice filled with poisonous satisfaction. “Once she’s gone, there’ll be nothing left tying you to that woman. You’ll finally be free to make me your true Luna. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted, my love?”

I stood frozen outside the door, my shaking hand slowly falling to my side as I covered my mouth to keep from making a sound. I waited, silently begging Rowan to say something. I prayed he would defend our daughter, tell Diana to stop, and remind her that Mia was his child too. I prayed he would prove that somewhere beneath all his coldness, he still had the heart of a father.

Instead, Rowan let out a low, careless chuckle.

“I should’ve gotten rid of that child before she was born,” he said without the slightest hint of emotion. “Her mother is a fat, wolfless, useless piece of trash. If Mia grows up looking or acting anything like her, then dying might be the best thing that ever happens to her.”

His words hit me harder than any blade ever could.

I couldn’t hear anything except the loud ringing in my ears. I bit down hard on my lip to stop myself from crying out. If they knew I had heard everything, they probably wouldn’t even care.

For eight long years, I had lived in a marriage filled with nothing but pain. Rowan had only married me because of one drunken night that ended with an unexpected pregnancy. From the very beginning, he made it clear that I was nothing more than a burden he couldn’t get rid of.

He never looked at me with kindness, never spoke to me with respect, and never once made me feel like his wife. Every chance he got, he mocked my weight and reminded everyone that I was a wolfless woman who didn’t deserve to stand beside an Alpha. His friends laughed along with him while I stood there pretending their words didn’t hurt.

Diana had once been married to Rowan’s older brother, Alpha Levi. But after Levi died under mysterious circumstances a year ago, Rowan inherited the Alpha title and somehow, Diana ended up sharing his bed. He told the entire pack he was only taking care of his widowed sister-in-law because it was his duty as Alpha. Everyone believed his lies. Maybe some simply chose to ignore the truth. But I knew better. I had seen the lingering glances, and the way he always chose her over me. Tonight, I finally heard the truth with my own ears.

I couldn’t stay there for another second.

I turned around and ran as fast as I could down the hallway, my vision blurred by tears.

Why has fate been so cruel to us?

What had I ever done to deserve a life filled with nothing but suffering?

And what had my innocent little girl done to deserve a father who wished for her death?

By the time I reached my room, I was shaking from head to toe. I slammed the door shut behind me and leaned against it, my legs giving out beneath me. Slowly, I slid down until I was sitting on the floor. I buried my face in my hands and cried as quietly as I could, desperate not to let Mia hear me. She had already suffered enough. She didn’t need to see her mother breaking apart too.

"Mommy..." Mia whimpered, her tiny voice cracking with pain. "It hurts..."

Her small body began to tremble violently. I wiped my wet face quickly with the back of my hand. I scrambled across the floor, sliding onto the bed and pulling her small, fragile frame tightly against my chest. She opened her dull, sunken eyes to look up at me.

"Mommy... where is Daddy?" Mia whispered, a tear slipping down her pale cheek. "Is he not coming? Why does Daddy hate me so much?"

The innocent question stole the air from my lungs. How could I answer that?

How could I tell my little girl that the man she loved had just laughed about her dying?

How could I destroy the tiny bit of hope she still held onto?

Before I could answer, she started coughing violently. Blood spilled from her mouth, staining her nightgown and pouring over my trembling hands.

"Don't say that, baby," I sobbed, kissing her forehead, her cheeks, her hair. "Your daddy doesn't hate you. He's just busy with pack work. He'll be here soon. I promise, baby, just hold on."

I glanced at the wall clock.

11:57 PM.

Three minutes left.

"Mommy! It hurts so bad!" Mia screamed. More blood surged from her lips, pouring over my arms.

"I know, baby, I know! Mommy is right here! You're going to be okay!" I sobbed, using my sleeve to wipe the blood from her face, but it just wouldn't stop coming.

Then, suddenly, the cough stopped and Mia’s entire body went limply still. Her jaw dropped open.

Above us, the wall clock let out a sound.

12:00 AM.

"No..." A broken sound tore from my throat. "No, no, no... Mia! Mia, open your eyes! Please!"

I pulled her cold body against my chest, shaking her back and forth on the bed.

"Wake up! Baby, please, don't leave Mommy! Wake up!"

There was no heartbeat. My Mia was gone.

My sweet, innocent daughter —the only soul in this entire godforsaken world who loved me despite my weight, despite being wolfless, despite everything. Was dead.

My parents had erased my name and thrown me away. Bloodmoon pack treated me like dirt. My husband wished death upon my child and me. And now, the only reason I had to stay alive had been ripped from my arms.

The Moon Goddess wasn’t just silent—she was cruel. From the day I was born, it felt like she had already decided my fate. She watched from above as my daughter slowly bled to death in my arms, yet she did nothing. I had no prayers left for her. She deserved none of my faith or worship.

With trembling hands, I gently laid Mia in the middle of the bed. I carefully brushed the blood-stained strands of hair away from her pale face, trying to hold myself together even as my heart shattered.

I slowly got to my feet and walked to the wardrobe. Reaching into the bottom shelf, I pulled out a gasoline can. I had stolen it from the pack garage weeks ago.

My hands shook as I twisted the cap open. Then I began pouring the liquid across the floor. I soaked the curtains, the bedsheets, and everything around the room. When the can was almost empty, I lifted it over my head and poured the rest onto myself. It quickly soaked through my clothes.

If my daughter was leaving this world, I would go with her. She had never left my side, not even once. I would never leave hers.

I reached for the box of matches on the bedside table. I struck a match, and a small flame flickered.

“I’m right behind you, baby,” I whispered as I looked down at Mia.

I let the burning match fall onto the fuel-soaked rug.

Flames burst instantly. They shot up the curtains and raced across the bed, swallowing everything in their path. The fire engulfed me within seconds.

I climbed back onto the bed and pulled my daughter’s cold body tightly into my arms. I closed my eyes and held her close, refusing to let go as the flames surrounded us.

If I ever get another chance… I will never love him again. I will protect my daughter, and everyone who betrayed me will pay.