pp2
In my fifth year of serving the Moon Goddess on behalf of the pack, the mother-and-child necklace around my neck suddenly shattered.
It had been passed down from one Luna to the next, carrying the bond between mother and child.
When the mother's half breaks, it means the child is dead.
Something had happened to my daughter.
I gathered the broken pieces in my hands and saw a vision of her final moments.
She lay facedown on the ground, her body covered in wounds, repeating the same words over and over:
"Mom, it hurts so much."
I could hear the werewolves around her laughing.
"Poor thing. The Luna's been gone for years, and things have only gotten worse for her daughter. Now she's been poisoned with wolfsbane, and she can't even get the antidote."
"That's what she gets for not being able to have pups. She can't give the Alpha an heir, and she can't even keep her mate, Mark, interested in her."
"The Alpha's bloodline can't be allowed to die out. If she can't give him an heir, then naturally, that responsibility falls to Faye. She has Alpha blood too, after all."
"Honestly, the wolfsbane is a blessing. Mark is the son-in-law the Alpha chose himself. Once she's gone, he can take Faye as his mate and give the pack an heir with Alpha blood."
The voices cut off, and a chill ran through me.
Five years ago, for the sake of the pack, I'd agreed to my mate Lucas's request and secluded myself on Moon Goddess Mountain to serve the Moon Goddess.
He'd promised to take care of our only daughter.
By the time I came home, I'd be a grandmother.
Instead, he used her inability to have pups as an excuse and turned a blind eye while Mark slept with Faye, Lucas's niece and the daughter of his widowed sister-in-law, Mina.
When my daughter was poisoned with wolfsbane, he stood by and watched her die.
I felt her wolf fading, along with the pup inside her.
Tears slipped down my cheeks.
I raised my hand and shattered the crystal pillar.
It had taken five years of offerings and was almost ready