Chapter 1 Chapter 1

After I got pregnant, my mate, Alpha Ryan, always had an excuse to miss my appointments at the Pack Healer's. But today, I saw him there anyway. He was with his pregnant childhood friend, vowing to protect her child forever. Just three hours ago, I had begged him again. "Ryan, wait." I reached out and grabbed his sleeve. His body went rigid. "What is it?" he asked, his gaze darting to the clock on the wall. "I have a check-up today," I said, gently touching my stomach. I looked at him, full of hope. "You said you'd come with me." He was silent for a few seconds. "Monica, I…" He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Pack emergency. It's urgent.""What is it?""You don't need to know." He snatched his jacket. "I'll be back as soon as I can.""Ryan!" I followed him to the door. "You're always like this now! It's been a month. You barely touch me. You barely even speak to me!" He stopped, his back to me. "I'm dealing with pack business. It's important.""What about our child? Your heir!" My voice trembled. "Isn't he important?" I saw his shoulders flinch. "Of course he is," he said, his voice low. "But now is not the time." The door clicked shut. I stood alone in the empty room. A dull ache pulsed from the mate bond in my chest. I went to the Moonstone Clinic alone. The healers and nurses in the hallway gave me strange looks. They avoided my eyes, their whispers dying on their lips. I ignored it. I just assumed they were surprised to see their Luna at a check-up without her Alpha. I clutched the results and walked toward the VIP lounge to call him. As I reached the familiar door, I heard voices from inside. One of them I knew down to my bones. "…Don't be scared, Bonnie. I'll protect you." It was Ryan's voice, low and gentle. "I'll take responsibility for this child… He'll be safe, I promise." My blood ran cold. The check-up results slipped from my fingers, but I didn't notice. My hand moved on its own, pushing the door open. And then I saw him. Ryan was kneeling by the sofa, carefully holding a glass of water for a pregnant she-wolf. His gentleness was a knife twisting in my gut. That was how he used to look at me, and only me. The woman had long, auburn hair. Her skin was pale, her expression pitiful and fragile. Her belly was bigger than mine. My world stopped. "Ryan?" He spun around. Panic, then guilt, flashed in his golden eyes. "Monica… How did you—""What is this?" My voice shook, my hand crushing the results in my fist. The woman looked up at me, her eyes filled with tears. She looked so weak, so in need of protection. Ryan scrambled to his feet, instinctively shielding her behind him. "Bonnie… she's in trouble. She was attacked by rogues. I'm doing my duty as Alpha. I'm protecting her and the... pup.""‘Duty'?" I stared at them. "So you abandon your own pure-blooded heir for some other pup?""Monica, it's complicated…""Complicated?" I laughed, but it was a bitter sound. "Then why lie? Why hide it from me?" Just then, Bonnie lifted a hand to her neck. And I saw it. A faint, new mark. A temporary bond. She looked at Ryan, her eyes wet with tears. Her whisper was a physical blow. "But Ryan, you promised. You would be this pup's father. For the pack… we've bonded."

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

"Bonded?" My voice trembled. The mate bond tore through my chest. "Ryan, tell me it's not true." He wouldn't look at me. His silence was my answer as he helped Bonnie to her feet. "I can explain…""Explain what?!" I lunged forward, grabbing his arm. "You bonded with her! What else is there to understand?!" Everyone in the clinic was staring. I didn't care. The eyes of the entire world couldn't hurt me more than his silence right now. I rounded on the trembling she-wolf. "You defiled our sacred bond... for a bastard from gods-know-where?!""ENOUGH!" The Alpha Command hit me like a physical wall. The sheer power of it buckled my knees, and I collapsed to the floor. I looked up, stunned, my eyes wide with disbelief. He used his Alpha Command. On me. His mate. "Monica." His voice was ice. "Do not call that pup a bastard." I knelt there, watching him look down on me. The fire in his eyes wasn't for me. It was for another woman and her child. The pain from our bond was crushing me. "Ryan…" Bonnie's voice was a weak tremor from behind him. "Let's just go. I don't want to cause a scene…""No." I used a chair to pull myself up. The pain made it hard to breathe. "You're going to explain this to me. Right now." Ryan took a deep breath. He finally met my gaze, but his eyes held nothing but the cold steel of an Alpha. "Bonnie's parents died protecting this pack. She's alone now, carrying a pup whose bloodline is… special. It could attract danger." His tone was all business. "The pack won't accept a pup like that. She needs my protection.""And what about me?" I choked out. "What about our child? Don't I need protection?""Once Bonnie is stable, I'll remove the mark. You'll still be my Luna," he said, as if that fixed everything. "Ryan, are you insane? Do you really think—""This is my decision," he cut me off, his voice flat and final. "As Alpha, it is my duty. This isn't a request." With that, he steadied Bonnie and walked right past me without a backward glance. I just stood there, listening to the sound of my own heart breaking. Late that night, I heard the lock turn. Ryan was finally home. A tiny flame of hope flickered back to life inside me. I rushed downstairs, only to see him packing a suitcase in the living room. "What are you doing?" my voice was a raw whisper. "I'm moving into the Alpha manor," he said, not looking at me. "Bonnie needs round-the-clock protection.""What?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "You're moving out? To live with her?""It's temporary.""Temporary?" I scoffed. "Ryan, listen to yourself! You have a pregnant Luna. You're supposed to be here!" He stopped packing and finally looked at me. "Monica, Bonnie is vulnerable right now. The scent of her pup's bloodline is unstable. It will draw predators. She needs an Alpha's power to shield her, day and night.""And I don't?" Tears blurred my vision. "You're strong," he said, and the words were a betrayal. "You're my Luna. You can handle yourself." Strong… so that's my reward for being strong. Abandonment. I watched, numb, as he zipped the suitcase shut. "Ryan," my voice went flat, dead with despair. "If you walk out that door tonight, don't come back." His hand paused on the doorknob. Then, his voice devoid of all emotion, he said, "This is an Alpha's order. Not a discussion."

Chapter 3 Chapter 3

The door closed. I collapsed onto the floor. I could feel our mate bond, distant and thin, being smothered by another woman's scent. The pack was already gossiping. Ryan had abandoned me. I stayed home, enduring the sharp, pulsing pain from the bond. Two weeks later was the full moon celebration. "Luna, are you sure you should go?" My omega housekeeper, Lena, looked at me with worried eyes. I stared at my haggard reflection in the mirror. At over four months, my belly was just starting to show. I had to go. I refused to let them see me as broken. The grand hall of the Black Moon Estate glittered with light. I walked in alone, wearing a black evening gown, my head held high. The chatter died instantly. Every head turned toward me. Their eyes were filled with pity, mockery, and morbid curiosity. "Monica?" Chloe, Ryan's sister, glided toward me, a viper in silk. She was flanked by the daughters of pack elders, her face a mask of fake concern. "Are you alright? You look awful.""I'm fine.""Are you?" Chloe leaned in, her voice suddenly sharp. "Then why did my brother move out?" The music in the ballroom seemed to stop. Everyone was listening. "Chloe, this is none of your business.""None of my business?" she sneered. "My brother is the Alpha of this pack! The purity of his bloodline is everything!" She suddenly pointed a finger at my stomach, her voice a piercing shriek. "Everyone is dying to know! While you're claiming to carry my brother's heir, he's off protecting some other woman! So, tell us, Monica. Who is the real father of the pup you're carrying?" Dead silence. "Chloe!" I was shaking with rage. "You're insane!""Am I?" she laughed, triumphant. "Let's ask the pack! Our Alpha values his bloodline above all else. If that was really his pup, do you think he would ever leave its side for a second?" Whispers erupted around me, and the looks of suspicion felt like arrows. "This is Ryan's child! The only heir to the Blackthorne family!" I screamed. "An heir?" she shrieked with laughter. "A bastard with no name? Guards! Seize the woman who shamed our Alpha!" Two towering enforcers walked toward me, their faces blank. "You wouldn't dare!" I backed away. "I am Ryan's mate! I am your Luna!""Mate?" Chloe's eyes glinted with malice. "A woman who can't even name her pup's father has no right to be our Luna!" Rough hands grabbed my arms. I was dragged from the hall. They hauled me back to the manor. In the main hall, Ryan was gently rubbing Bonnie's back. She was curled up on the sofa, pale and looking terrified. "Ryan…" she trembled. "I heard so much noise outside…""It's nothing," Ryan's voice was impossibly soft. "I'll protect you." Then he saw me. Dragged in by his guards, my dress torn, my hair a mess. A complete wreck. But there was no sympathy in his eyes. Only cold disgust. "What happened?""Alpha," one of the enforcers reported. "She caused a scene at the gala. Lady Chloe accused her of disgracing the pack's name." Ryan looked at me like I was a stranger. Bonnie whimpered, pressing a hand to her stomach. "Ryan, I'm so scared… The way she's looking at me… What if she hurts the baby?" That was the last straw. Ryan's face hardened. He didn't even look at me. His voice was ice. "Lock her in the west wing's silver cell. She doesn't leave until I say so."

Chapter 4 Chapter 4

The silver cell. A place where even the windows were sealed with silver bars. The walls themselves were threaded with silver. For a werewolf, every breath, every brush of skin against the wall, was like being stabbed with a thousand needles. This room was for traitors. The connection of our bond had faded to a flicker, but the break itself was a constant, stabbing pain. It had been a week. No one came to see me. No food. Just a single glass of water each day. I stroked my five-month belly. "I'm sorry, little one," I whispered. "Mommy has put you through so much." Footsteps echoed in the hall. The door opened. Bonnie walked in. She was wearing an expensive silk maternity dress, her belly round and high. Around her neck was a moonstone necklace I recognized. It had belonged to Ryan's mother. "You look pathetic," she purred from the doorway, her voice oozing fake pity. "Get out.""Now, now," she stepped closer, deliberately flashing the jewels on her wrist. "I just came to see how you were doing." She caressed the necklace. "Ryan said this necklace is for the future matriarch of the pack. Do you think it looks good on me?" My fists clenched. "He also said that once our pup is born, he's going to formally reject you," she smiled sweetly. "He said he finally understands that duty and love can go together. And that I… I am the duty he's willing to embrace for the rest of his life.""Enough!" Pure, untamed power surged through me—the strength of my bloodline. CRACK. The jade bracelet on her wrist shattered, the pieces scattering across the floor. "AH!" Bonnie let out a piercing scream. She collapsed to the floor, clutching her stomach. "Help! Help me! She's trying to kill me! My stomach… my baby!" I stared, stunned at her performance. There was no blood. No wound. She was acting. But frantic footsteps were already pounding down the hall. "Bonnie!" Ryan burst into the room and immediately knelt to check on her. "What's wrong?! What happened?!""It was her…" Bonnie pointed a trembling finger at me, tears streaming down her face. "She… she used her power on me… Ryan, my stomach hurts so bad… Our baby…" Ryan looked up at me, his eyes blazing with a fury that froze my soul. "You attacked a pregnant woman?!""Ryan, look at her! She's not hurt! She's faking it!""She's bleeding!" he roared. "Look at the blood on her dress!" My eyes shot down. A patch of red was already soaking through her dress. A trick. She'd planted it. "Ryan, can't you see—""I've had enough!" he cut me off, the last shred of warmth in his eyes gone. "Can't you just leave her and this child alone?! Can't you be quiet, for the peace of the pack?!""Quiet?" I laughed, a hollow, broken sound. "So the traitor and her bastard can have peace?" In that instant, Ryan's face shut down completely. He lifted the ‘unconscious' Bonnie into his arms and turned to leave. At the door, he paused without looking back and delivered his final, chilling order. "No food. No water. Not without my direct command." The door slammed shut again. This time, it was a death sentence. In the dead of night, a cloaked figure appeared at my window. Draco. The pack's oldest healer. "Child, you are dying," he said, his voice full of sorrow. He passed me a small vial. Inside was a dark green liquid. "Moon-fall Herb," he whispered. "An ancient draught. It severs the mate bond... by sacrificing the life that forged it." I took the vial, my hand shaking. "Why are you helping me?" The old man sighed. "I cannot watch an innocent mother be treated this way. But child, once you use this, there is no turning back." He vanished into the night. I clutched the vial, feeling the power thrumming within it. This was my last choice. And my only revenge. I bit my fingertip and used my own blood to draw an ancient sacrificial circle on the floor. Moonlight streamed through the silver bars, pooling in the center of the circle. The blood-red runes began to glow. I raised the vial. A single tear finally escaped, falling onto my stomach. "I'm sorry, my sweet baby," my voice was soft and full of grief. "Your father doesn't love you. The pack won't accept you. Mommy can't let you be born into such a cold world.""Better you become the blade of my vengeance... than live a life of shame." I tilted my head back and swallowed the potion in one, desperate gulp. Agony ripped through me. The bond in my chest began to snap, the sound like shattering glass. Blood poured from my body. The light from the circle blazed brighter and brighter. I heard panicked shouts and running footsteps from the hall. The door was thrown open with tremendous force. Ryan stood in the doorway. His eyes landed on the scene. All color drained from his face, replaced by pure, raw horror. I was lying in the center of a pool of blood and blinding light. "Monica…" His voice was a shattered whisper. "What have you done?" He stared at the blood, at the glowing circle. "Our pup… what did you do to our pup?"