Kacie POV:

The Alpha Summit Gala was a sea of silk, diamonds, and power. The air was thick with the commingled scents of a dozen different packs-pine, musk, rain, and earth. It was a display of dominance, and I felt like a prey animal walking into a lion's den.

I stood near the entrance of the ballroom, smoothing the velvet of my midnight-blue gown. It was heavy, regal, and the only armor I had left. It signaled to everyone that despite the rumors, I was still the Luna of the Blood Moon Pack.

"Oh no!" A shrill cry pierced the low hum of conversation.

I turned to see Jayden standing by the cloakroom. She was clutching the hem of her red dress. A long, jagged tear ran up the side, exposing her thigh.

"My dress!" she wailed, tears instantly welling in her eyes. "I caught it on the doorframe! I can't go in like this, Cedric. Everyone will laugh at the Moon Pack."

Cedric was at her side in an instant, his brow furrowed. "It's ruined. We don't have time to go back to the estate."

Jayden looked up at me, her eyes gleaming with a predatory light. "Kacie... your dress. It's beautiful. And it's blue. You know blue is the color that calms my heart condition."

I took a step back. "No."

"Kacie," Cedric said, his voice warning.

"This is the Luna's ceremonial gown, Cedric," I said, my voice trembling but firm. "It has the pack crest embroidered on the lining. She cannot wear it. It is against the law."

"I am the Alpha!" Cedric snapped, the power in his voice making the nearby attendants flinch. "I am the law. Jayden represents the Moon family's honor. She cannot be seen in rags. You, however, are just..."

He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't have to. Just a placeholder.

"Take it off," he ordered.

"Cedric, please," I whispered. "Don't strip me of my dignity here."

"Give her the dress."

The Alpha Command slammed into me like a physical blow to the stomach. My hands moved on their own, reaching for the zipper at my back. Tears burned my eyes as I was forced to undress in the semi-private cloakroom, handing the warm, heavy velvet to the woman who was stealing my life.

Minutes later, Jayden stood before the mirror, twirling in my gown. It fit her loosely, but she looked triumphant. I was left shivering in a spare, plain grey dress the attendant had found in the lost-and-found. It was tight in the wrong places and smelled of stale lavender.

"You look beautiful, Jay," Cedric said, his voice soft.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a velvet box. My heart gave a painful thud. I recognized that box. It was the anniversary gift I had seen the receipt for on his desk weeks ago.

He opened it to reveal a necklace. A large, teardrop-shaped Bloodstone set in silver.

Bloodstones were rare. In our world, they weren't just jewelry. They were protective talismans, capable of deflecting minor hexes and physical blows. They were given by Alphas to their Mates to protect them when the Alpha couldn't be there.

"For me?" Jayden gasped.

"It has protective properties," Cedric said, fastening it around her neck. "With your weak health, you need it more than anyone."

He didn't even look at me. He didn't remember that he had bought it for me, for the wife he constantly put in danger.

Jayden fingered the red stone, smirking at me over Cedric's shoulder. "It matches the red in my eyes, don't you think, Kacie?"

I looked away, clutching the cheap fabric of my grey dress. My wolf, Serenity, didn't even growl. she was too weak, curled up in the dark recess of my mind, fading away.

"Let's go," Cedric said, offering his arm to Jayden.

They walked into the ballroom, the golden couple. I followed three steps behind, invisible, unwanted, and unprotected.

17 Days.

Kacie POV:

The gala was suffocating. I hid in the shadows near the catering tables, trying to make myself as small as possible. Watching Cedric dance with Jayden was like having my chest cavity scooped out with a spoon.

"Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in."

I looked up. A man stood before me. He smelled of rot and old whiskey. His eyes were bloodshot, and his clothes were expensive but unkempt. A Rogue who had managed to sneak in, or perhaps a guest who had fallen from grace.

"Excuse me," I said, trying to step around him.

He blocked my path. He inhaled deeply, a disgusting, wet sound. "You smell... interesting. Like rot, but underneath that... milk. And new blood."

My hand flew to my stomach. The nausea from this morning. The tightness. No. It couldn't be.

"Let me pass," I said, channeling what little authority I had left.

"Your shoes are dirty," the Rogue sneered. He pointed at his muddy boots. "Clean them. Maybe if you show you're good at serving, the Alpha will keep you as a maid."

"No," I said.

The Rogue grabbed my hair. Pain shot through my scalp. "I said, clean them!"

He forced me down. My knees hit the hard marble floor. The humiliation was a hot brand on my skin. People were watching. Whispering. No one stepped in. To them, an unmarked female without her Alpha's protection was fair game.

I reached for a napkin, my hands shaking. I wiped the mud from his boot. I had no pride left. I just wanted to survive the night.

Thud!

The Rogue went flying across the room, crashing into a table of champagne flutes.

Cedric stood over me, his chest heaving, his fists clenched. His eyes were glowing gold.

"Get up," he hissed at me, grabbing my arm and hauling me to my feet.

He didn't ask if I was okay. He dragged me toward the exit, his grip bruising.

We got into the elevator. The doors closed, sealing us in.

"You are a disgrace," Cedric spat. "Kneeling for a Rogue? Have you no pride? You are wearing the Moon Pack name!"

"I have no pride because you took it all!" I screamed back, the dam finally breaking. "You gave my dress to your mistress! You gave my protection stone to her! You leave me defenseless and then blame me when I get attacked?"

"She is not my mistress! She is family!"

"She is a snake, Cedric! And you are blind!"

Suddenly, the elevator lurched to a halt. The lights flickered and died. An emergency alarm blared.

Mind-Link: Cedric! Help! They have me! The roof!

It was Jayden's voice, screaming in my head because the connection to the Alpha was open.

Cedric pried the elevator doors open with his bare hands. We were on the top floor. He sprinted toward the roof access, and I ran after him, my heart pounding.

On the windy rooftop, chaos reigned.

The Rogue from the ballroom-the one Cedric had hit-was there. But he wasn't alone. Three other men surrounded Jayden, holding her near the edge of the building.

"Back off, Alpha!" the leader shouted. He held a silver knife to Jayden's throat.

"Let her go," Cedric growled, his voice vibrating with the Alpha Command.

"Not a chance. We know about the Bloodstone," the Rogue laughed. "We can't hurt her easily with that rock around her neck. It repels the blade. But we need a hostage to get out of the city."

The Rogue looked at me. Then he looked at Cedric.

"A trade," the Rogue grinned. "The girl with the magic stone is too much trouble. Give us the wife. She's pregnant, isn't she? I can smell the pup on her. Double the prize."

The world stopped.

I froze. Pregnant?

I looked down at my flat stomach. The morning sickness. The scent changes I thought were just Jayden's perfume. A tiny, flickering spark of life, nestled deep within my womb. A pup. A miracle given my weak condition.

Cedric froze too. He looked at me, his eyes widening. He inhaled deeply, testing the air. He smelled it too. The subtle change in my scent.

"No," Cedric whispered.

"Choose, Alpha!" the Rogue shouted, pushing Jayden closer to the ledge. "The protected one, or the breeder? We take one, you get the other."

Jayden let out a sob. "Cedric! He's going to drop me! My heart... I can't breathe!"

Cedric looked at Jayden, panic flaring in his eyes. He looked at the Bloodstone around her neck. It offered protection, yes, but not from a fall.

Then he looked at me. At his pregnant wife.

"Kacie has the White Wolf blood," he muttered to himself, a frantic rationalization. "She heals faster. She's strong. Jayden is dying."

He made his choice.

"Take Kacie," Cedric said. His voice was cracked, broken, but clear.

"Cedric!" I screamed, stepping back. "I am carrying your child!"

"I will come for you," he said, avoiding my eyes. "I promise. Just... go with them. I have to save Jayden."

He grabbed my shoulder and shoved me toward the Rogues.

I stumbled forward. The Rogue grabbed me, his rough hands bruising my arms. He shoved Jayden toward Cedric.

Cedric caught Jayden, wrapping his arms around her, burying his face in her neck to comfort her.

The Rogue laughed. "Pleasure doing business."

Then, a gunshot rang out. A police sniper from the adjacent building.

The Rogue jerked. In his death spasm, he didn't hold onto me. He shoved me.

Hard.

I flew backward. Over the edge of the parapet.

"Cedric!" I screamed.

I saw him turn. I saw his hand reach out. But he didn't let go of Jayden to catch me.

The wind roared in my ears. The city lights blurred into streaks of neon. I fell into the darkness, my hands cradling my stomach, apologizing to the life that had barely begun.

Kacie POV:

Pain was a color. It was blinding white, then throbbing red, then absolute black.

I woke up to the smell of antiseptic and the beep of machines. I wasn't dead. I had landed on a firefighter's rescue cushion that had been partially deployed. It had saved my life, but the impact...

I moved my hand to my stomach.

It was flat. Empty. The tiny spark I had felt on the roof was gone.

"No," I croaked. My throat felt like it was filled with glass.

A doctor walked in. He was a Beta from our pack. He looked at me with pity.

"Luna," he said softly. "You suffered severe internal trauma. We... we couldn't save the pup."

A howl built up in my chest, a sound so raw and primal it scared me. But I didn't have the strength to let it out. I just stared at the ceiling, tears leaking from the corners of my eyes.

The door opened. Cedric walked in. He looked exhausted, his shirt torn.

"Kacie," he breathed, rushing to the bedside. "Thank the Goddess. You're alive."

I turned my head slowly to look at him. "My baby."

Cedric flinched. "I know. The doctor told me. It... it's a tragedy."

"You pushed me," I whispered. "You traded your child for her."

"It was a calculated risk!" Cedric insisted, pacing the room. "Jayden wouldn't have survived the stress of being a hostage. You are stronger. I knew you would survive. We can have other children."

"Other children?" I laughed, a dry, cracking sound. "You killed this one."

Mind-Link: Cedric... help me... the nightmares...

It was Jayden again. Calling him. Always calling him.

Cedric froze. He looked at the door. "I have to go check on her. She's in shock."

"Get out," I said. "And don't come back."

He left. He actually left.

The next morning, I forced myself out of bed. I couldn't stay in this place. I walked into the hallway, holding the wall for support.

I ran into Carol, Cedric's mother.

Slap!

Her hand connected with my cheek, snapping my head to the side.

"You useless girl!" she screeched. "You lost the Moon heir!"

"I..." I touched my stinging cheek. "Your son traded me to Rogues."

"Lies!" Carol hissed. "Jayden told us everything. She showed us the photo."

She shoved a phone in my face. It was a picture of me, standing in an alleyway, handing an envelope to the Rogue who had attacked us on the roof.

"I never did that!" I gasped. "That's Photoshop! Look at the lighting!"

"It's dated three days ago," Carol sneered. "You hired those Rogues to stage a kidnapping so you could play the hero. But it went wrong, didn't it? And your own scheme killed my grandchild."

"That is insane," I said, backing away.

"Cedric!" Carol shouted.

Cedric appeared from Jayden's room. He took the phone from his mother. He looked at the photo, then at me.

His eyes were cold. Dead.

"Is this true?" he asked. "Did you stage this? To get attention? To make me choose you?"

"You think I would risk my baby for attention?" I asked, my voice trembling with rage.

"You didn't know you were pregnant until the roof," Cedric reasoned, his logic twisted by grief and manipulation. "You thought you would just get 'rescued'. You are sick, Kacie."

"I didn't do it," I said.

"Jayden saw you meeting him," Cedric said. "She was too afraid to tell me until now."

Of course she was.

"I hate you," I said. "I hate you all."

14 Days.