The pregnancy test trembled between my fingers as I paced the length of Knox's office. The two pink lines had appeared like a miracle—a secret I'd been carrying for weeks now. My hand instinctively moved to my still-flat stomach, cradling the tiny life growing inside me.

"Knox will be so happy," I whispered to myself, though my voice wavered with uncertainty. "He has to be."

The annual Moonlight Gala was in full swing beyond the heavy oak doors, the sounds of music and laughter filtering through. I'd slipped away from the celebration, unable to bear another minute of watching Knox and Izabella dance together while I stood alone at the edges of the ballroom.

I glanced at my reflection in the window. The silver gown Knox had chosen for me hung loosely around my frame—I'd lost weight in recent weeks, my appetite vanishing as the distance between us grew wider.

"He'll listen tonight," I promised myself, straightening my shoulders. "A baby changes everything."

I practiced the words again, rehearsing how I would tell him. "Knox, I know things have been strained lately, but..." No, too hesitant. "Knox, despite everything, the Moon Goddess has blessed us..." Too formal. Perhaps simply, "I'm pregnant."

My wolf—or rather, the space where my wolf should be—remained silent within me. Fifteen years of waiting, and still nothing. The emptiness there had become a constant ache, a reminder of why Knox might be pulling away.

The door swung open without warning.

"Alpha," I began, the words dying on my lips as I took in the sight before me.

Knox wasn't alone. Izabella Brooks clung to his arm, her crimson dress a stark contrast to my silver one. Her lips curved into a smirk as she took in my disheveled appearance.

"Little wolfless," she purred, the nickname cutting through me like a blade. "Skulking in the Alpha's office again?"

I straightened, clutching the pregnancy test behind my back. "I was just leaving."

"Not yet," Knox said, his voice colder than I'd ever heard it. "There's something that needs to be settled tonight."

The room suddenly felt smaller as three Council Elders filed in behind them, their faces solemn and expectant. Vance Brooks—Izabella's father—stood among them, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction.

"Averie," Knox began, his voice taking on the formal timbre I'd come to dread. "It's time we addressed our... situation."

My heart hammered against my ribs. This wasn't how I'd imagined telling him about the baby. "Knox, if this is about the exhibition—"

"It's about our future," he cut me off. "The future of this pack."

Izabella's smile widened as she pressed herself closer to Knox's side.

"I've made my decision," Knox announced, his eyes deliberately avoiding mine. "I cannot allow a mate bond to interfere with what's best for Silver Moon."

The air in the room seemed to thicken, pressing against my chest. "What are you saying?"

Knox's gaze finally met mine, and I saw nothing of the boy who had once promised to protect me forever. "I, Alpha Knox Robinson, reject you, Averie Spencer, as my mate."

The words hit me like a physical blow. Something tore inside me—a metaphysical bond ripping apart at its seams. I gasped, doubling over as pain radiated through my body.

"The rejection is complete," Elder Vance intoned officially.

I collapsed to my knees, tears blurring my vision. Through the haze of pain, I saw Izabella's triumphant smile.

"Knox, please," I managed to gasp, holding out the pregnancy test. "I'm—I'm pregnant. We're going to have a baby."

For a moment, something flickered in Knox's eyes—surprise, perhaps even regret. But it vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

"That changes nothing," he said coldly. "In fact, it makes this all the more necessary."

Izabella's laugh was like shattered glass. "A wolfless bitch carrying a defective pup? Oh, darling, you should have thought of that before."

Knox didn't contradict her. Instead, he straightened to his full height, every inch the Alpha. "This... complication needs to be addressed."

"Complication?" I whispered, my hand still protectively covering my stomach. "This is our child."

"There is no 'our' anymore," Knox said, his voice devoid of emotion. "As Alpha, I command you to get rid of the problem."

The Alpha command slammed into me with the force of a physical blow. I felt my free will crumble beneath its weight.

"No," I pleaded, tears streaming down my face. "Please don't do this."

Izabella stepped forward, placing herself between Knox and me. "I accept your rejection, Alpha. I will be your chosen Luna."

Knox took her hand, his eyes never leaving mine. "Then it's settled. Averie Spencer is hereby stripped of all rank and relegated to Omega status until further notice. She is to leave my sight immediately."

The room spun around me as I struggled to breathe through the pain of rejection and loss. My fingers went numb, the pregnancy test falling forgotten to the floor as darkness crept at the edges of my vision.

The morning sun cast long shadows across the town square as I was led to the center platform. My wrists were bound with silver chains—not enough to burn, but enough to remind everyone of my wolfless status. A week had passed since Knox's rejection, and the hollow ache in my chest had only grown deeper.

"Attention, pack members!" Izabella's voice rang out, her crimson dress a splash of blood against the gray stone. "Today, we witness the culmination of our pack's artistic achievement—and a necessary lesson in humility."

I kept my eyes fixed on the ground, refusing to meet the stares of the gathered crowd. Many faces I recognized—wolves who had once smiled at me, shared meals with me, now watching with expressions ranging from curiosity to disgust.

"Our beloved Alpha has graciously allowed me to use his... former mate... as my model," Izabella continued, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "Since she cannot contribute to our pack through hunting or patrol, she will prove her worth in this small way."

My stomach churned. The morning sickness I'd been experiencing made it difficult to stand upright, but I forced myself to remain steady. My hand instinctively moved toward my abdomen, but I stopped it before anyone could notice.

"Knox," Izabella purred, turning to him with a practiced smile. "Would you do the honors?"

He stepped forward, his face a mask of indifference I barely recognized. The boy who had once shared his last piece of bread with me was gone, replaced by this cold stranger wearing his face.

"Averie," he said, his voice taking on that resonant quality that made my knees weak. "As Alpha, I command you to remove your clothing."

The Alpha command hit me like a physical blow. My fingers moved against my will, fumbling with the buttons of my blouse. I fought against it with everything I had, but without my wolf to shield me, I was powerless.

"No," I whispered, tears welling in my eyes. "Please don't do this."

Knox's expression flickered for just a moment—something like regret passing across his features before disappearing entirely. "The command stands."

The crowd fell silent as my blouse dropped to the floor, followed by my skirt. The cool morning air raised goosebumps across my skin as I stood there, exposed and vulnerable before dozens of eyes.

Izabella circled me slowly, her brushes and paints laid out on a nearby table. "Perfect," she murmured. "The ultimate canvas—the barren she-wolf."

She dipped her brush into a mixture of red and black paint, approaching me with a predator's smile. "Hold still, little Omega. This will only hurt for a moment."

The paint felt cold against my skin as she began to mark me with symbols of fertility and barrenness—ancient wolf signs of shame and rejection. The crowd's murmurs grew louder as she worked, some laughing at her "artistic" interpretation, others shifting uncomfortably at the display.

"Look at her," Izabella announced to the crowd. "This is what happens when the Moon Goddess rejects a vessel. Useless. Empty." Her eyes gleamed with malice as she painted a symbol of death across my abdomen. "Some might say this one was never meant to carry life."

Each word was a dagger to my heart. I wanted to scream that I was pregnant—that despite everything, life still grew within me. But the words died in my throat as a wave of pain washed over me.

Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

The cramping started as a dull ache, but quickly intensified into something that brought me to my knees. Warm liquid trickled down my thighs as I collapsed onto the platform.

"Knox," I gasped, reaching out blindly. "The baby..."

The crowd erupted in whispers as blood pooled beneath me, staining the white platform crimson. Through my tears, I saw Knox's face—shock replacing his cold mask as realization dawned.

Izabella stepped back, her painting forgotten as she stared at the scene before her. For once, her composure slipped, revealing something like horror beneath her cruelty.

"She's losing it," someone whispered. "The Alpha's pup."

"Get the healer!" another voice called out.

But Izabella recovered quickly, her lips curling into a smirk as she turned to address the crowd. "Natural selection," she announced loudly. "Even the Moon Goddess knows when a vessel is unfit."

Knox stood frozen, his eyes fixed on the blood spreading beneath me. In that moment, I saw something crack behind his gaze—a flicker of the man I once knew, trapped behind walls of his own making.

But it was too late. The pain consumed me as my body betrayed me one final time, expelling the tiny life I had already come to love. As darkness crept into the edges of my vision, I heard Izabella's cold voice above me:

"Clean this up. The exhibition continues tomorrow."

Two days after my world collapsed, I lay curled on a thin mattress in the Omega quarters, my body still aching from the loss. The cramping had subsided to a dull throb, but the hollow emptiness inside me gaped wider with each passing hour.

A knock at the door startled me from my stupor.

"Package for you," announced a voice I didn't recognize. "From the Alpha's quarters."

I dragged myself to the door, wincing at the pain that shot through my abdomen. A small box sat on the threshold—plain brown paper wrapping with a silver ribbon. No note.

With trembling fingers, I unwrapped it to find a small tablet. It powered on automatically, displaying a notification from the pack's mind-link forum.

"New exhibition opens today: 'The Barren She-Wolf' by Beta Izabella."

My stomach lurched as I clicked on the link. The screen filled with images that made my blood run cold.

There, displayed on pristine white walls, was my humiliation captured in excruciating detail. Izabella had painted my body—my naked, painted body—on massive canvases. But worse was the centerpiece: a glass case containing stained sheets from the platform where I'd lost my baby.

"The ultimate expression of rejection," read the description beneath. "When even the Moon Goddess denies a vessel."

Comments flooded the bottom of the page:

"Disgusting."

"Should have been thrown out with the trash."

"The Alpha deserves better."

And then, most damning of all: "Alpha Knox commissioned this series to remind the pack of the consequences of weakness."

Knox had sanctioned this. He'd allowed Izabella to turn my deepest trauma into entertainment.

I threw the tablet across the room, my body shaking with sobs. There was nothing left for me here—no dignity, no hope, not even the memory of what Knox and I once shared.

"I can't stay," I whispered to the empty room. "I can't survive this."

---

The storm rolled in that night, lightning splitting the sky as rain lashed against the windows. Perfect cover for what I needed to do.

I packed lightly—a change of clothes, what little money I had saved, and the silver pendant Knox had given me on my sixteenth birthday. A reminder of better times.

The Omega quarters were deserted as I slipped out, rain soaking through my thin jacket within seconds. I kept to the shadows, avoiding the patrol routes I'd memorized during my years with Knox.

The coastal cliffs lay three miles east—a treacherous path in good weather, dangerous in a storm. But it was my only chance to escape without being tracked.

I'd made it halfway when I sensed them.

Rogues.

Their scent hit me like a wall—unwashed bodies, stale blood, and something feral. I froze, scanning the darkness as yellow eyes emerged from the shadows.

"Well, well," drawled a voice I recognized with a chill. "The little bitch who got away."

They circled me slowly, five of them, their wolves partially shifted—a grotesque half-human state that spoke of their instability.

"You're a long way from home, Omega," snarled another, his teeth elongated into fangs.

"You know who I am?" I asked, backing away slowly.

The leader laughed, a harsh sound that sent shivers down my spine. "We've been waiting for you. Your precious Alpha may have rejected you, but he still wants you gone."

My heart stuttered. "Knox sent you?"

"Let's just say your new Luna arranged it." His eyes gleamed in the darkness. "She told us exactly where to find you. Said you'd be running tonight."

I looked back toward the pack lands, rain blurring my vision. "Knox knows?"

"He knows everything." The Rogue licked his lips. "He's not coming to save you."

---

They herded me toward the cliffs, the drop to the churning ocean below hidden by darkness. Lightning flashed, illuminating the sheer drop for a heart-stopping moment.

"Please," I begged, though I wasn't sure what I was asking for anymore. "I'm not who you think I am."

"You're the daughter of James and Sarah Spencer," the leader growled. "The ones who killed our brother during that border skirmish fifteen years ago."

My parents. The Gamma warriors who'd died protecting our pack.

"Your Alpha doesn't care if we finish what our brother started," another Rogue taunted.

I backed up until I felt loose rocks shift beneath my feet. The ocean roared below, invisible in the darkness but somehow calling to me.

Fifteen years of memories flashed before me—Knox and me in the orphanage, sharing stolen bread and promises. Knox holding me after nightmares about my parents' death. Knox swearing he'd always protect me.

All lies.

"I loved him," I whispered, more to myself than to them.

"And he loved power more," the leader sneered.

I looked down at the black water below, then back at the approaching Rogues. There was no escape. No future. No reason to keep fighting.

"Goodbye, Knox," I murmured, thinking of the boy he once was—the one who'd held me close and promised forever.

Then I turned and jumped into the void.

The impact with the water knocked the breath from my lungs, coldness engulfing me instantly. As consciousness faded, I felt something snap inside me—the pack link severing as the ocean closed over my head.

Miles away, I imagined Knox collapsing as he felt my "death," the mate bond finally breaking completely.

But it was too late for both of us.