Something in his low, commanding tone made me obey without question. I slid into the back seat, my heart pounding.

The door slammed, and the car sped off into the night.

I pressed a hand to my chest, trying to breathe. “Who are you? ”

He looked at me through the mirror. “A friend. Sent by someone who still believes in you.”

I frowned. “Who? ”

He didn’t answer.

The city blurred past street lights dimming, rain beginning to fall. My image in the glass looked like a stranger: pale, hollow-eyed, mascara bleeding down my face.

I touched the spot on my neck where his mark should’ve been. An empty ache spread through me.

“He didn’t even ask if I was okay,” I whispered.

The driver said nothing.

I turned my face toward the window, hiding the tears. The rain outside looked like silver fire, falling from heaven to wash me clean of everything I’d ever known.

But the ache inside wouldn’t fade.

I had lost everything. My title. My mate. My name.

And yet… a strange calm fell over me, somewhere between sadness and fury.

If Aurora wanted war, she would have it.

I straightened in my seat, wiping my tears with shaky hands. “Take me anywhere no one will find me.”

The driver nodded. “Understood.”

The car turned down a small road heading away from the city lights. I stared out the window, repeating Lorenzo’s words over and over until they became a blade in my chest.

You were never meant to wear my mark.

A sob slipped past my lips. “Then why did you make me believe I was yours? ”

The driver’s phone buzzed. He frowned. “We have company.”

“What do you mean? ”

Before he could answer, headlights flared behind us. Black SUVs closed in from both sides.

My heart lurched. “Who are they? ”

He cursed under his breath. “DeLuca guards. They were supposed to wait.”

“Wait for what? ”

“To take you back.”

“No! ” Panic flared. “I’m not going back there. I won’t face them again! ”

The driver’s jaw clenched. “Hold on.”

The car veered sharply into an alley. Tires screeched. I clutched the seat as the car sped through the rain-slick streets.

Bullets broke the rear glass. I screamed as bits flew past my face.

“Why are they shooting? ” I cried.

“Because someone doesn’t want you alive, Miss Moretti.”

The words chilled me to the bone.

We turned another corner, the SUVs still chasing. I felt the weight of my ruined cap slipping from my hair. I yanked it off and threw it out the window.

The driver shouted, “Down! ”

A bullet hit the rearview mirror. The car skidded violently, spinning before slamming to a stop beside an abandoned building.

Smoke hissed from the tires. My pulse roared in my ears.

“Out,” the driver barked.

We stumbled into the rain, running for cover as the SUVs screeched to a stop behind us. Men poured out armed, fast, and effective.

“Why are they doing this? ” I gasped, slipping on the wet pavement.

“Because you’re not supposed to survive tonight.”

He grabbed my hand and dragged me toward a side door. We burst inside the warehouse, a dark, vast place reeking of rust and gasoline.

He pressed a gun into my hand.

“I don’t know how to use this,” I said, shaking.

“Then point it at anyone who isn’t me.”

Voices echoed outside. Footsteps.

We hid behind a stack of boxes as shadows moved along the walls. My heart thundered so hard I thought they’d hear it.

Through the cracks, I saw one of the attackers step into view. My breath caught.

It was Marco.

Lorenzo’s cousin.

He spoke into his headset. “Target’s inside. Orders are to bring her in breathing. Barely.”

I felt sick. “He said he wanted to help me.”

The driver’s eyes hardened. “He lied.”

Everything was a lie.

Family. Love. Loyalty.

The floor creaked. A figure moved closer.

The driver pointed, fired two shots. Screams followed. “Go! ” he shouted.

We ran again, through passageways smelling of oil and rot. Rain poured through cracks in the roof. My gown snagged on a nail, tearing. I left it behind, my bare feet slapping against the ground.

A gunshot cracked behind us then quiet.

I turned. The driver was gone.

“Hello, Aria.”

Marco stepped from the darkness, rain dripping from his coat. The smile on his face was cruel. “You didn’t think you could outrun blood, did you? ”

“Why? ” My voice trembled. “Why are you doing this? ”

“Because you were never supposed to exist,” he said simply. “Aurora was the chosen one. You were the mistake they tried to bury.”

He raised his gun.

I closed my eyes, preparing for death

Then the explosion came.

A thundering roar tore through the building. Fire and smoke swallowed everything. I fell backward, smacking into debris, pain burning through my arm.

When the smoke cleared, Marco was gone.

I crawled toward the broken door, coughing, bleeding, shaking. The rain outside felt like knives against my skin.

I stumbled onto the empty street. The city lights were faraway now, blurred through tears and smoke.

Behind me, the building burned my past going up in flames.

I pressed a hand to my belly, the ache spreading deeper than I understood. And then, barely, I felt a strange flutter beneath my palm.

My breath hitched.

No. It couldn’t be.

Tears spilled down my face as understanding crashed over me.

I wasn’t just running for my life.

I was running for another.

Beneath the burning sky, Aria whispered to the night, “He rejected me… but he left something of himself inside me.”

And somewhere far away, Lorenzo DeLuca raised his head, his wolf stirring uneasily without knowing why.

They said the mark of a rejected Luna fades in time but no one told me it would take my soul with it.

The rain hadn’t stopped since the ceremony.

It fell hard and cold, washing the blood off my hands but never the shame from my skin.

My body ached with tiredness as I stumbled through the narrow alleys of Los Angeles, the city that once sparkled for me now nothing but smoke and shadows. Every corner smelled of oil and deception. Every echo reminded me of the moment my name was pulled from me like skin torn from bone.

Somewhere far behind, the DeLuca guards still searched. I could hear the growl of their engines, the barked directions over radios.

I pressed myself against a collapsing brick wall and swallowed a sob.

“This can’t be happening,” I whispered. “It can’t.”

The rain dripped into my hair, sealing it to my cheeks. I remembered Lorenzo’s face cold, detached, merciless as he crowned Aurora in my place. The pain felt fresh, sharp, alive.

You were never meant to wear my mark.

Those words looped in my head like a curse.

A shadow moved at the end of the alley. My muscles tensed. I turned, ready to run until I recognized him.

The scarred driver from before.

He approached slowly, his dark coat soaked through, his face opaque beneath the falling rain. “You shouldn’t be here,” he said quietly.

I laughed bitterly. “And where should I be? Buried under the DeLuca estate?”

He didn’t move. “They’re searching every street. There’s a reward on your head.”

My stomach twisted. “Lorenzo wants me dead?”

He paused. “Not Lorenzo. His council. But they’ll use his name to excuse it.”

I felt dizzy. The world tilted around me. “Who are you?”

He looked around before answering. “Matteo Rossi.”

The name hit me like a spark. “Rossi… as in the Rossi syndicate?”

His look was sharp. “I see you know the name.”

“Everyone does,” I said. “Your family runs half of California’s underworld.”

“And yet here I am,” he said, “helping a Luna with nowhere to go.”

I didn’t believe him. But I didn’t have a choice. “Why are you helping me?”

He stepped closer, lowering his voice. “Because I owe someone a debt. Someone who believed you were innocent.”

I frowned. “Who?”

Matteo looked away. “You’ll find out soon enough. For now, we need to move.”

He looked toward the end of the alley where lights flashed. “They’re closing in.”

I felt fear rush through me. “Where will we go?”

He pointed toward a rusty grate at the ground. “Down there.”

My heart sank. “That’s a sewer.”

“Better dirty than dead,” he said simply, prying the grate open. “Move.”

The smell hit me like a punch. I paused at the edge, looking down into darkness.

Matteo gave me a small, impatient push. “Go.”

I dropped into the cold water below, biting back a cry as the filth soaked my torn gown. He followed, slamming the grate shut above us. The world turned black except for his small flashlight beam.

The air was damp, thick, and smothering. The tube stretched forever ahead.

We started walking.

My shoes squelched in the water. My breath rang against the stone walls.

“Why is this happening?” I whispered. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Matteo’s voice came from behind me, calm and short. “Truth doesn’t matter when power’s involved.”

I turned to face him, anger and sadness colliding. “They humiliated me in front of everyone! My mate, my family, my entire world gone in one night. And you’re telling me to just accept it?”

His face relaxed, barely. “No. I’m telling you to survive it.”

His words hung heavy in the silence.

We walked for what felt like hours. At times, I thought I could still hear the guards above their boots, their snarling dogs, the faint metallic smell of silver guns.

My body shook from the cold and fear. But Matteo never slowed.

“Why did Aurora come back?” I asked suddenly. “She was gone for years. Everyone thought she was dead.”

“Maybe someone needed her alive again,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

He didn’t answer.

The flashlight flickered. I saw his scar catch the dim light and old cut that seemed to hold its own story.

We reached a junction. He stopped listening. “They’re above us. We’ll take the lower passage.”

I followed him down a steep path. My gown snagged on the edge of a pipe. I tore it free. “Do you work for the Rossi syndicate or against them?” I asked.

He smirked weakly. “That depends on who’s paying me.”

“So I’m just a job to you?”

He looked at me for a long time. “Not exactly.”

The way he said it made my pulse skip. But before I could ask more, the roof rumbled. Dust rained down.

“They’re detonating the access tunnels,” Matteo mumbled. “We need to move.”

I stumbled as we ran. My legs screamed with pain.

“Why are they doing this?” I cried. “They already destroyed my name!”

“Because dead Lunas don’t tell secrets,” he said grimly.

We turned another corner and froze.

A group of armed men stopped the path ahead, flashlights cutting through the dark.

Matteo swore. “Stay behind me.”

He drew a gun from his belt, his moves quick and sure. Shots echoed, loud in the cramped space. Water splashed. Someone screamed.

I pressed against the wall, shaking, covering my ears.

When quiet fell, Matteo turned to me, gasping. “Come on.”

My heart was hammered. “You killed them.”

He looked at me coldly. “They would’ve done worse to you.”

I followed in silence. My gut churned not just from fear, but from something deeper, heavy.

Half an hour later, we reached a rusty ladder heading upward. Matteo pushed open the grate, showing a dim backstreet behind a factory.

“Up,” he ordered.

I climbed slowly, every muscle shaking. When I reached the top, I fell onto the wet ground, gasping for air.

Matteo climbed out after me, closing the grate. He checked the empty street.

“We’ll stay here for now,” he said, looking at the broken windows of the building. “It’s abandoned.”

Inside, the air was cold and stale. I sank against a wall, pulling my knees to my chest.

Matteo lit a cigarette, the smoke swirling in the dim light.

“You should rest,” he said. “We move again before sunrise.”

I looked at him. “You act like this is normal. Like running for your life is just another Tuesday.”

He gave a low laugh. “For me, it is.”

I shivered. “How do you live like that?”

“By not caring who wins, only who survives.”

The anger in his tone struck something in me. “And who do you think will survive me and Aurora’s war?”

He looked at me, his gray eyes dark and mysterious. “The one who stops waiting to be saved.”

The words stung because they were true.

Silence stretched between us. Rain drummed softly on the roof.

My body hurts everywhere. My chest, my head, my heart. I touched my belly again and the dull ache from earlier had worsened. I told myself it was stressful. Nothing more.

“Matteo,” I said quietly. “Why did you say someone believed in me?”

He released smoke. “A man called Cassian. He’s… linked to the Rossi gang, but not loyal to them. He said if anything happened tonight, I would find you.”

“Why would he care?”

Matteo paused. “Because he thinks you were framed.”

Framed.

The word lit a spark inside me. “So Aurora’s claim was fake?”

He gave a slight nod. “Possibly. There are papers sealed in DeLuca hands that show your legitimacy. But if what Cassian said is true, Aurora and the council destroyed the evidence.”

My blood turned cold. “Then Lorenzo knew.”

“Maybe,” Matteo said. “Maybe not. But he didn’t stop.”

Tears burned behind my eyes. “He swore to protect me. He looked me in the eyes and lied.”

Matteo’s expression relaxed. “Love makes fools of even the strongest wolves.”

I met his eyes. “Do you speak from experience?”

He looked away, quiet.

For a moment, the only sound was rain and the faint hum of the city beyond.

I noticed I was trembling not just from cold, but from sadness. Everything I’d known had been built on lies. And yet, somewhere deep inside, the faint bond I once shared with Lorenzo still hummed weakly, like a dying ember unwilling to fade.

Why couldn’t I let him go?

I closed my eyes, trying to quiet the ache. My body suddenly lurched. A wave of sickness hit me so hard I barely managed to turn away before I vomited.

Matteo knelt beside me instantly. “You’re pale. How long since you last ate?”

I shook my head, gasping. “It’s not that. I don't know what’s happening.”

He touched my forehead, frowning. “You’re burning up.”

Another wave of pain twisted through my belly. I doubled over, holding my stomach.

Something’s wrong.

My heartbeat roared in my ears. The air grew thin.

Matteo’s voice sounded far away. “Aria! Look at me. What’s wrong?”

I could barely speak. “I… I don’t know…”

Then, through the haze of pain and terror, a terrifying realization struck.

The missed moon cycles. The sudden sickness. The ache that had started that night Lorenzo last touched me.

I stared at my shaking hands. “No,” I whispered. “No, it can’t be.”

Matteo gripped my shoulders. “What can’t?”

Tears welled up. “I’m pregnant.”

The words broke the air between us.

For a long moment, neither of us spoke. The world seemed to stop.

Matteo’s eyes widened, his cigarette falling forgotten to the floor. “You’re sure?”

I nodded weakly, tears spilling down my face. “It’s his.”

Lorenzo’s.

The one who rejected me, called me a fake, and left me to die.

The man whose child now lived inside me.

My voice broke. “What do I do?”

Matteo’s jaw tightened. “You survive.”

I shook my head. “He’ll kill me if he finds out.”

“Then we don’t let him find out.”

He stood, walking. “This changes everything. The DeLuca family can’t risk another child outside their control. If they discover you’re carrying his child”

“They’ll come for me,” I finished.

“No,” he said, meeting my eyes. “They’ll come for it.”

A cold fear spread through me.

Matteo pulled out a phone and spoke quickly in Italian. I caught fragments of“safehouse,” “Cassian,” “urgent.”

When he finished the call, his face was grave. “We move tonight. There’s a plane waiting north of the city. You’ll go into hiding.”

I wiped my tears. “And what about you?”

“I’ll buy you time.”

“No!” I grabbed his sleeve. “They’ll kill you too.”

He looked down at my hand, then back into my eyes. “I’ve been dead for a long time, Aria.”

The way he said it made something twist painfully inside me.

I wanted to fight, but the tiredness was too heavy. My eyelids drooped. My heartbeat slowed.

Matteo knelt beside me, his voice fading. “Stay with me. Don’t pass out. Not yet.”

“I can’t…”

“Aria”

Darkness closed in, swallowing his words.

The last thing I heard before everything went black was his whisper against my ear “Your exile begins now, Luna.”

When Aria’s eyes fluttered open hours later, Matteo was gone.

In his place lay a blood-stained note and a single line scrawled across it:

“They know you’re carrying the heir.”