The servant room smelled like old wood, dust, and bleach.

A guard shoved me inside so hard my shoulder hit the wall.

I turned around immediately.

"Seriously?"

He stood in the doorway with another guard behind him. Both of them looked bored, like dragging me here was just another annoying task.

"You heard the Alpha," the first guard said. "Stay here and think."

"Think about what? How grateful I should be?"

He smirked.

"That would be a good start."

The second guard laughed.

I looked past them, toward the hallway.

"This room doesn't even lock from the inside."

"Good," the first guard said. "That means you don't get ideas."

"You mean like leaving?"

His smile widened.

"You? Leave? Without a wolf?"

The second guard shook his head. "She wouldn't last one night outside the border."

I stepped closer.

"You'd be surprised what people can survive when they stop trusting cowards."

The first guard's face changed.

For a second I thought he might hit me.

Then he simply slammed the door.

The sound echoed through the tiny room.

I stood there for a long time.

Not crying.

Not screaming.

Just standing.

Because if I started feeling everything, I was afraid I would break.

A few minutes later, voices drifted from the hallway.

They probably thought I couldn't hear them.

They were wrong.

I heard everything.

"Did you see her face when Alpha rejected her?"

"Honestly? I almost felt bad."

"Almost?"

"Yeah, almost. Then I remembered she's wolf-less."

"Alpha Ryder should've rejected her years ago."

"Careful. Her parents saved his life."

"That's the only reason she's still breathing pack air."

Laughter.

I closed my eyes.

My hearing had always been too sharp.

When I was little, people called it a blessing.

When I tracked missing pups faster than trained hunters, they called me gifted.

When I heard rogues moving beyond the eastern border before anyone else did, Ryder called me his miracle.

Now?

Now I was just a wolf-less freak.

I sat on the narrow bed.

The mattress dipped beneath me.

A wave of nausea hit.

I pressed my hand to my mouth.

No.

Not now.

I breathed through it.

It had been happening since last week.

Dizziness. Nausea. Random chills.

Pain in my chest.

I thought it was stress.

Then I thought it was the mate bond breaking.

But now, sitting alone in a servant room while the entire pack prepared to replace me, I knew something was wrong.

The next morning, I asked to see the pack doctor.

The guard outside my door rolled his eyes.

"What's wrong with you now?"

"I'm sick."

"Everyone's sick of you."

I stared at him.

"Very funny. Get the doctor."

He leaned against the wall.

"Alpha said you're not leaving this room."

"Then tell Alpha if I die in here, he'll have to explain why the daughter of the people who saved his life died locked in a servant room."

That worked.

His smile faded.

"Fine."

An hour later, Doctor Hale came in carrying a small black bag.

He was older, quiet, and one of the few people who didn't look at me like I was trash.

He closed the door behind him.

"Olivia."

"Doctor."

He looked around the room, then back at me.

"They put you here?"

"Apparently it's an upgrade from the wastelands."

His mouth tightened.

"Tell me your symptoms."

I told him.

Nausea. Weakness.

No appetite.

He asked questions.

Too many questions.

Then he stopped.

"Olivia."

"What?"

"When was your last cycle?"

I froze.

The room became too quiet.

"Why?"

He didn't answer.

I swallowed.

"I don't know. Maybe... six weeks ago."

Doctor Hale set down his bag slowly.

"I need to run a test."

My heart started beating too fast.

"Doctor."

"Let me confirm first."

Ten minutes later, he looked at the result in his hand.

Then he looked at me.

His face said everything before his mouth did.

"No."

"I'm sorry."

"Olivia, you're pregnant."

Pregnant.

The word echoed inside my head.

For a moment, I couldn't hear anything else.

Six weeks.

Six weeks ago.

A memory surfaced before I could stop it.

Ryder's rut.

The first one after he officially became Alpha.

I remembered standing outside his room while pack doctors and elders waited anxiously nearby.

"Olivia," one of the elders had said. "He won't listen to anyone except you."

I had refused immediately.

"No."

At the time, Ryder and I weren't married yet.

Our Luna Ceremony was still months away.

Sharing a bed before then didn't feel right.

Especially with half the pack watching our every move.

But when I finally entered his room, Ryder had looked nothing like the confident Alpha everyone admired.

He looked exhausted.

Desperate.

His wolf was losing control.

The moment he saw me, he grabbed my hand.

"Please."

I still remembered the way his voice sounded.

Rough.

Broken.

Almost vulnerable.

"Ryder—"

"Please."

I tried to pull away.

"We should wait."

"For what?"

"Our ceremony."

His forehead rested against mine.

"We're going to be mates anyway."

I didn't answer.

He squeezed my hand tighter.

"We're going to be husband and wife."

His eyes met mine.

"All we're doing is getting there a little earlier."

I remembered laughing nervously.

"You always find a way to argue."

"And you always give in."

At the time, his smile had made my heart race.

At the time, I thought it was love.

At the time, I thought we were building a future together.

A future that included a family.

Children.

A home.

Everything my parents had wanted for me.

Now that future felt like someone else's dream.

The memory shattered.

I looked down at my stomach.

Six weeks.

The baby had been conceived during the only time I had ever truly believed Ryder and I would spend the rest of our lives together.

And now he wanted me hidden away while he prepared to marry someone else.

The irony almost made me laugh.

The words didn't feel real.

Pregnant.

I stared at him.

"That's impossible."

"It's not."

"But the ceremony..."

"Rejection doesn't erase what happened before it."

I put a hand over my stomach.

For a moment, the whole world stopped.

Ryder's child.

My child.

Something inside me softened.

Then fear followed immediately.

Sharp.

Cold.

Terrible.

Doctor Hale noticed.

"Are you afraid of Alpha Ryder?"

I looked up.

"Shouldn't I be?"

He didn't answer.

That was answer enough.

The door opened before I could say anything else.

Ryder walked in.

Doctor Hale turned.

"Alpha."

Ryder looked at him, then at me.

"Leave us."

Doctor Hale hesitated.

"Alpha, she needs rest."

"I said leave us."

The doctor gave me one last look before stepping out.

The door shut.

Ryder stood there for a moment.

Then he said, "Is it true?"

I stared at him.

"You already know."

"How far along?"

"Six weeks."

His jaw tightened.

"Does anyone else know?"

I laughed once.

That was his first question.

Not, are you okay?

Not, are you scared?

Not even, this is our child.

Just—

Who knows?

"Doctor Hale knows."

"Anyone else?"

"No."

"Good."

I stared at him.

"Good?"

He walked closer.

"You need to keep this private."

Something inside me went cold.

"Excuse me?"

"The pack is unstable."

"Because you rejected me."

"Because the Priestess said you would bring ruin."

"And now your child is inside me."

His face hardened.

"Our child."

"Funny. You remembered that part fast."

"Olivia."

"No. Say what you really mean."

He looked away.

I pushed myself up from the bed.

"You don't want people to know because Sophia's ceremony is coming."

His silence was enough.

I smiled, but it hurt.

"Wow."

"It's not like that."

"It's exactly like that."

"The pack needs a Luna."

"And your child needs what? A secret?"

His expression sharpened.

"Lower your voice."

"No."

"Olivia."

"No."

The door opened again.

Sophia walked in without knocking.

Of course she did.

She wore a pale blue dress and Ryder's mark necklace around her throat.

My necklace.

Or it would have been mine.

She looked between us.

"Oh. Did I interrupt something emotional?"

Ryder frowned.

"Sophia, not now."

She ignored him and looked at me.

"I heard the doctor came."

I said nothing.

Her eyes dropped to my stomach.

Then she smiled.

A slow, ugly smile.

"Oh."

My blood turned cold.

"Congratulations."

Ryder stepped forward.

"Sophia."

"What?" she said sweetly. "I'm being nice."

She came closer to the bed.

"At least you'll always be the mother of Alpha Ryder's child."

I gripped the blanket.

"But don't get confused," she added. "A baby doesn't make you Luna."

Ryder grabbed her arm.

"Enough."

Sophia pulled free.

"No, I think she should understand. The pack needs a real Luna. A Luna with a wolf."

I looked at Ryder.

"Are you going to let her talk to me like this?"

He didn't answer fast enough.

That was my answer.

Sophia smiled.

"You should be grateful, Olivia. Ryder could've thrown you out."

I looked at her.

"And you should be careful. Fake kindness ages badly."

Her face twisted.

Ryder stepped between us.

"Both of you stop."

I laughed.

"Both of us?"

He looked tired again.

Always tired when I needed him to be decent.

"Olivia, this doesn't change anything."

For a second I forgot how to breathe.

"This?"

I touched my stomach.

"You're calling our child this?"

His face changed slightly.

"That's not what I meant."

"Then explain."

He didn't.

Sophia did.

"It means my ceremony is still happening."

She looked so proud when she said it.

Like she had won.

Maybe she had.

Ryder said, "You'll attend the ceremony."

I shook my head.

"No."

"You will stand with Sophia."

"No."

"You will tell the pack you stepped down by choice."

"No."

His eyes darkened.

"You are making this harder than it has to be."

"No, Ryder. You are."

Sophia crossed her arms.

"Honestly, this is embarrassing. She should just do it."

I looked at her.

"Nobody asked you."

"I'm going to be Luna."

"Not yet."

Her smile disappeared.

Ryder's voice cut through the room.

"Enough."

He looked at me.

"If you refuse, you stay in this room."

"I already am."

"Then you stay here until the ceremony."

My stomach sank.

"And after?"

He didn't answer.

Sophia did.

"After that, we'll see where you belong."

I looked at Ryder again.

"Is that what this is? You take my baby and decide later what to do with me?"

His face went cold.

"Nobody said that."

"But you didn't deny it."

Silence.

I laughed softly.

"I finally understand."

"Olivia—"

"No. I understand everything."

Ryder turned toward the door.

"Guard."

The same guard from yesterday entered.

"Yes, Alpha?"

"She doesn't leave this room without permission."

The guard smiled.

"Understood."

"If she needs food, bring it here. If she needs the doctor, call Doctor Hale. No hallway. No courtyard. No visitors unless approved."

I stared at Ryder.

"You're afraid I'll run."

He looked at me.

"You wouldn't survive outside."

"Maybe I'd rather die outside than rot in here."

His expression flickered.

Just for a second.

Then it vanished.

"Don't say things like that."

"Why? Does it make you feel guilty?"

He didn't answer.

He left with Sophia.

The guard stayed at the door.

He looked at me like I was something stuck to his shoe.

"Pregnant or not, you're still wolf-less."

I sat back down.

"Get out."

He laughed.

"Careful. You only exist here because Alpha feels sorry for your dead parents."

My hands curled into fists.

He leaned closer.

"A useless female without a wolf should know when to kneel."

I stood slowly.

Something strange moved under my skin.

Not a shift.

Not a wolf.

Something quieter.

Older.

The guard took one step back before he realized he had done it.

I smiled.

"Then it's a good thing I was never good at kneeling."

His face flushed.

He slammed the door again.

That night, I couldn't sleep.

The pack house was loud.

Too loud.

Through the walls, I heard servants carrying flowers.

Sophia laughing.

Guards complaining.

Someone saying the new Luna ceremony would be beautiful.

Someone else saying Ryder deserved better than a broken girl.

I lay in the dark with one hand on my stomach.

"I don't know if you're a boy or a girl," I whispered.

My voice shook.

"But I know one thing."

I swallowed hard.

"I'm not letting them take you."

A soft knock came after midnight.

Doctor Hale slipped inside.

I sat up immediately.

"What are you doing here?"

He raised a finger to his lips.

Then he handed me a small cloth bag.

"Vitamins. Herbs. Water purifier tablets."

I stared at him.

"Why?"

"Because I delivered you when you were born."

My throat tightened.

"And because your mother once saved my son."

I looked away.

"I can't leave. There are guards."

Doctor Hale glanced at the door.

"Not good ones."

I blinked.

"What?"

"They think you can't escape because you don't have a wolf."

"Can I?"

He looked at me for a long moment.

"Your scent is changing."

I froze.

"Because of the pregnancy?"

"Yes. It's lighter. Fainter. The baby's scent is blending with yours."

"What does that mean?"

"It means the guards won't track you as easily."

My heart started pounding.

"Doctor..."

"I'm not telling you to run."

He placed the bag on the bed.

"I'm only telling you that if a person wanted to leave, tonight would be the best chance."

I stared at him.

Outside, the guard laughed with someone down the hall.

Careless.

Distracted.

Lazy.

Because why would they worry?

A wolf-less girl couldn't escape.

A pregnant rejected Luna couldn't outrun anyone.

That was what they believed.

I waited until Doctor Hale left.

Then I stood.

Packed the herbs.

Took one thin coat.

Opened the small window above the bed.

Cold night air rushed in.

For the first time in two days, I could breathe.

The guard outside my door was still talking.

Not watching.

Not listening.

Not doing his job.

I climbed onto the bed.

One hand over my stomach.

"Hold on," I whispered.

Then I slipped through the window and dropped into the dark.

Behind me, the Silver Fang Pack kept celebrating its new Luna.

In front of me, the forest waited.

If I stayed, they would take my child.

So I left before they had the chance.

I ran until my legs stopped listening.

Then I walked.

I stumbled. Then I kept going anyway.

The forest stretched endlessly in front of me.

Behind me was Silver Fang Pack.

Behind me was Ryder.

Behind me was Sophia.

Behind me was the future they had already decided for me.

I wasn't going back.

Not for anything.

The cold night air burned my lungs.

My stomach growled.

I hadn't eaten since yesterday.

The baby.

The thought immediately made me slow down.

I placed a hand over my stomach.

"I'm trying," I whispered.

The words sounded ridiculous.

Talking to someone who wasn't even born yet.

But somehow it helped.

For the first time since leaving, I wasn't completely alone.

A branch snapped somewhere behind me.

I froze.

My hearing sharpened automatically.

Voices.

At least six wolves.

Maybe more.

I crouched behind a fallen tree.

The voices grew closer.

"...Alpha wants her found before sunrise."

That made my stomach drop.

Another voice answered.

"Honestly, I don't understand why we're bothering."

"Because she's carrying his child."

Silence.

Then someone cursed.

"What?"

"She's pregnant?"

"Doctor Hale confirmed it."

My heart stopped.

How many people knew?

Another guard laughed.

"Then she's definitely coming back."

"Yeah."

"Alpha isn't letting his heir disappear."

I clenched my jaw.

His heir.

Not his child.

Not our child.

His heir.

The difference mattered.

The voices kept moving.

"Think she'll survive out here?"

"No wolf?"

A snort.

"Not a chance."

Their laughter faded into the distance.

I stayed hidden for several minutes.

Waiting.

Listening.

Making sure they were gone.

Only then did I stand.

My hands were shaking.

Not from fear.

From anger.

So I had been right.

The second they found out about the baby, I stopped being a person.

I became property.

An incubator.

A future heir.

Nothing more.

I turned away from the direction of my old Pack.

And walked deeper into the forest.

________________

By midday, my body was giving up.

I was hungry.

Exhausted.

My feet hurt.

Every muscle hurt.

But stopping wasn't an option.

I knew how wolves hunted.

They could track for days.

Especially when they had a scent.

My scent.

I stopped near a stream.

Kneeling carefully, I drank.

The water was freezing.

A little too freezing.

Something was wrong.

The forest had gone quiet.

No birds.

No insects.

Nothing.

My head snapped up.

Danger.

I didn't know how I knew.

I just did.

A growl echoed through the trees.

Then another.

Then three more.

Rogues.

My heart sank.

Five.

No.

Six.

Maybe seven.

Their scents hit me immediately.

Blood.

Rot.

Violence.

I stood slowly.

The largest Rogue stepped out first.

A scar ran across his face.

His smile made my skin crawl.

"Look what we found."

The others appeared around him.

Cutting off every escape route.

I took a step backward.

The leader sniffed the air.

Then his eyes widened.

"Oh."

Another Rogue laughed.

"She's pregnant."

The leader grinned.

"Even better."

I reached for a weapon.

There wasn't one.

Of course there wasn't.

I was alone.

No wolf.

No pack.

No protection.

The leader stepped closer.

"Where's your Alpha?"

I said nothing.

"Not coming to save you?"

Still nothing.

His grin widened.

"I thought so."

One Rogue lunged.

I dodged.

Barely.

Another grabbed my arm.

I kicked him.

He cursed.

The leader laughed.

"She's got spirit."

My chest tightened.

Not from fear.

Pain.

Sudden.

Violent.

The bond.

The mate bond.

Something was happening.

Something terrible.

The pain exploded through my body.

I collapsed to one knee.

The Rogues paused.

Confused.

I wasn't.

Because through the bond—

I could feel Ryder.

Far away.

But connected.

And then my hearing caught something impossible.

The distance should have been too great.

No wolf could hear this far.

But I did.

Voices.

Cheering.

Music.

The Luna ceremony.

Sophia.

Ryder.

The world blurred.

And suddenly—

I heard him.

The High Priestess.

"Alpha Ryder."

Silence.

Then:

"Do you accept Sophia Hart as your Luna?"

Everything inside me froze.

I shouldn't have been able to hear this.

I was miles away.

Yet every word reached me perfectly.

The crowd waited.

Then Ryder answered.

"I do."

The pain hit.

Harder than the rejection.

Harder than anything.

I gasped.

Blood filled my mouth.

The Rogues disappeared from focus.

The forest disappeared.

Everything disappeared.

The last thing I heard was thousands of wolves cheering.

Celebrating.

While my world ended.

Then darkness swallowed me.

________________

Moonlight.

Silver.

Endless silver.

I stood in a field that didn't exist.

No trees.

No sky.

No earth.

Only light.

For a moment I thought I was dead.

Then a voice spoke.

"You are not."

I turned.

A woman stood behind me.

Beautiful wasn't a strong enough word.

She seemed made from moonlight itself.

Silver hair.

Silver eyes.

Silver dress.

The moment I saw her, I knew.

I dropped to my knees.

"Moon Goddess."

She smiled.

"Olivia."

My eyes filled with tears.

The anger I'd been holding finally surfaced.

"Why?"

Her expression softened.

"Why what?"

"Why me?"

The words exploded out.

"Why give me no wolf?"

"Why let everyone hate me?"

"Why let him reject me?"

My voice broke.

"He chose her."

The Moon Goddess listened quietly.

Then she shook her head.

"No."

I blinked.

"What?"

"He chose her."

She stepped closer.

"But I did not."

The silver world trembled.

The Moon Goddess lifted my chin.

"You believe you have no wolf."

"Don't I?"

"No."

My heart pounded.

"Then where is she?"

The Goddess smiled.

"Because you were never meant to be a wolf."

I stared at her.

"I don't understand."

"The wolves choose Alphas."

Silver light surrounded us.

"But I choose my Luna."

The words echoed through the entire dream world.

"You were chosen long before Ryder was born."

I couldn't breathe.

"What?"

"You are not Luna because of him."

The Goddess touched my forehead.

"You never were."

Memories flashed.

My hearing.

My senses.

My instincts.

Everything different.

Everything strange.

Everything that never fit.

The Goddess smiled.

"You are my Luna."

The world exploded with silver light.

"The only one."

Tears slid down my face.

"But they said I would destroy the Pack."

The Goddess laughed softly.

"No."

The light intensified.

"They feared what they could not understand."

Then she looked toward my stomach.

Her expression changed.

Gentler.

Warmer.

"The child must live."

A pulse of silver energy spread through me.

Warm.

Comforting.

Protective.

I instinctively covered my stomach.

The Goddess continued.

"Leave the past behind."

"Go north."

"What is there?"

"Your future."

The silver light began fading.

The dream was ending.

I panicked.

"Wait."

The Goddess smiled.

"Remember this."

The world shattered.

"No matter where you go."

Her voice echoed around me.

"No matter who rejects you."

Everything disappeared.

"You are still my Luna."

________________

Something warm touched my forehead.

I opened my eyes immediately.

A wooden ceiling.

A fireplace.

A cabin.

Not the forest.

Not the Pack.

Not heaven.

A cabin.

I sat up too fast.

Pain shot through my body.

"Easy."

A man's voice.

Deep.

Calm.

Dangerous.

Every instinct I had immediately activated.

A stranger sat across the room.

Tall.

Broad shoulders.

Dark hair.

Golden eyes.

He was cleaning blood from a hunting knife.

My blood.

Rogue blood.

I couldn't tell.

He noticed me staring.

Then he raised one eyebrow.

"You're awake."

I grabbed the blanket.

"Who are you?"

His gaze lingered on me for several seconds.

Not uncomfortable.

Just assessing.

Calculating.

Like he was trying to solve a puzzle.

Finally he leaned back.

"The better question is..."

A faint smile appeared.

"...why is Alpha Ryder's rejected Luna bleeding in my territory?"

My heart stopped.

He knew exactly who I was.

And somehow—

That scared me more than the Rogues had.

The stranger set down the knife.

Then stood.

Every survival instinct I possessed immediately screamed.

Danger.

Real danger.

His golden eyes locked onto mine.

And for the first time since leaving Silver Fang—

I had absolutely no idea what would happen next.