The scent of rain and pine still clung to Austin’s skin as I smoothed the collar of his dress shirt. It was four in the morning, the hour when the Silver Moon Pack was silent, and the only time I was allowed to exist in this room.

For eight years, this had been my life. While the pack slept, I was the hands that prepared the Alpha’s tonic, the shadow that organized his schedule, and the warmth in his bed. But the moment the sun crested the horizon, I became Ivy Williams, the wolfless Omega, invisible and insignificant.

"Turn around," Austin murmured, his voice thick with sleep.

I obeyed instantly, my body humming at the command. His hands, large and calloused, rested on my waist. For a heartbeat, he buried his face in the crook of my neck, inhaling deeply. The bond between us—that secret, golden thread that only we could feel—pulled taut. In these stolen seconds, I wasn't just an Omega. I was his mate.

"You smell like lavender," he whispered, his lips grazing my pulse point. "It soothes the wolf."

I leaned back against him, closing my eyes. "You have a long day, Austin. The delegation from Blood River arrives at noon."

At the mention of the neighboring pack, his body went rigid. The tenderness evaporated like mist in the morning sun. He pulled away abruptly, the loss of his warmth leaving a chill on my skin.

"Right," he said, his tone shifting to the cold, clipped cadence of Alpha Scott. He walked to the mirror, adjusting his tie without looking at me. "That’s why we need to talk."

I busied myself with the tray of herbal tea, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in my gut. "I’ve already arranged the guest quarters for Alpha Gordon and his daughter. The kitchen staff has the menu prepared."

"Good." He turned, his eyes dark and unreadable. "But you won't be managing the kitchen today, Ivy."

My hands paused over the teapot. "Sir?"

"Stella Gordon is… particular," Austin said, avoiding my gaze. "She’s coming to discuss the alliance. It is crucial that everything appears strong. Flawless."

I knew what he meant. An Omega—especially one without a wolf—running the household looked weak. It looked like the Silver Moon Pack couldn't afford a proper staff. I lowered my head. "I understand. I’ll stay in the laundry rooms. I won't be seen."

"No," he said, the word heavy. "That’s not enough. Stella has a nose like a bloodhound. If she catches your scent on me, or anywhere near the main floor, she’ll ask questions. Questions I cannot answer right now."

Panic flared in my chest. "Austin, my mother… she’s in the infirmary. Her fever spiked last night. I need to be able to check on her during my breaks."

He finally looked at me, and for a second, I saw a flicker of regret. But it was quickly swallowed by the steel of his ambition.

"Beta Marcus is waiting outside," Austin said. "He will escort you to the lower levels."

The lower levels. The dungeon.

"The cells?" My voice trembled. "Austin, you can’t be serious. Those are for rogues. For criminals."

"It’s for your protection," he lied. I could smell the deception, sour and sharp. "The Blood River warriors are aggressive. I don't want any accidents."

"Please," I stepped forward, reaching for his hand, but he stepped back. "Don't lock me up. I promise I’ll stay hidden. I just need to be able to mind-link Dr. Chen if Mom gets worse."

His jaw tightened. The air in the room grew heavy, charged with the crushing weight of his aura. He wasn't asking anymore.

"**You will go with Marcus, Ivy.**"

The Alpha command slammed into me, forcing the air from my lungs. My knees buckled, and my head bowed instinctively in submission. My body moved without my permission, turning toward the door even as tears pricked my eyes. I couldn't fight it. I was just an Omega, and he was my King.

Beta Marcus was waiting in the hallway, his expression grim. He didn't speak as he led me down the stairs, past the kitchens, past the laundry, down into the damp, cold stone of the pack house basement.

He opened the heavy iron door of the furthest cell. The walls were lined with silver—a metal that didn't burn me since I had no wolf, but it had a different, more terrifying effect. It blocked the mind-link. It was a sensory deprivation tank for werewolves.

"I'm sorry, Ivy," Marcus muttered, refusing to meet my eyes as he ushered me in.

"Marcus, please," I begged, gripping the bars as the door swung shut. "My mom. Just tell Dr. Chen to check on her."

The lock clicked with a sound of finality. "Alpha's orders. No communication until the delegation leaves tomorrow."

He walked away, his footsteps fading into silence.

I sank onto the thin, musty cot in the corner. The silence was absolute. I reached out with my mind, trying to find the familiar hum of the pack, the mental thread that connected me to my mother.

Nothing. Just a gray, static void.

"Mom?" I whispered into the dark. "Mom, can you hear me?"

Silence answered.

I curled into a ball, shivering as the damp cold seeped into my bones. Why? Why was he doing this? Was an alliance with Stella Gordon worth treating his mate like a prisoner?

Suddenly, a wave of dizziness washed over me. The room spun, and bile rose in my throat. I gagged, clutching my stomach, expecting the usual emptiness of hunger or stress.

But then, I felt it.

It was faint, like the flutter of a butterfly’s wing against my soul. A second rhythm. A tiny, rapid *thump-thump, thump-thump* echoing within me.

My breath hitched. My hands trembled as they moved to my flat stomach. The realization hit me with the force of a physical blow, shattering my fear and replacing it with a terrifying, overwhelming awe.

I wasn't just an Omega anymore. I wasn't just a prisoner.

I was pregnant. And I was carrying the Alpha's heir.

The silver walls hummed with a low, maddening vibration that only I seemed to hear. It was the sound of isolation. I sat huddled in the corner of the damp cell, my hands protectively covering my stomach.

"Austin," I whispered, closing my eyes and pushing with everything I had against the mental barrier. "Can you hear me? Please. It’s our baby. We’re having a baby."

My mind slammed against the silver suppression like a bird hitting a glass window. Nothing. No warmth, no golden thread, no Alpha.

Time lost its meaning in the dark. Was it day? Night? All I had was the terrifying, rhythmic thrum of the second heartbeat inside me, and the gnawing worry for my mother upstairs.

Then, it happened.

A sharp, sickening crack echoed in the center of my chest. It wasn't a sound, but a sensation—like a violin string pulled too tight until it snapped, whipping back and slicing through my soul.

I gasped, clutching my chest as the air left the room. A profound, icy coldness washed over me, starting from my heart and spreading to my fingertips. The tether. The familial bond.

"No," I choked out, scrambling to my knees. "No, no, no. Mom?"

I reached out into the void, screaming with my mind. *Mom! Mommy, please!*

Silence. Not just the silence of the silver, but the absolute, hollow silence of death. The connection was gone. She was gone.

"Austin!" I screamed aloud, my voice raw and cracking against the stone walls. "Let me out! She’s dead! She’s dead, and I wasn't there!"

I threw myself against the bars, sobbing until my throat bled, begging the darkness for a chance to say goodbye. But nobody came. The Alpha was likely upstairs, toasting to his future, while my world crumbled in the dark.

***

Two days. I lay on the stone floor, hollowed out. I hadn't eaten. The only thing keeping me breathing was the tiny spark of life in my womb. I had to survive for the pup.

The heavy iron door groaned open. Light flooded in, blinding me. I shielded my eyes, my heart leaping. "Austin?"

"Not quite."

The voice was like silk wrapped around a dagger. My vision cleared, and I saw Stella Gordon standing there. She looked immaculate in a white designer dress, her blonde hair cascading in perfect waves. The scent of expensive, cloying roses drifted into the cell, masking the smell of mildew.

She didn't look at me with disgust. She looked at me with triumph.

"You look terrible, Ivy," she said, stepping inside as the guard retreated. "But I suppose grief does that to a person."

I pushed myself up to a sitting position, my limbs trembling. "Where is Austin? Does he know?"

Stella laughed softly. "Oh, he knows your mother passed. It was quite inconvenient, really. Dying right in the middle of the welcome ceremony. We had to rush the body out the back door so it wouldn't spoil the mood."

Rage, hot and unfamiliar, flared in my chest. "You... you didn't let me see her."

"Why would we?" Stella crouched down, her blue eyes icy. "You're just a servant, Ivy. An Omega. And we couldn't have you wailing over a pauper’s grave."

"Pauper's grave?" My voice was barely a whisper.

"No headstone. Just a hole in the dirt at the edge of the territory," she said, her smile widening. Then, she leaned in close, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "I know, Ivy. I know you're his mate."

My blood ran cold. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't lie," she hissed, grabbing my chin with perfectly manicured nails. "I smelled him on you the moment I arrived. Eight years? Pathetic. He kept you like a dirty little secret because he was ashamed of you. And now, he’s chosen me."

She stood up abruptly, dusting off her hands. She pulled a small glass vial from her pocket. Inside, a purple liquid swirled menacingly. Liquid wolfsbane.

"Get up," she commanded.

"What?"

"I said, get up!" She grabbed my arm, her grip surprisingly strong. "Austin wants the servants working. You've moped enough."

I tried to resist, but I was weak from hunger and grief. She dragged me out of the cell, up the stairs, and into the blinding brightness of the pack house kitchen.

The kitchen was chaotic. Chefs were shouting, pans were sizzling. The smell of roasting meat made my empty stomach turn. Nobody looked at us. To them, I was just the Omega being scolded by the future Luna.

"Here," Stella said, shoving me toward a prep station where a magnificent, rare steak sat on a silver platter. It was Austin's dinner. "Prepare the Alpha's meal."

"I... I can't," I stammered, my hands shaking. "I'm not supposed to be here."

"Do it!" Stella snapped. She stood right behind me, blocking my exit.

I reached for the garnish, trying to steady my breathing. Just as my hand hovered over the plate, Stella uncorked the vial.

In one fluid motion, she poured the purple liquid over the steak. The acrid, chemical smell of wolfsbane hit my nose instantly.

"What are you doing?" I gasped, backing away.

Stella dropped the empty vial into my apron pocket. Then, she let out a blood-curdling scream.

"Help! Someone help!" Stella shrieked, stumbling back and knocking over a tray of glasses. They shattered loudly against the tile.

The entire kitchen froze.

Stella pointed a trembling finger at me, her face twisted in a mask of perfect, terrified victimhood.

"She tried to kill me!" Stella wailed, tears instantly springing to her eyes. "The Omega! She put wolfsbane in the Alpha’s steak! She’s trying to assassinate us!"

The heavy double doors burst open. Austin stood there, his presence filling the room like a thundercloud, his eyes flashing with the dangerous, golden light of an enraged Alpha.

The kitchen doors slammed against the walls with a violence that rattled the copper pans hanging from the ceiling. Austin stood in the entryway, his chest heaving, his golden eyes burning not with the warmth of a mate, but with the inferno of an enraged Alpha.

He didn't look at the shattered glass. He didn't look at the trembling chefs. He looked only at me.

"Austin, please," I choked out, stepping back until my spine hit the cold stainless steel of the prep table. "She's lying. I didn't—"

He crossed the distance between us in a blur of motion. before I could draw a breath, his hand clamped around my throat, lifting me off my feet. My heels scrabbled uselessly against the cabinet doors.

"You tried to poison her?" His voice was a low, terrifying rumble that vibrated through his hand and into my windpipe. "After everything? You try to kill the future Luna of this pack?"

I clawed at his wrist, my vision spotting with black dots. I needed to tell him. I needed to scream the truth that would shatter his anger. *I'm pregnant. I'm carrying your heir. Don't hurt us.*

"P-preg..." I gasped, the word dying in my crushed larynx. "Aus... tin... baby..."

"Silence!" he roared, his grip tightening. "I smell the wolfsbane on you, Ivy! Do not insult me with lies!"

He couldn't smell the second heartbeat. He couldn't smell the change in my scent. The acrid, chemical stench of the poison Stella had spilled on me masked everything else. He didn't see his mate. He saw an assassin.

Stella was sobbing loudly now, clinging to the arm of her father, Alpha Gordon, who had just stepped into the kitchen behind Austin. The older Alpha crossed his arms, his expression unreadable but expectant. He was waiting to see if Austin Scott was strong enough to punish a traitor, even one he had kept as a pet for eight years.

Austin saw the judgment in the older man's eyes. His jaw set in a hard line. He dropped me, and I collapsed to the tiled floor, gasping for air, clutching my bruised neck.

"Get up," Austin commanded. The Alpha tone slammed into my mind, forcing my trembling legs to obey despite my exhaustion.

He grabbed the back of my tunic, dragging me toward the back exit like a sack of refuse. I stumbled, trying to keep my footing, but he was moving too fast. We burst out into the night, and the storm hit me like a physical blow.

The rain was torrential, freezing sheets of water that soaked me to the bone in seconds. Thunder cracked overhead, shaking the ground beneath us. Austin didn't stop until we reached the center of the training grounds, a muddy expanse of earth churned up by warrior drills.

He shoved me forward. I slipped in the slick mud, falling hard onto my hands and knees. The cold ooze seeped instantly through my thin clothes.

"Kneel," Austin ordered, his voice cutting through the roar of the wind.

I pushed myself up to a kneeling position, shivering violently. "Austin, please. It's freezing. The baby... I have to tell you..."

He ripped the thin coat from my shoulders, leaving me in just my tattered tunic. "You lost the right to speak to me when you raised a hand against my guest. You want to act like a snake? You can slither in the mud."

He towered over me, rain dripping from his dark hair, looking like a vengeful god. "You will stay here until dawn, Ivy. You will kneel in this storm and pray to the Moon Goddess for forgiveness. If you move, if you try to seek shelter, I will exile you as a rogue before the sun rises."

"Austin!" I screamed as he turned his back on me. "Don't leave me here! Please!"

He didn't look back. He walked away, disappearing into the warmth of the pack house, leaving me alone in the freezing dark.

Hours passed. Or maybe it was minutes. Time dissolved into a haze of shivering agony. The rain felt like ice shards against my skin. My body was numb, shaking so hard my teeth clattered together with a sound like breaking bones.

But the cold wasn't the worst part.

A deep, twisting cramp seized my lower abdomen. It wasn't the hunger. It wasn't the wolfsbane. It was something deeper, something vital breaking under the stress.

"No," I whimpered, wrapping my arms around my stomach, rocking back and forth in the mud. "No, no, please wait. Hold on, little one. Just hold on."

Another cramp hit, sharper this time, like a hot knife twisting inside me. I screamed, but the sound was swallowed by a clap of thunder.

I felt a sudden gush of warmth between my legs. It was too hot to be rain.

I looked down, my hands trembling as I touched the mud beneath me. In the flash of lightning, I saw it. The dark, metallic stain spreading in the puddle. Red swirling into the brown.

"Help!" I shrieked, my voice breaking. "Austin! Someone! Help me!"

The pack house stood silent and dark, its windows glowing with indifferent yellow light. Inside, they were likely celebrating the alliance. Inside, the father of my child was warm and dry.

Out here, I was dying.

The pain crescendoed, a tearing sensation that ripped a sob from my throat. I curled into a ball in the freezing slush, clutching my empty stomach. I felt the bond—not the mate bond, but that tiny, fragile thread of new life—snap.

It was gone. The second heartbeat was silent.

I lay my cheek against the wet earth, the rain mingling with the tears streaming down my face. I didn't shiver anymore. I didn't feel the cold. I only felt the hollow, gaping void inside me where my future had been.

Austin had wanted to punish me. He had wanted me to atone.

Instead, he had killed us.