Carrying Kyrie’s child for nine months, I fled the Blue Moon Pack, abandoning my position as the future Luna.

Yet, on the day of my labor, he left me to attend to his cousin, who had supposedly attempted to take her own life. “Avianna, you’re strong. You’ll survive this. But Cynthia—she’s fragile. I can’t leave her in pain like this.”

I hemorrhaged and lost consciousness, while Kyrie spent the night in Cynthia’s room.

Later, I lost the pup. And because Cynthia had swapped my protective amulet, rogue wolves attacked me during the chaos, leaving silver scars across my body.

A sixth burn-mark appeared on my arm, deep and searing.

Kyrie didn’t know—every time he betrayed me, I endured a burning pain that felt like fire consuming my soul. After six times, the mate bond would break entirely, and I would be free of him.

==============================

Blood-filled basins were carried out one after another, and the pack healer knelt by my bedside, trembling with fear.

“Alpha, Luna’s labor is difficult. The pup is too large and in the wrong position. I fear the worst.”

Kyrie’s face turned pale, and even his grip on my hand shook slightly. A cold tear fell onto my skin. “Avianna, for me, for our pup, you have to hold on. If you… if you don’t make it, I won’t be able to go on without you.”

Kyrie, the Alpha of the Crimson Fang Pack, had disregarded propriety to enter the birthing room—a place where Alphas rarely tread.

Sweat poured down my forehead like rain, and tears I couldn’t control streamed from the corners of my eyes.

I looked at him weakly, my voice barely audible. “Kyrie, where were you last night when the pain started? Where were the pack healers? And the herbs I needed to ease the labor?”

Kyrie flinched, guilt flashing across his face.

The healer only knew the pup was large. What she didn’t know was that my heritage made this birth far more dangerous than most.

I was the daughter of Alpha Grayson and Luna Reina of the Blue Moon Pack, born with rare silver-blue eyes that marked me as special. But I had given up my birthright for Kyrie, the man I’d fallen for during a territorial negotiation.

My parents had opposed the union, but I’d accepted the mate bond anyway, leaving my pack behind.

Only after I became Luna of the Crimson Fang Pack did I realize Kyrie’s heart was already claimed by his cousin, Cynthia.

Orphaned and frail, Cynthia had been raised in Kyrie’s household, cherished like a precious jewel.

On the day of our marking ceremony, Cynthia fainted in front of everyone.

Kyrie, in front of the entire pack, left me—his mate—standing at the altar to carry Cynthia away.

I begged him not to go, but he looked at me with pain and anger. “Avianna, you have your parents, your pack. Cynthia has no one but me. I thought you were kind. I didn’t think you’d be so jealous of her.”

That night, I slept alone in our den, while the pack whispered that I was a Luna in name only—that Cynthia was the one Kyrie truly loved.

That night, the first burn-mark appeared on my skin.

The pain was like fire, tearing through my body and soul. I bit down on my lip until it bled, holding back screams until I finally passed out from exhaustion.

That was Kyrie’s first betrayal.

My mother’s voice echoed in my mind, her tone cold but laced with sorrow. “Avianna, do you regret it?”

I shook my head, clinging to the hope that Kyrie’s loyalty to Cynthia was just familial affection. And I was carrying his pup—I couldn’t leave him.

I didn’t know there would be five more betrayals after that. Kyrie would spend fortunes on Cynthia’s treatments, then take away the healers and herbs meant for me.

Cynthia, emboldened by his favor, began to act as if she were the Luna, commanding the pack’s respect while I was pushed aside.

Each time, I believed Kyrie’s tearful apologies and his promises to send Cynthia away.

But when the labor pains started, and I reached for Kyrie’s side of the bed, it was empty.

I crawled to the dresser, clutching my swollen belly, searching for the herbs I’d stored there.

They were gone.

I sat slumped in the corner of the bed, waiting for an hour, in pain for an hour, until the blood beneath me had pooled on the floor. Only then did the patrolling warriors arrive.

By then, I was already weak and barely conscious, my robe soaked in crimson, startling the gathered pack members.

Facing me, Kyrie stammered, “Avianna, you’re strong. You don’t need that healing herb to recover. Cynthia’s different—she was in critical condition last night. The pack healer said without that rare herb, she wouldn’t have made it!”

He hesitated, then added, “Saving a life is worth more than anything. You’ve always been kind-hearted. Surely you understand this, don’t you?”

“Besides,” he continued, his voice softening, “you’re my Luna now. Doesn’t everything you have belong to me?”

Kyrie’s words were sincere, and when he reached out to touch my face, his expression was tender. “Avianna, you’re my mate. No one understands me the way you do.”

With the last of my strength, I slapped his hand away, my body trembling as the blood beneath me seemed to pour out uncontrollably. I felt cold, a chill that seeped into my bones and refused to leave.

The man I had once given up everything to be with now felt like a stranger, someone I had never truly known.

I let out a bitter laugh, followed by a cry of pain that tore through my throat. “Kyrie, is this your idea of love?”

He tried to explain, but when I refused to relent, his frustration turned to anger. “Avianna, Cynthia’s my cousin. We grew up together. You’re my mate now—that makes her your family too. How could you just stand by and watch her die?”

I lowered my gaze, tears silently streaming down my face. My hands clenched the sheets, and I pushed him away with what little strength I had left. “Get out!”