I forced a grim smile as I picked up the rejection papers and scanned their contents carefully. As expected, he wanted me to walk away with virtually nothing, leaving me with only this three-bedroom apartment in the Silver Moon Pack territory.

"The rejection can go ahead, but I'm not signing this agreement," I said through clenched teeth, my wolf stirring uneasily in the back of my mind. "You're the one who betrayed the mate bond, not me, so why should I be the one left with nothing? You should be leaving empty-handed, not me!"

Bennett, still wearing the faint scent of Liv Henry on his clothes, seemed nonchalant, almost as if he had anticipated my reaction. "I have nothing but debt anyway," he said coolly, his Beta aura flickering with guilt. "Even this apartment is already mortgaged to the pack's treasury."

What was he implying?

How could a Beta of the Silver Moon Pack possibly have only debts and no assets?

I was still reeling from the shock when Bennett's phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen and answered it in a gentle tone, his voice softening in a way that made my stomach churn. "I'll be there soon, just hang tight."

It was clear that Liv was on the other end, impatiently waiting for him. Her floral scent, so different from my own, seemed to linger in the air.

Bennett hung up and looked at me with irritation, his Beta aura pressing down on me in a way that felt almost suffocating. "Just sign it, don't drag this out any longer."

I seethed with anger, my wolf snarling silently in my mind. "Did you stash our pack assets away?"

He avoided the question, only saying, "Assets aren't important. I'll make sure you and the pup are taken care of."

I gritted my teeth, my wolf pacing restlessly. "The rejection will happen, but I'm not letting this shady asset transfer during our mate bond go unchecked."

My father, Alpha Robert Reed, has influence, but this injustice is unbearable.

How could he treat me like this?

"What are you going to do? Bring it before the pack council and come after me?" Bennett sneered, his Beta aura flaring. "Do you even have the resources to challenge me?"

"What good will it do to fight me tooth and nail for you or the pup?"

Our standoff continued, interrupted by the sharp sound of his phone ringing again.

Bennett clenched his fists, his Beta aura crackling with tension. "Kylie, don't hold it against me!"

He then stood up, grabbed me roughly, and forced my fingerprint onto the rejection papers. During our struggle, my swollen belly slammed painfully into the corner of the table, but Bennett didn't let up. He shoved the pen into my hand, holding my wrist and forcing me to sign despite my agony.

With the agreement in his grip, Bennett immediately picked up Liv's call and walked out, his Beta aura trailing behind him like a shadow.

"Bennett, you bastard!!"

"I hate you!!"

He glanced back at me from the hallway, his expression full of guilt and helplessness. "Kylie, I don't want it to be like this either!"

"You know the sacrifices I've made to climb up. The pack's next round of funding is critical, and without Liv's backing, all my efforts will crumble!"

"I love you, Kylie!! Trust me, this is the only path for you, me, and our pup to have a better life."

With that, he slammed the door shut, the sound echoing through the apartment like a final blow.

The pain in my abdomen was relentless. I looked down to see a streak of blood trailing down my leg.

As anger boiled within me, a torrent of fear crashed over me. My wolf howled silently in my mind, a sound of pure anguish.

I couldn't stand anymore. I collapsed onto the floor, summoning all my remaining strength to reach for the phone on the coffee table to dial the pack's healing center.

An hour later, as I was wheeled down the sterile corridors of the pack’s healing center toward the operating room, I heard a voice call my name. "Kylie?"

Through the haze of pain and exhaustion, I turned my head weakly to see Liv standing there, her hand resting on her swollen belly. Not far behind her, Bennett was approaching with a stack of papers clutched in his hands—rejection papers, no doubt.

Liv turned to him quickly, her voice trembling with feigned distress. "Sweetheart, I suddenly feel so unwell!"

Bennett’s face immediately shifted to concern, his Beta instincts kicking in. "Are you alright?" he asked, his voice laced with worry. Without hesitation, he scooped her up into his arms, ignoring the stares of the other pack members in the corridor, and rushed her toward the emergency wing.

I watched in silent agony, my heart shattering as the man who had once vowed to love and protect me forever carried his pregnant mistress away, leaving me alone, bleeding and broken, to face the cold, sterile operating room.

The healer attending to me glanced at me with pity. "Have you contacted anyone from your family?" she asked urgently.

I shook my head weakly. I couldn’t bear to call Bennett. I couldn’t stomach the thought of seeing him after what he’d done. Instead, I gave her my father’s number—Alpha Robert Reed of the Silver Moon Pack.

As the anesthesia took hold, I slipped into unconsciousness, the world fading to black. When I awoke, I found myself in a private room within the healing center. My parents were at my side, their presence a small comfort in the storm of my grief.

"Kylie, you’re awake!" My mother, Luna Esme, reached for my hand, her eyes swollen and red from crying. My father, Alpha Robert, stood beside her, his face etched with worry and sorrow.

"How are you feeling now?" he asked, his voice soft but strained.

"What happened? Where’s Bennett?" I croaked, my throat dry and raw.

But I didn’t wait for their answers. My hand instinctively moved to my abdomen, now frighteningly flat. "Where’s the baby? Mom, Dad, where is the baby?"

My father’s voice cracked as he replied, "The pup... didn’t survive."

A wave of agony washed over me, and I broke down, my tears soaking the pillow beneath me. My child was gone—taken from me before I could even hold them. And it was Bennett’s betrayal that had caused it.

My mother and father held my hands tightly, their grief mirroring mine. "You can still have pups in the future," my mother whispered, though her voice was heavy with sorrow. "We’re just thankful you’re alive."

I learned later that I had lost so much blood during the procedure that I had been unconscious for three days and nights. My parents had been by my side the entire time, their worry and anger palpable.

When they had learned the full extent of what had happened, my father had wanted to confront Bennett immediately, to make him pay for what he’d done. But I stopped him.

That would have been too easy for him.

No, I swore to myself that I would seek justice for my child. I would make Bennett and Liv pay for what they had done. I would make sure they ended up with nothing—no pack, no status, no future. And I would do it on my terms.

I spent over two weeks recuperating in the pack’s healing center, a place reserved for the most serious injuries and conditions. The scent of herbs and antiseptics clung to the air, but it was the quiet that weighed on me the most. My wolf, usually a presence in the back of my mind, was silent, as if mourning alongside me.

Bennett’s relentless attempts to reach me felt like claws scraping against my already raw nerves. His messages came in a flood, each one more insistent than the last.

"Kylie, I’ll come back to the pack house tonight. We need to talk."

"Where have you gone? You can’t just disappear like this!"

"Pregnant she-wolves shouldn’t vanish without a word. Think of the pup!"

"Let’s set a time to finalize the rejection papers. Liv and I need to move forward with the pack’s funding!"

"If you don’t respond soon, I’ll have to report you missing to the Alpha King!"

Eventually, he did report me, as if I were some rogue stray rather than his mate. But when the Alpha’s enforcers tracked me down, they found me in the healing center, my face pale and my body weak. They left without pressing further, their expressions unreadable.

On the day I was discharged, I sent him a single message: "Meet me at the pack’s council chamber at three this afternoon."

He called immediately, but I let it ring out, my fingers trembling as I silenced my phone.

It had been more than two weeks since we’d last seen each other. When I arrived, Bennett was already there, his broad shoulders tense under his tailored jacket. He looked the same—strong, commanding, every inch the Beta he was—but there was a lightness to him, as if a weight had been lifted. Liv stood beside him, her hand resting protectively on her slightly rounded belly. The sight of it twisted something deep inside me. Her pup was thriving, while mine… mine was gone.

"Your belly?" Bennett’s voice was sharp, his grip tightening on my wrist as his eyes dropped to my flat stomach. "What happened to the pup?"

I smiled bitterly, the pain of it cutting through me like a blade. "Gone."

"Gone? The pup was almost five months along! You just… you just got rid of it?" His voice rose, anger and disbelief warring in his tone. "Kylie, that’s heartless! Cruel! That was *our* pup!"

I yanked my arm free, disgust twisting my features. "Did I end it? No, Bennett. You did."

He exploded, his alpha tone cracking through the air like a whip. "Stop blaming me! I didn’t force you to terminate our pup!"

"Do you remember the day you pressured me into signing the rejection papers?" My voice was cold, each word a shard of ice. "My belly hit the corner of a table. There was so much blood. Where were you? Rushing off to be with Liv at her prenatal checkup!"

Bennett’s face paled, but he shook his head, denial etched into every line of his body. "Kylie, don’t make things up. A slight bump and the pup’s gone? That’s ridiculous!"

So, he knew. He knew I’d hit my stomach that day. My wolf stirred in the back of my mind, a low growl of anger and grief. *He’s lying,* she whispered. *He remembers.*

I pointed at Liv, my hand trembling with barely contained rage. "Ask her! Didn’t she see me being wheeled into surgery that day at the healing center?"

Bennett turned to Liv, who immediately shook her head, her eyes wide with feigned innocence. "You’re lying. I didn’t see anything! Honey, you have to believe me. If I’d seen something so crucial, I would’ve said something."

"She’s accusing me unfairly!" Liv’s voice was a whine, her hand clutching Bennett’s arm as if for support.

"I know, you wouldn’t do that," Bennett said, his voice softening as he looked at her. "She’s fabricating this."

I had no patience left. Without another word, I turned and walked into the council chamber to finalize the rejection papers. Bennett followed, his voice rising as he tried to argue, but I tuned him out. The formal vow echoed in the chamber, his voice cold and detached as he recited the words: "I, Bennett Reed, Beta of the Silver Moon Pack, reject you, Kylie Reed, as my mate."

I stood silent, my jaw clenched as the bond between us shattered, leaving a hollow ache in its place.

Once the papers were signed, Bennett wasted no time joining Liv to file for their mating license. While Liv looked elated, Bennett’s gaze kept drifting back to me, his face clouded with something I couldn’t quite place—regret? Guilt? It didn’t matter. Not anymore.

Before I left, I fixed him with a cold stare, my voice low and steady. "I’m curious, Bennett. How do you know this woman is the daughter of Robert Reed, Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack?"

Before he could answer, Liv tossed me a family register, her smile smug. "I’m not the daughter of an Alpha. Are you?"

Out of curiosity, I opened it, and my heart skipped a beat. There, listed as the head of household, was Robert Reed, with ‘daughter’ in the relationship column. My name wasn’t there. Instead, it was Liv’s.

I was dumbstruck. My brother and I shared a register with our mother, so I’d never seen my father’s. Who would’ve guessed his register showed another daughter?