After Eduardo secured top honors in the pack’s prestigious Beta trials, he returned to our humble home in Greywood with a plan far darker than I could have imagined. He promised to take me to the capital, to a new life, but his words were a lie woven with venom. His true intention was to lead me to a secluded place, to silence me forever.

The rushing river roared behind me, its currents wild and unforgiving. I clutched my swollen belly, my back pressed against the edge of the cliff. There was nowhere left to retreat.

“Lydia… this pup… it shouldn’t have come,” Eduardo said, his voice cold and detached, his eyes devoid of the warmth I once knew.

I looked at him, my gaze soft, my lips curling into a faint, bitter smile. “So that’s it, then? Fine… I’ll step aside. Take another mate, someone of higher rank, someone who can elevate you.”

His expression faltered for a moment, confusion flickering across his face. “Step aside?”

“Yes,” I replied, my voice tender yet laced with steel. “After all, I carry your only heir. Surely that counts for something.”

“Elena… she wouldn’t allow it!” His voice cracked, and suddenly his hands were on my shoulders, his grip bruising, his eyes wild with desperation. “There will be other pups… but they’ll be hers, born of noble blood! Not… not this.”

Before I could respond, he shoved me with all his strength.

The wind howled in my ears as I fell, my eyes locked on his retreating figure. A cold smile played on my lips as I whispered, “You’re wrong.

“There won’t be any more pups.”

Then I twisted midair and plunged into the icy depths below.

For three years, Eduardo had been my mate, yet he never knew one thing about me—I was an excellent swimmer.

---

The next time we met, it was in the grand hall of the Lycan King’s palace. Eduardo, now a high-ranking Beta, stood before the throne, his face pale and his body trembling as if the ground beneath him had crumbled.

I sat calmly behind the young Lycan Prince, Parker, my expression indifferent as I murmured, “Prince Parker, Beta Eduardo has disrespected the court. What should be done?”

Parker, though only five years old, turned his sharp gaze toward Eduardo. His voice, soft yet carrying the weight of authority, echoed through the hall. “He deserves death.”

The air in the hall grew heavy with the scent of fear and dominance, Eduardo’s usual confident aura now shattered. The Lycan King, seated on his throne, leaned forward, his piercing eyes locking onto Eduardo. “Beta Eduardo,” he began, his voice calm but laced with an alpha tone that sent shivers down the spines of everyone present, “you have betrayed not only your mate but the very essence of our kind. The Moon Goddess does not look kindly upon those who forsake their bonds.”

Eduardo’s knees buckled, and he fell to the ground, his head bowed. “My King, I… I was weak. I allowed ambition to cloud my judgment. Please, have mercy.”

The Lycan King’s eyes narrowed, and he exchanged a glance with Parker before turning back to Eduardo. “Mercy is not mine to give. The Moon Goddess has already judged you.”

Parker, his small frame radiating a quiet strength, stepped forward. “Your punishment will be exile. You will be stripped of your rank and cast out as a rogue. May the Moon Goddess show you the path to redemption, if such a path exists.”

Eduardo’s face drained of color, and he looked up, his eyes pleading. “No… please, not this…”

But the guards, their wolf forms shimmering faintly in the light, approached and dragged him away, his cries echoing through the grand hall until they faded into silence.

I stood, my hand resting on Parker’s shoulder, and whispered, “Thank you, Prince Parker. Justice has been served.”

He looked up at me, his young eyes filled with a wisdom beyond his years. “It is the way of the Moon Goddess, Lydia. No one can escape their fate.”

As I walked out of the hall, the scent of the pack around me, I felt a sense of closure. Eduardo’s betrayal had cut deep, but in the end, the bonds of our kind—forged by the Moon Goddess—could not be broken so easily. My pup, the one he had tried to destroy, would grow up knowing the strength of our lineage and the power of our pack.

I prided myself on being ruthless, devoid of any sentimentality.

At seven years old.

I lured my gambling-addicted father to the pack’s underground betting den.

I egged him on to bet again and again, losing more and more until he was drowning in debt.

Then I watched as the enforcers broke both his legs, satisfied with the outcome.

At ten.

My mother found him on the street, reeking of filth, barely clinging to life.

Her eyes met mine, filled with terror and fear.

By eleven.

She saw me crush the hand of the boy next door, her face pale with horror.

I held the stray wolf pup I’d adopted, my voice calm.

“He broke the pup’s leg, so I broke his hand. Fair, isn’t it?”

That’s when she decided to sell me.

For fifty coins, she sold me to a widower in the neighboring pack, a man in his forties.

She tied me up, but I twisted her arms and pinned her down.

Her eyes widened in panic as I kicked over the candle by the window.

The flames roared, the smoke thick and suffocating.

I walked out of the fire, holding the pup and clutching the fifty coins.

At twelve, I saw a dress I wanted.

The shopkeeper offered it to me in exchange for one night with him.

I smirked. “Deal.”

The next day, he was found buried under piles of clothes, suffocated to death.

By fourteen.

My beauty had blossomed, striking and undeniable.

Low-ranking males swarmed around me like flies.

Some promised to make me their mate, others brought jewels to claim me as their chosen mate.

It was nauseating.

I was stunning, and my ambitions soared higher than their pathetic lives.

I was meant for power, for the high ranks of the pack.

If I wanted something, I always got it.

Born an Omega, the path to power was steep.

So I decided to create my own.

Among the struggling pack members, I chose Eduardo Brown.

He topped every pack trial, his intelligence undeniable.

He was handsome, upright, and steadfast despite his humble origins.

Not one of those pretentious, empty-headed fools.

He was perfect.

So I played the part, hiding my sharp edges, feigning gentleness and fragility.

I “accidentally” fell into the river, letting him save me, letting him fall for me.

We became mates, and for three years, I was the perfect partner, attentive and devoted.

He passed the pack’s trials, rising to become a high-ranking Beta, while I carried his pup.

He had ascended, and I had my plans.

When he returned home, I handed him a glass of wine laced with a potion to render him infertile.

Even if he strayed, my pup would be his only heir.

I thought I was merciless.

But I underestimated him—the man who couldn’t even kill a chicken.

The river’s current was fierce, pulling me under, but my hatred burned stronger.

I should have poisoned him with more than just the infertility potion.

I should have added venom, ended his worthless life then and there.