The morning mist clung to the forest floor, chilling my bare feet, but the cold was nothing compared to the ice in Dominic’s eyes. The entire Blood Moon Pack had gathered in the central clearing following the morning run. Usually, this was a time of communal bonding, of shared breath and beating hearts. Today, it felt like an execution.

Dominic stood atop the Alpha Rock, his chest bare and heaving slightly from the exertion of the run. Mila Graham stood just behind him, her head bowed in a performance of modesty that made my wolf, Lyra, snarl in my mind. But I couldn't snarl. I couldn't even whimper.

"Daphne Bennett," Dominic’s voice boomed, utilizing the Alpha command that forced every wolf in the clearing to lower their gaze. "Step forward."

My legs moved against my will, trembling under the weight of his aura. I wanted to run to him, to fall at his feet and beg him to listen to the silence between my words rather than the words themselves. *Please, Dominic,* Lyra cried out, *we are your mate! Don't do this!*

I stopped at the base of the rock. Dominic didn't offer me a hand. Instead, he reached out and grasped the silver chain around my neck—the Luna’s pendant, a crescent moon entwined with a blood-red ruby, passed down through generations of Russell Alphas. It was the symbol of our union, of my protection over this pack.

"You have proven yourself incapable of love, respect, or duty," Dominic said, his voice devoid of the warmth that used to melt my bones. "You mock our bond. You mock me."

He yanked. The chain snapped with a sharp *pop* that echoed like a gunshot. The metal stung my skin as it was torn away, leaving a red welt on my neck.

"No!" I tried to scream. I tried to say, *That is mine! I am your Luna!*

But the curse twisted my throat, turning my desperation into arrogance. My chin lifted defiantly, and a cold smirk plastered itself onto my face. "Finally," my voice drawled, loud and clear. "That cheap trinket was heavy anyway."

Gasps rippled through the crowd. Dominic’s jaw clenched so hard I thought a tooth might crack. The hurt in his eyes flashed for a second before hardening into obsidian hate.

"From this moment," he growled, turning to the pack, "Daphne is stripped of her rank. She is no longer Luna. She is Omega."

He turned and draped the broken chain around Mila’s neck. "Mila Graham will serve as Acting Female Leader until a proper ceremony can be held."

Mila touched the ruby, her eyes meeting mine with a gleam of pure malice. "I will serve you well, Alpha," she purred, her voice dripping with the sweetness I was physically incapable of producing.

"Get her out of my sight," Dominic commanded. "She can earn her keep scrubbing the floors she thinks she’s too good to walk on."

The pack jeered as I was shoved toward the back of the crowd. Mud was kicked onto my white dress. I didn't fight back. I couldn't. If I tried to defend myself, I knew I would only insult them further.

I ran. I ran until my lungs burned, not to the pack house, but to the small, rundown cottage on the outskirts where the Omegas lived. I needed my mother. Surely, she would understand. She knew about the curse; she was there when it started.

I burst through the door, chest heaving. "Mom?" I choked out, fighting the urge to vomit from the stress.

Elena Bennett looked up from her knitting. Her eyes scanned my muddy dress, the red welt on my neck, and the absence of the silver pendant. Her expression didn't soften. It shattered.

She crossed the room in two strides and slapped me. The sound was louder than the breaking of the chain. My head snapped to the side, my cheek stinging with a fresh, throbbing heat.

"You useless girl!" she shrieked, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me. "We raised you for one thing! One thing! To secure this family's place in the pack!"

I stared at her, tears finally spilling over. *Mom, I'm hurting. Help me.*

"I... I didn't mean to," I tried to sob.

"Get out!" she screamed, shoving me toward the door. "You cursed away our future with your vile tongue! You are a disgrace to this bloodline. Don't come back until you fix this, or don't come back at all!"

The door slammed in my face, leaving me alone in the dirt.

A week later, I was on my hands and knees in the Alpha wing, the smell of lemon bleach burning my nose. My knuckles were raw and cracked. I was scrubbing the very hallway where Dominic and I used to chase each other playfully.

Suddenly, a wave of dizziness hit me. The world tilted. I sat back on my heels, clutching my stomach as bile rose in my throat. But beneath the chemical stench of the cleaner, I smelled it.

It was faint, metallic, and smelled like sweet milk and iron.

My hand flew to my flat abdomen. Lyra, who had been silent and depressed since the demotion, suddenly perked up. She sniffed the air internally and let out a soft, joyous howl. *Pup! Little wolf!*

I froze. I was pregnant.

A surge of hope, violent and bright, crashed through me. A pup. Dominic wanted an heir more than anything. This changed everything. The bond couldn't be broken if there was a life between us. He wouldn't reject the mother of his child.

I scrambled to my feet, ignoring the bucket of dirty water. I couldn't speak to him—I couldn't risk the curse ruining this news. I needed to write it down. I needed to get to his office.

I rushed down the hall, my heart pounding a frantic rhythm against my ribs. *I have to tell him. I have to tell him now.*

I reached for the handle of the Alpha’s office door, but a hand slammed against the wood, barring my way.

Parker Russell leaned against the doorframe, a cruel smirk playing on his lips. He looked so much like Dominic, but his eyes were empty of honor.

"Well, well," he sneered, looking down at my Omega uniform. "If it isn't the Shrew. Lost your mop, Daphne?"

I shook my head frantically, trying to push past him. I pointed to the door, then to my stomach, desperate to convey the urgency.

Parker didn't move. He leaned closer, sniffing the air. His eyes narrowed. He smelled the change in my scent. He knew.

"Dominic is busy," Parker said, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "He's inside with Mila. They're working on making a *real* heir. One that doesn't come from a broken, defective vessel."

He shoved me back, hard enough that I stumbled. "Go back to your bucket, Omega. The Alpha has no need for your news."

The summon to the Alpha’s office felt like a march to the gallows. I kept my hand pressed flat against my stomach, shielding the tiny spark of life I had discovered only hours ago. *I have to tell him,* I thought frantically. *If he knows about the pup, he’ll stop this madness. He has to.*

My inner wolf, Lyra, paced anxiously in my mind, her ears flattened. *Mate is angry. Be careful.*

I pushed open the heavy oak doors. Dominic didn't look up. He was staring at a map of the territory spread across his desk, the dark circles under his eyes stark against his pale skin. The scent of cedarwood and rain that usually calmed me now smelled stale, tainted by the cloying sweetness of Mila’s perfume that clung to the room.

"You sent for me," I said. I tried to make my voice soft, to say, 'Dominic, please look at me, I'm carrying your child.'

But the curse seized my throat, twisting the vowels until they were sharp as glass. "Make it quick. I have better places to be."

Dominic’s head snapped up. A muscle in his jaw ticked violently. "I’m sure you do," he replied, his voice devoid of any warmth. "But since you are still breathing my air and eating my food, you will make yourself useful."

He shoved a file toward me. "Alpha Darren Perkins of the Vulture Pack is here. Parker has been negotiating a trade route through his lands, but Darren requires a... personal touch to finalize the deal."

My blood ran cold. Alpha Darren was a monster. Stories of what he did to Omegas, how he broke them for sport, were whispered in every pack in the region.

*Dominic, no! He’s dangerous! I’m pregnant!* I screamed internally.

"He’s a predator," I tried to warn him. "Don't send me there."

My lips curled into a sneer against my will. "So you're pimping me out to your friends now? How pathetic."

Dominic slammed his fist on the desk, the sound echoing like a gunshot. "Watch your mouth!" he roared, his Alpha aura flaring hot and suffocating. "You are an Omega now, Daphne. You have no rank, no protection, and no right to refuse. You will host a private dinner for Alpha Darren in the VIP suite. Your sharp tongue should be enough to keep him in line. Just get the contract signed."

He looked back down at his papers, dismissing me. "Get out."

I stumbled out of the office, tears burning my eyes but refusing to fall. I had no choice. If I refused, he could exile me as a rogue, and a pregnant rogue wouldn't survive the winter.

***

The VIP suite smelled of expensive roast beef and cheap cologne. Alpha Darren sat at the head of the mahogany table, grease shining on his chin. He was a massive man, his neck thick with muscle and scars, his eyes small and bead-like.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Darren waved a hand at the two pack warriors standing guard. "Leave us. The Omega and I have much to discuss."

The guards hesitated for a fraction of a second, but Darren was an Alpha. They bowed and exited, leaving me alone with the beast.

I stood by the sideboard, gripping a pitcher of water until my knuckles turned white. *Stay calm,* Lyra whined. *Protect the pup.*

"You're a pretty thing for a reject," Darren grunted, licking a stray drop of wine from his thumb. He stood up, his chair scraping loudly against the floor. "Dominic said you were difficult. I like difficult."

He took a step toward me. The air around him reeked of rot and old blood.

I backed away until my hips hit the wall. *Please, just let me leave.*

"Stay back," I tried to beg.

"Come and get it, you filth," my cursed voice spat out.

Darren’s eyes darkened with lust and rage. He laughed, a wet, guttural sound. "That’s the spirit."

He lunged.

I tried to dodge, but he was fast. His heavy hand clamped around my upper arm, fingers digging into my bruises. He yanked me forward, spinning me around and slamming me face-first onto the table. Plates crashed to the floor, shattering.

"No!" I screamed, this time the word ripping out raw and true because it was just a sound, not a sentence. I clawed at his face, my nails digging into his eye socket.

Darren roared in pain, releasing me as he clutched his bleeding face. His features shifted, his nose flattening into a snout, fur sprouting along his jaw as he partially shifted in his rage.

"You little bitch!" he growled, his voice distorted by the shift.

I scrambled backward, trying to protect my stomach, curling into a ball on the floor. "My baby!" I shrieked internally. *Dominic, help me!*

Darren didn't hesitate. He drew his leg back, his heavy, steel-toed combat boot aiming straight for my midsection.

The impact was a thunderclap of agony.

I felt ribs shatter. But worse, I felt a deep, sickening tear inside my womb. The force of the kick lifted me off the floor and slammed me into the wall. I collapsed, gasping for air that wouldn't come, clutching my belly as a warm, wet heat soaked through my dress between my legs.

Darren stood over me, panting, wiping the blood from his eye. He looked down at the spreading pool of red beneath me and spat on the floor. "Damaged goods," he sneered, turning to leave. "Tell Dominic the deal is off."

The door slammed shut.

Silence descended, heavy and suffocating. The pain was blinding, white-hot knives twisting in my gut. But the physical agony was nothing compared to the spiritual silence.

The tiny, flickering light of the second heartbeat inside me... sputtered.

*No, no, no,* Lyra howled, a sound of pure devastation that echoed in the hollows of my skull.

I felt it fade. The connection snapped. My pup was gone.

I lay in my own blood, staring blankly at the ceiling, my hands trembling as they hovered over my empty, broken womb.

Suddenly, the pack mind-link burst open. It was loud, intrusive, and filled with a sickening warmth.

"Blood Moon Pack," Dominic’s voice boomed through the link, vibrating with a pride and joy I hadn't heard in years. "Tonight, we celebrate. Mila is with child. The future of our pack is secured."

A collective cheer erupted through the link from hundreds of wolves. I could feel Dominic’s emotions bleeding through the bond—his relief, his excitement, his *purr* of contentment.

He was celebrating a lie while his true heir lay dead in a pool of blood on the floor of a guest suite.

The cruelty of it finally broke me. I didn't scream. I didn't cry. I just lay there, the light in my eyes dying along with my child, as the darkness finally dragged me under.

The door to the VIP suite crashed open, splintering against the wall. Light flooded the dim room, blinding me as I lay curled in a pool of my own blood.

Mila Graham stood in the doorway, her hands flying to her mouth in a performance worthy of an Academy Award. Parker Russell stood behind her, his face twisted in mock horror.

"Oh my Goddess!" Mila shrieked, her voice shrill enough to shatter glass. "Dominic! Come quickly! She's tried to kill him!"

Alpha Darren was already scrambling to his feet, clutching his bleeding eye. He looked at me with pure venom, then turned his gaze to the door, transforming instantly from predator to victim. "Your Luna has gone mad, Russell! I was merely toasting to our alliance, and she attacked me like a rabid animal!"

Thunder rumbled outside, shaking the floorboards beneath my broken body. Then, a heavier presence filled the room. The air grew dense, charged with ozone and fury.

Dominic stepped over the threshold.

He didn't look at the blood pooling between my legs. He didn't smell the scent of death and lost life that choked the air—or perhaps the metallic stench of Darren's wound masked it all. His eyes locked onto the scratches on Darren’s face, then snapped to me.

There was no concern in his gaze. No love. Only a cold, bottomless disgust.

"Is this true?" Dominic’s voice was dangerously quiet. "Did you attack our guest?"

I tried to push myself up, my arms trembling violently. *He killed our baby!* I screamed in my head. *He tried to force himself on me! Dominic, please, look at me!*

My lips parted. I fought the curse with every ounce of strength I had left. I needed to tell him about the empty womb, the tiny heart that had stopped beating because of his order.

"He..." I choked out.

Dominic waited, his jaw clenched.

"...He wasn't worth the effort," my cursed voice sneered, the words dripping with arrogant malice. "I should have aimed for his throat."

The silence that followed was deafening.

Dominic closed his eyes. When he opened them, the last flicker of the man I loved was gone. "You are a monster," he whispered. "Jealousy has rotted your soul, Daphne."

He turned his back on me. "Get this traitor out of my sight. Drag her to the northern border. She can rot in the rain until I decide whether to execute her or exile her."

Two warriors stepped forward, grabbing me by my arms. I screamed in agony as they hauled me up, my shattered ribs grinding together. They didn't care. They dragged me out of the suite, leaving a trail of red smeared across the expensive carpet.

They threw me into the back of a truck like a sack of garbage. The drive to the border was a blur of pain and darkness. When the truck finally stopped, they yanked me out and dumped me into the mud. The rain was falling in sheets now, freezing and relentless.

"Don't move," one warrior spat. "Alpha will deal with you at dawn."

They drove off, leaving me alone in the storm.

I lay in the mud, the cold seeping into my bones. I could feel the pack link buzzing in the back of my mind. I could feel Dominic’s presence there—a warm, steady hum that I had clung to for years. But now, it was poisoned. Through the link, I could feel waves of his concern for Mila, his excitement for the fake child she carried.

He was mourning nothing while I lay dying with his dead heir inside me.

*I can't do this anymore,* Lyra whimpered, her voice fading.

If I stayed, I died. If I went back, I died.

I closed my eyes and reached into the deepest part of my mind. I found the thick, golden cord that tethered my soul to Dominic’s. It pulsed with the heartbeat of the Blood Moon Pack.

*I reject this,* I thought, tears finally mixing with the rain on my face. *I reject the pain. I reject the lie.*

I wrapped my mental claws around the bond.

*Sever.*

I pulled.

The pain was blinding—worse than the ribs, worse than the miscarriage. It felt like I was ripping my own heart out of my chest. I screamed, a raw, guttural sound that was lost in the thunder.

*SNAP.*

The golden cord shattered.

Miles away, back at the pack house, I felt a sudden jolt of confusion and pain through the fading remnants of the connection. I knew Dominic had stumbled. I knew he felt the void open up in his chest. But I didn't wait to feel his reaction.

The backlash hit me, forcing a shift. My bones cracked and reshaped, fur sprouting over my bruised skin. I was no longer Daphne. I was a wolf—thin, matted, and weak, but free.

I ran.

I scrambled toward the ravine that marked the edge of the territory. My paws slipped in the mud, every step sending jolts of fire through my abdomen. I could hear howls in the distance—the patrol realizing I was gone.

I didn't look back. I threw myself down the rocky slope, sliding and tumbling until I hit the rushing water of the river. I swam, fighting the current, clawing my way up the opposite bank.

Silver Mist territory.

I took three steps onto the mossy ground and collapsed. My legs gave out. The world spun into gray static. I couldn't breathe. The darkness was coming for me, and this time, I welcomed it.

Then, a scent cut through the rain. Pine needles and sage.

Warm hands touched my soaking fur. I flinched, expecting a blow, expecting Darren’s boot or Dominic’s scorn.

"Easy, little wolf," a deep voice murmured. It wasn't an Alpha command. It was a plea.

I forced my heavy eyes open. A man knelt in the mud beside me. He had kind eyes the color of forest moss. He didn't look at me with disgust. He looked at me with... sorrow.

"Alpha, she's a rogue," another voice warned from the trees. "She's covered in blood."

"She's a Luna," the man said softly, his hand hovering over my snout. "And she is broken."

He didn't wait for permission. He scooped my wolf form up into his arms, pressing me against his chest. He didn't care that my blood and mud were ruining his expensive coat.

"Radio the healers," he commanded, turning back toward the trees. "Tell them to prepare surgery. Now."

I let my head fall against his shoulder. As the rhythm of his heartbeat lulled me into the dark, I realized for the first time in years, I wasn't afraid.