Ayden Harper, the Lycan King, stared at me with icy disbelief, his Alpha aura pressing down on me like a suffocating weight.

“I, the Lycan King, have never broken my vow,” he said, his voice sharp and cutting. “How could you possibly be carrying my child?”

“Lilliana Harper, you should’ve rehearsed this lie better.”

“I’m not lying…” I started, but a searing pain shot through my abdomen, making me double over.

Humiliation burned in my chest, hotter than the pain.

Marco Gomez, the Beta, stepped forward, his voice trembling but firm. “Your Majesty, her scent carries traces of yours. That night—”

“Whose side are you on, Marco?” Ayden’s eyes narrowed, his Alpha tone cutting through the room like a blade.

“Beta Marco, I think you’ve forgotten your place in this pack,” he growled. “Know your rank.”

Marco immediately lowered his head, silenced.

Tears streamed down my face as I remembered that night—the night of my Come of Age Ceremony.

He had brought a cake, but he’d been out of his mind, his scent wild and unfamiliar, as if someone had drugged him.

He’d forced himself on me, and the next morning, when he woke up beside me, he’d promised to take responsibility. I thought he knew what had happened.

“Your Majesty…” My voice cracked, my breath coming in shallow gasps. “Please believe me. I’m carrying your child.”

“Enough,” he snapped, his voice cold and final. “I won’t listen to your lies anymore.”

Without another word, he turned and scooped Amelie Palmer, his chosen Luna, into his arms. She clung to him, her hands clawing at his shirt, but he didn’t seem to care.

He carried her into his study, shutting the door behind them.

“Your Majesty, please!” I screamed, desperation clawing at my throat. “Don’t do this to me!”

But he didn’t look back. The door closed with a final, deafening thud, sealing my fate.

Marco tried to step in, but the warriors—Delta’s under Ayden’s command—shoved him aside.

Then they were on me, forcing me to the ground. I lost count of how many hands were on me, how many scents—foreign and aggressive—filled the air.

Panic and pain consumed me as I begged, my hands desperately clutching my stomach.

“Please, don’t hurt my child!” I sobbed, my voice breaking.

But my pleas fell on deaf ears.

All I could do was curl into myself, shielding my unborn twins as best as I could, praying to the Moon Goddess for mercy.

When the men tore my clothes off, a muffled groan suddenly came from Ayden’s study.

"Amelie, not so rough."

I froze.

I didn’t dare to imagine what they were doing.

Tears poured down like a flood.

Ayden, how could you do this to me?

"Ah!"

My scream echoed through the room.

"Smack!" Someone slapped me.

"Shut up!"

"If you disturb the Alpha King and Luna, you’ll regret it!"

"Now, be a good little Omega and serve us!"

I fought back with everything I had.

But it was useless. Completely useless.

I didn’t know how long it had been before they finally threw me aside like trash.

The burning heat in my body had subsided a little, but I knew this was only the beginning.

Two more days. Two more days of this torment.

The next second, I felt a warm flow rush out of me.

I looked down and saw blood, staining my white pants.

My heart clenched.

"Save my pups, please, save me."

Soon, people arrived, but it wasn’t Ayden. It was a few Omegas.

Seeing the blood, they frowned in disgust.

"How pathetic. No wonder the Alpha King prefers Luna Amelie."

"Of course, he even gave her the ancestral necklace instead of saving her. That proves he doesn’t care about this one."

Yes, Ayden didn’t love me anymore.

I had felt it for a while.

But right now, I didn’t care about that. I just wanted to save my pups.

I begged them to help me, to take me to the Healer.

But they sneered. "The Alpha King already said it’s fine if you lose them. They’re not his anyway."

But they *are* his.

I wanted to scream it, but I had no strength left.

My consciousness was slipping away.

In the last moment, I was still thinking about the gift I had prepared for Ayden.

I decided I would make sure he received it.

When I woke again, the unbearable heat had returned, coursing through my body like wildfire.

My babies were gone.

Tears flooded my eyes, and my heart shattered into a million pieces.

When I found out I was pregnant, I had been overjoyed.

I thought Ayden would be too.

I wanted to surprise him.

But before I could tell him, Amelie and I were kidnapped, and they injected me with that cursed drug.

I clawed at my thighs, desperate to stay lucid, to fight through the agony.

I managed to escape, determined to save myself.

I couldn’t endure that humiliation again.

But before I could get far, I ran into Ayden and Amelie.

Ayden stood tall in a tailored black suit, his Alpha aura dominating the space around him. Amelie, in a pristine white gown, looked every bit the perfect Luna.

The courtyard was filled with guests, and a banner hung proudly:

**Ayden Harper & Amelie Palmer — Mark Ceremony.**

They looked like a match made by the Moon Goddess herself.

My legs gave out, and I collapsed to the ground, the gravel digging into my knees.

I wished it was a nightmare, that none of this was real.

Tears streamed down my face as the pain in my knees barely dulled the fire raging inside me.

“Sister,” Amelie’s voice cut through the air.

She moved to help me up, but I couldn’t look away from Ayden.

The mate mark on his neck was gone, replaced by a fresh one that mirrored Amelie’s.

Her wrist bore a matching necklace, their scents mingling in a way that made my stomach churn.

“You’re still unwell. You shouldn’t be wandering,” Ayden said, his voice cold and dismissive.

I tried to speak, but the pain and heat silenced me. I dug my nails into my thighs, struggling to stay coherent.

“Amelie’s family was pressuring us. This is just a formality,” he explained, but his tone was distant, as if he didn’t care whether I believed him.

I laughed, the sound hollow and broken.

My body crumpled to the ground again, and I forced out the words, “Ayden, please… find the herbs. Save me. I can’t go through this again.”

“This isn’t a disgrace,” he said, his voice laced with disgust.

“It’s the only way to treat you. Do you want to die?”

“Enough,” he snapped. “Marco, take her back.”

Marco, his Beta, appeared and pulled me up.

He had seen everything between Ayden and me over the years.

“I’m sorry, Luna,” he whispered, his voice trembling.

I was dragged back to my room, locked away like a rogue.

Marco’s tears fell as he said, “I don’t understand, Luna. He loves you. I don’t know why he’s doing this.”

“I can’t help you. I have my own family to think of.”

The pain in my chest spread like poison, and my entire body shook with the weight of it.