The pain followed Lyla all the way back to the

servant quarters.It was no longer just a wound in her heart, iit was a physical weight pressing against her chest, twisting with every breath she took.

She stumbled through the narrow corridor, as she put her hand against the wall for support.

Her vision blurred repeatedly, she had to

blink away tears just to see where she was

going to.

When she finally reached her room, her hands

were shaking so badly that she could barely turn

the rusted key. The door to her room creaked open revealing the familiar smell of old lavender and cheap soap. The tiny room had been her entire world for many years but now it felt like a prison.

Lyla looked around. At her worn out bed, the

cracked wooden table, and the little mirror above the washbasin.

Everything she owned could fit into one bag,

And somehow, that hurt almost as much as

Kieran's rejection.

She had spent her entire life serving the Silver

Moon Pack.yet they decided she was no longer

wanted.

She could take everything she owned in

less than five minutes.

"I have to go," she whispered to herself

Her voice sounded strange, small.and broken.

She remembered Kieran's cold eyes.

If I see your face again, I'll kill you.

Lyla swallowed hard.

He'll kill me if I stay"

She had no reason to believe he was bluffing.

She grabbed an old canvas bag from beneath

her bed and began stuffing her belongings

inside.A worn sweater, two changes of clothes, her mother's photograph and the few coins she had managed to save over the years. The money wasnt much but it was enough to start somewhere. Anywhere.

Suddenly nausea hit her.

Her stomach twisted violently. She barely made it to the washbasin before she fell to her knees.

When the sickness finally passed, she remained

there, trembling.this wasn't normal.

She pressed a hand against her lower abdomen, and her wolf stirred but not with the familiar ache of the broken mate bond.it was something

else, something protective.

Lyla froze with her eyes widening

"No!!"

Her mind immediately returned to three weeks

earlier, The Summer Solstice. That night Kieran had returned victorious from a border war.

He had been celebrating with his warriors, and

the entire manor had been filled with the scent

of alcohol, sandalwood, and lightning.

Lyla had been working late that night.

She remembered the strange pull she'd felt

whenever he came near her.

She hadn't understood it then.

Neither had he.

But there had been something between them.

Something neither of them had been able to

ignore.One night.One mistake.One secret she had buried deep inside herself.

Her hand remained over her stomach.

Could it be?

Her heart began pounding. She counted the days and then counted them again.

Her breath caught in her throat

"No..." as her eyes filled with tears.The possibility was terrifying but beneath the fear was hope, a tiny life.A child, Kieran's child.

The heir of the Silver Moon Pack.

The child of the Alpha who had just declared its

mother unworthy.

Lyla covered her mouth to stop herself from

sobbing. If Kieran discovered the truth, everything would change.He would come after her not because he loved her but because of the child. Because of his bloodline.

Because an Alpha like Kieran would never allow

his heir to disappear into the wilderness.

Lyla's expression hardened defiantly

"He can never know."

She pressed both hands against her stomach.

"He rejected me."

"He rejected us".

A tear slipped down her cheek.

The sound of boots struck the gravel outside her room.Lyla's head snapped toward the window.

She heard the voices of Men, several of them. They are the Enforcers.

Kieran had sent his men to make sure she left

before dawn.She couldn't let them find her,

Not now, not with the possibility of a child growing inside her.

Lyla grabbed her bag.

There was no time to think.

She pushed open the narrow window and

climbed through.The cold night air struck her face, she dropped into the mud below, landing hard on her knees.

Pain shot through her body, but she forced

herself up and ran.Not toward the main road,

not toward the gates because she knew the village better than any of Kieran's warriors.

She slipped through narrow alleys, crossed

behind abandoned cottages, and moved through

the shadows.Her lungs burned as she ran.

Her broken bond screamed with every step, but she kept going.

She had spent twenty-one years being told she

was weak and tonight, she would prove them wrong.

Ahead of her, the trees became thicker near the white cliffs as she approached the Northern Border. Beyond them lay the Forbidden Forest.

No pack had claimed it.

No Alpha ruled it.

Rogues were said to roam beneath its ancient

trees, and countless wolves had disappeared

within its depths.

But it was still better than returning to Kieran.

Lyla reached the edge of the cliffs.

She stopped for only a second.

The river below thundered through the gorge.

She could cross it.She had to.

"Stop right there!"

Lyla froze.

A familiar voice came from behind her.

She slowly turned and saw Jax

Jax was one of Kieran's lead warriors.

He stood several yards away, his arms were crossed over his chest, a cruel smile spreading across his face.

"You really thought you could sneak away?"

Lyla tightened her grip on her bag.

"Move and don't come any closer" she said through gritted teeth trying to sound brave

Jax laughed.

"Alpha said you had until dawn."

He stepped closer.

"But I thought I'd make sure you understood

exactly what happens to Omegas who defy

him."

Lyla backed away.

"Don't come any closer."

His smile widened.

"What are you going to do?"

Immediately Jax shifted. Bones cracked, his body twisted and expanded until a massive

gray wolf stood before her.

Lyla's wolf whimpered inside her.

She couldn't shift.

Not after the rejection.

Not now.

The wolf lunged at her.

There was nowhere to run so she did the only thing she could.

She turned and jumped. The cliff disappeared beneath her feet.

For one terrifying second, there was nothing

beneath her. Only air.

The wind tore through her hair as she plunged

toward the raging river.

"Lyla!"

Jax's howl faded above her.

She hit the water as cold swallowed her whole.

Her bag was ripped from her grasp.

Her body spun violently beneath the current.

She fought to reach the surface, but the river

dragged her deeper.

Her lungs screamed.

Her strength faded.

And then her hand instinctively moved to her

stomach.

Protect the baby.

The thought came like a final prayer.

Her eyes closed, I will survive, I promise as darkness closed around her.

And somewhere far behind her, beneath the

crimson Blood Moon, the Silver Moon Pack

continued celebrating the rejection of an

insignificant Omega.

They didn't know she was still alive.

They didn't know about the secret growing

inside her.

And they certainly didn't know that the woman

they had thrown away would one day return.

Not as Lyla the Omega.

But as a Luna powerful enough to make an

Alpha regret ever rejecting his mate.

Five Years Later, Lyla's dagger stopped a breath away from a warrior's throat.

She had hit him hard enough on the ground to send sand flying.

"Yield." She said to the warrior with her eyes flaming with fury. The warrior stared up at her, panting.

"I yield!"

"I yield!"

Lyla held his gaze for another second before

pulling the blade away.

"We go Again."

The warrior groaned "Again?"

"You dropped your guard."

"I was on the ground!"

"And you won't always be lucky enough to land

on your back the next time."

A few warriors around the training ring laughed and the man glared at them.

"You're enjoying this too much."

Lyla sheathed her dagger.

"I learned from experience."

The laughter died and for a moment, silence settled over the training grounds.

Everyone in the Shadow Pack knew Lyla's story.

The woman who had arrived five years ago half-

dead, with nothing but torn clothes and a broken

bond.The Omega who had somehow survived the Forbidden River.

The stranger, Alpha Caelum had found unconscious on the riverbank.No one knew everything about her past, and Lyla intended to keep it that way.

Five years had changed her.The frightened girl who had once begged an Alpha not to reject her was gone.Her body was lean from years of training. She had scars across her shoulder and ribs, reminders of battles she had survived.

But the greatest change wasn't what people

could see, it was what lived inside her.

Her wolf was no longer weak, no longer silent and no longer afraid.

Lyla had learned to fight, to hunt, and to command.

In the Shadow Pack, rank wasn't handed to her

because of her blood.She had earned every inch of it.A small voice suddenly shattered the tension.

"Mama!"

Lyla's entire expression softened.

She turned as a little boy came racing across the field.

Four years old with dark messy hair, silver eyes and a mischievous grin. Eyes that made Lyla's heart tighten every time she looked into them.

"Leo!" She called out as he launched himself at her.

Lyla caught him easily and lifted him into her

arms.

"I found one!"

"I found one!" he squealed.

"Found what?"

"A butterfly!"

He pointed excitedly toward the trees.

"It was HUGE. Bigger than Papa's hand!"

Lyla laughed.

"That's a very big butterfly."

"It was blue too!"

"Then we'll find it later."

Leo wrapped his arms around her neck.

"Promise?"

"I Promise."

He smiled and Lyla kissed his forehead.

For him, she had survived.

For him, she had learned to fight.

For him, she had built a life after Kieran had tried

to destroy it.

Leo shifted restlessly in her arms.

"Mama, look!"

He squeezed his eyes shut.Nothing happened.

His tiny nose wrinkled in concentration.

"Come on..."

A tiny gray wolf ear suddenly appeared through

his hair.

Leo's eyes flew open.

"I did it!"

Lyla laughed.

"You did."

He beamed with pride.

Suddenly the entire training ground went silent.

Lyla slowly turned, Alpha Caelum stood beneath an ancient oak tree.He had been watching them.

He was tall, dark-haired,and broad-shouldered.

Unlike Kieran, Caelum never needed to raise his

voice to command attention.

There was something dangerous about his

calmness.

He had found Lyla five years ago on the

riverbank.He could have left her to die but Instead, he had carried her home, gave her shelter and a name among his people.And even when he learned she was carrying a child, he never once asked who the father was.

Not until Leo's eyes began turning silver.

Caelum's gaze shifted briefly to the boy.

Then back to Lyla.

"Lyla."

Something in his voice made her smile disappear.

"What happened?"

He held up a sealed envelope with a black wax and a silver wolf stamp on it.

Lyla's stomach dropped as she stared at the seal.

She knew that seal.she hadn't seen it in five years, but she remembered it.

She also remembered the night she had crawled

through the mud, the rejection, the blood and

the threat in Kieran's voice

"What is it?" she asked.

Caelum didn't answer immediately.

He crossed the field and handed her the envelope.

"The Great Summit."

Every five years, the strongest Alphas gathered

to negotiate territory, alliances, trade, and war.

She had never attended one. She had never needed to..Until now.

"Where is it being held?"

Caelum's eyes remained on hers.

"You already know."

Lyla's fingers tightened around the envelope.

"No."

"Silver Moon Pack."

The world seemed to stop.

For five years, she had carefully built a life that

did not include Kieran.

She had taught herself not to remember his

face.Not to dream about the bond.

Not to wonder whether he regretted his decision.

She had almost succeeded.Almost.

Caelum watched her carefully. "You don't have to go." Lyla looked at him.

"We can refuse the invitation," he continued. "I'll

attend in your place."

"And Leo?"

"He stays here."

"No."

Her answer came instantly.Caelum's expression hardened.

"Lyla."

"I said No."

She looked down at Leo.

The little boy was now chasing a butterfly

through the grass, completely unaware that his

existence was the one secret capable of

destroying two packs.

Caelum lowered his voice.

"If Kieran sees him.."

"He won't."

"You don't know that."

Lyla looked back at him.

Her amber eyes burned.

"I know exactly what Kieran will do."

Caelum stepped closer.

"And what will you do when he realizes who Leo

is?"

Lyla's jaw tightened.

That was the question she had spent five years

avoiding. Because the truth was simple, She didn't know.

Kieran had rejected her.

But he had never rejected the child.

He had never even known Leo existed.

If he discovered the truth, he might try to claim

him.Or worse .He might decide Leo was a threat to his position.

Lyla closed her eyes.For five years, she had been running from the past.Perhaps it was time to stop.

She opened her eyes.

"We're going." She said

Caelum studied her.

"Are you sure?"

Lyla smiled.

But there was nothing warm about it.

"Five years ago, Kieran stood before an entire

pack and called me nothing."

She looked toward the distant mountains.

"It's time he sees what that nothing became."

Caelum's lips curved into a slow smile.

"Then we'll leave at dawn."