Since Snow's pregnancy, the Alpha had been in a state of pent - up frustration for months.

I dropped to my knees, my body trembling like a leaf in a storm.

"Alpha! Your wretched slave is tainted. I'd sully your sacred status! Please don't do it.!" My voice was a broken plea.

The Alpha, his patience worn thin, growled and clamped his large, calloused hand over my mouth. His touch was rough, his strength overwhelming, and any further protest was stifled.

When it was over, he tossed his blood - stained and tattered tunic at me, his lip curled in a sneer of pure revulsion.

"Muna, you were never fit to be a pack wizard.Your body's allure is enough to drive a sane wolf mad, but your powers? Pathetic."

With those scathing words, he turned his back and loped away, leaving me crumpled in the dirt.

Moments later, the pack's shaman - a twisted, old werewolf with a penchant for dark magic - approached, carrying a vial filled with a murky, steaming liquid.

"Muna, a gift from the Alpha. Drink up, pup. No use fighting it."

I stared at the vial, my heart sinking.

I knew it was a potent abortifacient, a concoction brewed from the most toxic herbs in the forest. But what the Alpha didn't know was that in the depths of the Red Den - I had been made barren.

On the night of the full moon, Snow's time had come.

I was dragged to the ancient birthing altar - a slab of blood - stained stone surrounded by howling wolves.

As a sacrifice, my wrists were bound with silver - lined ropes, the metal searing my skin. Blood dripped from the burns, adding to the pool forming beneath me.

Rosy stood over me, her eyes wild with sadistic glee.

She chanted the ancient incantations, her voice a shrill screech that echoed through the forest.

With a vicious swing, she smashed the sacred divination crystals, their shards scattering like stars.

Through the haze of pain and fear, I saw the Alpha approaching. His eyes widened in horror as he took in the scene.

The thick, metallic smell of blood hung heavy in the air, and he staggered back, his stomach heaving.

"What madness is this! Release her at once!" he roare.

Rosy stepped forward, her hands raised in supplication.

"Alpha, she defied the moon goddess two years ago! Her blood is the only way to appease them. If we don't, a curse will befall the pack, and Snow and her cub will die!"

At the mention of Snow and the unborn cub, the Alpha's resolve crumbled.

He shot me a look of pure loathing, as if I was the cause of all their troubles.

Without another word, he turned and disappeared .

Rosy's mocking laughter filled my ears.

"How does it feel, sister? Abandoned by the one you once loved. You were so proud of your divination. Did you see this coming?"

I bit my tongue, refusing to give her the satisfaction of a response.

Snow's agonized howls echoed through the night. She was in the throes of a battle for her life and her cub's.

As the night wore on, my blood flowed freely, dripping from the wounds in my wrists.

But as the silver - laced ropes tightened and my blood began to clot, Rosy grew impatient.

She reached into a chest filled with ancient artifacts and pulled out a jagged, obsidian spike.

With a manic grin, she raised the spike high above her head.

"Time to keep the blood flowing, sister."

"Ah!" My scream of agony was drowned out by Snow's final, earth - shattering howl.

The world around me spun, and everything went black.

I awoke to the sensation of ice - cold water being poured over my broken body.

My wrists were raw, the wounds infected and oozing.

Rosy loomed over me, a vial of a strange, glowing liquid in her hand.

"A little something to keep you awake, sister. Enjoy."

In the depths of my pain - addled mind, I found the strength to look up at her.

"Rosy... do you know why our master didn't pass on the wizard's mantle to you?"

She froze, her eyes narrowing.

"What are you talking about?"

I managed a weak, mocking smile.

"Because the pack wizard is chosen by the lunar spirits, and they demand a long life. I divined for you once. You have less than half a moon to live."

Rosy's face contorted in a mixture of shock and rage.

"Liar!" she screamed, lunging at me.

Her hands closed around my throat, her nails digging into my skin.

As a wizard, I was forbidden from divining my own or another wizard's fate, but she didn't know that.

In her panic, she reached for a ritual staff - a long, iron - bound rod topped with a menacing, serrated blade.

"Sister, you think this is pain? Wait until I drive this through your shoulder. Your divining hand will be useless, and you'll be a broken wolf for the rest of your life!"

My eyes widened in horror as she raised the staff high.

"Please, no," I begged, my voice a hoarse whisper.

But Rosy was beyond reason.

"You love divination? I'll make sure you never do it again!"

Just as she was about to strike, a deafening howl of a newborn cub cut through the night.

A young wolf - messenger stumbled out. "The Alpha cub is born! The sacrifice is over!"

Rosy froze for a split second, her eyes wild

. But the hatred in her heart was too strong.

With a final, crazed scream, she drove the iron - bound staff into my shoulder.

The pain was instantaneous and all - consuming, and I felt my world shatter into a million pieces.

When I finally fluttered my eyes open, the maidservant huddled by my bedside let out a sharp, piercing wail.

The very air in the Frostbitten Asylum seemed to tremble with her despair

"You've been lost to us for over ten days, my lady," she choked ou.

"In that time, Snow brought the Alpha's son into the world, and the entire pack has been in a frenzy of celebration. But this place... this Frostbitten Asylum is a realm apart, cloaked in isolation and reeking of death. None but the pack's healer, with his muttered incantations and vials of mysterious potions, dared to venture near."

She then revealed that the Alpha himself had deigned to visit on occasion.

But his visits were not borne of concern or kindness. Oh no. He came merely to inquire if I had finally succumbed.

The palace, he had said, had no place for the sick and weak.

If I did not rouse soon, I would be cast into the wilds, to be torn apart and devoured.

"Thank the mighty lunar spirits you've returned to us!" she exclaimed, her hands clasped together in a fervent prayer.

I reached out to brush away the tears that streamed down her cheeks like rivers.

But my body betrayed me.

My arm hung limp and useless.

I was now a cripple.

The maidservant, her eyes widening in sympathy and alarm, quickly rushed to my aid, gently propping me up into a sitting position.

Her eyes, which had just begun to dry, welled up once more, and she suddenly dropped to her knees before me.

"Wizard Muna, you may not recall, but you saved my life in a time long past. Now, as you face your own trials, please, let me accompany you. Allow me to care for you."

I could barely fend for myself, let alone protect another.

"No," I whispered weakly, my voice hoarse from disuse. "You mustn't."

But she was resolute.

"If you deny me, Wizard Muna, I will kneel here until my legs give way and my body fails me. I will not be deterred."

I let out a weary sigh, the weight of the world pressing down on my shoulders. "Very well. I will do what I can."

At once, her face lit up with a radiant smile. She helped me to my feet.

As the sun began to set,the Alpha entered the Frostbitten Asylum with a menacing swagger.

I immediately dropped to my knees, my head bowed low in submission.

The Alpha's hand shot out like a striking snake, his fingers digging into my chin as he forced me to meet his cold, calculating gaze.

"Recovered?"

"Your humble servant is feeling much improved, my Alpha,".

He released me with a disdainful shove and took a seat at the table.

I knelt lower, my forehead touching the cold, hard floor.

"Alpha, the sacrifice has been made. I have paid the price. Please, in your infinite mercy, allow Moony to leave the palace with me."

In an instant, his face contorted with ragel.

"Leave the palace? Are you so depraved, so insatiable, that you long to return to the squalor of the Red Den, to spread your legs for those lowly, mongrel wolves?"

Suddenly, his gaze fell upon my limp arm, and his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What happened to your arm?"

"Alpha!" The pack steward burst into the room, his face pale and flushed with urgency.

"Luna Snow is gravely ill. She requires your immediate presence."

The Alpha's expression shifted in an instant.

Without a word, he rose to his feet and started towards the door.

Panic surged through me as I realized that this was my last chance.

I scrambled to my feet and rushed forward, falling to my knees once more in front of him.

"Alpha! Please, have mercy! Let Moony leave with me!"

"Filthy wretch!"

With a swift, powerful kick, he sent me flying across the room.

I crashed into the table leg with a sickening thud.

I coughed up a mouthful of blood.

I crumpled to the ground in a heap.

"Your body is a vessel of corruption, a stain upon the purity of the palace," he sneered

. "I will not have you defiling these sacred halls. If you are so eager to return to the Red Den, then so be it. You will serve there day and night, without rest, until you draw your last breath."

Before I could respond, he added, "Or, you can grovel at my feet and beg me to let you stay."

"Alpha!" I interrupted him, forcing myself to prostrate on the ground once more.

" I accept my fate."

"You will regret this defiance," he hissel.

"Alpha..." The steward's voice, trembling with fear, broke the tense silence.

"Luna Snow is waiting."

The Alpha took a deep breath, his body visibly trembling with barely - controlled rage. "Fine. You may leave the palace in three days' time. But mark my words, Muna. You will pay for your insolence."

With that, he stormed out of the rooml.

Moony rushed to my side.

I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth with my left hand, a bitter smile playing on my lips. Regret? I felt none.

My own fate was of little consequence. All that mattered was saving Moony.