Selene’s words clung to me like a curse.

He says you are too tame. Too dull. Too barren.

They wrapped around my throat, coiling tighter with every heartbeat, choking the air from my lungs. I could still see her lips curved in that triumphant smirk, still hear the silk in her voice as she whispered how Lucien had undressed her in the very gown he later gifted to me.

The memory of that cursed pink satin clung to my skin like ash. I had worn it with pride, trembling with joy when he called me beautiful. I had believed I was cherished. But the truth—Selene’s truth—burned the memory to ruins. That gown had smelled faintly of another because it had belonged to her first. His caresses, his whispered mine, his low growls of desire had not been mine to treasure. They had been rehearsed, echoes of what he had already given her.

“You lie,” I rasped, though my voice broke like brittle glass.

Selene’s smile deepened, her eyes gleaming with the satisfaction of a predator that has toyed with its prey until it can no longer stand. “Do I? Then watch him tonight. See where he goes. See whose bed he warms. He cannot resist me.”

And then—without warning—she tipped her glass.

The crimson wine spilled in a dark rush across my gown, staining the fabric like fresh blood. Gasps rose from nearby wolves as she gave a dainty cry, clutching her hand to her chest as though I had shoved her. The glass tumbled dramatically to the floor, shattering into sharp shards that scattered across the marble.

“Oh no,” she exclaimed, her eyes widening with mock dismay. “Clumsy me.”

Her lips twitched with amusement, the truth flashing there for only me to see. “Now you’ll look as much a mess as you are.”

Rage surged, hot and wild. My wolf pressed against my skin, scratching to be let out, to tear, to claw. My fists shook at my sides. For moons I had endured her cruelty, her veiled barbs and sharpened lies. But the weight of Lucien’s betrayal, her smugness, the laughter in her eyes—it broke something inside me.

Before I knew it, my hand shot forward, shoving her arm away.

Selene staggered back with a startled gasp that pierced the air. Her cry echoed through the corridor. She collapsed gracefully against the wall, clutching her wrist as though I had shattered her bones instead of brushing her sleeve.

Gasps erupted around us. Wolves turned, eyes wide, eager for spectacle.

And then his voice thundered through the hall.

“Liora!”

Alpha Lucien.

The crowd parted like water as he strode in, golden eyes blazing with fury, his presence crashing over us like a storm. His Alpha aura pressed down on the gathered wolves, silencing them, bending them to stillness. His gaze found me, and it seared like fire, hot and merciless.

“What have you done?” His tone was cold steel, every syllable a lash.

“I—” My voice faltered, splintered. “I didn’t—”

“It’s my fault,” Selene interrupted swiftly, her eyes brimming with tears that shone like jewels. She cradled her wrist delicately as though my touch had left her broken. “Please, don’t blame her. I should never have provoked her. Forgive her, Lucien, for my sake.”

The crowd’s murmurs swelled, their sympathy flowing toward her, their contempt settling heavy upon me. To them, I was the jealous Luna, violent and graceless, lashing out at the gracious sister who bore her cruelty with dignity.

“Why did you hurt her?” Lucien’s voice boomed, his Alpha authority weighing down on me like stone. The command trembled in his tone, forcing my wolf to whimper and bow within me.

“I didn’t!” My cry cracked in the air, desperate and raw, but drowned in Selene’s sobs.

He didn’t listen. He never listened.

Before I could gather breath, Lucien moved. He swept Selene up into his arms with terrifying ease, cradling her as though she were fragile glass. My chest cracked open at the sight—his tenderness, his protectiveness, the softness in his gaze. I had begged for that softness for years. He had never once shown it to me in public.

Selene sniffled, burying her face against his chest. “Please… don’t be harsh on her. She’s your Luna. She just doesn’t understand.”

The crowd shifted uneasily, some lifting their phones, their recording stones, their enchanted lenses. I saw the gleam of cruel delight in their eyes as they captured my humiliation, etching it permanently into memory.

Lucien’s jaw clenched. His pride was everything. And I, his Luna, had become a stain upon it.

“Enough!” His voice cut through the air like a blade. He shifted Selene gently into Marcus’s arms, his Beta, before seizing my wrist. His grip was iron, unyielding, burning my skin as he dragged me away from the crowd.

The hall blurred into stone and torchlight as he pulled me down a narrow passage. My feet stumbled, my lungs burning, until he shoved me into a small chamber once used as storage. The door slammed shut.

“Fetch the healer’s kit,” Selene’s sweet voice called from the doorway, her tone wrapped in false concern. “I’m sure Liora will be glad to help.”

Lucien turned, his gaze blazing, his shoulders tense with restrained fury. “You heard her. Get it.”

The words struck like a whip. My wolf whimpered inside me, caged and powerless under the Alpha command. My body trembled, my pride screaming—but my hands still obeyed. I moved numbly to the shelves, retrieving the kit with shaking fingers.

When I returned, Selene was seated on a chaise, her head nestled delicately against Lucien’s chest as though she belonged there. His arm curled around her, steadying her, protecting her.

My stomach twisted so violently I thought I might collapse.

“Massage her feet,” Lucien commanded.

The words froze me. “What?”

“You heard me,” he growled, his Alpha dominance slamming into me like a storm. My knees weakened under the weight of it. “Do it.”

My wolf whined in submission, but something deeper—my pride, my last fragile shard of self—fought back.

“No.” The word tore from my throat, weak but defiant.

His eyes narrowed dangerously, golden irises glowing with suppressed rage. “What did you say?”

“I will not!” My voice cracked, tears spilling freely.

The next moment, pain exploded across my body. He shoved me, hard. I hit the stone floor with a sickening thud, agony lancing through my abdomen. Instinct took over—I curled protectively around my belly, my hands flying to shield the fragile lives within me.

Fear ripped through me, sharper than pain. Not them. Goddess, please, not them.

Selene gasped, her tone dripping with false horror. “Alpha, don’t! She’s carrying your children!”

The chamber fell into stunned silence. My secret—my one fragile hope—was no longer mine.

Gasps rippled from the doorway as onlookers realized what she had revealed. My pregnancy, my last shield, stripped away with a single sentence.

Lucien’s eyes widened for the briefest heartbeat, then narrowed, his jaw tightening like stone. “Even if you carry my heirs, Liora, you will remember your place.”

My vision blurred. My tears fell like rain.

Selene’s voice slid through the silence, silken and cruel. “She deserves this, Lucien. She stole me from my family’s love, from your love. Don’t hold back on my account.”

“Selene,” Lucien snapped, though his gaze never left me. “She deserves worse.”

I couldn’t take it anymore. My voice shattered, raw and hoarse. “Stop pretending you care, Selene! Stop hiding behind your lies!”

The chamber split with the sharp crack of his hand against my face. My head snapped to the side, the sting burning like fire.

Silence followed. Heavy. Suffocating.

My tears dripped onto the cold stone floor. My pride lay shattered at my feet. My wolf whimpered weakly inside me, wounded beyond repair.

And in that silence, truth settled heavy in my chest.

There was no bottom to this humiliation. He would drag me lower, lower still, until nothing of me remained.

The sting of Lucien’s hand burned across my cheek, the metallic tang of blood filling my mouth where my teeth had cut into my lip. The sound of the strike still echoed in my ears, louder than the laughter from the banquet hall, louder than the whispers of the wolves pressing close to the doorway.

For a heartbeat, Lucien froze, his chest rising and falling sharply. His golden eyes—so cold, so merciless—flickered with something unreadable. Was it guilt? Shock at his own violence? Or simply annoyance that others had seen him lose control?

“Liora—” he began, his voice strained.

I flinched back instantly, clutching my belly as if his very touch might seep into my unborn pups. My wolf snarled faintly inside, weak but unwilling to cower completely.

His hand hovered in the air, trembling slightly, as though he wished to reach for me. But I couldn’t bear it. His palm was branded into my skin like fire.

“Don’t,” I whispered, my voice hoarse, broken.

Selene was faster. She slipped gracefully between us, her body language flowing like silk, her expression a perfect portrait of grief. Tears streaked down her flawless cheeks, catching the torchlight like liquid diamonds.

“This is my fault,” she wept, clutching Lucien’s arm as if to steady him. “Please—don’t blame her. I provoked her. I should have known better. Forgive her, Alpha, for my sake.”

The wolves at the door murmured. Their gazes softened toward her and hardened against me. In their eyes, Selene was merciful, gentle, magnanimous. And I—the Luna—was jealous, violent, unworthy.

Lucien’s jaw clenched. His gaze returned to me, hard and weighing.

“If you apologize to Selene,” he said slowly, each word deliberate, “I will forget this ever happened.”

A hush fell. Every wolf leaned closer, waiting, hungry. They wanted the Luna to bow. They wanted me broken.

The words sat on my tongue like poison. My pride screamed against them, but the pups in my womb twisted within me, reminding me that survival sometimes meant swallowing venom.

Selene stepped forward, folding her hands over her chest in a saint’s gesture. “You don’t have to,” she whispered sweetly. “I never wished to divide you. Please, don’t humiliate yourself for my sake.”

Her voice was honey. Her eyes were knives.

I said nothing. Silence was my last act of defiance.

Her lips curved almost imperceptibly before she turned back to Lucien, bowing her head. “I’ll go. I’ll give you two space. Don’t be too hard on her. She’s… fragile.”

She left in a flutter of crimson silk, her shadow long and triumphant across the wall.

Lucien stared at me for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then his voice dropped, low and sharp. “Go home, Liora. I will not come to you tonight. You’ve disappointed me.”

Something inside me snapped.

Three years of sacrifice. Three years of silence. Three years of giving everything I had—my body, my pride, my heart. And it meant nothing.

I stumbled from the chamber, my cheek throbbing, my vision blurred. The corridors twisted around me until I reached the east wing, where the noise of the feast dimmed and shadows stretched long. I pressed my hand to my belly, whispering desperately to my pups.

“I’ll keep you safe. No matter what.”

But the Goddess seemed to mock me. Because then I heard it.

A low, breathless moan.

I froze. The sound slid through the air, intimate, unmistakable. My wolf whimpered, urging me to turn away. But some cruel force dragged me forward, each step heavy, until I stood before a half-open door.

The scent hit me first—musk, heat, wolf desire thick in the air. My hands trembled. I pushed the door open wider.

And I saw them.

Lucien’s body pressed against Selene’s, his hands tangled in her golden hair. His lips devoured hers hungrily, his growl low and primal. Selene writhed against him, her legs hooked around his waist, her nails clawing at his back as though she were branding him with her touch.

My heart stopped. My blood froze.

“Take off your ring,” Selene purred between kisses, her lips swollen, her eyes gleaming with triumph.

“No,” Lucien growled back, his voice rough with desire. “Forbidden makes it sweeter. If only Liora was half as enticing as you…”

The world shattered.

I staggered back, bile rising in my throat. Memories assaulted me—every vow, every whispered mine, every night I had bled myself dry to keep him alive. The organ I had given him to save his life. The endless shifts at the tavern to fund his ambitions. The sleepless nights nursing him back from death.

And still, it wasn’t enough.

Claiming me wasn’t enough. Humiliating me wasn’t enough. He needed to desecrate the bond itself, to strip me until nothing remained.

My gaze dropped to my hand. The silver band glinted faintly in the torchlight, mocking me. The mark of our union. The proof of my chains.

It burned.

With trembling fingers, I clawed it off. The metal bit into my skin, drawing blood. A drop slid down my palm, scarlet and sharp, but the pain was freeing.

I set the ring on a nearby table, its cold gleam hollow.

This was the end.

I turned and walked away, each step unsteady but resolute, my tears blurring the path ahead.

The mate bond still throbbed faintly in my chest, but something deeper had broken. Something that no vow, no ritual, no Alpha command could repair.

The Luna of the Silverfang Pack was dead.

Only Liora remained.

The door slammed behind me as I stumbled into the cold night, the stone walls of the pack hall still vibrating with laughter and music, as though nothing had shattered. As though my entire world hadn’t just burned to ash.

The silver ring no longer weighed on my finger, but its absence throbbed like a phantom wound. My hand felt raw, stripped bare, like a piece of myself had been torn away.

I walked blindly through the forest, following familiar paths until the pack’s fortress was just a shadow against the moonlit horizon. My legs carried me to the cottage on the outskirts of Silverfang territory—the place Lucien had once brought me when we were newly mated. Back then, it had felt like a sanctuary, a nest for our future. Now the ivy-choked beams and sagging roof mocked me with the ghosts of promises never meant to be kept.

Inside, the air was stale with dust, the hearth long cold. I ran my fingers along the wooden table where he had once kissed me, where I had once whispered dreams of pups and peace. My chest ached so violently that I pressed my palm against it, as if I could hold the pieces of my heart together.

But Selene’s voice followed me still, sharp and cruel.

He says you are too tame. Too dull. Too barren.

He marked me while I wore the gown he gifted to you.

“Stop,” I whispered, clutching my head, but the memories clung to me like tar.

My stomach cramped. Hunger gnawed at me, and I realized I hadn’t eaten since the morning. The pups stirred restlessly, reminding me of the lives that still clung to me, fragile but fierce.

“For you,” I murmured, forcing my limbs to move. I opened the small cupboard and pulled out stale bread, dried fruit, a bit of smoked venison. My hands shook as I forced myself to eat, every bite heavy as stone. Each time I swallowed, I whispered an apology. “Forgive me, little ones. Your mother has nothing left to give but this.”

When the food was gone, I lit a single candle. Its flame flickered weakly, casting shadows that seemed to jeer at me. My mind raced. I couldn’t survive like this. If I stayed, Lucien would destroy me piece by piece. And worse—he would destroy them.

No. Not anymore.

I opened the drawer where I had hidden the communication stone, its runes faint but steady. My grandmother had pressed it into my hands years ago, urging me to keep it for emergencies. I whispered the name of the only person I still trusted.

The stone pulsed, and a warm, steady voice answered. “Liora?”

Lyra. My old colleague, a wolf-lawyer who had once fought for the weak in pack courts.

Tears blurred my eyes. “I need… a separation contract. Tonight.”

There was silence, then a sharp inhale. “You’ve finally decided?”

My throat ached, but I forced the words out. “Yes.”

“I’ll draft it within hours,” she said firmly. “You’ll need to sign it in blood to make it binding under pack law. Do you want to claim custody?”

I pressed both hands to my belly, my pups shifting within. “Yes. They’re mine. He doesn’t deserve them.”

Her voice softened. “Stay strong. I’ll send a raven before dawn.”

When the connection faded, I collapsed onto the table, sobbing into my arms until the candle sputtered low.

---

By dawn, the raven arrived. Its black feathers gleamed in the pale light as it tapped at the window. Tied to its leg was a sealed envelope marked with Lyra’s crest.

My hands trembled as I broke it open, unrolling the parchment. The runes glowed faintly: Severance of Mating Bond. Custody of heirs. Division of property.

My chest tightened as I pricked my finger with a pin. A bead of blood welled, and I pressed it to the parchment. The runes flared, binding.

It was real. The bond was severed in law.

Tears streamed silently down my cheeks as I cradled my stomach. “We’re free,” I whispered. “I’ll protect you. I promise.”

---

At noon, boots thundered against the wooden steps. My blood ran cold.

Lucien filled the doorway, tall and commanding, his presence overwhelming the small cottage. He carried a bouquet of white moonlilies, their petals glowing faintly with lunar magic. Once, I would have wept at such a gift. Now they felt like mockery.

“Liora,” he said smoothly, his lips curving into a smile he had once reserved for me alone. “I came to make peace. Last night was… unworthy of us both.”

I accepted the bouquet in silence and set it aside without water. His smile faltered.

“You embarrassed me,” he said, his tone hardening though he still tried to coat it in charm. “You’ll apologize to Selene and the others. You’ll prepare a feast to show your remorse. That will settle it.”

My lips trembled. “I apologize,” I whispered.

He blinked, startled, as though he hadn’t expected me to yield so easily.

“I apologize,” I repeated, my voice breaking, “for forgetting my place.”

His golden eyes softened, confusion flickering. He mistook my words for surrender, when in truth they were farewell.

I turned to the kitchen, moving automatically, preparing his favorite dishes—the same ones I had made a hundred times. Venison stew, rich with herbs. Honeyed bread baked golden. Elderberry wine chilled with river stones.

When I set the table, his pride swelled. He ate heartily, his voice almost tender.

“This is why I chose you,” he said. “You’re obedient. Loyal. You know your duty. After you apologize, everything will return to normal.”

I forced a smile, hollow and brittle, as I raised a spoonful of stew to my lips.

But deep inside, my wolf howled.

He truly believed I would stay. He truly believed his chains were unbreakable.

But my blood had already sealed my escape.

This was not our meal.

This was our last supper.