Charlotte POV:

I woke up to the smell of bleach and rubbing alcohol.

I was in a VIP room at the Pack Hospital. Kayla, my best friend and one of the few Betas who didn't treat me like garbage, sat in the chair.

"You're awake," she said softly. "Found you on the floor, Lottie. Fever of 104. Aiden... wasn't there."

"Business," I rasped.

"Business?" Kayla scoffed. "If by business you mean sitting in the pediatric ward with Haven, then sure."

I sat up, ripping the IV tape. "Take me there."

"Lottie, no..."

"Now, Kayla."

I walked down the hallway, clutching the IV pole. Even with dull senses, I smelled it. Cedar and rain.

I stopped outside a room. Blinds partially drawn.

Haven sat on the bed, sobbing beautifully. Aiden paced, flooding the hallway with calming pheromones he never wasted on me.

"They called him a bastard, Aiden!" Haven cried. "The other pups... said he has no father."

Aiden stopped. He wrapped his arms around her. "He is not a bastard. He is my son. The future Alpha."

"But Charlotte..."

"Charlotte is a placeholder!" Aiden roared, punching the wall. Plaster crumbled.

I flinched. Usually, he'd turn that rage on me. But here, he took a deep breath. He controlled the madness for her.

"She gave me her kidney years ago," Aiden said, voice lower. "I owe her life. That is the only reason she is still Luna. But once Leo shifts... once the Council sees his power... I will annul the marriage."

"I'm pregnant again, Aiden," Haven whispered.

Silence. Then, Aiden fell to his knees, pressing his face against her stomach. Reverent.

"I will protect you," he vowed. "I will protect our pack."

Our pack.

I wasn't part of the "our." I was the obstacle.

I didn't scream. A cold calm settled over me. The death of hope.

I turned and walked back to my room, ripping the IV out of my arm. Blood trickled down, but I didn't feel it.

"Lottie?" Kayla ran after me.

"Take me back to the Manor," I said. "I have something to do."

Back at the estate, the house was quiet. I walked into the living room.

Crash.

Leo stood by the fireplace. At his feet lay the shattered remains of a porcelain doll. An antique, imbued with a protection spell from my grandmother. The totem of my maternal line.

Leo smirked, eyes gleaming with malice.

"Oops. It was ugly anyway. Mommy says all your things are ugly."

Something inside me snapped.

Charlotte POV:

"You little brat!"

I lunged, grabbing Leo's arm. I just wanted to shake him, make him understand what he destroyed.

"That was my grandmother's!"

Leo let out an ear-piercing scream. "Daddy! Help! She's hurting me!"

The front door burst open. Aiden was there in a second. He didn't ask questions. He saw his son crying and me holding his arm.

"LET HIM GO!"

The Alpha Voice hit me like a physical blow. A command woven with dominance that forced every wolf instinct to submit. My knees buckled. I fell, gasping.

Leo scrambled to Haven, who had just entered. He buried his face in her skirt, fake sobbing.

"She hit me! I was just looking at the doll!"

I struggled against the pressure. "He... he smashed it on purpose..."

"Silence!" Aiden roared, eyes flashing gold. "You dare touch a pup? You dare touch my son?"

I forced myself to stand. My legs shook.

"Your son?" I spat out. "Yes, your bastard son. The one you're stealing my family's legacy for."

Dead silence.

Aiden's mother, the Dowager Luna, walked in. She looked at me with pure disdain.

"Watch your tongue, you barren mule," she sneered. "You are just jealous because Haven gave this pack an heir and you gave us nothing but medical bills."

"I gave you everything!" I screamed. "My land! My dignity! My..."

"Enough," Aiden said. The Alpha Voice vanished, replaced by cold indifference. "You have disrespected the hierarchy. Go to your room. Do not come out until I decide your punishment."

I looked at them. The Alpha, the mistress, the bastard, the cruel mother-in-law. A perfect, twisted family portrait.

"No," I said softly.

Aiden blinked. "What?"

"I said no." I stepped over the porcelain shards. "I am not going to my room. I am going to pack."

I walked past them. As I passed Haven, she leaned in close.

"You should have left years ago, Lottie," she whispered, venom dripping. "You're just a waste of space. A wolf who can't shift is just a dog. Time to put the dog down."

I kept walking up the stairs, back straight, while my heart bled out.

Charlotte POV:

I threw the last of my clothes into the suitcase. I signed the divorce papers with a flourish, the pen tearing through the paper.

"Leaving so soon?"

Haven stood in the doorway, holding a glass of wine.

"Get out," I said.

"It's not your room anymore," she said, walking in. "Aiden promised me I could redecorate. I'm thinking... pink."

"Take it. Take him. You deserve each other."

Haven laughed. Cold, tinkling. "You still don't get it. You think you're the victim." She stepped closer. "Do you know why you can't shift, Charlotte?"

I froze. "The surgery. When I donated my kidney."

"Oh, sweetie," she cooed. "You didn't donate a kidney. Aiden's kidneys were fine."

My blood ran cold. "What?"

"Aiden needed power to secure his Alpha position. The Witch Doctor suggested a transfer. Wolf Essence." Her eyes glittered. "We took your essence, Charlotte. We drained your wolf to boost Aiden's. That's why you're weak. That's why you're barren."

The world spun. Not a sacrifice for love? Theft? They violated my soul?

"You monster," I whispered.

"And the best part? I took the credit."

Rage exploded. I grabbed a silver letter opener. I just wanted to wipe that smirk off her face.

"I'll kill you!"

I took a step. Haven suddenly threw her wine glass at the wall, ripped her blouse, and threw herself onto the floor, screaming.

"Help! Aiden! She has a knife! She has silver!"

The door crashed open. Aiden took in the scene: me with the opener, Haven sobbing.

"DROP IT!"

He backhanded me across the face. The force sent me flying into the wall.

"She told me..." I spit blood. "She stole my essence, Aiden!"

"Liar!" Haven sobbed, clinging to his leg. "She's crazy! She tried to kill our baby!"

Aiden looked at me with disgust. "I checked the medical records myself. You gave a kidney. Stop inventing stories."

"Check the security crystal!" I pointed to the recording orb in the corner.

Aiden grabbed the crystal and crushed it. Dust fell from his fingers.

"I don't need proof to know who you are," he said coldly. "Get out. You are stripped of your title. You are nothing."

I stood up, wiping my lip. I grabbed my suitcase.

"You win," I told Haven.

I walked out into the rain. No pack. No wolf. No home. But as I stepped off the porch, the silver anklet felt heavier than ever. And deep inside, something stirred.

Something white. Something angry.