Elana POV:

The mansion felt like a mausoleum.

I went straight to the master bedroom. I didn't grab a suitcase; I grabbed heavy-duty trash bags.

Wolves nest. We build safe spaces with our mate's scent. For years, I'd curated this room-pillows, blankets, photos-trying to weave our lives together. Now, I was tearing the nest apart.

I swept the framed photos into the bag. Glass crunched. I stripped the sheets that smelled like him and shoved them down the laundry chute.

I only packed what was mine. My sketchbooks. My charcoal pencils. The woman I was before I became "Emilio's Omega."

The front door slammed.

My heart hammered-a prey response.

"Elana?" Emilio's voice floated up the stairs.

I kicked the bags into the closet and walked to the landing.

Emilio stood in the foyer, loosening his tie. He held a small velvet box. He reeked of her. Under the expensive cologne, the smell of Hayden's peach perfume and baby powder clung to him like a second skin.

"Home early," I said, gripping the railing.

"Meeting ended sooner than expected," he lied, smooth as silk. He walked up, offering the box. "For you. I know I've been distant."

I took it. It felt heavy, like a bribe.

"Emilio," I said. "I want a baby."

He froze. The temperature in the hallway plummeted. His eyes flashed amber-his wolf was irritated.

"We have discussed this."

"Why?" I pushed. "I am your mate. Why is my blood poison to you?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's not poison, Elana. It's biology. Moonstone is a target. We need an Alpha heir with dominance. Physical strength." He looked me up and down, his gaze clinical. "You haven't shifted. Your aura is practically non-existent. A child with you... it's a genetic gamble I can't take."

Gamble.

His eyes glazed over. Mind-Link. His expression softened into something I hadn't seen directed at me in years.

"I have to go," he said, buttoning his jacket. "Security breach at the north perimeter."

"Be careful," I said, my voice robotic.

He brushed past me, leaving a wake of lies and another woman's scent.

I went into the bedroom. He'd left his tablet on the nightstand. The screen lit up.

Hayden: [Leo has a fever. He's asking for Papa. Come back. The 'meeting' isn't over.]

I stared at the screen. Papa.

A sharp, twisting cramp seized my lower abdomen. I doubled over, gasping. It wasn't just heartbreak; it was a physical, searing pull in my womb.

Wolves don't get sick. Not like this.

I drove to the pack hospital, hood up, avoiding the VIP entrance. I went to the free clinic side.

Dr. Aris, a Beta who didn't care about politics, ran the wand over my stomach. He frowned at the monitor.

"Luna... Ms. Gomez," he corrected. "Symptoms?"

"Nausea. Cramps. Exhaustion."

He turned the screen.

"You're pregnant, Elana."

The room spun. "Impossible. Emilio gives me the herbal tea every morning..."

"Contraceptive tea dampens fertility, it doesn't nuke it," Aris said. "Especially with Fated Mates. Nature finds a way."

He pointed to a tiny, pulsing speck.

"But there's something else. The energy readings are off the charts. This isn't a weak pup, Elana. This fetus has an Alpha aura already. Maybe stronger."

I touched the screen. A baby. The thing he said would ruin him.

"Is it okay? The pain..."

"Stress," Aris warned. "Your cortisol is toxic. Your wolf is dormant, so she can't protect the pregnancy. If you don't find peace, your body might reject the fetus to save you. You need to be cherished, Elana."

Cherished.

I let out a dry, cracking laugh.

I was carrying the heir he claimed to want, while he played house with a woman who had tricked him with a child that wasn't Fated.

"Thanks, Doc."

I walked out into the corridor. I had to tell him. Maybe... maybe the biological imperative would snap him out of it.

Elana POV:

I clutched the thermal printout in my pocket like a lifeline.

I turned the corner toward the exit and stopped dead.

Through the glass of the VIP waiting room, I saw them. Emilio sat on a leather sofa, Hayden weeping into his shirt.

"I need security, Emilio," she wailed. "People look at me like a mistress. Leo asks why we live in the apartment while she lives in the manor."

I pressed myself against the wall.

Emilio stroked her hair. "Patience. The board is old-fashioned. They respect the Bond. I can't just evict a Fated Mate without cause."

"She's useless!" Hayden hissed, pulling back. "She can't shift. She can't breed. I gave you a son!"

"I know. And I am grateful."

"Then make me Luna."

Emilio sighed, a sound of heavy resignation. "I will. Elana is... a stabilizer. She keeps my wolf sane until the transition is smooth. Once Leo is confirmed, I'll find a loophole to annul the union. You will be Luna, Hayden."

A stabilizer. Not a wife. A prescription drug.

I crushed the photo in my pocket.

If I walked in there now, he wouldn't hug me. He would take the baby. He would take my child, raise it with Hayden, and discard me like a used wrapper.

No.

I turned on my heel.

I went straight to the Pack's legal department. Gary, a junior lawyer with nervous energy, was working late.

"I need a document drafted," I said.

"Luna?"

"A liability waiver," I lied, my voice crisp. "For the Gala tonight. And a separation of assets for tax purposes. The Alpha wants to move some properties around."

"I... I should check with the Alpha."

"Do you want to call him while he's with his son?" I arched a brow. "He asked me to handle the paperwork to save time."

Gary paled. "Right. I'll draft it."

I slipped the 'Voluntary Severance of Mate Bond' clause into the middle of the dense tax jargon. It looked like standard boilerplate text about 'dissolution of partnership assets.'

My phone buzzed. Mind-Link.

"Happy Birthday, Elana."

I checked my watch. My birthday was three months ago.

"It isn't my birthday, Emilio."

Silence.

"Right. Calendar sync issue. Listen, the merger gala is tonight. You need to be there."

"I'm sick."

"It wasn't a request. It's an Alpha Command. Wear the blue velvet. High neck. We don't want people asking why there's no Mark."

The Command settled on my shoulders like a lead vest. My wolf was too weak to fight it.

"Yes, Alpha."

I walked to my car, smoothing the crumpled ultrasound.

"Sorry, little one," I whispered. "We're leaving. Even if I have to crawl."

A faint flutter answered me. Not movement, just a spark. My wolf curled around my womb, entering deep hibernation. Survival mode.

Elana POV:

The ballroom smelled of money, roasted meat, and hypocrisy.

I stood by the champagne tower in the stifling blue dress. Emilio was holding court on the other side of the room, the sun to everyone else's planets. Hayden was there, wearing "power red," laughing too loudly with the board members' wives.

"Look at her," a Gamma whispered. "The Ghost Luna."

"He hasn't touched her in years. Sad."

I took a sip of water, hand trembling. Just get through tonight. Tomorrow, I hand him the 'tax papers,' he signs my freedom, and I vanish.

Something slammed into my legs.

"Move!"

Leo. Miniature tuxedo, maximum entitlement.

"Hello, Leo," I said.

"Mommy says you're a bad wolf," he announced, his voice shrill. "She says you're stealing Papa's house."

Conversations nearby died.

"Go find your mother, Leo."

He grabbed my wrist. His claws were out-no control. "Give me that!"

He yanked at my silver charm bracelet. It was cheap, a gift from Emilio before he became Alpha. The only thing I had left.

"No, Leo."

"Papa says everything is mine!"

He jerked his arm back. The clasp snapped. Charms scattered across the marble like dropped coins.

"No!" I dropped to my knees, scrambling to gather them.

Leo kicked my hand. "Mine!"

"Enough!"

Emilio stormed over, thunder in his eyes. "What is happening?"

"She pushed me!" Leo screamed instantly, fake tears springing up. "She hit me!"

Hayden swooped in. "Oh, my baby! Did she hurt you?"

Emilio turned to me, eyes glowing amber. The heat coming off him was suffocating.

"You touched my heir?"

"He's lying," I said, clutching the broken chain. "He broke my bracelet."

"It's junk!" Emilio shouted. "He is the future! Submit!"

He didn't wait. He threw a wave of Alpha Force at me, intending to force me to my knees.

But I was compromised. My body was diverting everything to the baby.

The force hit me like a physical blow. I flew backward, heels slipping on spilled champagne.

I crashed into the buffet table. The heavy ice sculpture of a wolf toppled.

I hit the floor hard. A sharp, tearing pain ripped through my stomach. It wasn't a cramp. It was a severance.

"Ah!" I curled into a ball, gasping.

Silence.

Emilio stood there, chest heaving, looking momentarily stunned by his own power.

"Emilio..." I reached out a hand. "Help..."

He took a step.

"Don't!" Hayden shrieked. "Leo is traumatized! We need to get him out!"

Emilio hesitated. He looked at me, lying in glass and ice. Then he looked at the crying boy.

"Get the car," he barked at his Beta. He turned his back on me. "Clean this mess up."

He walked away.

Warmth spread between my legs. It soaked the blue velvet, turning it black.

"No," I whimpered. "Please, no."

The scent of iron and copper filled the air.

The tiny spark I had felt earlier flickered once, violently, and then... nothing.

My vision blurred. The chandelier spun above me, a mocking, crystal moon. Darkness swallowed me before the pain could finish the job.