Overnight, everything had changed.

I was no longer allowed to sleep in the bedroom I once shared with Matteo. Instead, I was ordered to move to the maids’ quarters. I had less than three days to gather my belongings and disappear from this pack forever.

When I reached the small, dimly lit room, I paused at the doorway, my heart heavy. It was cramped and simple — just three bunk beds squeezed into a narrow space. Two of the lower bunks were already occupied by sleeping maids. Their breathing was soft and steady. They didn’t even stir as I stepped inside.

I quietly set down the few things I had managed to carry: a worn bag stuffed with clothes, my toothbrush, and one pair of shoes. The rest of my belongings were still back in Matteo’s room. Deep down, I knew they would probably be thrown away or burned before I could ever return for them.

The top bunk was empty. I climbed the creaky wooden ladder slowly, careful not to make any noise that might wake the others. Once I lay down on the thin, lumpy mattress, the weight of the day finally crashed over me.

I closed my eyes tightly, but the tears refused to stay hidden. They slipped out anyway, hot and silent, trailing down my temples and into my hair. Everything hurt — my chest, my pride, my future. The life I had known was crumbling around me, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

That night, the only sounds in the quiet room were my muffled sobs and the painful cracking of my shattered heart. Sleep came slowly, and when it did, it was shallow and restless.

---

I had only managed a short, fitful nap when a sudden shock of freezing water slammed into my body.

I gasped sharply and bolted upright, nearly losing my balance on the narrow top bunk. The icy water soaked through my clothes instantly, cutting straight to my bones. Violent shivers wracked my frame as I wrapped my arms tightly around myself, trying desperately to hold in what little warmth I had left.

“About time you woke up, lazy bum,” one of the maids sneered.

The other girl burst into loud, mocking laughter as they watched me tremble in confusion and cold.

“Sleeping until eight in the morning?” the second one taunted, her voice dripping with disdain. “What, did you think you were still the Luna? That you could laze around like before? Get down here. You have a lot of work waiting for you in the laundry room.”

Anger flared inside me, hot and sudden. For a moment, I wanted to snap back at them — to remind them who I had been. But the truth settled heavily in my chest. I wasn’t the Luna anymore. I had no wolf. No power. No protection.

Reacting with pride would only make them target me more.

So I swallowed the bitter words, climbed down the ladder on shaky legs, and quickly changed into the plain, faded clothes I had brought. Without saying a word, I followed them out of the room.

When we reached the laundry room, they led me to an enormous pile of white sheets. It was clearly too much work for one person — the kind of load that was usually shared between four or five maids. Sara and Clara stood back, arms crossed, watching me with smug little smiles.

They had done this on purpose. They wanted to break me on my very first day.

Their eyes dared me to complain. They knew I couldn’t fight back. A wolfless girl like me was easy prey.

I lowered my gaze and began working without protest.

The hours dragged on painfully. My fingers grew raw and swollen from the harsh soap and endless scrubbing. Every time I straightened my back, it cracked loudly, sending sharp aches through my spine. Sweat trickled down my forehead, stinging my eyes. My arms trembled with exhaustion.

I couldn’t remember ever feeling this drained. Back when I was Luna, even when I spent long hours doing paperwork in my office, Matteo would always appear with a tray of warm food. He never allowed me to skip meals. His care had been quiet, but constant.

Now, I hadn’t eaten. I hadn’t bathed. My stomach ached with emptiness, and my throat felt painfully dry.

Finally, I couldn’t bear it any longer. I straightened up slowly, my vision spinning for a few frightening seconds. My voice came out hoarse and weak as I turned toward the two maids who were casually sitting on stools, chatting.

“Excuse me… I’ve washed almost all the sheets. Only three are left. Please… can I take a short break to eat something? I’m so tired.”

Each word felt like sandpaper in my throat.

Sara, the blonde one, looked at me with open contempt. “You’re not even finished, and you already want food?” She let out a cold laugh. “Don’t make me laugh.”

My hands shook as I clenched them at my sides. “But I’ve done most of it… This is too much. It’s maltreatment.”

Clara, the brunette, threw her head back and laughed loudly, as if I had told the funniest joke. “Maltreatment? This is nothing. I was even given the choice to send you to the brothel to sell your body, but I didn’t. You should be thanking me instead of complaining about a little work and food.”

The humiliation burned deep in my chest. I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. Instead, I bit down hard on my lip and bent over the washbasin again, continuing in silence.

That was when the door to the laundry room opened.

Sara and Clara instantly dropped to their knees, bowing low with exaggerated respect.

“Greetings to the Luna!” they called out in unison.

Even without looking up, I knew who had entered.

Selene.

I kept scrubbing, my raw fingers moving mechanically, refusing to acknowledge her presence. Her elegant heels clicked slowly across the floor until they stopped directly in front of me — close enough that I could see the expensive leather clearly in my line of sight.

She said nothing.

She simply stood there, looking down at my soaked, exhausted, broken form.

Selene didn’t speak at first.

She simply stood there, her expensive heels planted firmly in my line of vision, the faint scent of her rose perfume cutting through the damp, soapy air of the laundry room. I kept my head down, my raw fingers still moving mechanically over the last sheet, scrubbing even though my arms felt like lead.

I could feel her eyes on me.

“Leave us,” Selene said softly to Sara and Clara. Her voice was smooth, almost gentle, but it carried the unmistakable weight of command.

The two maids didn’t hesitate. They rose quickly from their knees, murmuring respectful farewells before hurrying out of the room and closing the door behind them with a soft click. The sudden silence felt heavier than their mocking laughter.

Only then did Selene speak again.

“Look at me, Lara.”

My hands stilled in the water. For a long moment, I considered ignoring her. But defiance would only make this worse. Slowly, painfully, I straightened my aching back and lifted my gaze to meet hers.

She looked radiant. Her skin glowed with health, her hair perfectly styled, and her clothes expensive and immaculate. The complete opposite of how I must have looked — drenched in sweat and dirty water, eyes swollen from crying, fingers red and cracked.

Selene smiled. It didn’t reach her eyes. “You’ve had a long morning, haven’t you?” she said, tilting her head slightly. “Working like a common maid on your first day. How… humbling.”

I said nothing. My throat was too dry, my body too exhausted to form words that wouldn’t shake.

She took a slow step closer, her heels clicking once against the tiled floor. “The elders have made a decision. As you know, I’m carrying the Alpha’s child. But the pregnancy has been… difficult. The healers say I’m physically weak. My body needs strength to nourish the future heir.”

Her eyes dropped deliberately to my collarbone, where my high collar had slipped slightly during work, revealing just the edge of the large, ugly birthmark I had spent years hiding.

“They believe a blood transfusion… would stabilize me.” Her smile widened, sweet and poisonous. “And since you’re still here for a few more days, the elders have decided that you will donate what is needed.”

My stomach dropped.

Blood. They wanted my blood.

The room seemed to tilt. I gripped the edge of the washbasin tightly, my swollen fingers protesting at the pressure. They couldn't get rid of me last night, so they decided to drain my blood to slowly kill me?

“Why… why my blood?” I whispered, my voice hoarse and cracking.

Selene let out a soft, pitying laugh. “Because the healers believe it will be effective. And because Matteo has already agreed. He said it was the least you could do for the pack after… everything.”

The words hit like a fresh slap.

Matteo had agreed.

Of course, he had.

I thought of all the nights he had held me, whispering that I was enough, that we would find a way despite my wolflessness and the mark on my skin. Now he was willing to drain me to strengthen the woman carrying his child. Something inside me cracked wider.

“I… I’m already weak,” I said quietly, my eyes burning with fresh tears I refused to let fall. “I haven’t eaten since yesterday. I’ve been working for hours without rest. Taking my blood now…”

“Will you refuse the Alpha’s order?” Selene interrupted, her voice turning sharper. “After everything this pack has given you? After you failed to give us an heir? After you brought shame upon us with your… defect?”

She stepped even closer, lowering her voice to a whisper that felt like venom sliding into my ear.

“Or would you rather I tell the pack that you’re refusing to help the future Luna and her unborn child? That the wolfless, marked girl is still trying to be difficult even in banishment?”

My hands trembled violently. The exhaustion, the hunger, the humiliation — it all pressed down on me until I felt like I was drowning.

I hated her.

I hated Matteo.

But most of all, in that moment, I hated how powerless I truly was.

Selene straightened up, smoothing down her perfect dress. “The healer is waiting in the infirmary. Sara and Clara will escort you there once you finish those last sheets. Don’t keep us waiting too long, Lara. We wouldn’t want you to cause any more trouble before you leave.”

She turned gracefully on her heel and walked toward the door, pausing only at the threshold.

“Oh, and one more thing,” she added without turning around. “Try not to faint. It would be terribly inconvenient.”

The door clicked shut behind her, leaving me alone in the heavy silence.

I stood there for a long moment, staring at the murky water in the basin. My vision blurred again, this time not just from exhaustion. The tears I had been holding back finally spilled over, mixing with the sweat and grime on my face.

I had thought the rejection and banishment were the worst things that could happen.

But this… this was something else.

They weren’t just throwing me out.

They were going to bleed me dry first.

With trembling hands, I forced myself to finish the last three sheets. When I was finally done, Sara and Clara returned, their smirks wider than before.

The door finally opened again.

Sara and Clara stepped inside, their faces twisted with smug satisfaction.

“Done already?” Clara mocked. “How hardworking of you, former Luna.”

“Time to go,” Sara added, grabbing my upper arm roughly. “The healer is waiting.”

They didn’t give me a chance to wash my hands or change my damp, dirty clothes. They simply dragged me out of the laundry room and through the familiar halls of the packhouse. My wet shoes squeaked against the floor with every exhausted step. My vision kept blurring at the edges, and my legs felt dangerously unsteady.

By the time we reached the infirmary, my breathing was shallow and ragged.

The room was brightly lit and coldly sterile. The healer — an older woman named Mira who had once treated my minor injuries with kindness- now avoided my eyes completely. On a neatly arranged tray lay syringes, tubes, and several empty blood bags.

Selene was already there. She sat comfortably in a padded chair, looking every bit the delicate, precious Luna the pack now worshipped. Her hand rested lightly over her stomach as if protecting her baby.

Matteo was nowhere to be seen.

“Strap her down,” Selene ordered calmly. “We don’t want any accidents.”

Sara and Clara shoved me into the cold metal chair. They fastened thick straps around my wrists and upper arm with unnecessary force. The rough fabric bit into my already aching skin.

Healer Mira hesitated for a brief second before inserting the large needle into the crook of my arm. The sharp sting made me flinch. “Try to relax,” the healer murmured, almost too quietly for anyone else to hear.

Relax.

As if that were possible.

The machine began its steady work. I felt the pull immediately — the slow, continuous draw of blood leaving my body. Drop by drop. Bag by bag. At first, it was just discomfort. Then came the coldness. A deep, creeping chill that started in my arm and spread through my veins. My heartbeat echoed loudly in my ears. The room grew dimmer.

Selene watched with quiet fascination, occasionally sipping from a glass of water as if she were attending a casual gathering.

Minutes stretched into what felt like hours.

My head grew heavier. My thoughts became sluggish. The hatred burning in my chest was the only thing that still felt sharp. I remembered Matteo’s arms around me. His promises. The way he once kissed the birthmark I hated so much and told me it made me unique. All of it felt like a cruel joke now.

With every drop of blood that filled the bag, that old love twisted further — burning, rotting, transforming into something dark and unbreakable.

Hatred.

Pure, ice-cold hatred.

My breathing grew shallower. Black spots danced across my vision. My lips felt numb.

“Enough,” Selene said eventually, waving a graceful hand. “We don’t want her dying before she leaves the territory. That would be… messy.”

The healer removed the needle and pressed a cotton pad against my arm. Blood continued to seep slowly through it — my body too weak to clot properly.

They unstrapped me.

The moment I tried to stand, the world spun violently. My knees buckled. Sara and Clara caught me before I could collapse completely, laughing under their breath.

“Pathetic,” one of them whispered.

They half-dragged, half-carried me out of the infirmary. My body felt hollow. Empty. Like they had taken more than just blood — they had drained away the last remaining pieces of my dignity, my hope, and my strength.

I was so weak I didn’t even notice we’d passed the maids’ headquarters. Everything was a blur. Only when I heard the loud, rusty creak of the huge back gate did it finally hit me—they were taking me away from the pack. Dragging me off like I was nothing.

They tossed my limp body on the ground and just walked away.

My heart rate rose sharply, despite being in a near-unconscious state. I've always been afraid of the dark. A natural phenomenon that werewolves loved and eagerly anticipated. The endless shadows between the trees, the suffocating silence, the feeling that something unseen was always watching... it made panic crawl beneath my skin.

And now, surrounded by nothing but towering trees and pitch-black darkness, I could barely breathe.

My breaths came out in short, shaky pants as fear tightened around my chest. The darkness seemed to close in on me from every direction, swallowing me whole. Spots danced across my vision, and despite already being unable to see clearly, everything darkened even further.

Then I blacked out.

***

Every hair on my body stood on end.

I jolted awake with a gasp, my instincts screaming at me before my mind could even catch up. A loud snarl echoed through the darkness, followed by the rapid pounding of paws against wet sand—getting closer. Closer.

My blood turned cold.

I knew those sounds anywhere.

Rogues.

Panic surged through me as I scrambled to my feet too quickly, making the world spin violently around me. For a second, I nearly collapsed again, but adrenaline slammed through my body hard enough to force me forward.

I ran.

Behind me, the rogues gave chase almost instantly, their snarls growing louder as they picked up my scent. They could smell my weakness. My fear. The fact that I was injured and alone. And they were gaining on me fast.

This wasn't a game or a warning chase.

At this rate, I would be torn apart within seconds.

Before I could complete my thoughts, one had outrun the pack and leaped at me, ready to tear me to shreds with a single bite, when I spun just enough to scoop a handful of dirt and flung it blindly. The wolf recoiled, snarling as its paws scratched on its eyes in an attempt to get rid of the dust.

I took a weird turn and came face-to-face with even denser trees and murky water. It was still dark, but not as dark as before, so I ran forward, pressing myself into the darkness. I dropped into the murky water without a second thought. The cold swallowed me whole, washing away the thickest trace of scent as I dragged myself to the other side.

I hid behind a tree and clamped a hand over my mouth to stop myself from screaming, and just as I did that. The rogues got to the part I was in, their feet deep in the murky water as they patrolled the area, their noses sniffing the ground loudly. After a few minutes of searching, I heard them growl loudly before retreating. Hearing them leave, I breathed a sigh of relief and dragged my tired frame up before coming out of my hiding place, only to come face to face with a rogue glaring at me with hunger in its eyes. Fuck. This is bad. There is no way I can outsmart it again.

It rushed towards me, prepared to attack, and I braced myself for the impact. The rogue slammed into me like a racing bull.

I hit the ground hard, the air exploding from my lungs as muddy water splashed around us. Its claws raked across my shoulder before I could shove it away, a burning line of pain tearing through my skin. I screamed and kicked wildly, my heel catching its ribs hard enough to make it stagger sideways with a furious snarl.

I scrambled backward on shaking limbs, but the rogue lunged again.

Its claws sliced across my thigh this time, not deep enough to cripple me but enough to send white-hot pain through my leg. Warm blood immediately soaked through my torn clothes. The beast circled me slowly, yellow eyes gleaming with cruel amusement as if it enjoyed watching me panic.

My chest tightened.

No. No, no—

The darkness. The growling. The trees are closing in around me.

I couldn't breathe. But it barely slowed it down.

The rogue crashed into me, pinning me violently against the tree trunk. Agonizing pain exploded through my back as its claws dug into my arms and shoulders, shallow but brutal scratches tearing through skin.

Then its jaws snapped toward my neck.

I screamed and shoved against its chest desperately, feeling its teeth graze my throat—

A savage snarl suddenly erupted from the darkness.

The weight crushing me vanished instantly.

The rogue was thrown sideways so violently that it rolled across the muddy ground with a furious howl. Another wolf—massive, dark-furred, and far larger—had slammed directly into it.

More footsteps followed.

Four men burst through the trees behind him, all dressed in dark hunting gear, their expressions turning sharp the second they saw me bleeding against the tree.

"Rogue!" one of them shouted.

The large wolf shifted mid-motion, bones cracking loudly before a tall man emerged in its place. He didn't even spare me a glance at first. His attention remained fixed on the rogue as he stepped protectively in front of me.

The rogue snarled but hesitated now.

Because he wasn't alone.

The other men spread out instantly, surrounding the area while two shifted into wolves beside their leader. The air thickened with dominance and threat.

The rogue backed away slowly, ears flattening.

Then it bolted into the forest. One of the men moved like he wanted to chase after it, but the tall stranger raised a hand.

"Leave it," he ordered coldly.

Silence fell.

The stranger finally turned toward me.

Up close, he looked terrifying in his own way—broad shoulders, sharp eyes, blood splattered across his arms from the fight. Yet his expression shifted the moment he saw how badly I was shaking.

"Easy," he muttered.

I tried to speak, but nothing came out.

The adrenaline keeping me upright finally disappeared all at once. Pain crashed into me so hard my knees gave out instantly.

Before I could hit the ground, strong arms caught me. The last thing I heard was one of the men cursing under his breath while another said, "She's bleeding badly!"

Then darkness swallowed me whole.

**

MATTEO

I stood motionless near the massive window of my office, my jaw clenched so tightly it ached. Rain hammered against the glass, but it wasn't enough to drown out the endless noise in my head.

Lara's face.

Her voice.

The look in her eyes when I rejected her.

My chest tightened violently.

My wolf stirred restlessly beneath my skin, filled with agitation that had refused to fade for days now. It prowled endlessly inside me, furious and grieving all at once.

You hurt her.

I shut my eyes.

I knew.

The memory haunted me relentlessly—the way she'd stood there trembling while I forced those cruel words out of my mouth. I had told myself it was necessary. That the pack needed to change. Someone powerful. Someone fertile and worthy of being the luna.

But now?

Now every second without her felt unbearable.

My wolf had barely spoken to me since that night. The bond between man and beast, once perfectly balanced, now felt fractured. The creature rejected food, sleep, and even patrols. Every instinct inside me screamed that something was wrong.

She left before the deadline—so quickly that she even abandoned most of her belongings. And with the recent surge of rogue attacks reported in the woods, the uncertainty gnawed at me relentlessly.

If only she had waited a little longer, I would have sent my men to escort her safely to another pack. But now… I had no way of knowing where she was or what had become of her.

Was she safe?

Had she managed to reach another pack alive?

A sharp knock interrupted my thoughts.

"Elders are waiting downstairs, Alpha," Beta Rowan said carefully from outside the door.

My expression darkened instantly.

Of course they were.

They had been relentless ever since Serene's pregnancy was announced. To the elders, this solved everything. An heir. Stability. A proper Luna from a respected bloodline.

Exactly what the pack needed.

Even if it felt like a cage tightening around my throat.

I descended the stairs slowly, my presence immediately silencing the room. The elders sat around the long table while Serene remained near the fireplace, dressed elegantly in pale silver.

The moment her eyes landed on me, they softened hopefully.

I looked away first.

One of the elders cleared his throat. "Alpha, preparations for the Luna ceremony should begin immediately. The pack needs reassurance after recent events."

Recent events.

A polite way of referring to Lara's humiliation and disappearance.

My stomach twisted.

"We've delayed long enough," another elder added firmly. "Serene carries the future heir of Red Moon Pack. She must officially stand beside you before rumors spread further."

Serene was carrying my child.

I would protect her.

Respect her.

Give her the title the pack demanded.

I straightened my back and spoke with authority. “The Luna ceremony will be held in three days. Preparations begin immediately.”