Alaric followed the moon-healer into the den chamber to collect the prenatal report. Ravenna, however, murmured something about needing a moment and lingered in the corridor.

Once they were both inside, she finally drawled, her voice lazy and slow, "You can come out now. You've been standing there watching long enough. Haven't had your fill yet?"

I stepped out without a word, my expression blank.

Seeing that I stayed silent, Ravenna grew impatient. Her gaze sharpened with mockery.

"What, no shame left at all? You knew Alaric never loved you, yet you still insist on holding on to the title of Luna of Blackthorn?"

I let out a cold laugh. "And you don't find it shameful to be the other woman, fully aware he's mated?"

Ravenna's lips curled into a smile. The faint scent of night jasmine and copper drifted off her, sweet and wrong, like something bruised beneath the surface. "I knew Alaric long before you did. If I hadn't gone across territories, you'd never have had the chance to bond with him."

She lightly patted her belly, then added smugly, "But I'm back now, and I'm carrying his pup. So I'd say it's time for you to step aside."

From the moment I bonded with Alaric, I knew he had a she-wolf he considered his one true love. But I never thought she'd hold such an unshakable place in his heart.

The pain that shot through my chest nearly brought me to my knees. Somewhere inside me, my wolf curled tight, pressing herself small, as if trying to protect something already breaking. My grip tightened instinctively on the report in my hand.

And that's when Ravenna saw it and snatched it from me.

She scanned the conclusion and burst into wild, gleeful laughter.

"Silver-scar blood rot?" she said. "So, what do you think? Will you live long enough to give birth to that bastard pup, or are you both going to die together?"

Her laughter rang in my ears like sirens and something in me snapped. I stepped forward and slapped her, hard.

She staggered back dramatically, then fell to the ground with a wail.

"Selene, I didn't mean to keep this from you! But I'm carrying a pup! How could you hit me like that?"

Huge, dramatic tears rolled down her cheeks. And before I could even process her performance, I felt a violent shove from behind. I lost my balance and my belly slammed into the cold, hard floor of the Healers' Hall.

Alaric grabbed my arm and yanked me up. I was still dazed, still trying to process the shock, when he yelled in my face.

"Are you out of your mind?! How could you push Ravenna? She's carrying a pup!"

I stared at him, stunned. Before I could speak, Ravenna cried out, "Alaric, please don't fight with Selene because of me. I shouldn't have asked you to come to the appointment with me. This is my fault. As long as the pup's okay, she can slap me."

She looked like a tragic heroine, eyes glassy, lower lip trembling. She even bared the side of her neck in a show of submission so practiced it could have been rehearsed.

Alaric's face twisted with anger. His voice was low and sharp when he turned to me.

"You've crossed the line, Selene," he said coldly. "Apologize to Ravenna."

The sound of it shocked even me. I laughed. Bitterly.

"You want me to apologize?" I said, my voice hoarse. "Alaric, do you know what this is?"

I shoved the silver-sickness report into his chest, my hands shaking. My throat tightened with emotion.

He didn't even look at it.

He tore the paper in half and glared at me like I was the problem.

"I don't care what that says! All I know is you've gone too far. Moon Goddess, you're carrying a pup, Selene! How could you be cruel to another she-wolf?"

Tears finally slipped down my cheeks, hot and silent. My whole body trembled, not from pain, but from sheer fury. My wolf trembled with me, pressing against the inside of my ribs, and I could feel her grief tangled so tightly with my own that I couldn't tell where mine ended and hers began.

Alaric saw me crying and for a moment, his expression softened. His tone shifted to something gentler.

"Alright… can you just apologize? I know I haven't been giving you attention these past few moon cycles. But I promise I'll make it up to you once the pup is born."

Then, without a trace of shame, he pushed me toward Ravenna.

She looked back at me, eyes glinting with smug triumph.

I looked hard at Alaric, wondering how the man who once swore he loved me could change so drastically the moment Ravenna came back. Had he forgotten every promise he made the day we stood before the Moon Goddess and sealed our bond? The place on my neck where his claiming mark still sat burned faintly, as though even it knew something was wrong.

I drew in a long, steadying breath.

"No," I said quietly. "I won't apologize. And Alaric… you've truly disappointed me."

Then I turned and walked away.

As I walked away, Alaric's face darkened. For a brief moment, panic flashed through his eyes. He started to take a step toward me, but then Ravenna clutched her stomach and groaned.

"Alaric, it hurts," she gasped, then forced out a teary plea. "But Selene's more important. Go after her."

Alaric hesitated only a second before shaking his head. "No. Don't worry about her. Right now, your condition is what matters most."

He glanced down the corridor where I'd disappeared, and I heard him mutter, "Selene's just throwing a tantrum. She's eight months along with the pup. She'll be terrified if I reject the bond. I'll talk to her later."

Then he scooped Ravenna up and carried her into the healer's chamber.

When I got back to the Alpha Den, I stood outside for a long moment, staring at the house that was supposed to be ours. Since Ravenna returned to Blackthorn territory, Alaric had barely been home. His scent, cedar and cold iron and storm ozone, had grown faint in every room, layered over now by absence. I could no longer feel the warmth this den once held.

I walked to the wall, took down the portrait from our mating ceremony, and tossed it straight into the trash.

I didn't want to leave a single trace of myself here. Not one reminder of what used to be.

I packed up all the tokens of our bond, the paired moonstone carvings, the ceremonial sashes, the shared hunt trophies, and stuffed them into a bag. I was heading down the stairs with it when the front door suddenly swung open. Alaric walked in, carrying Ravenna in his arms.

When he saw me standing silently by the door, a flicker of guilt flashed across his face.

"She's not feeling well after what you did," he said, like that explained everything.

"Not feeling well, huh?" I scoffed. "Then why isn't she in the Moon-Healers' Hall? Why the hell would you bring her here? Do you think our den is some kind of recovery center for claim-seeking she-wolves?"

"Watch your words, Selene," he snapped. His Alpha aura pressed outward, just enough to make the air between us heavier. "I'm trying to fix things here. Whether you like it or not, Ravenna is staying in this den."

Ravenna chimed in, her hand moving to gently rub her belly. "It's true, Selene. There's nothing going on between Alaric and me. I'm only staying for the pup."

She said it just to provoke me. The faintest trace of her scent, night jasmine and copper, curled through the air like something claiming ground that wasn't hers.

I could feel the anger rising in my chest, bubbling and hot. My wolf surged beneath my skin, hackles raised, teeth bared at the intrusion. I looked at Alaric and said, firm and loud, "This is our den, Alaric. I don't want her living here."

Alaric paused. His face twisted like he was conflicted. But then Ravenna grabbed his hand and placed it on her belly.

Alaric's heart melted instantly. When he turned back to me, his voice was full of irritation. "That's enough! You're carrying a pup too. How can you have zero empathy?"

"You pushed Ravenna. I'm just trying to take care of her. If you don't want her here, then maybe you should leave."

His words hit like a slap.

I stared at him, the blood draining from my face. My whole body trembled. Inside me, my wolf went completely still, as if something had broken so cleanly it didn't even make a sound.

And then I said, as clearly as I could, "As you wish."

Tonight would be my last night in this den. After this, I'd be gone, and Alaric Blackthorn would be a closed chapter in my life.

With my decision made, I grabbed the bag in my hand and marched out the door.

Ravenna's voice followed behind me, laced with mock pity.

"Don't fight because of me, Alaric. Look, she's so angry she even took down your mating portrait."

Alaric's voice rumbled low with frustration. "She's just being dramatic. Once she realizes I'm not playing her game, she'll come crawling back."

A tear slid down my cheek. I walked into the cold night and threw the bag away along with the very last shred of love I had left for him. The moon hung overhead, distant and pale, and said nothing at all.

The second I opened the door, I heard a noise coming from the nursery, and my anger flared white-hot. Alaric had renovated that room the moment he found out I was carrying. He'd filled it with only the best. Every piece of furniture, every stuffed animal, every blanket woven with moonthread and spelled for warmth. He picked them all out himself. For our pup.

And now he wanted to give that to Ravenna?

Fury surged through me, my wolf snarling so hard beneath my ribs I could feel her claws scraping at the underside of my skin. I stormed down the hallway and swung the door open, only to find Ravenna lying in the crib.

I yanked her up without thinking, rage burning in my chest. But before I could get a word out, Alaric grabbed my wrist and pulled me away from her. The scent of cedar and cold iron rolled off him in a wall of dominance that pressed against my shoulders, but I was too furious to submit.

"What is wrong with you? You act like a lunatic the second you walk in," he snapped. But when he saw the tears in my eyes, he hesitated, his grip loosening just a little. The cedar scent faltered, thinning at the edges.

"Are you really giving her this room?" I asked, my voice raw and broken.

Alaric frowned. "Ravenna said she likes it. It's not a big deal if she stays here for a while."

"Do you remember…"

"Enough, Selene!" He cut me off, irritated. His Alpha aura pressed outward, cold and dismissive, and my wolf flinched before I could stop her. "Everything you've done these past few days has been disappointing. If you keep acting like this, I'll have to reconsider whether this mating bond should even continue." He paused, eyes cold. "You don't want the pup inside you to be born without a father, do you?"

He was threatening me with bond rejection.

Looking at his face, the side he always turned away when he was done with an argument, I felt the memories unravel. The promises, the whispered sweet nothings, all turning to ash in a matter of moon cycles. He once said this room would always belong to our pup. He said he would treasure both of us for the rest of his life.

And yet here we were.

I didn't say anything else. I turned around and walked out, numb. My hand instinctively cradled my belly, feeling the faint flutter of life inside me. My wolf curled protectively around that small warmth, the only thing left that still felt real.

"Don't worry, little one. We don't need that room. I'll make you a better one."

Behind me, Alaric stood frozen, watching me walk away. That same flicker of guilt from the Moon-Healers' Hall flashed across his face again, sharp and quick, then buried.

But as Ravenna called out to him from the nursery, he turned and walked back to her.

Later, when I was back in the master chamber, my communicator buzzed. I got a string of voice messages from Ravenna.

I opened them one by one, and hearing Alaric's doting tone in the recordings, I realized all their past affection was just practice for Alaric. He was practicing on me and our pup, all for the sake of Ravenna's child.

Every nourishing bone broth I drank, every gift I received for the pup, every rearing tip Alaric shared with me. It was all just practice for Ravenna's pup.

Even the nursery itself was prepared by Alaric for the child in Ravenna's womb.

I and the pup were just tools for Alaric's rehearsal. He didn't want Ravenna to suffer through his learning curve, so I became the sacrifice.

I listened to the messages over and over, the pain swelling inside me until I laughed. Not because it was funny, because it hurt so much it pushed me over the edge. Everything I had been so proud of since the moment I learned I was carrying had been nothing but a lie. My wolf went silent. Not growling, not whimpering. Just silent, the way an animal goes still when the wound is too deep to howl through.

Alaric's tenderness toward my pup? It didn't even come close to what he showed Ravenna and hers.

I clenched my communicator so tightly my hand shook. It hurt to breathe. All I could do was whisper over and over to myself that it was okay.

It was okay. Because soon, we'd be free of him.

Just me and the pup. And we'd be just fine.

The pup kicked, like he could hear me. Like he understood.

I wrapped my arms around my belly and held it close.

I stayed that way for a long time, until I could finally breathe again.