The silver poison had crippled my healing. I sat frozen on the cold stone floor, a pool of my own blood spreading around me.

Alone. Utterly abandoned.

I closed my eyes, and the memories came flooding back, unbidden.

Three years ago. Veridian City, the dangerous neutral zone on the edge of the Eternal Night.

I'd lost my pack and was working as a lone healer, desperately gathering rare herbs to join the Healer's Guild. It was my only way out.

That night, I found him in a back alley.

Dorian was lying in a pool of his own blood, three silver bullets in his chest. The poison was eating him alive. The work of the Silver Fangs, a clan that hated vampires more than anyone.

As a werewolf, I should have left him there to die.

But in the moonlight, his deep blue eyes were filled with the same desperation I once knew.

It took me all night to purge the silver from his body.

He was as weak as a human then, clinging to my hand.

"Thank you," he'd rasped. "I'm Dorian Valkyrie."

My heart stopped.

I knew that name. The Prince of the Valkyrie coven.

I should have run.

But there was no darkness in his eyes, only a startling purity. I couldn't leave him.

For the next three months, his pursuit was relentless.

He bought out every rare herb from every merchant in Veridian City, just for a chance to talk to me.

"You need these, right?" he'd say, his eyes full of hope. "Can we talk for a minute?"

He was a creature of the night, yet he paid a fortune for a sun-warding amulet, risking his life to help me gather herbs in the daylight forests.

The sun scorched his skin, but he never complained.

"I just want to watch you work," he'd say with a smile.

The craziest time was when another vampire, jealous of me, set a trap of silver wires on my path.

Dorian threw himself in front of me without a second thought. The wires sliced across his back, leaving scars that would never fully heal.

"Are you crazy?" I cried, tending to his wounds.

"For you, going a little mad is worth it," he murmured, stroking my face.

After we got together, his devotion bordered on obsession.

I cut my finger on a crystal vial while mixing a potion, and he summoned his family's best blood-healer that same night.

"Her hands are more precious than my own life," he’d told the healer.

I once sprained my ankle picking moonpetal on a cliff—a minor injury that would heal in minutes—and his eyes would flash crimson with worry.

"I don't want you to feel an ounce of pain," he'd insist, using his own blood to heal me.

Back then, he only had eyes for me.

But now...

Now I was poisoned with silver, my clothes soaked in blood, and he had walked away without a backward glance.

Tears blurred my vision as I struggled to my feet.

The underground clinic was in the mountains behind the castle. I knew the way.

The healers there didn't ask too many questions.

I dragged myself out of the castle, every step on the silver-laced path a fresh agony.

Two hours later, I left the clinic, my back wrapped in thick gauze.

As I stepped out of the alley, a dark shape materialized in front of me.

It was Dorian.

His face was dark, his eyes burning with fury.

"What are you doing here?" he snarled, his voice pure ice. "You followed me. You terrified Liliana—she's a wreck because of you!"

I stared at him, stunned. "I wasn't following you—"

"Enough!" he snapped. "You think I don't know? She told me someone was lurking outside. She's scared!"

I looked at his furious face, and my heart sank into a frozen pit.

"So that's what you think of me."

"You—" He started to argue, then stopped.

The thick scent of blood hit him.

Then his gaze dropped to the gauze on my back. It was already soaked through with fresh blood. The anger on his face instantly vanished, replaced by pale shock and regret.

"Is that..." His hand reached out, then hesitated, his voice trembling. "Freya, I..."

I took a step back, avoiding his touch. "I was just getting my wound treated. It has nothing to do with you."

He was silent for a long time, his eyes swirling with a pain I couldn't decipher.

Then, he suddenly pulled me into his arms, holding me so tight I thought he'd crush my bones.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, burying his face in my neck. "I'm at my breaking point, Freya," he whispered, his voice rough. "Liliana is carrying my heir. The Elders are watching my every move. I have to protect her... It's not that I don't trust you, I'm just... scared. Once the baby is born, I'll take you away from here. We'll go to the human world. I won't break my promise to you."

More promises. More waiting. I stood stiffly in his arms, feeling no warmth at all.

He called for his thrall. "Alfred. Escort her back. See that she's safe."

He pressed a light kiss to my forehead. "I'll go get you some moonshadow flowers. Your favorite."

Then he turned and walked toward the hospital's exclusive wing.

Toward Liliana.

I watched him disappear down the hall toward her, and a broken, hollow laugh escaped my lips.

Tears fell onto my chest.

"Dorian," I whispered to my shattered heart, "I will never trust another one of your promises."

Dorian vanished for three days. It was like he'd dropped off the face of the earth.

But messages from Liliana never stopped coming.

Day one: a video. Dorian sat by her hospital bed, gently feeding her medicine. His hands were so careful, as if she were the most precious thing in the world.

Day two: another video. Dorian held Aria, his face full of a father's love. The little girl giggled in his arms, his eyes soft and warm.

Day three was the one that shattered me. A family portrait in the garden. Dorian pushed the stroller while Liliana clung to his arm.

The perfect family.

The wolf inside me howled in agony.

I’d seen it a thousand times before, but seeing it now, while I was injured, felt like a blade twisting in my heart.

Just as I was about to block her for good, a new message appeared.

"Want your necklace back? Meet me at the clinic."

My fingers trembled as I clutched the device.

My necklace. The last mark of the Crescent Moon pack.

I had to get it back.

At the clinic, Liliana was lounging on a sofa, toying with the moonstone necklace.

"You came," she said, a smug smile on her face.

"Give me back my necklace."

"Of course." She rose slowly. "But there's a small condition."

My internal alarms screamed. "What condition?"

"Shift for me," she purred. "Show me that primitive, feral form. Submit to your future queen."

Humiliation washed over me.

She wanted me to bow to her in my most vulnerable form.

But it was the last thing my pack had left me.

Gritting my teeth, I slowly sank to my knees.

My bones began to crack and shift. Silver fur sprouted from my skin.

Seconds later, a giant silver wolf stood in the room.

I lowered my head in a gesture of submission.

"Good," Liliana clapped, her eyes filled with vicious glee. "Werewolves truly are a lesser species. So easily broken."

She walked toward me, dangling the necklace just in front of my face.

"Come on. Take it with your mouth."

I moved closer, opening my jaws.

Just as my teeth were about to close around it, Liliana squeezed her fist.

CRACK.

The sound of the moonstone shattering echoed in the room. Blue fragments scattered across the floor.

"Oops," Liliana said, faking surprise. "It broke so easily. I guess werewolf things really are just trash."

My sanity snapped. All thought vanished. I launched myself at her, a beast of pure rage.

"Ahhh!" Liliana screamed, falling backward. "Help! She's attacking my child!"

But I hadn't even touched her when Aria, in her arms, began to wail.

Red marks, like claw scratches, appeared on the baby's face.

"What's going on?"

Dorian's voice came from behind me.

I whipped my head around to see him, Viktor, and several other elders materializing in the room.

"Dorian!" Liliana sobbed, throwing herself at him. "She shifted and attacked Aria!"

Dorian took the child, and his eyes fell on the scratches on his daughter's face. Fury ignited in his gaze.

"Freya, what is the meaning of this?"

"It wasn't me!" I explained desperately. "She did it her—"

"Enough!" Viktor roared, raising his staff and slamming it into my chest.

I flew backward, hitting the wall and coughing up blood.

"A beast is still a beast!" Viktor's voice thundered. "How dare you harm the Valkyrie bloodline!"

"Take her to the Punishment Chamber!" he commanded. "Thirty-three lashes. With the silver-dipped whip!"

Two thralls grabbed me, dragging me out.

"Dorian!" I cried out to him, my last hope. "You believe me, don't you?"

Dorian clutched his crying daughter, his gaze fixed on her scratched face. His eyes were filled with nothing but pain and disappointment.

He turned his head, refusing to meet my eyes. He’d made his choice.

A broken laugh escaped my lips, tears streaming down my face.

Why did I ever believe in an eternity between species? Why did I ever believe his vows?

It's okay. Just six more days, and I can leave.

In the Punishment Chamber, the silver whip cut a blinding arc through the air.

The first lash tore my skin open.

The second. The third...

My consciousness began to fade in the searing pain.

In the haze, I remembered Dorian's vows.

"I will protect you, always."

"You are the only one I will ever love."

"We will have an eternal future together."

I remembered the first time he'd made love to me, kissing every inch of my skin like I was something sacred.

I remembered the time I had a high fever from searching for a rare herb, and he'd cared for me so gently, feeding me medicine with his own mouth.

"Freya, you are more important to me than my own life."

All lies.

My consciousness blurred. At first, my wolf howled in agony, but soon it fell silent, retreating deep within me.

I couldn't feel the pain anymore. Only numbness.

As the thirty-third lash was about to fall, I heard a heart-shattering roar.

"STOP!"

In the last second before the world went black, I saw Dorian. A blur of motion as he threw his body over mine, shielding me from the blow.

When I woke, the familiar, searing pain was back.

Every nerve screamed. Silver poison still coursed through my veins.

A bitter smile touched my lips. I, a healer, had let my own regenerative abilities decay to almost nothing.

The irony was thick.

"Freya?"

A familiar voice.

I slowly opened my eyes. Dorian was sitting by my bed, his own eyes filled with worry.

"You're awake!" He rushed forward, gently helping me sit up. "How do you feel? Do you want some broth?"

It was the same worried expression, but this time it felt different from all the times he'd cared for me before.

Because this time, he had stood by and watched as I was wounded.

I flinched away. His hand froze in mid-air.

"Freya..." His voice trembled. "I know you're angry with me."

"I'm not angry," I said, my voice hoarse. "You just made the choice you had to make."

"No," he said, desperate. "I let it happen to save your life. If I had stopped them then, Viktor would have found a reason to have you executed."

I looked at him, my eyes empty.

"So you still think I hurt Aria?"

He fell silent.

"Answer me, Dorian." I pushed myself up, staring directly into his eyes. "Then swear it," I challenged him, my voice trembling. "Swear on our bond that you believe me."

If he truly believed me, this was the ultimate proof.

But he just stared back, silent.

"You don't dare," I laughed, a tear sliding down my cheek. "Because deep down, you still believe I'm the feral wolf who hurt her."

"Freya, it's not like that—"

"Don't." I turned my head away. "Please leave."

"I'm not leaving you." He tried to take my hand, but I pulled it away.

Just then, a knock came at the door.

"Your Highness," a thrall said from outside. "Lady Liliana is very distraught. She's refusing to eat and won't stop crying."

Dorian's expression tensed immediately.

"She's pregnant. She has to eat." He stood, glancing back at me. "I'll be right back."

Same words. Same empty promises.

The door clicked shut, sealing me in.

I closed my eyes and waited.

But he never came back that night.

When I was discharged the next day, I saw Dorian's car at the entrance.

Liliana was in the passenger seat. Aria was in the baby seat in the back.

"Freya." Dorian walked over, looking awkward. "Get in."

Liliana shot me a terrified look, her voice trembling. "Dorian, I'm scared to be in the same car as her."

"Liliana..."

"I'm terrified of her," she whimpered. "She's a beast, Dorian. What if she tries to hurt our baby again?"

Dorian looked at me, then back at her. He made his choice.

"Freya, wait here. I'll take them home first, then I'll come back for you."

"It's snowing," I stated flatly.

"I know, but..." He glanced at the baby in Liliana's arms. "I can't risk it."

I watched the snowflakes drift down and nodded.

"Fine. I'll wait."

Their car disappeared into the curtain of snow.

I stood at the hospital entrance as snowflakes collected on my hair and eyelashes, melting into freezing water that trickled down my skin.

I waited as day turned to dusk, and dusk bled into the dead of night.

The snow turned into a blizzard. My body began to shake uncontrollably.

I tried to reach him through our Mind Link, the most intimate channel between mates.

Once, no matter where I was, he could feel my heartbeat the moment I called.

He had been ecstatic the first time I'd used it.

"This way, no matter what happens, I can always get to you," he'd said.

But now, all I felt was a void.

He'd shut me out.

The snow was getting deeper. My legs were numb.

Finally, I began the long walk back to the castle, my body weak.

The road was treacherous in the blizzard. I fell several times, skinning my knees, blood seeping through the white bandages.

By the time I stumbled back into the castle, soaked and frozen, I was too cold to speak.

As I pushed the door open, I heard Liliana's soft sobs from upstairs.

"Dorian… I’m so scared…" Her voice was a fragile, trembling whisper. "The healer was just here. He said… my body is too narrow for the baby."

I froze.

"What does that mean?" Dorian's voice was tight with tension.

"You know vampire births are... difficult. Our bodies don't yield easily. I almost died with Aria. This baby is stronger." Liliana's voice broke, threatening to shatter. "He'll be trapped, Dorian! He won't be able to get out! He will die! Our son will die inside me!"

I crept up the stairs, an invisible hand squeezing my heart.

"Don't be afraid. We'll find a way," Dorian said, his voice urgent.

"The only way is you," Liliana’s voice dropped to a low, heated plea. "The healer said my mate needs to… help me. Every night. With your fingers. To help me... stretch. Otherwise, everything we’ve done will be for nothing."

I reached the door and peered through the crack. The air left my lungs.

Liliana was half-reclined on the bed, her silk nightgown pushed down to her waist. Her swollen belly was on full display, along with her long, perfect legs.

"But Liliana, this is..." Dorian's voice was full of hesitation and conflict.

"For the child, Dorian!" Liliana sobbed, cutting him off. She spread her legs even wider, a shameless, humiliating invitation. "I know it's hard. But you're saving his life! Help me... please... You don't want anything to happen to him, do you?"

I slapped a hand over my mouth, choking back a sob.

Right then, through the crack in the door, Liliana's eyes found mine.

A tiny, triumphant smile touched her lips.

And Dorian—the man who had sworn I was his only one, his eternity—struggled for only a moment before sinking to his knees by the bed.

He bowed his head, as if performing some holy, painful ritual. Then he reached out, moving his hand between Liliana's legs.