The rain came down in sheets, turning the forest paths into rivers of mud. I stood at the edge of the packhouse grounds, my clothes already soaked through as Jace addressed the assembled warriors. His voice carried over the howling wind, each word sharp with Alpha command.

'We need every available fighter on the northern border,' he announced, his blue eyes scanning the crowd. 'The Silver Claw Pack knows about Richard Taylor's betrayal. They'll see it as an opportunity to strike while we're vulnerable.'

My stomach twisted at the mention of my father's name. Three days had passed since his exile, and the pack still treated me like I carried his treachery in my blood. I straightened my shoulders, ignoring the persistent nausea that had plagued me for weeks. I couldn't afford weakness now.

'I want to join the patrol,' I said, stepping forward before I could lose my nerve. My voice sounded stronger than I felt.

Jace's eyes flicked to me, cold and dismissive. 'You're not a fighter, Luna.'

'I'm still pack,' I countered, pressing my thumbnail into my wrist to steady myself. 'And I can hold my own.' If I could prove my loyalty in this, maybe he would see something in me worth saving.

A muscle ticked in Jace's jaw. For a moment, I thought he might refuse outright. Then he nodded curtly. 'Fine. But stay toward the middle of the formation. This isn't a game.'

The shift came easier than I expected, my wolf surging forward with a desperate need to prove herself. My white fur was instantly plastered to my skin by the relentless rain as we moved out in formation, headed for the northern border.

The forest was a nightmare of darkness and confusion. Lightning split the sky, illuminating the battlefield in harsh, ghostly flashes. The mud sucked at my paws, making each step a struggle. Through it all, I fought to keep pace with the warriors around me, ignoring the deep exhaustion that had become my constant companion.

We had barely reached the border when the first howl cut through the storm—not one of ours. The ambush came from all sides, Silver Claw wolves materializing from the shadows like ghosts. Their teeth gleamed in the darkness, their growls blending with the thunder.

'Protect the younger wolves!' someone shouted, and I responded instinctively, lunging toward a group of adolescent fighters who had been separated from the main formation.

I fought with everything I had, my teeth finding flesh, my claws tearing through fur. But I was outnumbered. Two massive Silver Claw warriors cornered me against a fallen tree, their eyes gleaming with malice. I slashed at one, catching his shoulder, but the other caught my hind leg, his teeth sinking deep into my thigh.

Pain exploded through my body as I howled, the sound barely audible over the storm. Blood mixed with rainwater, streaming down my fur. I tried to stand, but my leg buckled beneath me.

Desperation clawed at my throat. I reached for the mate bond, for that cold connection that was all I had left.

'Jace!' I screamed through our mind-link. 'I need help! Northern ridge, by the old oak!' My mental voice was raw with pain and fear.

There was a flicker of response, a momentary tension in the bond. He had heard me. Relief flooded through me—until another scream cut through the night, higher and more terrified than mine.

Across the battlefield, partially shifted and clutching a bundle of herbs, stood Hayden. A Silver Claw wolf snapped at her arm, drawing a thin line of blood. Her face was pale with terror, her honey-blonde hair dark with rain.

'Jace!' she cried out, and the sound seemed to pierce through the storm itself.

I watched in horror as Jace's massive black wolf form tore away from his position, abandoning his frontline fighters to charge toward Hayden. His Alpha power radiated like a physical force as he slammed into the Silver Claw wolf, sending it flying.

He shifted partially, his arms wrapping around Hayden's trembling form, shielding her completely with his body. Without a backward glance, he carried her away from the battle, leaving me bleeding in the mud.

The Silver Claw wolves closed in, their teeth bared in triumph. My wolf howled in despair as I realized the truth: I was alone, abandoned by my Alpha, by my mate, in the moment I needed him most.

The mud sucked at my paws, each step an agony as I dragged myself away from the battlefield. My white fur was matted with blood and rain, my body screaming with every movement. The Silver Claw wolves had scattered after Jace abandoned the fight, but the damage was done. I was alone, wounded, and bleeding heavily into the cold rain.

I pressed my muzzle to my stomach, inhaling deeply. Beneath the metallic scent of my own blood was something else—something precious. My pup. The tiny life I hadn't even known existed until a few weeks ago, now in danger because of my mate's choice.

'Just a little further,' I whispered to myself, though no one was there to hear. The packhouse lights glowed in the distance, a beacon I was determined to reach.

The journey back was a blur of pain and determination. My leg gave out twice, forcing me to crawl on three paws through the mud and debris. Each time I fell, I thought of my pup—of the life growing inside me that deserved better than to die in the rain because its father had chosen another.

By the time I reached the packhouse grounds, I was barely conscious. The rain had washed away most of the blood, but I knew I was still losing too much. I slipped in through the back entrance, avoiding the main halls where Jace might be with Hayden. I couldn't bear to see them together, not now, not like this.

The healer's den was quiet, most of the staff having been called to tend to the warriors who had returned from the border. I made my way to the back room where the medical supplies were kept, my paws leaving bloody prints on the clean floor.

'Just... need to stop the bleeding,' I muttered, shifting back to human form with a gasp of pain. The transformation sent fresh waves of agony through my body, but I forced myself to focus. I had to save my pup.

I found clean bandages and needle and thread. My hands shook as I stitched the deeper wounds on my thigh and side, biting my lip to keep from crying out. I had always been good at hiding pain, at enduring silently. It was the one skill my father had taught me well.

Through the cracked door of the main ward, I could hear voices. Jace's deep timbre carried a note of panic I had never heard directed at me.

'Hayden, let me see it,' he was saying, his voice thick with emotion. 'Is it deep? Are you in pain?'

I peered through the gap in the door. Jace knelt beside a chair where Hayden sat, her arm extended. A thin scratch ran along her forearm, barely breaking the skin. Jace examined it with the intensity of a father checking his child's first scrape, his fingers hovering over the mark as though it were a mortal wound.

'It's fine, Alpha,' Hayden said softly. 'Really, it's nothing. I'm more worried about the others. About Luciana—did she make it back?'

Jace's jaw tightened. 'She's a wolf. She can take care of herself.' His dismissive tone cut through me like another wound. 'Let's get this cleaned and bandaged. You could have been killed.' His voice broke on the last word.

I pressed my bloody hands against my stomach, watching as he tenderly cleaned the barely-existent wound on her arm. The same man who had left me bleeding on the battlefield was now treating a scratch with a reverence I had never known.

In that moment, something inside me—something that had been bending and stretching for seventeen years—finally broke. The hope that had sustained me, the belief that if I was just good enough, just patient enough, just perfect enough, he would eventually see me—it all shattered like glass.

He would never look at me the way he looked at Anastasia's ghost. He would never love me the way he loved her memory. And now, he would never love our pup either.

I closed my eyes, a single tear sliding down my cheek. 'I'll protect you myself,' I whispered to my unborn child. 'Just you and me now.'

Standing there in the shadows, my body broken and my heart shattered, I made a vow. I would survive this. I would protect my pup. And I would never again allow myself to depend on the mercy of an Alpha who had none to give me.