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Alpha Caius's lips brushed over the faint scratches on Seraphina's porcelain skin, the wounds mere remnants of her earlier fall. His usually impassive eyes darkened with something dangerously close to sorrow, as though each mark on her body carved a deeper one into his soul. Wrapped in the warmth of our pack’s bed, their bodies moved together beneath the moonlit sheets, lost in each other’s embrace.

Above them, the Luna’s bonding portrait swayed with the rhythm of their passion. My gaze locked onto the image—the woman I once was, the one who had looked at Alpha Caius with unwavering devotion. Yet even in that frozen moment, his face was cold, detached, untouched by love.

And in that moment, I understood.

Even a soul could grieve.

But at least now, Alpha Caius could rest easy. Nothing—not fate, not duty, not even the bond we once shared—would come between them again.

Because I was already dead.

The night he came for me, I ran. My body was heavy, burdened with the life growing inside me, but I pushed forward, desperation outweighing exhaustion. My swollen belly made escape nearly impossible, my feet stumbling over uneven earth, yet I refused to surrender.

Alpha Caius watched in silence, arms crossed, expression unreadable, as his warriors moved in. I was nothing more than a cornered prey delaying the inevitable. Within seconds, they seized me, dragging me back to the heart of the pack.

I barely had time to struggle before I was thrown onto the rusted seat of an ancient punishment device—once used to make traitors beg for death. His hands pressed me down, their familiar warmth now ice against my burning skin. Thick leather straps wrapped around my wrists and ankles, cinching tight, locking me in place.

I fought. I screamed. I begged my mate to listen.

The ride lurched, chains groaning as it began its slow, merciless ascent. My pleas turned into raw, broken sobs. The moment the first jolt rocked my body, a hot rush of liquid streamed down my legs.

My water had broken.

I gasped, struggling for air, my heart slamming against my ribs. My baby. Our baby. I wasn’t ready—this wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. Terror clawed at my chest as I turned my desperate gaze toward Alpha Caius.

For a fleeting heartbeat, hesitation flickered across his face.

Then, Seraphina’s soft voice cut through the chaos.

“I thought Aeris wasn’t due for another week?” she murmured, pressing close to him, her pale fingers ghosting over his arm. “But... she does look frightened. She even wet herself before the ride went up… Maybe we should just let it go. I’m fine now, anyway.”

A single breath. That was all it took.

Alpha Caius’s expression twisted with revulsion. His lip curled as he sneered, “You disgust me, Aeris. Using our pup to manipulate me? Stay up there and think about what you’ve done.”

The ride surged higher, the wind screaming past me like a wolf’s dying wail. My dress, thin and soaked, clung to my trembling body. Pain struck again, deep and sharp, tearing through my abdomen.

The pup was coming.

I thrashed against my bindings, the rough fibers biting into my skin, peeling away layers of flesh. Blood streaked down my arms as I clawed at the restraints, nails splitting, bones grinding. I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t let my pup come into the world like this.

The third time the ride shot upward, I summoned everything I had left. And then I heard it—fragile, impossibly small, but unmistakable.

A newborn’s cry.

My body gave out, shaking violently as I felt the tiny weight leave me. I couldn’t even see, my vision blurred by pain and exhaustion. I tried to hold on, tried to reach out—

But then the ride plummeted.

The force of the fall ripped my pup from my arms.

A single, heart-stopping moment.

Then impact.

A tiny, delicate body met the unforgiving ground below, crushed under the weight of the merciless world.

I reached, screamed until my throat was raw, until no sound came out—but my hands were useless. All I could do was watch as the most precious part of me was reduced to nothing but torn flesh and a pool of crimson on the cold, indifferent earth.

Then my own blood followed, a violent storm of red against the night.

And where was Alpha Caius?

Not by my side.

He stood in the packhouse, surrounding Seraphina with our best healers—not for me, not for the life we lost, but for the faint scratches marring her perfect skin. He pressed a bouquet of moonlit lilies into her hands, their scent carefully selected to soothe her delicate nerves. A one-of-a-kind necklace, glistening under the soft lantern glow, was placed around her neck as a gesture of comfort.

When someone tried to speak of my death, he silenced them with a single, cold command.

“She did this to herself,” he said, dismissing me as though I were less than nothing.

Two days later—my due date—I would be nothing more than a ghost, an echo of a life never truly lived.

“Aeris will come to apologize,” Alpha Caius murmured, his fingers lazily running through Seraphina’s golden hair as she curled against his chest.

Seraphina traced absentminded circles on his skin, her voice barely above a whisper. “Maybe we should forget it. I don’t think Aeris meant any harm. It’s my fault—I shouldn’t have come back. I never wanted to come between you two.”

Caius caught her wandering hand, bringing it to his lips with reverence.

“Seraphina, you saved my life.” His voice, once sharp as a blade, now melted with warmth. “For that, I will protect you until my dying breath.”

The moment Alpha Caius’s voice rang out, a fleeting trace of apprehension flickered across Seraphina’s delicate face. She instinctively shrank back, her slender fingers gripping the fabric of his shirt as if seeking shelter.

A familiar bitterness curled in my chest, an old ache I had long since grown used to. It had been half a year since Seraphina returned from another pack—unexpected, unannounced. Alpha Caius had simply informed me that she had nowhere else to go. Without so much as a discussion, he had brought her into our home, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

At first, I hadn’t minded. If anything, I had pitied the fragile girl. I welcomed her, cared for her, made sure she was fed and warm. I had wanted to be kind, to fulfill my role as Luna with dignity and grace.

Then, one night changed everything.

Seraphina had lifted a glass of red wine, tipped it over herself, and collapsed at my feet in a trembling heap. Her tearful whimpers painted a pitiful picture—one that any outsider would have mistaken for genuine terror. To anyone passing by, it would have seemed as though I had tormented her for days.

That night, Alpha Caius’s gaze toward me shifted. He didn’t demand an explanation, didn’t give me a chance to speak. His fury struck like a thunderclap, and before I could even process what was happening, I found myself dragged to the attic, locked away without food or warmth for three long days. When he finally returned, his voice was colder than I had ever heard before.

“Aeris, you’ve truly let me down,” he said, his eyes sharp with disgust. “You have no idea what Seraphina means to me. If you ever touch her again, I don’t care if you’re my Luna—I will make you regret it.”

From that night on, it never stopped. One carefully orchestrated incident after another. Every time, Seraphina played the victim while I was cast as the villain. With each passing day, Alpha Caius’s patience with me unraveled, his once-warm gaze turning to ice.

I told myself to endure. At least until my pup was born. Once I brought my child safely into this world, I would ask for rejection and leave without a trace. But fate had other plans—Seraphina leaped from a building before I could act.

The supposed reason? Hateful messages and vicious recordings—evidence that pointed directly at me.

The words were cruel, designed to break a person’s will. But they weren’t mine. Yet, no matter how desperately I pleaded, Alpha Caius wouldn’t listen. His entire focus remained on Seraphina’s frail body lying in a hospital bed, her tears slipping down her pale cheeks. His rage was absolute, his heartache for her so deep that his eyes burned red.

Even with our pup nearly due, his only concern was avenging his precious Seraphina.

“Alpha… it’s Luna. She… You might want to see for yourself.”

The Beta assistant stood before Alpha Caius, his voice hesitant. Alpha Caius’s grip on his pen faltered, a flicker of irritation crossing his face.

“She’s still acting out?” His tone was laced with impatience.

The Beta assistant hesitated, fingers twisting together. After a long moment, he finally spoke. “No, Alpha… It’s not that. It’s just… Luna isn’t breathing.”

For a heartbeat, silence stretched between them—too long to be insignificant, yet not enough to carry meaning. Then, a low chuckle rumbled from Alpha Caius’s throat, cold and dismissive.

“She’s really resorting to this? Faking death just to avoid taking responsibility?” His voice hardened with disdain. “Tell her—whether she’s breathing or not, she still owes Seraphina an apology. If she refuses, she’ll face the consequences.”

The Beta assistant swallowed hard, sweat beading along his brow. He wanted to argue, but the storm in Alpha Caius’s gaze kept him silent. Wordlessly, he retreated.

In Alpha Caius’s arms, Seraphina tilted her head, her wide, innocent eyes shimmering with concern.

“Caius, maybe you should let it go,” she murmured, her voice laced with fragile sincerity. “Even if Aeris dislikes me, she’s still your mate. As long as I can stay by your side, I can endure it.”

Alpha Caius’s grip on her waist tightened, pulling her against him.

“You don’t need to fear that petty woman,” he reassured her. “Aeris isn’t worth your worry.” His voice softened into something dangerously gentle. “This time, I’ll make sure she understands her place.”

“But—”

“No buts. Just trust me.”

A single tear splashed onto my hand, cold and weightless, yet it cut deeper than any blade. Only then did I realize—I was crying.

So even a soul can feel pain.

Alpha Caius said nothing more, but for the rest of the afternoon, his thoughts were clearly elsewhere. His fingers drummed restlessly against the desk, and every few minutes, his eyes flicked toward the door. By the time an hour had passed, he had glanced over more than ten times.

Finally, with an irritated sigh, he slammed his laptop shut. Running a hand through his hair, he forced a gentle smile and stroked Seraphina’s soft curls.

“I don’t know what kind of game Aeris thinks she’s playing,” he mused, voice deceptively calm. “But I’ll go drag her back to apologize right now.”

At the entrance of the Pack’s desolate clearing, Alpha Caius strode forward with purpose, his impatience crackling in the air like static. Even from a distance, his keen gaze locked onto the towering wooden frame ahead.