"Six weeks," Selena sobbed, her fingers clawing into Evan's bare arm as blood pooled around her knees on the marble floor. "I’m six weeks pregnant, Evan! Our baby... please don't let our baby die!"

The pack house went dead silent.

The guards at the entrance froze. Elders pushing through the front double doors stopped in their tracks, staring at the stain spreading across the hem of Evan's white shirt.

The air turned to ash in my throat.

Six weeks.

I had been in the recovery cabin for twelve. He hadn't reached for Selena out of sudden grief. He hadn't sought comfort in a moment of weak longing. He had climbed into my sister's bed before my core even stopped bleeding from the rogue blade.

"Get Dr. Robert here right now!" Evan shouted, his Alpha aura crushing the foyer with raw fury.

Elder Gregory shoved past the guards, his gray brows drawing together as he pointed a gnarled finger toward the landing. "Who did this? Who attacked the Luna?"

"Diana," Selena choked out, burying her bloodstained face into Evan's collarbone. "She caught us talking. I tried to beg her to stay... I told her the pack needed peace. But she screamed at me. She said no bastard of mine would ever take her throne, and then... then she shoved me down the stairs!"

"You lying bitch!" The words tore from my throat. I gripped the banister, leaning over. "I didn't touch you! You threw yourself down!"

"Silence!" Elder Gregory bellowed. He looked up at me with open disgust. "You dare shed the blood of the Alpha's child under this roof? You lost your wolf's strength in the border skirmish, Diana. You are crippled, useless to the front lines, and now you attack the future of the Red Moon Pack out of spite?"

"I saved this pack!" I shouted down at them, my voice echoing off the stone walls. "I took that blade for Evan! Evan, tell them! Look at me and tell them!"

Evan didn't look at my face. His gaze was fixed entirely on the red smears between Selena’s thighs. His shoulders rose and fell in jagged breaths, his jaw set like iron.

"Evan?" My voice dropped, cracked at the seams. "You know me. You know I would never—"

"Enough," Evan cut in. He scooped Selena into his arms, rising from the floor. He finally lifted his head, his eyes cold and flat. "Guards. Take Diana to the south holding cells."

"The cells?" My chest heaved. "Evan, my core isn't healed! The damp down there will destroy my wolf!"

"Until the council decides your punishment for attempted murder," Evan said without a flicker of remorse, "you will stay in the dark. Move her. Now."

Hands grabbed my arms.

Two enforcers twisted my wrists behind my back, dragging me away from the balcony stairs. I didn't fight them. I couldn't. The moment their grip tightened on my shoulders, a spasm of phantom pain shot through my ribs, right where the rogue's silver blade had splintered my strength three months ago.

The south holding cell was carved directly into the mountain bedrock beneath the pack house. Frost coated the iron hinges. Water dripped somewhere in the shadows, steady and freezing.

They shoved me inside and slammed the heavy iron gate shut.

Within hours, my body betrayed me. Without an intact core to regulate my temperature, the bone-chilling damp seeped straight into my veins. A violent fever took hold, turning my skin burning hot while my teeth rattled together from the cold. I curled up on the moldy cot, shivering until my muscles locked up.

Footsteps echoed down the stone passage outside. Voices drifted through the small barred window at the top of the corridor.

"Is the girl going to lose the pup?" one guard muttered.

"Doubt it. Dr. Robert is running tests now," another voice answered, full of sneering amusement. "Honestly, it's about time we had a proper Luna. Selena is whole. Selena can shift and breed strong pups. What was Diana going to give the pack? A broken wolf who can't even stand guard on a border patrol?"

"Evan should have cast her out the day her core broke."

"He was too soft on her because of past debts. But this stunt finished it. Who wants a crippled Luna?"

Their laughter echoed off the stones before fading away.

I pressed my forehead against the rough stone wall, digging my fingernails into my palms until skin broke.

*A past debt.*

That was all three years of mating amounted to. That was all my shattered core was worth.

By the time the heavy lock clicked again the next morning, I could barely hold my head up. The fever pounded behind my temples like a war hammer.

The door swung open, and Evan stepped inside.

He had changed into a clean charcoal suit. His hair was combed back, but dark circles bruised the skin beneath his eyes. He stopped two paces from my cot, looking down at me with crossed arms.

"How is she?" My voice sounded like gravel scraping together.

"Resting," Evan said. "The bleeding stopped."

I forced myself to sit up, leaning my spine against the damp wall to keep from collapsing. "Did you come here to execute me yourself, Alpha?"

"Stop being dramatic, Diana." Evan let out an irritated breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I kept the council from stripping your pack rights this morning. Do you have any idea how much political capital that cost me? Gregory wanted your head mounted outside the gates."

A dry, bitter laugh rasped in my throat. "Am I supposed to thank you?"

"You're supposed to act like a woman with sense." He stepped closer, kneeling down so his eyes were level with mine. His voice softened into that smooth, persuasive tone he always used when he wanted my compliance. "I don't want to throw you to the wolves, Diana. But you crossed a line. The pack saw you push her."

I stared right through him. "Do you believe I pushed her?"

The question hung in the freezing air between us.

Silence stretched. One second. Five seconds. Ten.

Evan's jaw tightened. He averted his gaze for a fraction of a second before looking back at me.

"It doesn't matter what I believe," he said quietly. "What matters is what the pack saw. Selena is hurt. The elders want blood. But I worked out a compromise."

"A compromise."

"Apologize to Selena," Evan said, his tone matter-of-fact. "Sign a formal statement admitting you acted out of temporary emotional distress. Kneel before her and the council at tonight's assembly, ask for her forgiveness, and I will let this whole thing go. I'll send you back to the villa with a monthly allowance. You will be safe there."

A sob broke from my lips—not from grief, but from pure, hysterical disbelief. Tears spilled down my cheeks, burning hot against my freezing skin.

"An apology?" I choked out, laughing until my chest burned. "You want me to kneel before my little sister? The sister who stole my mate while my blood was still wet on the grass?"

"Diana—"

"I took three silver arrows through my back at the Black Ridge for you!" I screamed, lunging forward until the chain at my ankle jerked tight. "I lay in the snow for six hours holding my guts in so your vanguard could flank their line! I destroyed my wolf to keep you on that throne! And you want me to kneel to a thief?"

Evan stood up abruptly, his expression darkening into a mask of pure annoyance. "That was war, Diana. This is politics. You are being stubborn for the sake of your pride, and pride won't keep you alive down here."

Before I could answer, frantic footsteps clattered down the stone stairs.

"Alpha Evan!"

Dr. Robert burst into the cell corridor, clutching a folder of parchment sheets to his chest. His coat was rumpled, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

"What is it, Robert?" Evan snapped, stepping out of the cell toward the iron door. "I told you not to disturb me."

"It's about the Lady Selena's medical examination," the doctor panted, thrusting the folder forward with trembling hands. "The lab results just came back from the northern clinic. Alpha, the blood on her clothes from yesterday... it wasn't human or wolf blood."

Evan froze. "What are you talking about?"

"It was animal blood. Pig blood, specifically," Dr. Robert hurried to explain, his voice trembling under Evan's darkening presence. "And when I checked the registry for the pregnancy scan she presented to the council... there is no record of an ultrasound. The clinic's seal was forged. Lady Selena was never pregnant."

The world seemed to stop spinning.

I gripped the iron bars of the gate, dragging myself to my feet. A fierce, vindictive rush flooded my veins.

"Did you hear that, Evan?" I whispered, my voice shaking with vindication. "Did you hear him? She wasn't pregnant! The blood was fake! She staged the entire fall to frame me!"

Dr. Robert nodded nervously. "Alpha, this is severe fraud against the council. If the elders find out—"

*Rip.*

Evan reached out, his thick fingers clamping onto the edges of the medical files. With a single, sharp jerk of his wrists, he tore the papers in half.

Then in half again.

"Evan?" I stared at him, the triumph dying instantly in my chest. "What are you doing?"

Evan pulled a silver lighter from his trouser pocket. With a flick of his thumb, a small flame danced in the dim corridor. He touched the fire to the torn edges of the report.

The paper caught immediately, curling into black flakes that drifted down to the damp stones.

"Enough," Evan said, his voice flat, hollow, and utterly void of surprise. "This ends right here. I don't want to investigate this any further."

The firelight flickered across the hard lines of his face, illuminating the dead calm in his golden eyes. There was no shock. No rage at Selena's betrayal. No relief that his mate had been proven innocent.

Nothing.

A horrifying coldness settled into my gut, colder than the stones beneath my feet.

He knew.

He had known from the very beginning.

The charred remains of the medical report drifted into the puddle between Evan's boots.

"You knew," I whispered.

Evan didn't flinch. He slipped his silver lighter back into his pocket, his face devoid of warmth.

"Does it really matter if she bought a vial of swine blood?" Evan asked, his voice chillingly calm.

"Does it matter?" I lunged against the iron bars, rattling the heavy metal until the bolts groaned. "She framed me for murder, Evan! She told the entire council I tried to slaughter your pup! And you stood there and watched them drag me into the dark!"

"Because you were already useless to me, Diana."

The words hit like cold steel shoved between my ribs.

Evan stepped closer, the shadows of the dungeon cutting sharp angles across his cheekbones. The gentle, protective husband who used to kiss my temples before dawn was completely gone.

"I waited three months," Evan said, his tone biting. "Three months sitting by a phone, hoping to hear that your shattered core had miraculously knit itself back together. But every doctor told me the same thing. You will never fight on the front lines again. You will never run with the pack hunt."

"I broke that core taking a blade for your life!"

"And I thanked you for it!" Evan barked, his patience finally snapping. "Do you think a pack survives on gratitude? The northern borders are collapsing. The rogues are circling our fences like vultures. I need a Luna who can shift, Diana. I need a Luna who can stand beside the Alpha in battle, not an invalid who needs someone to hold her upright every ten steps."

My hands slid down the bars.

The fever in my blood turned into absolute, hollow silence. Every sacrifice, every agonizing night spent choking down my own screams in that lonely cabin, washed away into nothingness.

"Is that all I was to you?" I asked quietly. "A weapon?"

"You were my partner," Evan said. "Until you broke. Selena is whole. Selena carries intact blood. She can give me strong heirs, and the elders respect strength."

He tapped the lock with a single brass key, swinging the cell door open. "Come upstairs. The council is waiting in the great hall. Sign the formal apology, surrender the Luna title to your sister, and I will let you live out your days in peace at the villa. I am doing you a mercy."

"A mercy."

I stepped out of the cell. My legs shook, but I refused to let him see me falter.

We climbed the stone steps to the main floor. The great hall was packed to the rafters. Elders in heavy ceremonial robes lined the high platform, while dozens of pack warriors stood shoulder to shoulder along the perimeter.

Standing right beside the high table was Selena.

She wasn't wearing Evan's oversized shirt anymore. She wore the ceremonial white Luna gown—embroidered with silver thread and moonstone crystals. My gown.

When Selena saw me, her lips curved into a tiny, mocking smirk. She stepped down from the dais before Evan could take his seat, closing the distance between us.

"You look terrible, sister," Selena murmured under her breath, loud enough only for the three of us to hear.

"You stole my clothes," I said flatly.

"Evan let me try it on two weeks ago," Selena whispered, leaning close to my ear. Her eyes shone with malicious triumph. "He couldn't even wait for you to heal. And do you want to know the most pathetic part? When he took me on your vanity desk, he kept whispering your name while he kissed my neck. He pretends he wanted you, but he was taking me."

Evan reached out, grabbing Selena’s wrist to pull her back. "That is enough, Selena."

He turned to me, his golden eyes flashing with a desperate, frantic intensity.

"Diana, don't listen to her," Evan insisted, lowering his voice. "I only ever loved you. I never stopped loving you. If you just accept your place, you can stay in my life. But I cannot rule beside a weakling! I can't afford to look weak!"

A sound bubbled up in my chest.

It wasn't a sob.

I laughed.

A clear, ringing laugh that echoed through the vaulted ceiling of the great hall. Elders frowned. Warriors shifted uncomfortably on their feet.

"You're laughing?" Evan's brow furrowed in utter bewilderment. "Diana, have you lost your mind?"

"No," I said, meeting his gaze with absolute clarity. "For the first time in three years, I see everything with perfect vision."

I turned my back on him and faced the high table.

"Elder Gregory!" I called out, my voice ringing across the hall.

The old wolf stiffened. "Speak, Diana. Have you come to beg for the Luna's forgiveness?"

"I have come to settle a debt."

Before anyone could guess my intention, I reached down to the belt of the nearest guard. With a swift flick of my wrist, I slid the silver ceremonial dagger from his scabbard.

Gasps tore through the hall. Five warriors drew their swords instantly.

"Diana, put that down!" Evan roared, lunging toward me.

"Stay back!"

I flipped the blade, pressing the razor-sharp silver edge straight into the center of my left palm.

"Diana, what are you doing?" Evan's face drained of all color.

"You told me you need an intact Luna," I said, staring directly into his widening eyes. "You said you couldn't afford to be tied to someone broken. So let me do you a favor, Alpha Evan."

"Stop!" Evan lunged forward. "Don't touch that bond!"

"By the blood of my ancestors and the light of the Moon Goddess," I recited loudly, my voice steady and cold, "I, Diana of the Red Moon, reject Alpha Evan as my mate."

I dragged the silver blade deep across my flesh.

Blood sprayed across the polished stone.

A sickening snap echoed inside my skull, like a thick iron chain shattering under unimaginable pressure.

The agony hit instantly.

A white-hot spike drove straight through my chest, severing the sacred tether that tied our souls together. It tore through my marrow, ripping the mate bond apart at the roots.

My knees hit the stone floor with a violent crack. Blood spilled from my lips.

Across from me, Evan collapsed just as hard.

He gripped his chest with both hands, letting out a strangled, agonized bellow that shook the chandeliers above. His Alpha aura violently imploded. The bond rejection tore through him, burning his wolf from the inside out.

"Diana!" Evan wheezed, vomiting blood onto the dais steps. Panic, raw and unhinged, twisted his face into a terrifying grimace. He dragged himself across the floor on his hands and knees, clawing at my jacket. "Stop it! Stop the severance! I don't agree! Diana, I command you as your Alpha, stop!"

I pulled my arm away from his trembling fingers.

The silver dagger clattered to the floor, slick with my blood.

"You aren't my Alpha anymore," I rasped, forcing myself to stand despite the blinding pain tearing through my core.

The elders stood frozen in horror. Selena backed away, shaking, clutching her throat as if she couldn't breathe.

Evan reached for my ankle, tears of pure terror spilling down his face. "Diana, please! You'll die out there without a pack! Your core can't survive alone!"

"From this day on," I said, wiping the red smear from my chin with the back of my hand, "I would rather be a packless stray than spend another second as your Luna."

I didn't look back.

I walked down the central aisle between rows of stunned, silent wolves. No one dared block my path.

I pushed through the heavy timber doors and stepped outside.

A torrential downpour had broken over the territory. Freezing sheets of rain slammed into my face, soaking my hair and washing the blood from my open palm.

Step by step, I marched away from the pack house.

Every movement felt like walking through broken glass. Without the pack bond to anchor my strength, my fever flared out of control. My vision blurred into swirling streaks of gray and dark green as I crossed the open fields toward the northern border.

My breath came in ragged, shallow gasps.

*Just ten more yards,* I told myself. *Just past the boundary stones.*

My boot caught on an exposed root.

The ground rushed up to meet me.

I crashed into the freezing mud, unable to lift my arms. The cold soaked through my clothes, seeping into my broken core until my fingers went completely numb. Darkness crept into the edges of my sight.

A low vibration rattled the mud beneath my cheek.

Through the heavy curtain of rain, a colossal shadow stepped through the border trees.

It was a wolf.

Massive, broad-shouldered, its fur black as midnight, with eyes that burned like molten silver. It prowled toward me with silent, terrifying authority.

The black wolf stopped inches from my face.

Bones cracked and shifted in the storm. The beast rose, transforming into a tall, broad-shouldered man clad in a dark military coat. He knelt beside me in the mud, brushing the wet hair away from my burning forehead.

Silver eyes locked onto mine.

Adrian.

The merciless Alpha of the Black Crown Pack.

He slid his arms beneath my knees and back, lifting me effortlessly against his chest as the storm raged around us.

"Found you," he murmured.