The moment the words left my mouth,the she-wolves who had been beating me froze.

Lyra narrowed her eyes, studying me slowly.

“Did you just say…You’re the Luna?”

I lifted my chin, forcing steadiness through the shaking in my breath.

“Yes.

The pup I carry is the Alpha’s heir.If you’ve harmed him even the slightest —you wouldn’t have enough lives to pay for it.”

For a heartbeat, I thought they would finally back off.But instead…it was as if they had just heard the most ridiculous joke of their lives.

Laughter exploded around me.

“Oh, I’m terrified,” one of them sneered.

“This mutt’s been locked in the inner den so long her brain must have rotted.”

“Or maybe she went crazy wanting to be Luna.No wonder she got thrown in here.”

Lyra looked down at me, her gaze suddenly turning vicious.

“So that’s it?” she scoffed.

“I thought you had real backbone to dare challenge me.”

“Turns out you’re just a delusional idiot who doesn’t know her place.”

“The Luna?” she let out a cold laugh.

“Do you really think the Alpha would hide his Luna in some forgotten den like this?”

“With only one servant?No guard. No ceremony. No court. No witness.”

She leaned closer.“If you’re trying to scare us,at least make up something believable.”

She gestured toward my stomach.

“A mutt who slept with a patrol guard daring to call her bastard whelp the Alpha’s heir?”

“Do you have any idea how suicidal that sounds?”

Then she turned sharply to the others.

“Strip her.I want to see for myself just how filthy a she-wolf looks after spreading for a guard.”

Grins spread across their faces.Hands reached for me.

I had always chosen seclusion in the inner den myself —to escape politics,to avoid rivalry,to protect this life inside me.

This quiet was meant to be safety.Willow was the only one I kept.

She had followed me since I was a girl.I thought it was enough.

I thought his promise was enough.

Stay here.No one will touch you.I swear it on my blood.

That was what he whispered every time his hand rested on my stomach.

As if the world itself would break if this child did.

But now…That decision,that trust,had become their excuse to doubt my very existence.

When their hands tore at my clothes,panic surged through me.

“Stop!” I cried, my voice breaking.

“I am the Luna! If you don’t believe me,go ask the Alpha yourselves!”

They didn’t even slow.Claws ripped fabric.Hands struck my face.

“You’re still lying?” one of them snarled.

“You really won’t shut your mouth until you see a grave!”

My cheek throbbed.

Warm blood slid down my chin.

My hair fell loose, tangled across my shoulders.

My body was half exposed.Pain.Humiliation.

Cold air against my skin.

Lyra clicked her tongue, amused.

“That hair is annoying,” she said.“Get rid of it.”

A servant stepped forward with shears.

I didn’t even resist.

Because I no longer cared about my hair.Or my pride.

I only curled tighter around my stomach,my arms wrapping instinctively over the life inside.

The life he had smiled at.

The life he had dreamed aloud about —how he’d train him to hunt,how he’d carry him on his shoulders,how he’d tell the pack this child would be stronger than any Alpha before him.

A few seconds later,I felt the weight disappear from my head.

Strands of my hair fell scattered on the stone.

The only thing I had used to cover my torn body was gone.

Lyra burst out laughing.

“Good!” she clapped lightly.“That looks much better.”

“A shameless bitch like you deserves to be seen exactly as she is.”

The others followed her, laughing, applauding,like wolves watching a slow kill.

I stared at them, trembling,every breath sharp and burning.

“You will regret this,” I said hoarsely.

Every one of their faces.Every sneer.Every laugh.

They burned into me.

And I swore,even if it cost my life —they would pay.

Lyra stepped closer.Slowly.Deliberately.

She placed her boot against my cheek and pressed down hard.

Stone bit into my skin.My vision swam.

“In this territory,” she whispered,“no one makes me regret anything.”

“But I can make you regret ever being born.”

She lifted her foot.Then turned.

“Take her,” she snapped.“Drag her to the punishment grounds.”

At Lyra’s order, several female attendants immediately rushed forward and seized my arms.

Ignoring my struggles and cries,they dragged me across the stone path all the way to the punishment grounds.

Behind me,two long trails of blood smeared across the floor —my torn feet scraping against the cold stone step after step.

When we reached the punishment yard,they threw me to the ground like animal waste.

This place was where disgraced wolves were forced to labor.Those stripped of status and honor.

As soon as Lyra brought me there,everyone noticed.

Especially the way I looked —half-clothed, bloodied, trembling.

The work stopped.Dozens of eyes locked onto me.Predatory.Excited.Like a pack of starving wolves staring at wounded prey.

Shame and fury burned through me.

I curled my body inward,doing whatever I could to cover myself and shield my stomach.

Lyra looked down on me with contempt.

“Don’t act all pure now,” she sneered.“If you had the nerve to lie with a guard,don’t pretend you still have dignity.”

“You don’t mind being filthy, do you?Then today, I’ll make you even more so.”

She turned calmly to the outcasts in the yard.

“This filth has committed an unforgivable crime,” she announced.“I grant you the right to punish her.”

“And whoever satisfies me most…I will consider reducing your sentence and granting you release.”

It was an offer none of them could easily refuse.

The moment she finished speaking,objects clattered to the ground.

Buckets. Tools. Chains.

They came closer.And closer.

Terror flooded my chest.

“You can’t,” I cried hoarsely.“I am the Luna!”

No one recognized me because I had lived hidden in the inner den for too long.

My words made them hesitate.

For half a second.

Lyra’s voice cut through sharply.

“She’s delirious.Ignore her.”

“Continue.”

And they did.

Their hands reached out —not with mercy,not with hesitation —only cruelty.

I felt myself shrinking inward,my mind screaming to escape my body,but I could not move.

Some of the women who worked there —desperate to trade cruelty for freedom —took up whips.

The lash cracked through the air.Once.Again.And again.

The blows tore across my exposed back like fire.

Every strike drove the air from my lungs.

Every touch made my skin crawl.

Pain folded me completely.

My cries drowned in the chaos.

Welts bloomed across my body.

Blood.Tears.Mud.

A nightmare I could not wake from.

One of Lyra’s followers hesitated, whispering:

“Lyra… no matter what she’s done… she’s still one of the Alpha’s mates…Is this really appropriate?”

Lyra didn’t even glance at her.

“What’s inappropriate?” she said lazily.“The Alpha dotes on me.”

“I’m just punishing a mutt he barely remembers.”

“And my brother said it himself —as long as I don’t commit direct treason,no one in this pack can touch me.”

Hearing her confidence,the others relaxed.

Laughter spread again.

Under their relentless torment…a sudden, tearing pain exploded through my abdomen.

I froze.

My breath stuttered.

Something hot and heavy

flowed between my legs.

I looked down.

Blood.

So much blood.

Panic swallowed me whole.

“No… no…” I whispered.

I lifted my head, eyes blazing with desperation.

“Get the healer!” I screamed.“My pup… he’s dying!”

At the word pup,Lyra finally flicked her hand.

The crowd parted,she walked toward me slowly,amused,like approaching a dying animal.

Her gaze dropped to the blood pooling beneath me.

“Want me to save him?” she asked lazily.

“Then kneel.”

The world blurred.

I bit my lip so hard I tasted iron.

Then I forced my broken body forward and fell to my knees.

Over and over,I lowered my head.

Each time,my vision dimmed.

Each time,pain exploded through my spine.

I no longer cared about pride，or dignity.

I only saw his face in my mind.

The Alpha.

The night he pressed his forehead to my stomach and whispered:

“This little one… saved me too.”

“You’re not just my Luna.”

“You’re my future.”

And this child…was our future.My life.My entire world.

“I’ll do anything,” I choked.

“I’ll give you anything… just save him…”

My forehead struck stone.

Blood dripped down my face.

Again.And again.

Only then did Lyra burst into delighted laughter.

“So you really care about this bastard,” she said gleefully.

“Good.Then I’ll let him meet you.Face to face.”

She turned,picked up a heavy silver blade from a table nearby.

My body went cold.

She walked back toward me slowly.Like death itself.

“Don’t…” I whispered, shaking.“Please…”

Before I could finish,she kicked me flat onto my back.

The cold stone slammed my spine.

Then—Agony.

White-hot.

Something tore through me.

My vision shattered.

In the haze,I saw her leaning over me…

I saw her hands…And then…

She lifted something small.

Something red.Something still.

“Oh?” she laughed.“It’s a boy.”

Silence crushed me.

Then her voice again, thick with mockery:

“Too bad,he’s already dead.”

My screams never came out,my lungs refused.

The world tilted away.

Around us, cheers erupted.

“Good riddance to a mongrel!”

“Just looking at him, you can tell his father was filth!”

“Lady Lyra truly purged the pack!”

Applause,praise,fawning voices.Like a celebration built on my corpse.

Lyra examined my dead child with satisfaction,like admiring a trophy.

Her smile was slow… twisted… pleased.

“Don’t worry,” she murmured, glancing down at me.

“I’ll find his filthy father too.And I’ll send him to join you soon.”

Then—

A sharp voice thundered from the entrance:

“THE ALPHA HAS RETURNED!”