“Mrs. Blackwood, congratulations.”

The doctor said it with a smile, like she was telling me the weather was nice, while I sat frozen in the private examination room with my fingers digging into the edge of the chair.

I stared at her.

“I’m sorry,” I said slowly. “Can you say that again?”

Dr. Harper’s smile widened. She turned the tablet toward me, showing the report I had been too nervous to read by myself.

“You’re pregnant, Olivia. Almost eight weeks.”

For a second, I did not move.

Then I covered my mouth with both hands.

Dr. Harper laughed softly and reached for a tissue box.

“I take it this is good news?”

I tried to answer, but all that came out was a broken little sound that was half laugh, half sob.

“Good news?” I whispered. “Dr. Harper, I’ve been waiting three years to hear this.”

“I know.”

“Ethan is going to lose his mind.”

“Good lose his mind or Alpha-level dramatic lose his mind?”

That made me laugh for real.

“With Ethan, probably both.”

Dr. Harper printed the ultrasound image and placed it inside a small envelope.

“Your hormone levels look stable, but because of your Fate Mate bond, I want you to avoid emotional stress as much as possible. Your body is carrying a child and maintaining a very powerful soul bond at the same time. That bond can support the pregnancy if it stays balanced, but if your Alpha causes severe emotional rejection or betrayal, the backlash could hurt you.”

My smile weakened.

“Ethan would never do that.”

She did not argue. She only looked at me with the careful patience doctors used when they knew more than they were willing to say.

“I’m not accusing him of anything. I’m telling you how Fate Bonds work.”

I slipped the ultrasound into my purse and stood.

“Ethan and I have been through worse than Pack gossip.”

“Yes,” she said gently. “But Pack gossip does not tear through your chest when it hurts you. A Fate Mate can.”

I touched the mark below my collarbone, the silver crescent scar Ethan had given me during our mating ceremony ten years ago.

“He loves me.”

Dr. Harper nodded.

“Then tell him tonight, and let him take care of you.”

I smiled again because that was exactly what I wanted to believe.

“I will.”

By the time I reached the car, I had already imagined the whole scene.

I would return to the Silver Moon Pack estate before the official livestream ended. Ethan had texted me that morning about an “important announcement,” something connected to Pack leadership and the company’s future. He had sounded unusually excited, almost secretive, and I had let myself believe he had planned something sweet.

Maybe he had found out.

Maybe he had asked Dr. Harper to call him.

Maybe tonight, in front of the entire Pack, he would finally tell everyone that their Luna was not broken, not useless, not a wife who had failed to give the Alpha an heir.

My phone buzzed as the driver pulled away from the clinic.

An unknown number had sent me a link.

No text.

No explanation.

Just a WolfNet livestream link.

I frowned.

The title made my stomach tighten.

Silver Moon Pack Official Livestream: The Future Heir Announcement

I stared at it for a few seconds.

“Luna?” my driver asked from the front. “Should I return to the estate?”

“Wait,” I said, already tapping the link. “Just give me a second.”

The livestream opened.

At first, I saw the main hall of Silver Moon’s headquarters, bright with crystal lights and camera flashes. Hundreds of Pack members filled the seats. Board members sat in the front row. Reporters from the supernatural business networks stood near the stage. It looked less like a private Pack ceremony and more like a corporate press conference.

Then the camera shifted.

Ethan stood at the center of the stage in a black suit, tall and calm, looking every bit like the Alpha CEO the world loved to call the future of modern werewolf leadership.

Beside him stood my younger sister, Sophia.

She wore a white dress.

My breath caught.

Not just white.

Ceremonial white.

The kind of dress a Luna wore when she was being blessed before the Pack.

I pressed the phone closer to my face.

“No,” I whispered. “No, that’s not right.”

Ethan reached for Sophia’s hand.

My chest tightened so suddenly that I gasped.

The driver glanced back.

“Luna?”

“I’m fine,” I lied.

On the screen, Sophia lowered her eyes with perfect shyness, the same soft expression she had used since childhood whenever she wanted people to protect her from the consequences of her own cruelty.

Ethan spoke into the microphone.

“Silver Moon has always been more than a Pack. We are a family, a company, and a legacy.”

The audience applauded.

I called him.

Straight to voicemail.

I called again.

Voicemail.

The pain in my chest sharpened.

Dr. Harper’s warning echoed in my head.

A Fate Mate can.

I shook my head.

“No. He wouldn’t.”

Ethan continued, “For years, I have carried responsibilities I believed were love. I honored duty. I honored expectations. I honored a bond chosen for me before I understood my own heart.”

The words made no sense at first.

Then they made too much sense.

My wolf stirred inside me with a low, wounded growl.

Sophia looked up at him, and Ethan smiled at her in a way I had not seen directed at me in months.

“I won’t lie to my Pack anymore,” he said. “My true heart has always belonged to Sophia Carter.”

A sound tore out of me.

The pain in my chest exploded, hot and brutal, like invisible claws had hooked beneath my ribs and pulled. My phone slipped slightly in my hand, and I curled forward in the back seat, trying to breathe through a pain no human doctor could explain.

The driver slammed on the brakes.

“Luna Olivia?”

“Keep driving,” I forced out.

“You’re hurt.”

“I said keep driving.”

On the livestream, the Pack erupted.

Not in shock.

In cheers.

They cheered.

My Pack cheered while my Fate Mate publicly gave his heart to my sister.

Sophia covered her mouth like she was overwhelmed. Ethan wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

The pain pulsed again.

I pressed my hand to my mating mark.

“Ethan, please,” I whispered, even though he could not hear me.

Then Sophia placed one hand on her stomach.

The world stopped.

Ethan’s voice became softer.

“And tonight, I am honored to announce that Sophia is carrying my child.”

The driver cursed under his breath.

I barely heard him.

My hand moved slowly to my own stomach.

The ultrasound envelope sat inside my purse.

Eight weeks.

His child.

Our child.

The true heir of Silver Moon.

On the screen, an elder stood and declared, “Then the Pack welcomes Sophia Carter as the mother of the future Alpha heir.”

The chat window went wild.

Finally, Silver Moon has an heir.

Sophia looks like a real Luna.

Poor Olivia, but the Pack needs a child.

Alpha Ethan made the right choice.

I wanted to scream.

I wanted to tell them all.

I wanted to hold up the ultrasound and make Ethan look at what he had just betrayed.

But the pain in my chest reminded me of the truth: he had chosen to do this in public, with cameras, elders, investors, and every wolf watching.

If I said I was pregnant now, my baby would become a battlefield.

I called Ethan one more time.

Voicemail.

I lowered the phone and whispered, “Take me to the Pack estate.”

The driver hesitated.

“Luna, are you sure?”

“No,” I said, wiping my face with shaking fingers. “But take me anyway.”

By the time I arrived, the livestream had ended.

The estate gates opened to a courtyard full of Pack members who turned when my car stopped. Some looked embarrassed. Some looked curious. Some looked away because shame was easier to carry when it belonged to someone else.

I stepped out of the car with my purse pressed against my stomach.

Maria, the head housekeeper, hurried down the steps.

“Luna Olivia, I didn’t know you were coming back tonight.”

“This is my home,” I said.

Her face changed, and that told me enough.

I walked past her into the mansion.

“Where is Ethan?”

“In the Alpha wing.”

“With Sophia?”

Maria did not answer.

I gave a humorless laugh.

“Of course.”

I went straight to the Alpha wing, ignoring the whispers that followed me through the hall.

When I opened the door to my bedroom, I stopped.

My clothes were gone from the closet.

My perfume bottles had been moved from the vanity.

The white roses Ethan used to order for me every Monday had been replaced with Sophia’s favorite pink peonies.

And Sophia stood beside my bed, holding one of my silk robes against her body.

She turned with a sweet smile.

“Olivia. You’re back earlier than we expected.”

For a moment, I could not speak.

Then I looked at the robe in her hand.

“Take that off.”

Sophia blinked.

“What?”

“That belongs to me.”

She lowered her eyes.

“I’m sorry. I thought the staff had already moved your things.”

“Moved them where?”

“The east guest wing.”

I laughed once, quietly.

“You moved me out of my own bedroom during your livestream?”

Ethan stepped out of the bathroom then, his sleeves rolled to his elbows, his expression hardening the second he saw me.

“Olivia.”

I looked at him.

At my husband.

At my Fate Mate.

At the man whose child I carried while he stood beside my sister in our room.

“You didn’t answer my calls.”

“I was busy.”

“You were announcing your mistress as the mother of your heir.”

Sophia flinched beautifully.

“Please don’t call me that.”

I turned to her.

“What should I call you? Sister? Future Luna? The woman wearing my life before I’ve even been buried?”

Ethan’s eyes flashed.

“Enough.”

The Alpha command pressed against my wolf, but instead of obeying, she whimpered in pain.

I gripped the back of a chair.

Ethan noticed.

For one second, something like concern crossed his face.

Then Sophia touched his arm.

“Ethan, the doctor said stress isn’t good for the baby.”

His attention shifted back to her.

Just like that.

I almost told him.

I almost said, I’m pregnant too.

But then I saw Sophia watching me.

Her eyes dropped briefly to my purse, to the way my hand hovered near my stomach.

Calculation flashed behind her pretty face.

So I swallowed the truth.

Ethan said, “You’ll stay in the east wing for now. The Pack needs stability, and Sophia needs protection.”

“And what do I need?”

He sighed, like my pain was inconvenient.

“Time. Privacy. Compensation. Whatever makes this transition easier.”

“Compensation?”

My voice came out too calm.

“You humiliated me in front of the entire Pack, announced my sister as your chosen woman, moved her into my bedroom, and now you’re offering compensation?”

Sophia whispered, “Olivia, we never meant to hurt you like this.”

I looked at her and smiled.

That made her go still.

“You meant to hurt me exactly like this.”

Ethan stepped between us.

“Don’t blame her. I made the decision.”

“Yes,” I said. “You did.”

The room went quiet.

The Fate Bond throbbed in my chest, but beneath the pain something colder began to form.

Something stronger than heartbreak.

For ten years, I had believed Ethan Blackwood was my fate.

For ten years, I had loved him like the Moon Goddess herself had carved his name into my soul.

But standing in that room, watching him protect Sophia while my ultrasound photo remained hidden in my purse, I finally understood that fate could become a cage if the wrong person held the key.

I lifted my chin.

“I’ll go to the east wing.”

Sophia’s mouth curved slightly.

Ethan looked relieved.

That relief hurt more than his anger would have.

“But understand something,” I said, looking at both of them. “You can take my room. You can take my title. You can make the entire Pack cheer for your lie.”

Sophia’s smile vanished.

Ethan frowned.

“My lie?”

I looked at his hand resting protectively near Sophia’s stomach.

Then I pressed my palm lightly over my own.

“You have no idea what you lost tonight.”

I turned and walked out before either of them could answer.

Behind me, Ethan called my name once.

Not softly.

Not lovingly.

Like a man irritated that his discarded wife had not cried in the correct way.

I did not look back.

Because if I did, I might tell him the truth.

And my child was the last piece of me they had not stolen yet.

By sunrise, the entire estate already belonged to Sophia.

Not legally.

Not officially.

But in all the ways that mattered inside a Pack.

The staff no longer looked me in the eye when they passed the east wing. The guards who had once straightened their backs when I walked by now lowered their heads as if respecting me would get them punished. Even the scent of the mansion had changed overnight, because Sophia had apparently ordered every vase of white roses removed and replaced with pink peonies before breakfast.

I stood in front of the east wing mirror with one hand over my stomach, trying to decide whether the woman looking back at me still counted as a Luna when her own Pack had watched her husband replace her on a livestream.

A knock came from the door.

“Luna Olivia?” Maria called softly.

I opened the door.

She stood in the hallway holding a breakfast tray, but her hands trembled so badly the coffee cup rattled against the saucer.

I looked at the tray.

“You brought breakfast yourself?”

Maria lowered her eyes.

“The kitchen staff were told not to send service to the east wing unless Alpha Ethan approved it.”

I stared at her.

“By whom?”

Her face went pale.

“Miss Sophia.”

I almost laughed.

Miss Sophia.

Not Luna Sophia.

Not yet.

But everyone was already practicing.

I stepped aside.

“Come in.”

Maria entered quickly and placed the tray on the small table by the window.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“For bringing me toast?”

“For all of it.”

I studied her.

Maria had served this family for twenty years. She had been here before Ethan became Alpha, before Silver Moon became a global corporation, before WolfNet livestreams turned Pack politics into public entertainment.

“Do you believe her?” I asked.

Maria looked up.

“About the baby?”

“Yes.”

She hesitated, and that hesitation told me more than an answer would have.

“I believe Alpha Ethan believes her.”

“That wasn’t my question.”

“No,” Maria said quietly. “It wasn’t.”

Before I could respond, the door opened without a knock.

Sophia walked in wearing a silk robe I recognized immediately.

Mine.

My fingers curled against my palm.

Maria stiffened.

Sophia smiled as if she had not noticed.

“Good morning. Olivia, I wanted to check on you.”

“By wearing my robe?”

She glanced down, her smile widening.

“Oh, this? The closet staff must have mixed things up during the move.”

“There was no mix-up.”

Sophia’s eyes flickered toward Maria.

“You can leave.”

Maria looked at me.

I gave a small nod.

The moment the door closed, Sophia dropped the sweet voice.

“You should tell your staff to be less obvious when they pity you. It makes everyone uncomfortable.”

“She has more loyalty in one hand than you have in your entire body.”

Sophia laughed.

“That’s adorable. You still think loyalty matters.”

I looked at her flat stomach.

“Does your doctor know you’re wandering around this early after your big pregnancy announcement?”

Her smile sharpened.

“Concerned for my baby?”

“I’m concerned for your ability to keep your lies straight.”

For one second, the air between us went cold.

Then Sophia touched her stomach and sighed.

“You know, jealousy really does make you cruel.”

“Jealousy?”

“You heard Ethan. He chose me because he loves me. The baby only made him brave enough to say it publicly.”

The Fate Bond reacted to his name with a slow, grinding pain beneath my ribs.

I refused to let her see it.

“If you came here to rehearse your victim speech, pick a better audience.”

“I came to be kind.”

“You came to see if I cried myself to death overnight.”

Her expression twisted before she hid it.

“You always do that.”

“Do what?”

“Act like you’re above me.”

“I’m not above you, Sophia.”

I stepped closer.

“I’m just not stupid enough to think you suddenly became innocent because you wore white on camera.”

Her eyes flashed.

Then, before I could move, she grabbed the edge of the breakfast table and deliberately knocked the coffee cup onto the floor.

Ceramic shattered.

Hot coffee splashed across the rug.

I stared at the mess.

Sophia looked toward the door and screamed.

“Olivia, don’t!”

Then she threw herself backward.

Her shoulder hit the wall. She slid to the floor, clutching her stomach.

For half a second, I could only stare.

Then I understood.

The door burst open.

Two guards rushed in.

Maria came behind them.

Sophia sobbed instantly.

“I told her I didn’t want to fight. I told her the baby was innocent.”

I laughed once, quietly.

“You have got to be kidding me.”

One guard stepped between us.

“Luna Olivia, please move back.”

I looked at him.

“Did you just give me an order?”

His face tightened.

“I’m asking you to step back.”

Sophia whimpered.

“She pushed me.”

Maria’s eyes widened.

“I didn’t see—”

Sophia cut her off with a sob.

“She said my baby was a lie. Then she shoved me.”

The guard’s expression changed.

I felt the first real flicker of fear, not for myself but for the child inside me.

Because if Sophia could fake a fall in my own room and get guards to believe her within seconds, she could do much worse.

Ethan arrived less than five minutes later.

He entered like an Alpha walking into a crisis, his face cold, his presence filling the room with command.

His eyes went to Sophia first.

Of course they did.

She reached for him with shaking fingers.

“Ethan, I’m sorry. I tried to make peace with her.”

He knelt beside her.

“Are you hurt?”

“I don’t know. My stomach hurts.”

My wolf snarled.

I said, “She threw herself.”

Ethan looked up.

The anger in his eyes was instant.

“Don’t.”

“That’s all you have to say?”

“This is not the time.”

“No, Ethan. This is exactly the time. She came into my room wearing my robe, insulted me, broke a cup, screamed, and threw herself against the wall.”

Sophia cried harder.

“Why would I do that?”

I looked at her.

“Because you’re not pregnant.”

The room went silent.

Ethan stood slowly.

“What did you say?”

The Fate Bond burned, but I forced myself to meet his eyes.

“I said she is not pregnant.”

His face darkened.

Sophia whispered, “How could you say that?”

“Show the medical records.”

Ethan’s jaw clenched.

“Enough.”

“No. Show them.”

Sophia pressed a hand to her stomach and looked at Ethan with trembling lips.

“I can’t believe she would attack our child like this.”

I stepped forward.

“Your child?”

Ethan’s Alpha power rolled through the room.

“Olivia, stop.”

The command hit the Fate Bond like a blade.

I gasped before I could hide it.

Ethan noticed, but instead of concern, suspicion crossed his face.

“You’re making this worse for yourself.”

“For myself?”

“Yes.”

He turned to the guards.

“Escort Sophia to the medical wing.”

Sophia clung to his arm.

“Please don’t punish her because of me.”

The performance was almost beautiful.

Almost.

Ethan touched her face gently.

“I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

The words struck deeper than I expected because he used to say them to me.

After Sophia was carried out, Ethan turned back to me.

His expression had hardened into something official.

Not husband.

Not mate.

Alpha.

“Until the council reviews your conduct, you are relieved of all Luna authority.”

I stared at him.

“You can’t be serious.”

“I am.”

“You’re taking her word over mine?”

“I’m protecting my heir.”

The words came out like a verdict.

I placed a hand over my stomach beneath the loose sweater I had chosen to hide my body.

“What about me?”

His mouth tightened.

“You should have thought about that before threatening a pregnant woman.”

“I never touched her.”

“That’s not what the guards saw.”

“They saw what she wanted them to see.”

He lowered his voice.

“Olivia, I know you’re hurt. I know last night was difficult. But if you keep acting this way, the council will have no choice but to remove you entirely.”

I stared at him, really stared, trying to find any trace of the man I loved.

All I found was a stranger using concern as a weapon.

“You already removed me.”

“No,” he said. “I gave you space to accept reality.”

I laughed, but it hurt.

“Reality seems very convenient for you.”

“Don’t make me your enemy.”

“You did that by yourself.”

His eyes flashed.

For a second, I thought he might say something cruel enough to end whatever remained of us.

Instead, he turned toward the door.

“There will be a council statement at noon. Stay in the east wing.”

“Am I your wife or your prisoner?”

He paused.

“You’re my mate.”

The Bond pulsed painfully.

I whispered, “Then why does it only hurt me?”

His back went rigid.

Then he left without answering.

By noon, the council statement streamed across WolfNet.

I watched from the east wing while Elder Marcus stood beside Ethan and announced that, due to “emotional instability” and “an incident involving the future heir,” I would no longer carry executive Luna authority within Silver Moon Pack.

The comments appeared instantly.

She attacked a pregnant woman? Disgusting.

Olivia lost her title and still acted jealous.

Sophia deserves protection.

The old Luna needs to leave.

A knock sounded at the door.

I opened it to find three maids standing in the hall.

One held a laundry basket. Another held linens. The third stared at the floor.

“I asked for clean sheets two hours ago,” I said.

The first maid swallowed.

“Miss Sophia said the main laundry is prioritizing the Alpha wing.”

I blinked.

“You’re refusing me sheets?”

“No, Luna. I mean—”

“Don’t call me that if you’re going to treat me like a guest no one wants.”

Her face flushed.

The youngest maid whispered, “We’re sorry.”

I closed the door before I said something I could not take back.

That evening, I heard Pack members laughing outside the east wing garden.

One voice said, “She should leave before the Alpha has to reject her publicly.”

Another replied, “He should have picked Sophia years ago.”

I sat on the edge of the bed with one hand over my stomach and let them talk.

Not because their words didn’t hurt.

They did.

Every word sank into me.

Every laugh scraped against the Bond.

But my child was warm and alive beneath my palm, and that was the only truth I trusted.

At midnight, I left through the service corridor wearing a long coat and a scarf pulled over my hair.

Daniel’s car waited beyond the old greenhouse.

The moment I got inside, he looked at my face and said, “What happened?”

“How much time do you have?”

His expression darkened.

“That bad?”

“Worse.”

He drove without turning on the headlights until we reached the private road.

“Dr. Harper is waiting.”

At the small clinic outside Pack territory, Dr. Harper scanned the baby while Daniel stood behind a privacy curtain pretending not to worry.

I stared at the monitor, barely breathing.

“Please say something.”

Dr. Harper smiled.

“The baby is fine.”

I covered my mouth.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. Strong heartbeat. Good development. No signs of distress.”

For the first time all day, my body loosened.

Daniel’s voice came from behind the curtain.

“Thank God.”

I laughed through tears.

“You can come out, Daniel. You’re not invisible.”

He stepped out looking awkward and relieved.

Dr. Harper printed another image and handed it to me.

“Olivia, you need rest, proper food, and absolutely no more exposure to Ethan’s Bond pressure if you can help it.”

I looked at her.

“How do I avoid my Fate Mate when he lives in the same house?”

She did not answer.

Because there was no good answer.

When we returned to the estate before dawn, I slipped quietly into the east wing with the new ultrasound tucked inside my coat.

I thought no one had seen me.

I was wrong.

Sophia stood at the end of the hallway in a silk robe, her hair loose around her shoulders.

Her eyes fell to my coat.

Then to the folder in my hand.

Then to my stomach.

The smile left her face.

“Where were you?”

I held the folder behind my back.

“None of your business.”

She walked closer slowly.

“You went to a clinic.”

“No.”

“You’re lying.”

“So are you.”

Her eyes sharpened.

For the first time, she looked afraid.

Not offended.

Not jealous.

Afraid.

Then she whispered, “You’re pregnant.”

The hallway went so quiet I could hear my own heartbeat.

I should have denied it.

I should have laughed.

I should have done anything except stand there with one hand instinctively moving to my stomach.

Sophia saw everything.

Her face changed.

The fear disappeared.

Something colder replaced it.

“If Ethan finds out,” she said slowly, “everything becomes complicated.”

I met her eyes.

“It should.”

She stepped closer.

“No, Olivia. It won’t.”

A chill moved through me.

“What does that mean?”

Sophia smiled, but there was nothing sweet left in it.

“It means you should have left when you still had the chance.”

Then she turned and walked away.

I stood alone in the hallway, the ultrasound pressed against my chest, and understood with terrifying clarity that Sophia no longer wanted only my title, my room, or my husband.

She wanted my child gone too.

Sophia sent the apology at 7:16 in the morning.

I knew the exact time because I had been awake all night, sitting on the edge of the bed with one hand over my stomach and the other holding the ultrasound photo Dr. Harper had given me.

The message appeared on my phone while the estate was still quiet.

I’m sorry. I know you won’t believe me, but I am. Can we talk? Just us.

I stared at the screen until the words blurred.

Then another message came.

I found Mom’s moonstone bracelet. The one you thought was gone. I’ll bring it if you meet me.

My fingers tightened around the phone.

That bracelet had belonged to our mother.

She had worn it every full moon until the day she died. After her funeral, it disappeared from her jewelry box, and Sophia swore she had no idea where it went. I had cried for weeks because losing the bracelet felt like losing the last warm piece of my mother.

And now, after all these years, Sophia suddenly had it.

Of course she did.

I called Daniel first.

He answered before the second ring.

“No.”

I blinked.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You’re calling me at seven in the morning after your sister found out you’re pregnant. Whatever she asked you to do, the answer is no.”

“She says she has Mom’s bracelet.”

Daniel went silent for a second, and when he spoke again, his voice was softer but not less firm.

“Olivia, that is bait.”

“I know.”

“Then don’t bite.”

I looked down at the ultrasound photo.

The tiny shape on the image looked more like hope than a child, but it was enough to make every decision feel heavier.

“I don’t want to go,” I said. “But if she really has it—”

“She has had it this whole time, and now she’s using it because she knows exactly where to cut.”

That was probably true.

It hurt because it was true.

“She asked to meet in the forest.”

Daniel cursed.

“Absolutely not.”

“Near the old north trail.”

“Olivia.”

“She said she doesn’t want cameras or Pack guards.”

“That should terrify you, not persuade you.”

“I’m not going alone.”

“You’re not going at all.”

“I can bring a recorder.”

“You can bring the entire FBI and it would still be a terrible idea.”

Despite everything, a small laugh escaped me.

“You know werewolves don’t call the FBI for family drama.”

“They should consider it.”

I rubbed my forehead.

“Daniel, I need to know what she knows.”

“You already know enough. She knows you’re pregnant. That means she’s dangerous.”

“She’s always been dangerous.”

“No,” he said sharply. “She’s always been selfish. There is a difference. A selfish woman steals attention. A dangerous woman tries to erase evidence.”

My hand moved instinctively to my stomach.

Evidence.

That was what my baby had become in Sophia’s world.

Proof that her pregnancy was a lie.

Proof that Ethan had betrayed the real heir.

Proof that everything she gained could vanish the moment I opened my mouth.

“I’ll stay close to the main trail,” I said.

Daniel made a sound of disbelief.

“That is not a compromise.”

“I need the bracelet.”

“No, you need to stay alive.”

“I need both.”

He was quiet for a long moment.

Then he said, “Share your location with me. Keep your phone recording. If she asks you to move deeper into the forest, you leave. If she touches you, you scream. If Ethan calls, you answer on speaker so I can hear him.”

“Ethan won’t call.”

“You don’t know that.”

I looked toward the closed door of the east wing bedroom, beyond which the entire estate had moved on as if I were already a ghost.

“No,” I said quietly. “I do.”

By noon, the sky had turned the color of wet steel.

I left through the greenhouse path wearing a loose gray coat and boots that would not slip easily on the old trails. I kept my phone in my pocket with the recorder running, and every few minutes Daniel texted me.

Still visible?

Yes.

Still on trail?

Yes.

Still think this is stupid?

Yes.

His last message almost made me smile.

Almost.

Sophia waited near the entrance to the north forest path, dressed in cream cashmere and leather boots that looked too clean for the woods. She held a small velvet pouch in one hand.

When she saw me, her face softened.

“You came.”

“I came for the bracelet.”

Her mouth tightened.

“Not for me?”

“Do you want me to lie?”

She looked away, and for one strange second she almost looked like the girl who used to climb into my bed during thunderstorms because she hated sleeping alone.

Then she said, “You always were better at making people feel guilty.”

I stopped several feet away from her.

“And you always were better at pretending guilt was something other people made you feel.”

Her eyes flashed.

“I’m trying to apologize.”

“Then apologize.”

Sophia looked down at the velvet pouch.

“I shouldn’t have let the livestream happen that way.”

I laughed once.

“Let it happen?”

“I told Ethan it would hurt you.”

“And then you stood beside him in my Luna dress.”

Her jaw tightened.

“I didn’t choose the dress.”

“No, you just chose the man wearing the mating mark that matches mine.”

The Fate Bond throbbed as soon as I said it. My breath caught, and I hated that Sophia noticed.

Her gaze dropped to my chest.

“It still hurts?”

I lifted my chin.

“That’s none of your business.”

“It must be awful.”

The words were quiet.

Almost gentle.

But her eyes were hungry.

I understood then that Sophia did not simply want Ethan, my title, or my room.

She wanted to know the exact shape of the pain she caused.

“You enjoy it,” I said.

She blinked.

“What?”

“You enjoy knowing it hurts.”

“That’s cruel.”

“No, Sophia. Cruel is announcing a fake pregnancy in front of the entire Pack while your sister is carrying the real heir.”

The air changed immediately.

Sophia’s sweet expression vanished so fast it almost impressed me.

For several seconds, neither of us moved.

Then she said, “So you admit it.”

My blood turned cold.

I had been careful.

Too careful.

But anger had done what fear could not.

It opened my mouth.

I stepped back.

Sophia smiled slowly.

“That’s why you went to the clinic.”

I reached into my pocket and touched my phone, praying the recorder was still running.

“Sophia.”

“No, don’t use that voice.” She laughed, and there was nothing soft in it now. “The big-sister voice. The patient voice. The voice you use when you want everyone to remember you’re the good one.”

“I never said I was good.”

“You never had to. Mom thought it. Dad thought it. The Pack thought it. Ethan thought it too, until I showed him he could want something else.”

I stared at her.

“You’re sick.”

“No. I’m honest.”

She turned and started walking deeper down the trail.

I did not move.

Sophia glanced back.

“Do you want the bracelet or not?”

“Show it to me.”

“It’s safer near the overlook.”

“No.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“You’re afraid of me.”

“Yes.”

That seemed to surprise her.

For once, I did not pretend courage for her benefit.

“I’m pregnant, Sophia. I’m alone in the woods with a woman who has spent the last week stealing my life. So yes, I’m afraid of you.”

Her face twisted.

“You always make yourself the victim.”

“You pushed yourself into a wall yesterday and blamed me.”

“You called my baby fake.”

“Because it is.”

Her nostrils flared.

Then she smiled again.

“Fine. Come get the bracelet.”

She opened the velvet pouch just enough for me to see silver and pale blue stone inside.

My chest tightened.

Mom’s bracelet.

It was real.

Against every rational instinct I had, I took a step forward.

Then another.

We walked toward the overlook in silence, the trees closing around us until the estate disappeared behind a veil of mist and branches. The north cliff rose ahead, its edge protected by an old wooden rail that had been half destroyed years ago during a winter storm.

I stopped several feet from it.

“Give me the bracelet.”

Sophia stood near the broken rail and turned the pouch in her hand.

“Do you remember when Mom gave this to me for safekeeping?”

“She didn’t.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do. Mom knew you lost everything you borrowed.”

Sophia’s smile collapsed.

There it was.

The wound beneath everything.

Not Ethan.

Not Luna power.

Not Pack politics.

Our childhood.

“You think you’re so special because she trusted you,” Sophia said. “She gave you the recipes. The family records. Her old letters. Everyone gave Olivia the meaningful things and gave Sophia pretty things because pretty was all I was good for.”

I stared at her.

“I was sixteen when she died. I didn’t choose what she left behind.”

“No, you just enjoyed it.”

“I grieved her.”

“So did I.”

“Then why steal the bracelet?”

Her fingers tightened around the pouch.

“Because for once I wanted something first.”

The wind moved through the trees, cold and sharp.

I looked at my sister and finally understood that her hatred had not begun with Ethan. He was just the latest object she used to prove the world owed her what it had given me.

“You could have told me you felt that way.”

Sophia laughed.

“What would you have done? Hugged me? Told me I mattered too? You always think kindness fixes things because kindness has always worked for you.”

“It didn’t work with Ethan.”

Her eyes gleamed.

“No. I did.”

The Fate Bond burned at his name.

I gripped my coat.

Sophia stepped closer.

“Do you know what he said when I told him I was pregnant?”

I did not answer.

“He cried.”

My throat tightened.

“Stop.”

“He held me and said the Pack finally had a future.”

“Stop.”

“He said maybe the Moon Goddess gave him the right woman too late.”

Pain ripped through me so fiercely I stumbled.

Sophia’s eyes dropped to my stomach.

“And there it is.”

I forced myself upright.

“You don’t have to do this.”

“Oh, Olivia.” Her voice became almost tender. “I really do.”

I backed away.

“Daniel knows where I am.”

“Does he know exactly where?”

I reached for my phone.

Sophia moved faster.

She slapped it from my hand, and it skidded across wet leaves toward the broken rail.

I turned to grab it.

She shoved me.

Hard.

I caught myself against the railing, wood splintering under my hands.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

“Sophia, don’t.”

For one second, her face trembled.

Maybe there was still a human being somewhere inside her.

Then her gaze dropped to my stomach, and whatever softness remained disappeared.

“If that baby is born, I lose everything.”

“You already lost yourself.”

Her expression twisted with rage.

Then she pushed me again.

The railing snapped.

The ground vanished.

I twisted instinctively, wrapping both arms around my stomach as the cliffside tore past me in a blur of rock, branches, and frozen earth. Pain exploded through my shoulder, my ribs, my hip. My head struck something hard enough to fill my vision with light.

I kept my arms locked over my stomach.

Not me.

Please not the baby.

When I finally hit the bottom of the ravine, the air left my lungs in one brutal rush.

For several seconds, I could not move.

Rain misted across my face.

Somewhere above, Sophia shouted my name.

Not in fear.

In performance.

“Olivia!”

I tried to answer, but no sound came out.

My phone lay somewhere above me.

My body screamed with pain.

My stomach cramped.

I pressed a shaking hand beneath my coat.

“No,” I whispered. “Please, no.”

Far above, Sophia’s voice became smaller.

Then I heard her speaking to someone.

Maybe she had called Ethan.

Maybe she had called the guards.

Her voice carried faintly down the ravine.

“She attacked me. She went crazy. She said she would kill the baby, and then she ran. I don’t know where she went.”

I closed my eyes.

Of course.

Of course that was the story.

A minute later, through the rain and the roaring in my ears, Ethan’s voice came from somewhere above.

“What do you mean she ran?”

Sophia sobbed.

“She said if she couldn’t be Luna, no one could. Ethan, I’m scared.”

His voice turned sharp, commanding, Alpha.

“Search the forest. Find Olivia before she crosses the border.”

Find Olivia.

Not save Olivia.

Not where is my wife.

Find her.

Like I was the criminal.

Like I was the danger.

I tried to call his name.

All that came out was a broken breath.

The Fate Bond pulsed weakly in my chest, but it did not pull him toward me.

Maybe because he had stopped listening to it.

Maybe because he had stopped listening to me long ago.

Footsteps thundered above as the Pack began searching in the wrong direction.

Sophia’s crying faded.

Ethan’s orders faded.

The forest swallowed their voices.

I lay at the bottom of the ravine with blood warming my side and my arms still wrapped around the only truth I had left.

“I’m here,” I whispered.

No one heard me.

“I’m here.”

The rain fell harder.

My vision blurred.

And somewhere deep inside me, my wolf began to howl.