In the bedroom, a strange sight greeted me. My eyes narrowed at the panty and bra scattered across the floor, and my wolf immediately growled in disgust.

“Who the hell left this here?” I muttered under my breath, my heart rate picking up as I bent to pick up the garments.

The scent was unfamiliar. My wolf shifted uncomfortably inside me, the hairs on my neck standing on end.

I wanted to storm out and confront Xaden, but I knew he was already under pressure with pack matters. He was probably holed up with Liora right now, making decisions about things that didn’t even concern me. But I couldn’t ignore the nagging feeling in my gut.

I picked up the items with a sneer, my mind swirling with memories of Liora wearing something like this when we were at that party.

As I straightened up, I heard a soft chuckle behind me.

“Oops, sorry,” Liora’s voice echoed in the room, and I froze mid-motion, dropping the clothing in shock.

“Liora…” I whispered under my breath, my wolf snapping at the intrusion.

She laughed, looking completely at ease, like nothing was wrong.

“God, I’m such a fool. I left them here?” She giggled, her voice like nails on a chalkboard to my already frayed nerves.

I could barely hold back my disgust as she stooped to pick up the bra and panties, giving me no space to breathe. Why was she so casual? I wanted to say something, but the words didn’t come.

“What? It’s yours…?” I mumbled, barely able to keep the tremor out of my voice.

How could she have left these here? How had she been in my room?

She flashed me a look that could’ve been a smile if it wasn’t so mocking. “The question is not how, but when.” She let out a laugh that made my blood boil. “I’m kidding, I must have been rushing earlier when you weren’t here. You know, Xaden trusts me, and he allowed me to enter your private quarters because I’m your best friend.”

I felt my stomach twist into knots. My wolf growled again, a warning, but I pushed it down, trying to maintain control. Best friend? She didn’t even seem to notice how it sounded—how everything about her behavior was a breach of trust.

“Don’t stress yourself out, Tatiena. The baby…” She trailed off, her voice suddenly too sweet, too full of false comfort. “It’s your chance, you know. Xaden won’t leave you now. You’ve been left by other men before, haven’t you?”

My eyes went wide. “What the hell are you saying?” I gasped, the words slipping out before I could stop them. “And why are you even here? Aren’t you supposed to be in a meeting with him?”

Liora’s lips curled into a smirk, as if she knew exactly what she was doing. She was baiting me, trying to get under my skin, and it was working.

“Am I being mean?” She feigned innocence, tilting her head with a little too much sweetness.

“No, I don’t know what’s going on with you,” I shot back, my voice harder now. “You weren’t like this before.”

Her smile faltered for a split second, but she quickly recovered, that damn smirk never leaving her face.

“Are you mad that I left my things here? Oh God, don’t tell me you’re thinking I’m sleeping with him now.” Her voice was like silk, but it cut deeper than anything she could’ve said.

I felt my wolf snap inside me, claws digging in, wanting to tear her apart. “You’re delusional if you think I’m worried about that,” I forced out, my voice barely controlled. “I know Xaden loves me. And we’re having a son.”

At that, I saw her face pale for a moment before her cheeks flushed red. For a brief second, I saw something flicker in her eyes—anger, jealousy, maybe a mix of both. But before I could savor the moment, I heard his voice.

“Liora?” Xaden’s voice was tight, his footsteps heavy. “I thought you were just going to the bathroom? I need you for the meeting now.”

I didn’t even realize how close I was standing to her until I saw her stiffen. She quickly adjusted herself, suddenly much less composed than she’d been before.

“Xaden,” I whispered, feeling my throat tighten.

Xaden stormed into the room, his expression suddenly sharp. “What the fuck have you done?” His voice was full of concern, but his eyes were on Liora now, his hands hovering over her, his worry palpable.

I stood frozen, my heart in my throat, watching as he rushed over to her, holding her up. What was going on? Why was he so concerned about her?

“What did you do to her?!” He yelled at me, his voice more forceful than I’d ever heard it before. “Her anxiety—what the hell did you do to her?”

For the first time, I felt utterly lost.

“I swear, Xaden. I didn’t—”

“Save it! You’re being unhealthy for our child. Fucking stubborn.” His words were sharp, cold—cutting deeper than I could’ve ever imagined.

And just like that, he stormed out of the room, taking her with him.

I felt like the floor had been ripped out from beneath me. Betrayed. Humiliated. Heartbroken. My best friend, my mate, were closer than I could ever hope to be with him.

It felt like I was nothing. His words, his dismissal—he didn’t even try to listen to my side. It didn’t matter.

How could he do this to me? My chest tightened. My wolf, Elena, howled in anger and sorrow, but there was nothing I could do. I wasn’t even allowed to speak.

I forced myself to pick up her discarded garments, the fabric somehow feeling heavier than the weight of the world itself. I tossed them into the trash like they were nothing. But I knew—I knew this wasn’t going to be the last of it. It never was.

The evening came, and still, no sign of Xaden. No call. No mind-link. Nothing. I sat on the edge of our bed, clutching my stomach, which was swollen with his child. Our son. Ace. The name we’d picked together. But somehow, in the back of my mind, it didn’t feel like it mattered anymore.

I mind-linked him again, but still, nothing. “Where are you?” My voice trembled with frustration, but I couldn’t even feel his presence anymore.

I thought I’d felt the connection slip away, but no—he was just ignoring me.

The silence stretched on, and then—something hit my back.

A sharp sting of pain shot through me, and I screamed, instinctively clutching at my spine, but before I could even process what was happening, it came again. And again.

My body recoiled in shock as pain exploded across my back. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t shift.

My wolf, Elena, tried to push through, but there was something else in my system.

A foreign substance—an injection—coursed through my skin. I couldn’t even feel my wolf anymore.

“No…” My voice was barely a whisper as I crumpled to the floor.

The pain in my body, the panic in my chest—it all centered on one thing: my baby.

“Xaden…” That was all I could get out, my words shaking as I fell into darkness.

“What a cute boy,” the pack doctor’s voice was the first thing I heard when I woke up, though it felt distant, muffled.

I blinked through the haze of confusion and dizziness.

My heart skipped a beat as I realized what was happening. “My baby…” I whispered, my voice hoarse from the fear I had felt just moments before.

I could hear him. Ace. He was alive. He was okay.

“My baby boy,” I cried, tears running down my face. My hands shook as I reached out, but the doctor didn’t hand him over.

“I want to hold him,” I demanded, my voice shaky, but stronger than I’d felt in what seemed like forever.

The doctor’s eyes hardened, and he stepped back slightly. “Of course, you can,” he said, but he still didn’t give me the baby.

“Give him to me,” I commanded, my voice tight with growing frustration. This was my son.

The doctor’s gaze hardened, and his lips twisted in an almost condescending way. “You should rest for now, Luna. The Alpha will be carrying the baby for now. He will be taken care of, don’t worry.”

What? I blinked in disbelief.

“Give me my son!” My voice was low and dangerous, but it felt like he was treating me like a stranger.

His refusal made my heart race.

“It doesn’t matter! I just want to hold him! He’s mine, too!”

The doctor hesitated, but before he could say another word, I heard a voice—Xaden—and for a moment, a brief surge of hope rose in my chest.

“Give me my son,” he ordered, his tone dark and commanding, and the doctor complied without a second thought.

But then Xaden looked at me. His eyes—they weren’t the same. Cold. Detached.

I took a step forward, hoping—praying—he’d look at me like he once had. “Xaden, baby. I want to hold him first…”

His gaze turned to stone. “No. You’re nothing but a mother biologically because Liora couldn’t conceive,” his words struck me like a physical blow.

“But she will be the mother physically and emotionally. Do you understand?”

The words slashed through me, and for a second, the world went still. My throat closed, my breath coming in jagged gasps.

I looked at my son, held tightly in Xaden’s arms, and everything—everything I had believed in—shattered in that moment.

His voice became a monstrous growl. “You don’t matter. She will raise him.”

That’s when everything went cold.

I woke up with a start, my heart pounding, my breath quick and shallow.

The reality hit me like a flood. It was all just a dream.

Thank Goddess. But even as I realized it wasn’t real, tears blurred my vision. My body trembled with the aftershocks of what I had experienced.

But then something else hit me.

Where was I? My surroundings were unfamiliar—icy. Cold. Empty. There was snow everywhere. No trees. No pack. Just endless, empty white.

I touched my stomach, but something was wrong. Blood. There was so much blood. It soaked through my legs, staining my skin.

“My baby…” I whispered in horror, my heart sinking.

“He’s gone.” My voice cracked, and I curled into myself, sobbing, the coldness seeping into my bones. He was gone.

And the last thing I know is that someone lifted me up but I’m already dead, along with my son.