Selenes POV

On the night of our sixth mating anniversary,I walked into Alpha Lucians den with two gifts hidden beneath my cloak.

One—a small black box bound in moon-silk—held the forged crest of a Shadowfang bloodline stallion,the fastest beast in all Northern packs.Lucian had been obsessed with claiming one,and I had traded half my dowry lands to obtain it.

The other gift was more fragile—a small crystal vial containing two glowing pink strands.Proof that the Moon Goddess had blessed me again.I was carrying his pup.

My heart raced with joy as I pushed open the oak doors.The fire was burning low,and the scent of jasmine and musk filled the air.

I almost wished I hadn’t entered.

He wasn’t alone.

Maris—the she-wolf who had once sworn sisterhood to me beneath the moon—was perched on Lucians war-table like she owned the pack.Her tunic hung open,her lips swollen,her claws tracing slow circles across his bare chest.He stood between her thighs,growling softly,a predator drunk on lust.

My breath hitched.

My best friend.

My mate.

The gifts trembled in my hands as I froze in the doorway.I wanted to snarl,to let my wolf burst free and tear them apart—but my body refused to obey.The betrayal hit deeper than any blade.

Then,his comm-crystal flared with a sharp light.

He pulled away from Maris,irritation flashing in his golden eyes.“What do you want now?”His tone was cold,dangerous.“I paid you to keep quiet.Don’t test me.”

Maris giggled,trailing her fingers along his arm.

“I already gave you a chest of moonstones for the ritual,”Lucian hissed into the crystal.“Do you know how much I spent to make this disappear?”

Ritual?My ears rang.

The mage’s muffled voice echoed faintly from the other end,but Lucians next words sliced through me like claws.

“I already gave you the payment so that the heart essence would go to Maris,not Jasmine.Jasmine’s gone now—don’t threaten me again.”

The ground vanished beneath my feet.

Our daughter’s heart…her spirit core…had been given to Maris?

I staggered backward,struggling to breathe as the world spun.Lucians voice lowered,deadly calm.

“If this leaks,you’ll wish the Moon had never birthed you.”

He ended the call,tossing the crystal aside.Maris smiled,her wolf eyes glowing faintly silver.

“You still can’t believe you did all that for me,”she whispered,loud enough for me to hear.“You really gave me her heart essence.”

Lucians expression softened.He kissed her wrist reverently.

“I told you,Maris.I’d do anything for you.Selene never suspected.She even signed the spell scroll herself.I told her it was a trade alliance contract.”

A strangled sound escaped me,half growl,half sob.They didn’t notice.

Two moons ago,our pup Jasmine’s heart had been failing.The healers said only a direct spirit-core infusion could save her.Then came a miracle—a matching heart essence had been found.

I had fallen to my knees in gratitude.I believed the Moon Goddess had heard me.

But Jasmine had died during the ritual.

Lucian told me there were complications.I believed him.

Now I knew the truth.

He had stolen our pup’s heart and given it to Maris,whose bloodline was too weak to awaken her wolf fully.

My mate.My child’s father.The Alpha I trusted.

Maris—my dearest friend,my daughter’s godmother—had smiled at me while my baby’s heart pulsed inside her chest.

The vial in my trembling hand glowed faintly between my fingers.The unborn pup within me shifted,sensing my rage.

Under the pale moonlight that poured through the window,my wolf stirred,whispering from deep inside:

“He took our child’s heart,Selene.Now take his.”

And for the first time in six years,I did not suppress her voice.

Selenes POV

Mariss breath ghosted against Lucians throat as she whispered,

“But,Alpha…what if Selene finds out?What if she remembers?”

Lucians chuckle was low and cruel.“Selene?She’s nothing without me.She turned her back on her blood pack for this one—she’s got no allies,no territory,no bite.If she dares to defy me,I’ll strip her mark and banish her to the Frost Plains,where rogues eat the weak.”

Maris laughed softly,purring like a satisfied predator.

The small black moonstone box slipped from my trembling fingers and landed on the stone floor with a dull thud.Neither of them noticed.They were too busy devouring each other’s mouths,their wolves rumbling beneath the surface.

Maris had been there the first night Jasmine’s little heart faltered under the healer’s wards.

She stayed by my side through the storm,brought meat broth when I forgot to eat.She told me Jasmine was her light.

Now I realized what she meant when she whispered,“Jasmine lives on inside me.”

She hadn’t been lying.

Tears blurred my sight as I stumbled backward,choking on my breath.The world tilted,the scent of betrayal thick in the air.

I picked up the fallen gift and left without a sound,each step heavier than the last.

By the time I reached the common den,my legs buckled.I collapsed onto the furs and sobbed until my chest ached and my throat burned raw.

Then my comm-stone vibrated.

It was a MoonNet post.Mariss.

The image appeared—Maris smiling beside a man whose face was half-hidden,one of his hands resting on her swollen belly.But the silver fang bracelet gleamed clearly on his wrist.

Lucians.

The caption read:“Counting down the moons until our little miracle is born.”

My vision went red.

That was my mate.

That was my daughter’s heart—still beating,inside my best friend’s chest.

A guttural scream tore out of me.I hurled the moonstone box at the wall,shattering it to dust.

My stomach twisted;I stumbled to the wash basin and retched until nothing but acid burned in my throat.I wanted to rip my own skin away,to stop feeling what my wolf felt—the grief,the rage,the loss.

This was my fault.I had signed the Blood Scroll without reading it.I believed Lucian when he said it was an alliance document between packs.I trusted him blindly—and he had used my own signature to sacrifice our pup.

He thought I was alone.That I had no pack.

He was wrong.

My fingers trembled as I touched the old rune carved into my comm-stone—a mark I swore never to use again.The link opened with a pulse of crimson light,and a deep,gravelled voice filled the air.

“Selene,”came the growl,low and commanding.“After all these moons,you finally call?”

“I’m ready,Alpha,”I said,forcing my voice to steady.“Send the scouts.I’ll return in five days—once the mating bond is severed.”

A pause,then a cold chuckle.“Divorce?You were ready to die for that traitor.What changed?”

My answer came without hesitation.“He murdered our pup.He gave her heart to his whore.”

The line went silent for a beat.Then the Alpha’s tone hardened like forged steel.

“I warned you,child.He was never worthy of a Redfang bloodline mate.”

A bitter laugh escaped me.“I know that now.But he will learn too.”

“Then come home,”my Alpha father said.“Your brothers are waiting.And the Carter pack will remember why the Redfangs were once feared across the Northern Forests.”

Tears stung my eyes.The Redfang Pack—my birth pack.Seven warrior brothers,battle-hardened and fiercely loyal.They were loud,protective,merciless in war but tender with their kin.I had rejected them all for Lucian,the Silvermoon Alpha.

They had begged me not to mate him.

They’d said his scent reeked of deceit.

I had howled at them to leave me alone,torn my own crest from my fur,and stormed away into Silvermoon territory.

Now,I whispered,“Tell them their sister is coming home.”

The Alpha gave a growl of satisfaction before the rune dimmed.

I wiped my tears and looked around the den—once filled with love,now nothing but ashes and lies.

In five days,I would leave.

In five days,I would make Lucian Voss pay.

He had traded our daughter’s life for his mistress’s.

Now I would take his pack,his throne,his name.

This was not just a vow.

It was a mother’s oath—a Luna’s curse.

Lucian thought I was just a broken mate.

He had forgotten what runs in my blood.

I was born of the Redfang Pack—the oldest bloodline of the Northern Wolves.

And when a Redfang swears vengeance under the Moon Goddess’s gaze…

Even the gods listen.

Selenes POV

The moment the Bloodlink with my father—Alpha Redfang—faded,I yanked an old leather pack from the wardrobe and began stuffing it with what little I still called mine.My hands trembled,but I forced them to move.

If I stopped,the grief would crush me.

Tunics,cloaks,weapons—anything useful went inside.Then my fingers brushed a soft white gown.Jasmine’s favorite.

“Mommy,you look like a Moon Princess,”she had said.

My throat tightened.I folded it gently,tucked it at the bottom,and swallowed my tears.Not now.Not yet.

The door creaked open behind me.

“Selene?”

Lucians voice.

I turned,masking my fury with a brittle smile.“Just cleaning the wardrobe.”

His golden eyes scanned the room,sharp,suspicious.He opened his mouth—but another voice followed him in.

“Hey,Selene.”

My blood went cold.Maris.

She stepped in behind him,her scent filling the space—my daughter’s scent.My wolf bristled,fangs pressing against my gums.I wanted to leap,to tear the stolen heart from her chest.But I forced myself still.Not here.Not yet.

Then I noticed the two travel trunks behind Lucian.My stomach twisted.

“What’s that?”

He smiled like a man doing me a favor.

“Maris will be staying here for a while.”

I blinked slowly.“What?”

Before he could explain,Mariss laugh rang out,airy and sweet.

“Didn’t you hear?I’m pregnant.”

She cradled her stomach like a fragile treasure,waiting for my gasp,my blessing.

Instead,I raised an eyebrow.“And?”

Her smile faltered.She tried again,softer this time.

“I thought you’d be happy for me…after everything we’ve been through.”

Happy?

The word clawed through my chest like a blade.

Before I could answer,Lucian snapped,“Selene,what’s wrong with you?She’s your closest friend.You should be happy for her,not act jealous and bitter.”

Jealous.Bitter.

I turned to him slowly,letting the cold in my voice cut the air.

“Jealous?Why on earth would I be jealous?”

He hesitated,then muttered,“Because she’s carrying a pup—and you—”

He stopped,but it was too late.The words were silver-tipped arrows straight to my heart.

Because I lost mine.Because he killed mine.

I inhaled sharply through my nose,forcing calm.

“Then tell me,Lucian,”I said quietly,pointing toward Maris,“why does she suddenly need to stay in my den?”

He stepped closer,trying to sound righteous.

“Because she shouldn’t be alone right now.She needs us—our protection,our support.That pup needs stability.”

“Us?”I repeated.

Maris nodded quickly,lowering her lashes.

“It’s just until things settle.I thought you,of all wolves,would understand.”

“She’s pack,”Lucian said firmly.“She’s family.”

I laughed bitterly.

“She’s not my pack.”

Maris flinched;Lucians expression hardened.

“Why are you so petty,Selene?You sound pathetic.”

Pathetic.

The word rang in my skull like a whip crack.

I tilted my head,lips curling into a half-smile.

“Then tell me,Alpha,”I murmured,“is it your pup?”

The room went dead quiet.

Maris froze.Lucians jaw flexed,his eyes flashing gold.

“Don’t be ridiculous,”he snarled.“Of course not.”

“Really?”I asked softly.“Then why are you defending her like she’s your Luna?”

He bared his teeth.

“Because she’s alone,Selene!What kind of monster would turn away a pregnant she-wolf?”

A monster who killed his own pup,I thought.

But I didn’t say it.

Instead,I turned back to my pack and zipped it shut with deliberate calm.

“Now,if you’ll excuse me,”I said flatly,“I’d like to finish cleaning my den.”

Lucian muttered something to Maris,and together they left.

The moment the door closed,my smile fell.My hands shook so violently the bag’s strap nearly tore.

My wolf’s voice rose inside me,low and vicious:

He took our child.He brought her killer into our den.The Moon will demand blood.

And this time,I didn’t silence her.