Selenes POV

That night,sleep never came.

I lay still in the dark,listening to the faint rhythm of Lucians breathing beside me—until it stopped.

His scent shifted,moving away from the bed.The mattress dipped,then the door clicked softly shut.

Moments later,faint laughter drifted from the guest den.Mariss voice.

The sound sliced through the silence like a blade.

I pressed my palm to my stomach.A small,hidden pulse stirred beneath my skin—the pup he didn’t know existed.

He would never know.Not this time.

By dawn,he returned.The scent of jasmine clung to him.He smiled as if he hadn’t spent the night with another she-wolf.

“Selene,”he said carefully.“We need to talk.”

I looked up,my voice flat.“What now?”

He hesitated before clearing his throat.

“Maris shouldn’t stay in the guest den.She’s expecting,and she needs comfort.”

I stared,waiting for the rest.

“The Alpha’s quarters are larger,”he continued.“It only makes sense that she takes them.Just until her pup is born.”

For a heartbeat,I thought I had misheard.

Then laughter—cold,hollow—escaped me.

“You want me to give up my den…to her?”

His jaw tightened.“It’s not permanent.You’ve had it long enough.Mariss with child.She deserves comfort,Selene.Make a small sacrifice—for your best friend.”

The audacity almost made me bare my fangs.

I wanted to scream that I,too,carried life inside me.That my unborn pup deserved warmth far more than his mistress ever would.

But I said nothing.

In less than a day,I would be gone.

I forced my voice steady.

“Fine,”I whispered.

He sighed in relief,stepping closer to brush a kiss against my forehead.The touch made my skin crawl.

“Lucian?”Mariss voice echoed from the corridor.

He turned instantly,ready to obey.

“Hold on,”I said calmly.“I need your mark on something first.”

I picked up the parchment from the table.“Just pack paperwork,”I added lightly.

“Selene,not now—”

“It’ll only take a second.”

Maris called again.His patience snapped.“Fine.Give it here.”

He scrawled his signature without a glance.

When he handed it back,I smiled faintly.

He had just signed the formal dissolution of our bond—the Lunar Severance.

He had no idea he’d freed me.

“Is that all?”he asked gruffly.

“Yes.”

He left without another word.

The moment the door shut,I lifted the comm-stone.

“The bond’s severed,”I told my advocate wolf.“Pull every Redfang investment from Silvermoon Holdings.The Alpha no longer has our protection.”

Lucian had never known that my bloodline’s fortune kept his empire alive.Now it would crumble,piece by piece.

A bitter laugh slipped out as I turned back to packing.

Then came her voice.

“Selene,let me help.”

Maris stood in the doorway,her smile sweet as poison.

“Don’t bother,”I said curtly.

She ignored me,stepping into my den.Her gaze swept over the shelves until it landed on the small wooden chest—Jasmine’s belongings.

“Careful,”I warned.“Don’t touch that.”

She smiled,feigning innocence,and reached for the snow globe—a fragile orb with a tiny wolf cub dancing under falling flakes.Jasmine’s favorite.

“This is lovely,”Maris said softly,tilting it.“It was Jasmine’s,right?”

My chest ached.“Yes.Put it down.”

Her grin sharpened.

“Oops.”

The globe slipped from her hand.It shattered against the stone.Glass and water scattered.The little cub’s figure cracked clean in half.

“Oh no,”she gasped,clutching her chest in fake remorse.“Clumsy me.Pregnancy brain.”

Her eyes gleamed as she watched me kneel.

The snow globe wasn’t just a trinket—it was the only thing that soothed my nights after Jasmine’s death.

Now it lay ruined,shards glinting like tears.

I gathered the pieces with shaking hands,blood seeping where glass bit into my palms.

“It was her favorite,”I whispered.

Maris crouched beside me,her lips curling.

“Don’t worry,Selene,”she murmured,her voice dripping honey.“You’ll have other pups.You’ll move on.”

Something inside me snapped.

The wolf that had been silent for too long finally bared her fangs.

A growl rumbled up my throat,low and feral.The air trembled with it.

Mariss smirk froze as the scent of danger filled the den.

Selenes POV

The broken wolf figurine trembled in my bleeding hands.

Something inside me snapped.

“You bitch.”

The growl came out before I even realized I was speaking.

Maris tilted her head,her lips curling in a mock-sweet smile.

“Selene,calm down.It was an accident—”

That word detonated something inside me.

My hand moved faster than thought.

The slap cracked through the den like a whip.

Maris stumbled back,clutching her cheek,her eyes wide in disbelief—she had never expected the Luna of Silvermoon to strike her.

“You don’t get to touch her things!”I shouted,my throat raw.“You don’t get to destroy what’s left of my pup!”

“Selene!”

Lucians voice thundered from the doorway.

He stormed in,fury in every stride,and pulled Maris into his arms as if shielding her from me.

“She hit me,”Maris whimpered,tears shimmering on command.

I stood there,chest heaving,the broken figurine shaking in my grip.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”Lucian roared.

“She broke Jasmine’s charm stone!”I cried,pointing at the shattered shards.“She did it on purpose!”

“Enough!”His growl shook the air.“You sound insane—jealous,bitter,pathetic!Look at you,raging at a pregnant she-wolf who has what you never could!”

The words hit harder than claws.

But he wasn’t done.

“It’s not her fault your pup is gone,Selene.Maybe if you’d been a better mother—”

“Don’t you dare!”I screamed.“Don’t you dare blame me!”

His eyes darkened,and his wolf surged forward.

The backhand came fast.

The impact sent me crashing to the floor.My vision blurred.My cheek burned,but humiliation burned hotter.

Maris gasped dramatically,her hands over her mouth,her eyes wide with fake horror—but I saw the satisfaction lurking there.

My fingers brushed my throbbing cheek.

Lucian stood frozen,breathing hard,shock flickering in his gaze as if he hadn’t meant to strike me.

“Selene—”

“Oh,Lucian,”Maris interrupted,collapsing against him.“This is all my fault.I never should’ve come here.Selene was right—I bring nothing but pain.”

Her trembling voice filled the room.Crocodile tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Maybe I should just end it.Take this pup with me—then you’ll both be free.”

Lucians panic was instant.He crushed her against his chest.

“Don’t say that!Don’t ever say that.You and the pup are everything.”

I stared from the floor,tasting blood and disgust.

Mariss tears were fake—but Lucians devotion was real.

He glared down at me.

“Look what you’ve done.She’s terrified,she’s blaming herself—because of you.”

“Because of me?”My voice cracked.“She—”

“Enough!”Lucians growl echoed off the walls.“You’re not yourself.You’re becoming dangerous.”

Maris whimpered again,clutching her stomach.

“Lucian…it hurts.”

That was all it took.

Lucians fury returned tenfold.His wolf’s aura flared.

“You’re staying in here until you learn control,”he snarled.“I won’t let you hurt her—or this pup.”

Before I could move,he wrapped his arm around Maris and dragged her out,slamming the heavy wooden door behind them.The lock clicked.

“No!”

I threw myself at the door,pounding my fists against it.

“Lucian!Don’t you dare lock me in!Open this door!”

No answer.

“Lucian!”

My voice cracked.“Please!You can’t do this!”

Only silence answered.

I was trapped in the upper den—the old Alpha chamber,high above the pack hall.No windows large enough to break through,no passage out.

Minutes bled into hours.I screamed until my throat shredded.

I called his comm-stone again and again until the connection severed—blocked.

The air grew cold.Hunger gnawed,thirst clawed at my throat.

The scent of my own blood lingered in the room from where glass had sliced my palms.

I sank to the floor,back against the wall,trembling with fury.

He had locked me up like a rogue.

He had chosen her—the thief who carried my daughter’s stolen heart.

In the silence,my wolf stirred deep inside me.Her voice was low,ancient,patient.

He’s no Alpha.He’s prey.

I pressed my hand to my stomach.The faint heartbeat pulsed beneath my palm—steady,defiant.

Our pup will never know chains.

For the first time since Jasmine’s death,I didn’t cry.

I smiled.

The Redfangs would come for me.

And when they did,Silvermoon would burn.

Selenes POV

I lost track of time on the cold stone until the lock clicked and the door swung open.

Lucian Silvermoon stood there,disgust carved into his face.

“You should thank Maris,”he said.“If it weren’t for her,you’d still be rotting in there.She begged me to let you out—for the sake of your‘friendship.’”

His words were knives.I kept my face still.“How noble of her,”I croaked,throat raw from screaming.

He stepped aside without offering a hand.My legs trembled;he didn’t help.“Clear everything from this room by tomorrow,”he said,flat,and left.

I leaned on the wall in the hallway and breathed until the heat of humiliation cooled to coiled resolve.Soon,they would pay.

~

That evening Maris walked in as if she owned the den,cradling a bowl of soup.“You should eat.You look terrible,”she purred.

I packed.She tutted.“You can fool Lucian,but not me,”she said softly.“I see it in your eyes.You know the truth.”

I kept packing.She stepped closer.“How does it feel,”she asked,“knowing he sacrificed your pup for me?”

I turned to the window and said nothing.Exhaustion made me mute.

A mocking laugh escaped her.“I can’t imagine how it felt—seeing us in his study.”

Silence.Not the reaction she wanted.Then a loud thud:she slammed her head against the wall.“Lucian!”she cried,tears welling on cue.

Heavy steps pounded.The door burst open.“What happened?”Lucian demanded.

Maris dissolved into sobs.“She slammed my head against the wall!I came with food—she hit me!”

I opened my mouth.“That’s not true—I didn’t—”

His fist cut me off.The impact sent me into the stone;I slid down,spine raking the floor.“Are you insane?!”he barked.“You touch her again and I swear—”

“I didn’t touch her,”I mouthed through blood.“She—”

A boot into my stomach knocked the air out.I doubled over,hands clamped to my abdomen.Maris stood behind him,tears glittering but empty.

“I—”I coughed.“Lucian…I’m—”The word on my lips—pregnant—cried to be born.His fist smashed into my face again before I could finish.My head hit the floor.Pain flared;the room blurred.

“I’m…carrying—”I forced the syllables out.

“Shut up!”he spat,and kicked me.“You’ll learn your place!”he snarled,a final blow that left me gasping.

He hauled Maris away and slammed the door.The lock clicked.

Warm wetness pooled.I touched the floor—my fingers came away red.

“No…”I whispered,pressing my hands to my belly.Blood soaked through my fingers and down my legs.I didn’t need a healer to tell me what it meant.Rage and hate flooded me;they were the only things keeping me standing.

“Lucian!”I screamed.Hate steadied every breath.

~

I dragged myself from the den to the nearest carriage.Every step imploded with pain.Blood stained my dress.I forced the driver to the hospital.

Hours later,hollow and spent,I lay on a narrow cot while a healer’s voice said the thing I already knew:the pregnancy couldn’t be saved.They kept me overnight,then discharged me the next afternoon.

Lucian never came.He didn’t call.He did not care.

Two days later he stood at the door with Maris at his side.“Selene,my birthday gathering is tonight.Be on time.Maris and I have plans;we’ll meet you there later.”

I gave him a soft,obedient smile.No anger,no complaints.I learned silence—agreeable,docile.He liked it.He smiled like a master pleased with a tamed wolf.He leaned to kiss me;I turned my head so the kiss landed on my cheek.

“See you later,”I said sweetly.

They left.Mariss purse brushed the table and knocked Jasmine’s framed photo to the floor.Glass spidered.Lucian flinched,waiting for me to react.I only smiled calm,unbothered.“Don’t worry.I’ll clean it up,”I said.

For a moment he hesitated,then he let Maris guide him out.He had no idea this would be the last time he saw me as his wife.

I gathered the papers—divorce paperwork,orders to pull Redfang investments from Silvermoon Holdings,photos of Lucian and Maris,my medical report,evidence that he’d betrayed and sacrificed our daughter.I slid them into a brown envelope.

On the front I wrote,plain and cold:Happy Birthday,Alpha Lucian Silvermoon.—Selene Redfang.

I handed the envelope to the courier.“Deliver this at the party,”I said.

Minutes later,a black SUV—Redfang transport—pulled up.My father’s driver opened the door for me and loaded my bags;no words,no pity.

We drove away.I did not look back.My fists clenched until my nails bit into my palms.The fury inside me coalesced into a single promise.

One day,Silvermoon would answer for what they’d done.