I wrenched my arm free from Fenris Blackwood's grip, my gaze cutting through him like frozen steel.

"She chose to betray our bond. Why should I stay silent about it? If she feared the truth being spoken, she shouldn't have done it."

The crack of his palm against my cheek echoed through the den. Fenris seized my shoulders, his face twisted into a cold fury I had never witnessed in all our years together. His wolf surfaced in his eyes, amber bleeding through the darkness.

"Lyra Ashenmoon, I have been far too lenient with you. I let you grow arrogant and savage."

"Let me make this clear to you now. This pup is one I wanted. I begged Selene to carry it for me, because I love her. I wanted a pup that belonged to both of us—"

His words cut off abruptly.

The air turned to ice around us.

Thunder seemed to explode inside my skull, leaving my head ringing with a hollow roar. He loved her. He had begged her to bear his pup. He loved her.

Fenris's expression shifted through several emotions before he pulled me into his arms.

"Enough. I spoke rashly in my anger."

"Lyra, as long as you remain obedient, you will always be the Alpha's mate. I will remember your devotion for the rest of my days."

"Consider this—Selene is a highborn Omega trained beyond our borders. She is willing to give us a pup with superior bloodlines. Isn't that a blessing? You could claim this pup as your own kin. He will honor and serve us both when he grows. Wouldn't that be good?"

Fenris stumbled through his explanations, his words tangled and desperate. The scent of gardenia clung heavy to his skin—her scent—so thick it burned my throat and made my eyes sting with unshed tears.

I shoved him away and stumbled into the bathing chamber, where I retched violently over the basin.

Fenris followed, pressing a damp cloth to my face. After a long while, I lifted my tear-streaked eyes to meet his, my voice breaking with grief.

"Fenris Blackwood, if you love her so deeply, if you wanted to sire pups with her, why did you ever pursue me?"

"If you and she have created a pup together, why not sever our bond? Must you keep driving blades into my heart, one after another?"

Fenris saw the anguish written across my features. A flicker of guilt passed through his eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but a message-howl rang through the den's communication crystals.

"Fenris, come quickly! There's noise from Selene's chamber. She may have fallen!"

The color drained from Fenris's face instantly. All thought of explanation vanished. He grabbed my wrist and dragged me out of the chamber, racing through the pack estate. He ignored six territorial boundary warnings along the way, his jaw locked tight as a steel trap.

When Fenris hauled me into the great hall, we found Selene dabbing at her tears, weeping softly, while the Pack Matriarch sat beside her, offering anxious comfort.

Aurora Blackwood spotted me and rolled her eyes, her voice dripping with contempt.

"This is what comes of having too much idle time. A perfectly peaceful den, and you insist on stirring chaos."

Selene rose abruptly to her feet, her voice thick with tears.

"If this pup is seen as something shameful in everyone's eyes, then I will go to the healer's den right now and end the pregnancy."

"I refuse to let my pup be born under curses and whispered slander, living his whole life unable to hold his head high."

Tears glistened in her eyes, yet she held her body straight with stubborn pride.

Fenris's expression melted with tenderness I had never seen him show—not to me, not in ten years of our mating bond. He gathered her gently into his arms.

"Selene, this pup is my treasure. He is the fruit of our true love. I will not allow anyone to speak ill of our pup. I will give him everything the pack has to offer. If anyone dares utter a single word against him, I will make her kneel before you and beg for mercy."

"Hush now, don't cry. The little one in your belly will feel your sorrow."

Each word from Fenris's lips carved fresh wounds into my heart.

But his next words plunged me into an abyss of eternal ice.

"Lyra, you will kneel before Selene this instant and apologize. You will swear an oath that this pup is one you have longed for. And if you ever show him the slightest cruelty, may your grandmother's spirit suffer the torments of fire and oil in the realm beyond."

As he spoke, his hand clamped down on my shoulder. His foot struck the back of my knees, forcing me to crash onto the stone floor.

I stared up at Fenris in disbelief. He was demanding that I celebrate the illegitimate pup he had sired with another female.

He was forcing me to swear upon my grandmother's memory.

When I remained frozen, unable to move, Fenris seized my hair and slammed my forehead against the floor with a sickening crack. Before I could recover, he forced my head down again and again, each impact sending shockwaves of pain through my skull.

Blood streamed down my forehead instantly, blurring my vision.

Selene Crowvale looked at me with contempt, her expression triumphant and scornful.

Fenris Blackwood stopped his hand and spoke coldly, "Lyra, as long as you swear to treat this pup well from now on, and publicly acknowledge that you begged Selene to carry it for you, we'll forget what happened today."

I stared blankly at Fenris Blackwood. All my grievances and fury erupted in that moment. I grabbed the teacup from the table and hurled it at him.

"Fenris Blackwood, you're shameless!"

With a crash, a body crumpled softly into Fenris Blackwood's arms. Blood trickled down Selene Crowvale's forehead.

"Fenris, this time I finally shielded you."

"Back then, I betrayed our love, but I had no choice. Fenris, thank you for always loving me."

Fenris Blackwood's face changed drastically. Then he kicked me hard in the stomach, sending me flying two meters away.

"Lyra Ashenmoon, you're seeking death. How dare you hurt Selene."

I laughed bitterly, curled up on the ground. I heard the Pack Matriarch's startled cries and Fenris Blackwood's anxious voice. Wave after wave of sharp pain tore through my belly. Blood ran down my thighs.

What a happy, harmonious family they made. Too bad I wasn't part of it.

Fenris Blackwood's worried figure vanished through the doorway. He didn't look back at me once.

I gathered my last bit of strength and made a call.

"Master, I'm willing to join the sanctuary research. I'm never coming back."

"Good. I'll send someone to get you right away."

A rush of hot fluid poured out of me, and I collapsed to the ground.

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in a healer's bed. A healer's assistant was adjusting the herb-infusion tubes.

"How could you be so careless? Such a pity about those twin pups. They were only a moon old."

I stared at her in shock and sat up abruptly.

"What... what did you say?"

"You were carrying twin pups. Because of the external force, you lost them. How could you let this happen?"

The assistant shook her head with regret and continued explaining the healer's instructions.

I didn't hear another word. My hand moved gently to my lower belly. Tears fell one by one from my cheeks onto the back of my hand.

So there had been two little pups here. They had come with such joy, but when they saw what a useless mother they had, they left in disappointment.

"Little ones, I'm sorry. Your mother was too weak. Never again. I'm so sorry."

I walked out of the room with empty eyes. I took the bond-severance documents in my hand and easily found the private healing chamber.

Watching Fenris Blackwood tenderly help Selene Crowvale drink water, I felt no sadness or grief in my heart.

I simply threw the bond-severance documents at them calmly.

"Fenris Blackwood, sign it. Otherwise your pup will forever be a bastard that can never see the light."

Before Fenris Blackwood could speak, Selene Crowvale jumped up and slapped me across the face.

"Shut up! Who's a bastard?"

"Lyra Ashenmoon, let me tell you something. The one who isn't loved is the other woman. Fenris didn't even want to have pups with you. What right do you have to stand here pretending to be his true mate?"

She grabbed my collar and whispered quickly in my ear.

"Fenris said you're nothing but lowborn trash raised on scraps. How could the Blackwood bloodline ever mix with your inferior blood?"

"Fenris doesn't dislike pups. He just doesn't want them with you. Every time he was intimate with you, he imagined he'd hired a common pleasure-house omega."

I looked coldly at Fenris Blackwood. I curved my lips slightly, then suddenly slapped Selene Crowvale across the face.

"Fine, I'm a pleasure-house omega. And you found yourself a client who's been used by one. You really think you're something special."

Selene Crowvale let out a sharp scream and collapsed immediately.

My forehead slammed against the edge of the healing den's stone ledge with a sickening crack. Blood poured from the wound, warm and thick, dripping down my face.

Fenris Blackwood's expression shifted into something terrifying. He kicked me again, sending me sprawling across the cold floor. His voice erupted in pure rage, echoing off the chamber walls.

"Lyra Ashenmoon, you just had to come here and attack her. You won't rest until Xiaoyu is dead, will you?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but the searing pain stole my voice completely.

Fenris gathered me up in his arms and stormed out of the room, his grip bruising.

The wolves who had gathered in the corridor whispered among themselves, their voices carrying clearly to my heightened senses.

"The Alpha's mate is completely feral. Barging into a healing chamber to attack someone."

"Well, she's been bound to the Blackwood Pack for ten years without producing a single pup. Now that another female carries the Alpha's heir and threatens her position, of course she's lost her mind."

A healer's assistant arrived and looked at me with pity in her eyes. She helped me back to my own recovery chamber.

I had barely settled onto the bed when a group of pack enforcers filed in, their expressions stern.

"Are you Lyra Ashenmoon? Someone has filed a formal grievance claiming you attacked a pregnant Omega. You need to come with us for questioning before the Pack Council."

I lifted my head, my voice hollow. "Was it Fenris Blackwood who filed the complaint?"

The lead enforcer nodded.

I swallowed the metallic taste of blood in my throat and forced my trembling body to follow them.