Two in the morning.

Leo was curled up on the wolfskin rug in the living room, his small body trembling.

I’d set up the ritual space perfectly.

But the most important person was missing.

"Mommy... is he... not coming?" Leo’s voice was choked with tears. He looked at me with wide, pleading eyes.

I knelt beside him, fighting to keep my voice steady as I stroked his hair.

"The Alpha... he has very important work. It's okay. Mommy can guide you."

The words felt like ash in my mouth.

Without an Alpha's presence, the ritual was incomplete. Dangerous. The backlash from the pack's collective soul could shatter his spirit.

My hand shook as I dialed Seth’s number one last time. Once. Twice.

No answer.

Just as I was about to give up, the screen lit up.

Not a call. It was a news alert from the Wolf Chronicle.

The headline screamed in all caps: ALPHA SETH CLAIMS BLACKWOOD BETA UNDER THE GODDESS'S GAZE.

My finger tapped the link before I could stop myself.

The screen showed the banquet after the ceremony.

With everyone watching, Seth cupped Sarah's face. And he kissed her. Deeply.

In our world, for an Alpha to kiss a non-mate under the moon... it’s a public vow. A deliberate defiance of fate.

The comments scrolling below the live feed burned my eyes.

"The Goddess witnesses! Our Alpha has chosen a stronger path!"

"This is the Luna our pack needs! A noble bloodline, a brilliant mind!"

And the caption beneath it stabbed me through the heart:

Where Will Defies Destiny, a Legend Is Born.

A sharp, tearing pain ripped through my chest. The mate bond. Screaming. His public betrayal felt like a blade twisting in my soul.

"Mommy... I... I don't feel good..."

Leo grabbed my hand. His own spirit was in turmoil from the long, anxious wait.

There was no more time.

I dropped the phone and pressed both hands on Leo’s small chest.

If his Alpha father abandoned him, then his mother would build him a fortress.

I summoned all my power. I wasn't soothing him. I was building a fortress inside his mind. A shield to sever him from the crushing weight of the pack.

"Look at me, Leo," I whispered. "Listen to my voice. Now... with me... howl..."

I tilted my head back and let out a low, gentle howl, using my own strength to guide him.

Leo followed, his voice trembling. He let out the first, and loneliest, howl of his life.

When it was over, I was drenched in cold sweat, my energy completely drained.

I stumbled to a mirror. A single streak of white hair now fell across my forehead, born from pure exhaustion and heartbreak.

The clock read 4 a.m.

I heard the front door open downstairs.

Seth was home.

I pushed myself off the wall, went to my study, and pulled a document from the drawer. Then I walked downstairs.

The living room reeked of alcohol and Sarah's cold, woody scent.

Seth was loosening his tie.

He took one look at my pale face and drained spirit. There was no guilt in his eyes. Only pure disgust.

"Still using Leo to get my attention? Twelve years, Viola. Aren't you tired of the same pathetic game?" He rubbed his temples, his voice dripping with scorn. "Don't forget how you got into my bed in the first place."

He didn't even ask about Leo's ceremony.

So that’s what I was to him. The scheming woman who drugged him to get a title. Twelve years of devotion was just an act. My penance.

In that moment, the last flicker of hope I had for him died.

I held the document out to him.

The Release Papers.

"Sign it," I said. My voice was hoarse, but steady. "Congratulations. You can finally be with the 'stronger' choice."

Seth glanced at the title and let out a cold, dismissive laugh. He thought it was another one of my pathetic tricks.

Just then, his phone rang.

It was Sarah's voice. "Seth, I'm at the guest wing, but the guards don't seem to know who I am. They won't let me in. Can you come over?"

Seth's expression softened instantly. "Wait there. I'm on my way."

He hung up, flipped to the last page of the agreement without a glance, and scrawled his name across the signature line.

"If this will keep you quiet for a few days," he tossed it back at me, his voice like ice, "take it. And stop wanting things that don't belong to you. Know your place."

He turned and strode toward the door.

His hand was on the doorknob when he froze.

He clutched his chest, his face suddenly pale.

I felt it too. The first crack in our bond, a phantom pain from his signature.

"Damn..." Seth swayed, pounding his chest. "This wine... has a hell of a kick."

He didn't look back.

He mistook the agony of his soul splitting in two for a bad hangover.

I watched him disappear into the night. I didn't cry.

I turned and walked back to Leo's room.

Leo was asleep, but tear tracks stained his cheeks. He was curled up under the covers, mumbling in his sleep. "Dad... monster..."

I walked over and gently held him, resting my chin on his damp forehead.

"No, Leo. You're not a monster. You are the bravest wolf."

I stared out the window at the slowly lightening sky, my gaze hard as stone.

"From now on, we don't wait for anyone," I kissed my son's head, whispering the final verdict.

"We don't have an Alpha anymore."

The next morning, Seth was already at the dining table in the main house.

He didn't mention the agreement.

He clearly still thought it was a joke, confident I would never dare to leave.

"To make up for my 'absence' last night," he pushed a small, ornate box across the table. "This is for Leo."

I opened it. Inside lay a silver whistle, gleaming coldly, engraved with the Snow Fang pack crest.

"A silver whistle?" I stared at him, my voice barely a whisper.

"It's not a toy, Viola. It's a test," Seth said, his voice flat. His cold gaze met mine. "Silver is the ultimate test. If he can't overcome a little pain, how will he face a real enemy? He's not worthy of my blood!"

Silver is poison to werewolves.

Especially to a pup who just had his First Howl. Every touch would feel like a thousand needles.

He wanted to use pain to burn the "weakness" out of his own son's blood.

"He just completed the ritual!" I fought to keep my voice down. "He needs guidance and acceptance, not torture!"

"This whistle will remind him," Seth's eyes were like chips of ice, "that the price of weakness is pain. He needs to learn to control it."

Just then, the doorbell rang.

Sarah walked in, followed by her attendants pushing several large suitcases. She saw me in the main dining room and a flash of contempt crossed her face.

"Sorry, am I interrupting?" she said with a sweet smile, but her words were for me. "Healer Viola, the Alpha's kindness is no excuse for letting your child run wild. With Omega blood like his, a firm hand is needed from the start."

She clapped her hands elegantly and gave an order to her staff. "Get rid of all these tribal hangings, and anything that looks like a savage bone carving. This place needs to reflect the taste of the Blackwood pack."

One of her attendants picked up Leo's favorite toy from when he was little—a deer antler he had polished himself—and was about to toss it in a trash bag.

"Don't touch that!" Leo bolted down the stairs, snatched the antler, and glared at Sarah.

Sarah took a dramatic step back, hiding behind Seth. "See, Seth? This is what happens with mixed blood. So emotionally unstable."

"Leo!" Seth snapped. "Apologize to Ms. Blackwood!"

"Why should I?" Leo's chin jutted out. "She was throwing away my stuff!"

"Because starting today, this is her home too," Seth's voice was frigid. "And I say so."

Then he looked at me, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Sarah is moving in. She is this pack's future. Her noble bloodline is... sensitive. I can't have the unstable energy from you and Leo disturbing her."

He paused, then added lightly, "Don't go to the infirmary today. Go pack your things. Take Leo to the guest house for a few days."

I stared at him. "You mean our 'inferior' blood might taint her?"

Seth's jaw tightened. "I'm stating a fact, Viola. Learn your place."

I laughed. The irony was suffocating.

I couldn't look at him anymore. I took Leo's hand.

"Understood," my voice was flat. "We'll pack and leave right away. We won't disturb you."

We were leaving anyway. A day early didn't matter.

Seth seemed stunned that I agreed so quickly. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but closed it again.

As we walked out of the main house with our small suitcases, we passed Sarah sitting in the living room.

She looked us up and down. "Alpha, are you really going to let this... orphan and his mother stay on the estate? I'm worried their presence will affect the purity of our alliance."

Orphan?

I understood instantly what Seth had told her.

To protect himself, he had called his own son another man's child. An orphan.

I instinctively pulled Leo behind me, shielding him from her gaze.

"He is not—"

Seth cut me off before I could speak. His hand tightened on his own suitcase, not mine.

A flicker of discomfort crossed his face before he smoothed it over for Sarah. "His father was my bravest warrior. He died for me. As Alpha, it is my duty to shelter them. It's a matter of honor."

Honor. What a perfect lie.

I opened my mouth to argue, but my son stepped out from behind me.

He tilted his head back to look at the towering man and spoke with a chilling clarity far beyond his years.

"Thank you for your charity, Alpha Seth."

The words caught in my throat.

I looked at Leo's reddening eyes and his tiny, clenched fists. I forced a small smile.

"Let's go, Leo."

As we walked past, Seth's hand shot out, grabbing my arm.

His eyes were wide, his voice trembling. "What... what did he just say?"

I laughed. It was a broken sound.

"He was thanking you for your 'honor,' Alpha." I pulled my arm away. "Your future Luna is waiting. Let go."

Seth flinched as if struck, and his hand fell away.

I took my son's hand and walked toward the guest house, never looking back.

Seth tried to call after us, but I was already gone, leading Leo back to the guest house.

This was our last stop before the plane took off.

But they wouldn't even grant us this final refuge.

That evening, a maid appeared at our door. "Healer Viola, it's time for dinner. The Alpha requires all pack members to attend. The future Luna has prepared a special 'gift' for your son."

The grand dining hall felt strange.

The long table was empty, except for Seth and Sarah at the head.

In front of Leo's seat was a small stone bowl.

It was filled with a deep purple liquid that pulsed with a strange, powerful energy.

"Sit, Viola, Leo," Sarah smiled sweetly, but her tone was a command. She pointed to the bowl. "This is our Blackwood 'Blood of Awakening.' It's a bloodline-strengthening potion. Normally, only the most powerful pups are worthy of it."

My own blood ran cold.

As a High Healer, I knew exactly what that was.

For a pure-blooded pup, it might be a booster.

But for any pup whose bloodline wasn't perfect, it was poison. Pure and simple.

It would forcibly awaken their power.

If their body couldn't handle the surge, their very wolf spirit could shatter.

"No," I pulled Leo behind me. "He can't drink that."

"Why not?" Sarah feigned surprise, looking at Seth. "Seth, I just want to see what kind of potential this 'orphan' you shelter has. If he can handle the Blood of Awakening, perhaps he's worth training. If not... well, it just proves his blood is as inferior as we thought."

Using a twelve-year-old boy for a dangerous bloodline test?

I looked at Seth, praying for a flicker of instinct. An Alpha's duty to protect the young.

He just sat there, swirling the wine in his glass, his expression indifferent.

"Sarah means well," he said, setting his glass down. His cold eyes fixed on Leo. "The path to strength is full of risks. For our pack to evolve, some must lead the way."

He paused, his voice laced with a cruel curiosity. "Leo, this is your chance. Prove your worth. Prove you're strong, even without the name."

In that moment, a deep, soul-crushing chill washed over me.

He was truly insane.

For his twisted theories, to please his political ally, he was about to let them perform a potentially fatal experiment on his own son.

Seth turned to Leo, his voice an iron command. "Drink it, Leo. Show her that a child under my protection is no coward."

Leo's face was white as a sheet. He looked from the purple liquid to the man on the throne, his supposed protector.

He stood up, trembling.

"Don't!" I lunged forward to knock the bowl over.

"Restrain her," Seth ordered coldly.

Two guards grabbed me, twisting my arms behind my back and forcing me into a chair.

"Let me go! Seth, you'll regret this! It's a forbidden draft!" I thrashed wildly, screaming, hot tears of rage and terror streaming down my face. "Please, don't make him drink it! He's just a child!"

"Drink," was Seth's only reply. Cold. Final.

Leo looked at me one last time. His eyes were full of despair, but also a terrible resolve.

He picked up the stone bowl, closed his eyes, and drank.

One second.

Two.

"Aaargh—!"

A blood-curdling scream ripped from his throat. He fell from his chair, his body convulsing violently on the floor. It looked like purple lightning was crackling under his skin, his veins bulging.

"It hurts! Mommy... I'm breaking apart!"

Blood trickled from his eyes, nose, and ears. His newly formed wolf core was on the verge of shattering from the violent energy.

"Leo!" My heart tore in two.

In that instant, all reason, all restraint, vanished.

"NO!"

A mother's roar—primal and furious—tore from my throat.

Healing energy, white-hot with rage, exploded from my body.

The two guards holding me were thrown back, smashing through a wine cabinet.

I scrambled to Leo's side, pressing my hands on him, pouring every last drop of my life force into his body to fight the potion's poison.

I didn't turn around, but my voice was the sound of hell freezing over. Every word was a judgment against the man on the throne.

"Seth!"

"Even a full-grown Alpha needs a guide for that poison! You made a pup—a pup fresh from his First Howl—drink it straight?! That's a sacred taboo, written in the lore of every High Healer!"

I cradled Leo's twitching body, my soul bleeding as I looked at his agonized face.

"You were going to let him be destroyed just to test his 'worth'?! You call that protection? He was nothing but a disposable lab rat to you!"

The hall was dead silent.

Seth stared at Leo writhing on the floor, at the blood on his face. For the first time, a flicker of panic crossed his perfect, controlled features. He had actually believed his bloodline would make Leo invincible.

"I... I thought..." he stammered, but the words died in his throat.

Sarah cowered behind him. "I didn't know it would be this bad... He... I guess he really is from Omega stock. His blood is too weak..."

Enough.

It was all enough.

I didn't spare them another glance.

I lifted Leo into my arms and walked toward the door.

I paused at the threshold, but didn't look back. I just left them with one final truth.

"Seth, you don't deserve to be Leo's father. And you don't deserve to be an Alpha."