I burst through the Pack House doors as if the devil himself was at my heels.

A huge portrait from our mating ceremony hung in the hall.

I was smiling like an idiot in the photo. I clung to Damon’s arm, thinking I had the whole world.

“Josie.” He had knelt before me then. His eyes were so sincere, I would have believed any lie he told. “We may not be fated mates, but I choose you. Between bloodline and true love, I will always choose you.”

I believed him.

Like a fool, I had actually believed him. A common warrior's daughter chosen by an Alpha Prince. The perfect fairytale.

Looking back now, it was just a cover. A convenient plan to hide his black magic experiment. A way to find a safe container for his beloved’s children.

I collapsed against the bed, my body giving out. The battle that destroyed me flashed in my mind again.

Rogue wolves attacked. A silver blade flew toward Damon’s heart.

I didn’t hesitate.

“No!”

I threw myself in front of him. I took the fatal blow with my own body.

When I woke again, Damon was holding me, sobbing. I was so weak. He handed me a note.

"My love, you've been through so much. I swear, I will be your ears. I'll protect you. Always!"

Five years.

Every silent night, I held onto that promise for warmth.

I see it now. From that moment on, I went from his lover to his “tool.”

A useful, obedient, deaf-mute tool who couldn’t spill his secrets.

The door opened. Damon walked in.

“Josie?” He rushed over, his brow furrowed. He was a phenomenal actor. And I was his greatest fool. “Is the baby bothering you?”

He reached out to touch my face.

I flinched back instinctively, like he was a venomous snake.

Damon’s hand froze mid-air. His eyes filled with hurt. “What’s wrong, baby? Do I smell of sweat?”

No, not sweat.

It was a sickeningly sweet, rotten smell.

It was Elara’s scent, mixed with the stench of leftover dark magic.

I’d noticed it a week ago when my sense of smell returned. I thought it was just my pregnancy making me sensitive.

Now I knew. It was the evidence left behind after their trysts.

“Let me see.” Damon’s hand moved to my neck, to our mating mark.

The moment his fingers touched my skin, a wave of revulsion hit me. I shoved him away.

“Don’t touch me!”

I used all my strength. Unprepared, Damon slammed hard against the wall.

“Josie!” He stared at me in shock. He couldn’t believe his meek little sheep would ever fight back.

He scrambled to his feet, his signed apology a mask of perfect, wounded innocence. “Did I do something wrong?”

The old me would have knelt and begged for his forgiveness.

Now, I just felt sick.

I trembled, fighting the urge to rip his throat out. I signed back, “The pregnancy makes me sensitive. I smell something… rotten.”

Damon’s pupils contracted for a split second before he covered it up. “You still need to behave, Josie. You are the Luna. You can’t be willful.”

He walked over and pressed a kiss to my forehead. It was the kiss of an arrogant owner.

“Get some rest. I have some ‘pack business’ to deal with in my study.”

He paused at the door, his back to me. A cold thought sliced through the mind link. Damn it. Is her wolf fighting the magic? I’ll have to increase the dosage.

The door clicked shut.

I clapped a hand over my mouth in the darkness, choking back a sob.

Increase the dosage?

That “calming tea” he made me drink every day for five years…

I touched my swollen belly. This wasn't a miracle growing inside me. It was a monster. And it was devouring me from the inside out.

I pulled a file from a hidden compartment under the bed.

It was an application I’d prepared long ago—a benefit for the family of a warrior who died in service. A place in a neutral-territory sanctuary.

But I picked up a pen. In the applicant field, I added my own name.

Reason for application: Severe pregnancy-related depression. Requesting transfer to the "Moon Goddess Sanctuary" for prayer and a peaceful birth.

It was the only absolute neutral zone in the werewolf alliance. An Alpha’s power couldn’t reach it.

It was my only escape route.

The next morning, Damon and Lily were acting strange. They wanted to take me to the “sacred place” to pray.

“It’s where we fell in love, the Moon Goddess Falls,” Damon said, his smile bright. “Praying there will make the baby even healthier.”

I looked at the father and daughter. A chill went down my spine.

They weren’t taking me there to pray. They were taking me there to reinforce the black magic.

I stood before the waterfall. The roaring water drowned out all evil.

Damon took a bracelet woven with dark runes from his pocket. He forced it onto my wrist.

“Lily and I made this for you,” he said, his voice full of love. “The obsidian in it will keep you safe.”

Lock down her wolf. We can't let her body reject my son, his real thoughts echoed coldly.

The moment the bracelet clicked shut, an icy chill shot through my bones. The fetus in my womb seemed to jump for joy, feeding on my life force.

“Mommy looks so pretty!” Lily clapped her hands, her eyes glinting with cruelty. “This way, my brother can gobble up all your strength to grow big and strong!”

The innocent words of a child? No. The honest words of a demon.

I looked at the bracelet on my wrist. It felt like a shackle. I slowly signed, “Are you sure this is what’s best for me?”

Damon froze for a second, then laughed. “Silly girl. You are my life. Who else would I do this for?”

Just then, his body went rigid.

A jolt shot through the mind link. It was Elara’s scent, thick with arousal.

His face went pale with panic. A flash of desperation crossed his eyes.

“What’s wrong, Daddy?” Lily asked, already knowing the answer.

“The border… there’s an urgent military situation.” Damon couldn’t even come up with a better lie. “We have to go back. Immediately.”

He grabbed Lily and rushed off without a backward glance. He was running to his real mate.

He left me there. Alone. Discarded like trash by the waterfall.

I watched them go. Then I slowly took off the bracelet reeking of dark energy.

I hurled it into the water.

It made a perfect arc before the bottomless pool swallowed it whole.

You want to drain me dry? Fine. We’ll see who drags who to hell.

For the next three days, I moved like a ghost, erasing myself from this home.

Photos, clothes, diaries. I burned them all.

While cleaning Lily’s playroom, I found something inside her favorite unicorn doll.

A polaroid picture.

In it, a shirtless Damon held a petite Elara in his arms. Lily sat between them. All three were smiling brightly.

On the back, a line was written in elegant but vicious handwriting:

To my real mommy. As soon as the mute incubator gives birth, our family can finally be together.

This was the proof.

I didn’t cry. I almost laughed.

I took a picture of the photo with my phone and uploaded it to a secure cloud.

On the fourth morning, I stood in the living room with a small suitcase.

On the table was the “prayer application” for the neutral zone.

Once it was approved, I could escape this hellhole for good.

Just as I was about to step out the door, it burst open.

Damon and Lily stormed in. Damon was clutching a copy of my application. His face was a thundercloud. His eyes swirled with a violent storm.

“Josie.” His voice was tight with fury. “You’re going to the neutral zone? And you’re taking my heir with you? Is this how you repay me?”

Damon stared holes through the application in my hand.

My heart hammered against my ribs. But my face remained the same blank, obedient mask he knew so well.

I raised my hands, signing slowly, humbly.

“This is for Elena’s sister. You remember her, don't you? Elena, who died saving me. Her family member is very sick. They need the holy water from the neutral zone. I just… wanted to do something good in her name.”

At the mention of the woman who “saved my life,” the rage in Damon’s eyes vanished.

Relief washed over his face. He tossed the application onto the table. “I see,” he signed, his tense shoulders relaxing. “You’ve always had a good heart, Josie. If it’s for Elena’s memory, of course I approve.”

Kind? No. It was a stupid cover story. He fell for it.

“To reward your kindness, have some tea.” Damon walked to the kitchen. “You’ve been so pale lately. I made it extra strong today. A double dose of the calming herbs.”

Soon, a cup of strangely sweet tea was in front of me.

My weak, recovering wolf felt it—the taste of wolfsbane nectar.

A double dose.

He wanted to completely seal my wolf’s soul. To make sure I had no strength to resist during childbirth. He wanted to drain my life force with his black magic.

I picked up the cup. I gave him a grateful smile.

Just as my lips were about to touch the deadly liquid—

Ding-dong!

The doorbell rang frantically, followed by a commotion.

Damon frowned and went to the door. The next second, Elara stumbled inside.

“Damon! I can’t take it anymore… The baby is calling to me!”

Her face was chalk white. She clutched her stomach, her eyes greedily fixed on my belly.

The black magic’s blood bond was driving her mad, like an addict jonesing for a fix.

Damon caught her just in time. He shot a terrified look back at me.

He saw my “confused” expression and relaxed.

He thought I couldn’t hear Elara’s insane words.

“Daddy!” Lily shrieked, running over to hug Elara’s legs. “Momma Elara, are you finally here to get us?”

I sat on the sofa, the cup of poison still in my hands. I was an outsider watching a ridiculous play.

Damon soothed the panting Elara in his arms. Then he turned to me with a fake smile, starting his most disgusting performance yet.

He signed: “This is an omega from the pack. She needs to use the Pack House’s energy field to recover for a few days.”

But what he said out loud to Elara and Lily was: “Don’t be afraid, my love. Just stay here. The deaf one doesn’t know anything anyway. The vessel should be honored to witness her child’s true mother.”

How ironic.

The sign language was a lie. His voice was the truth.

And I received it all.

Elara leaned weakly against Damon. She gave me a provocative look and said sweetly, “But… won’t Josie be upset?”

Damon sneered. It was a slap to my dignity. “Her? She’s just a pretty doll that nods. Feed her, and she won't ask questions.”

“Yay!” Lily cheered. “I want to sleep with Daddy and Momma Elara tonight!”

I lowered my eyes, hiding the raging hatred within.

I put down the tea. I signed, “If she’s a guest, she can stay. I’m tired. I want to go to my room.”

Damon nodded, satisfied. His eyes screamed, Good girl, you know your place.

He didn’t even bother looking at me again. He held Elara, took Lily’s hand, and the happy family of three went upstairs.

As they passed me, I heard Elara whisper in his ear, “Did she drink the tea? If her body tries to create its own child, it will taint the bloodline we want.”

“Don’t worry,” Damon’s voice was cruelly gentle. “She’s been drinking it for five years. She’s completely useless now.”

They went upstairs.

Laughter came from the master bedroom. The room that was supposed to be mine.

I sat quietly in the living room, listening to the sounds from above.

I stood up. I took the cold cup of poison into the bathroom. I watched the dark liquid swirl down the drain, taking the last of my love for that man with it.

I went to the guest room. From between the mattress, I took out the real items.

Not my luggage.

It was a voice recorder with a secret recording of Damon’s deal with the black magic warlock. And a photo I took of the Forbidden Bloodline Transfer Contract from his study’s secret safe.

The evidence was undeniable.

Once this was public, he wouldn’t just lose his Alpha title. He would be hunted by the entire werewolf alliance for using forbidden magic.

I dragged my packed suitcase out the back door under the cover of night.

The special transport from the neutral zone was already waiting in the hidden woods.

The driver helped me with my bag.

The second before the door closed, I took out my phone.

Recipient: The High Council of the Werewolf Alliance (Mass Send), All-Territory Media Channels, Alpha Joint Enforcement Squad.

Attachments: Audio recording, contract photo, the family picture from the doll.

Send.

I watched the progress bar hit 100%. Then I pulled the communication crystal, my pack membership token, from my pocket.

This was once my most prized possession.

I placed it on the ground. I raised my heel. I crushed it.

The sharp crack echoed in the night—the sound of my final chain breaking. The pack link shattered.

“Drive,” I told the driver. My voice, no longer a strained whisper, was as cold as the grave.

The car started, driving into the endless night.

Through the rearview mirror, I watched the brightly lit Pack House grow smaller and smaller.

Damon. Elara. Enjoy this last moment of peace.

When the sun rises tomorrow, your hell will begin.