My time was running out. No reason to keep any of it.

I called the weakest Omegas and handed over everything Eric ever gave me—rare furs, gemstones, all of it.

"Luna... you're really giving this to me? This is prime silver fox fur. If Alpha finds out..."

The young Omega's voice shook. Her eyes didn't.

"Take it. You need it more."

I smiled while they carried off the gifts that used to mean honor. Used to mean love.

"Alpha treats you so well. He always saves the best for you."

I heard the envy. I didn't answer. Just glanced down at the pack feed on my phone.

Velda had posted:

[It's freezing out, but good thing I've got your warmth to keep me cozy.]

In the photo, she was wrapped in a flawless white bear pelt.

Eric hunted that bear up north last week.

I'd begged for it. Winter bedding. The cold cut deeper now.

What did he say?

"I'm slammed every day. Who has time for that? And you're so fat—how could you even be cold?"

So yeah. He wasn't busy.

He just had someone else to keep warm.

After the Omegas left, I went to see Daisy.

She's a warrior from a neighboring pack—Stormcrown Pack. My only real friend.

"I need you to take me to the wolves' graveyard."

She froze. That place is where we bury our own. Wolves only go there when they're picking their final spot.

"Zara, why would you ask me to take you somewhere like that?"

I didn't answer. I just pulled her inside.

The old wolf guarding the graves rolled his cloudy eyes and handed me a map.

I walked the grounds and picked a quiet place facing the sun.

Out of respect for Daisy, he accepted my deposit.

"It's for me. I'm choosing it for myself."

I wrote Zara on the registry.

Once the gold was put away, I dragged a shaken Daisy back to the car.

The second the door shut, she grabbed my shoulders.

"Zara, what is going on? Why are you picking a grave for yourself? Does Eric know?"

Fear was all over her face.

It made me think of him.

If he'd seen that back there, would he be scared of losing me?

I smiled, bitter.

He'd probably think I was being dramatic again.

"Daisy."

I cut her off and slowly untied my loose black robe.

The muscle I used to have was gone. In its place—shriveled, dark skin.

Over my heart, claw marks. Deep. Bone showing.

Black pus leaked from the wounds. The smell of rot filled the car.

"I was ambushed by a vampire. Silver poison. It's already in my bones." I looked out the window, voice light. "The healer said one month. Starting today, twenty-eight days left."

Daisy covered her mouth. Shock wrecked her face.

Tears spilled fast. Her hand shook as she reached for the wound—then stopped.

"How... how did this happen? You were the strongest Beta she-wolf."

"That was before."

I tied my robe back up, hiding the damage.

For some reason, seeing Daisy cry for me twisted something in my chest.

Almost happy.

See?

There was still someone in this world who cared whether I lived or died.

A brutal cramp ripped through my stomach.

Black blood filled my mouth.

Daisy started yelling about the healer, but I grabbed her wrist.

"Take me home."

I wasn't dying in a room that smelled like antiseptic. I wasn't letting the pack see me like this.

I tried to stay awake so she wouldn't panic.

The pain won.

Everything went dark.

Through the haze, I heard her screaming into the phone.

"Eric, you bastard! Wherever you are, get back here now!"

She took me home.

By the time Eric showed up, the healer had already pumped me full of painkillers and left. Daisy was gone too.

I lay there alone, swallowed by a heavy black robe, curled into myself.

The silver poison had sunk into my marrow. I was all bone, my face the only thing swollen from the toxins.

"What stunt are you pulling now? Daisy says you're dying? You look fine to me."

The door swung open. Eric walked in, frowning, staring at me like I was trash.

My throat was too dry to answer.

Velda slipped in behind him, holding a basket of berries.

Before I could speak, she said softly, "Zara, are you not feeling well? Did you maybe eat too much lately? Gaining weight can mess with your stomach. I picked sour berries for you. They help."

So he brought her to watch me embarrass myself.

"What's with that look?" Eric snapped. "Velda came to be nice. You can't even say thank you? Since when are you this rude?"

I looked at him, voice hoarse. "Your manners include bringing a side she-wolf to humiliate your Mate?"

He faltered, then glanced over me.

The loose black robe swallowed my body. All anyone could see was my swollen, pale face.

"Look at you." He turned away like even staring at me was gross. "Eating all day, puffed up like a pig. Not a trace of Luna grace left."

He never tried lifting the robe.

One look and he'd see it wasn't fat. Just bones.

"Done?" My voice stayed even. "Then leave."

His chest rose and fell. He pointed at me. "Zara, don't test me."

Velda grabbed his arm, voice shaking. "Eric, don't blame Zara. It's my fault. If she doesn't like me, I'll go."

"You're not going anywhere." He yanked her back, fury snapping in his voice. "I'm the Alpha of this pack! What is she next to me?"

His phone lit up. The Elder Council.

He paused, let go of Velda, and stepped out onto the balcony.

The second Eric stepped out, Velda dropped the act.

She walked to my bed, looked down at me, then leaned close to my ear.

"Zara, you know what Eric says about you when you're not around?"

She smiled, smug. "He says my waist's slimmer than yours ever was. Soft like water. This is what a she-wolf's supposed to feel like."

"And he also said..." Her voice dipped, venom-slow. "Every time he touches you, it's torture. Being with a fat pig makes him sick."

I went still.

Every soft memory twisted into blades, shredding what was left of my pride.

"Oh, you didn't know?" She straightened, brow lifting. "He didn't come earlier because we were busy. On that white bear pelt. So soft..."

I gagged.

"Oh no, Zara, why are you throwing up?" She gasped, fake concern dripping off every word as she grabbed a fruit knife. "Too much fat upsetting your stomach? I'll peel a berry for you. You love sweets, right?"

She made a show of peeling it.

Then the knife tip slashed straight for the back of my hand.

Before, I would've dodged a cheap move like that without thinking.

Now the silver poison had slowed me down.

I tried to pull back. Too late. The blade sliced across the back of my hand. Black blood welled up.

"Ah!" Velda screamed first. She grabbed her stomach and dropped to the floor. "Zara, why did you shove me? If you don't want fruit, fine—but you can't push my stomach!"

"Stop!"

Eric walked in right then, fresh off the call with the Elder Council.

He saw her on the ground. Thought I'd gone for her stomach.

He rushed over and slapped me across the face. Hard.

Velda threw herself into his arms, sobbing. "It hurts... Eric, is Zara trying to kill our pup?"

He held her tight and looked at me like he wanted me dead. "Zara, you're hopeless! Velda peeled fruit for you out of kindness, and you attack the pup she's carrying?

"You're just jealous! You can't carry a pup, so you go after someone who can!"

My cheek burned.

I looked up at the wolf who once swore he'd protect me.

I wanted to explain. I didn't do it. I wanted to tell him I was dying.

But those eyes held nothing but disgust.

And just like that—I knew.

It didn't matter.

With the last of my strength, I shouted, "Get out!"

"Fine. Very fine."

He scooped Velda into his arms and walked out.

At the door, he paused. "Zara, this is your official warning. Touch Velda again and I'll ask the Elder Council to strip you of your Luna title. A she-wolf who can't control her own body, who lives off jealousy and attacks her pack, doesn't deserve to be Luna."

Their footsteps faded.

The door shut.

I swallowed the blood climbing up my throat.

The ache in my eyes went flat. Empty.

After Eric left, the pain—body and soul—made me want it to end.

I moved on instinct toward the pack's hot spring. The healer had mixed medicine into the water. It dulled the hurt.

Before, whenever I got injured, Eric would carry me there himself.

This time, a spear cut across my path.

Ron.

He was still a pup when I pulled him from a pile of corpses. I taught him to hunt. To fight. Raised him like my own.

He followed Eric and me when we built Moonveil.

Now he was the Alpha's guard captain.

"Sorry, Luna. Go back." He wouldn't meet my eyes. "Alpha's orders. The warm spring belongs to Velda now."

"Velda's?" I pressed my hand to my aching stomach. "She's not hurt. Why does she need it?"

"Her skin's delicate. Alpha wants her bathing there." His voice went flat. "He said you're thick-skinned. Greasy. You'd mess up the water."

"I'm injured..." I looked at the wolf who used to cry over a scratch on my hand when he was just a pup. "Let me soak a little. I won't tell him."

Ron frowned, already over it.

Velda's convoy rolled up in the distance.

He shoved me, like I was nothing.

"Leave. You don't belong here. Move, or I'll make you."

I wasn't ready. I stumbled and hit the ground.

My knees slammed into stone. Pain shot up fast.

Ron didn't even look back. He rushed toward Velda's convoy like he'd been waiting for it.

That's when it clicked.

In this pack—after Eric switched up—

I ranked lower than a stray.

Right then, I had no one.