I was four months pregnant with the Alpha’s heir when my best friend, Ariana, slammed into me. She called it an “accident.” I lost the pup.

My brother, Liam, tried to expose her to the pack elders. But he was framed for treason, stripped of his Beta title, and thrown in the pack dungeons.

I ran to my mate, Alpha Byron, begging for help.

He held me close and swore he'd save Liam.

The next day, I found Liam in the dungeons, chained in silver, barely alive.

Heartbroken, I went to Byron again, searching for a way to prove Liam's innocence. That's when I overheard him talking to his right-hand man.

“Alpha, if the Luna finds out you let them frame Liam… she will hate you.” Byron’s voice was laced with exhaustion and suppressed pain.

“I know what she’s like. This was the only way to make her forgive Ariana at the Blood Moon ceremony. Ariana saved my life. I won’t let this destroy her.”

He paused, his voice completely cold.

“As for Sandra… I’ll more than make it up to her. She will never know the truth. Ever. Right now, she just needs… to obey.”

The mate I trusted with my life… He threw my family to the wolves. All to protect the woman who killed our child.

My heart shattered. Shaking with a fury I’d never known, I called the one person I hadn't spoken to in seven years. My father, Alpha Caden.

[Father, I'll accept the strategic alliance. The marriage you wanted. But I have one condition. I need your help… to burn the Blackwood Pack to the ground.]

I was framed and lost my pup. But my mate, Alpha Byron, protected the killer, Ariana. He was even willing to harm my own mother and brother for her.

"Sandra has to forgive Ariana publicly."

Byron's voice cut through the wall from the next room.

I pressed myself against the wall, holding my breath.

"Alpha, but she just lost the pup—"

“That’s exactly why we have to shut this down. Now,” he cut his Beta off. “I can’t lose anyone else.”

“The only way this ends peacefully is if Sandra forgives Ariana in public. If she refuses, cut off her mother’s supply of Moonpetal."

My heart stopped.

Ever since my mating ceremony, my mother had been struck by a mysterious blood curse.

Moonpetal was the only thing keeping her sane.

Without it, the curse would shatter her mind within three days.

“Alpha, that’s cruel!”

Pain strained Byron’s voice. “I know it’s cruel, but she has to learn to put the pack first. I’m protecting her from more pain! After the ceremony, I’ll apologize to her myself and double the supply of Moon Orchids. For now, she just needs to calm down.”

I clenched my jaw, my nails digging into my palms so hard I tasted blood.

Protection? He was hurting my family, protecting the one who killed my pup, and he dared to say it was for me?

The conversation continued, but I couldn't hear it anymore.

I turned and walked to the balcony, my trembling hand pulling an encrypted communicator from my pocket.

Seven years.

The first time I’d called him in seven years.

It rang three times before he answered.

"Sandra?" My father’s voice was shocked. "Child, what's wrong?"

"Father." My voice was raw and broken. "I'll take the marriage."

Silence.

Then, a long, heavy sigh.

"I know I have no right—"

"I have a condition," I cut him off. "I want you to destroy the Blackwood Pack. Utterly."

"Sandra—"

"They killed my child. They imprisoned Liam. They're using my mother against me." Each word was ripped from my chest. "And my mate, my fated Alpha, is the one behind it all."

"Damn those pack wars," my father swore. "If it weren't for them, I never would have hurt you and your mother. I never would have let you go."

"The past doesn't matter," I said, staring into the night sky. "What matters is the Blood Moon ceremony. In seven days."

"What are you planning?"

"I'm going to make them pay. In front of every pack."

I closed my eyes, the memory of a perfect night washing over me.

The Summer Solstice, three years ago.

The full moon painted the world silver.

I was in a white dress, attending the ceremony as an adult for the first time.

Then I saw him.

Byron. He stood under the moonlight, his golden eyes like burning suns.

The moment our eyes met, the world went silent.

The mate bond snapped into place between us.

That sacred, irresistible pull made me believe he was a gift from the Moon Goddess herself.

"You're mine," he'd said then, his voice a lover's whisper. "Tonight, and for all of eternity."

I believed him.

God, I actually believed him.

"Sandra?" My father's voice pulled me back.

"Seven days," I said. "Give me seven days to set the stage. On the night of the Blood Moon, I need your warriors at the border."

"What do you need me to do?"

"Rescue Liam. Then watch me end this myself."

"My daughter." I could hear the pride and the pain in his voice. "Are you sure about this? Once a mate bond is severed completely—"

"He's the one who defiled it first," I said, my voice as cold as ice. "Now it's my turn."

"Fine. I'll get everything ready."

I ended the call and put the communicator away.

The night wind felt cool against my face, a small moment of relief.

Footsteps sounded behind me.

I froze.

"Sandra?"

Byron's voice. Shit. When did he get back? What did he hear?

I turned slowly.

His golden eyes—the ones I used to get lost in—were fixed on me.

I saw the familiar warmth in his gaze, but it was tainted by a flicker of guilt.

"You just lost our pup," he said softly. "What are you doing out here so late?"

I forced my expression to crumble, to look weak and helpless.

"I was thinking about Liam." My voice trembled, just enough. "He's still in that dungeon, and I can't do anything."

Byron's suspicion eased. He walked toward me, that familiar, "loving" look on his handsome face.

"Pup, I know this is hard." He reached out to touch my cheek. "But you have to trust me. I'm working on it."

Working on it?

Working on a way for my brother to die in that cell?

I didn't pull away from his touch, even though his fingers on my skin made my stomach churn.

"Byron, tell me the truth." I looked up at him, my eyes full of faked desperation. "Was it really an accident? Did Ariana really just lose control?"

His eyes flickered. It was tiny, but I saw it.

"Of course it was an accident." His hand slid to the back of my neck, his voice softening. "Sandra, you can't let your grief cloud your judgment. Ariana is your best friend. Why would she ever deliberately—"

"Then why are the elders protecting her?" I cut him off. "Why won't they investigate?"

Byron sighed, his face a mask of pained responsibility.

"Because her family's backing is too strong. Her grandfather is the Northern Alpha King." He pulled me into his arms. "If I make a move against her now, the entire Northern Alliance will turn on us. The Blackwood Pack will be isolated. We could face a war."

Such a perfect lie.

Such a convincing performance.

If I didn't know the truth, I might have actually fallen for it.

"So you want me to forgive her?" My voice shook, hiding my rage. "Forgive the woman who killed our child?"

"Pup—"

"She killed your heir!" I shoved him away, my voice rising. "That was our pup, Byron! Your heir! Your own flesh and blood!"

His face went white. His golden eyes shattered with pain.

"You think I don't feel this?" His voice was raw. He seized my hand, fingers digging into my skin until I winced.

"That was my blood! My heir! Every part of me wants to tear her to shreds! But my duty... I'm the Alpha. I can't."

The raw emotion cracked his composure, but he forced it back, locking it away. The mask of the grieving Alpha fell back into place.

"The pack comes first. Always," he stated. "And sometimes... that means we sacrifice."

Sacrifices.

He said it so easily.

"Sacrifice what?" I stared at him. "Our child? My brother's freedom? My dignity as your Luna?"

"For the future of the pack," he said, his voice laced with an Alpha's command. "Sandra, you are my mate. I need you on my side."

On his side.

Like I had been for the last three years.

Trusting him, supporting him, giving him everything.

And for what?

"And if I refuse?" I asked. "If I insist on getting justice for our child?"

Byron’s expression grew heavy. He let go of my hands and walked to the window.

"Then your mother's situation could become... difficult," he said, his back still to me. "Moonpetal shipments have been unreliable lately. It would be a shame if they stopped completely."

My blood ran cold.

He actually said it.

He was threatening me with my mother's life.

"You're threatening me," I growled, my voice low.

"I'm protecting you," he said, turning back to me, that same false sympathy on his face. "Protecting all of us. At the Blood Moon ceremony, just forgive Ariana publicly, and everything will go back to normal. We can start over. We can even have another pup."

Another pup.

So he'd have another hostage to control me with?

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

When I opened them again, my face was a mask of defeat.

"Fine," I said. "I'll forgive her at the ceremony."

The tension finally drained from Byron’s shoulders. He closed his eyes, weary, a breath escaping him in a rush of pure relief.

"Good... okay... Sandra. Thank you for understanding."

He strode toward me, his arms reaching out to pull me into an embrace.

"I know this is hell for you," he said, his voice low and strained. "Trust me, when this is over, I'll make it right. I'll make up for—"

"But I have a condition." I stepped back, avoiding his embrace.

He frowned.

"What condition?"

I slowly ran a hand over my flat stomach, where our child once grew.

The little life that never got to see the world.

"I need seven days," I said, my voice like steel. "I'm going to hold a mourning ceremony for our child. A proper one."

Byron knocked on my door early the next morning.

"Ready?" he asked, his face a mask of tired tenderness. "I think you need to see Liam for yourself. So you can understand the position I'm in."

I nodded and followed him to the dungeons.

The Blackwood dungeons were built in the deepest part of the territory, the thick stone walls covered in ancient runes that suppressed a wolf's power.

The air was thick with the reek of silver and despair.

"He's in the deepest cell," Byron said. "For the charge of treason."

Treason.

What a joke.

We walked past rows of iron bars, past the rogues and criminals locked inside.

Their eyes followed us with fear and hatred.

Finally, we stopped at the last cell.

And I saw him.

Liam.

My brother.

He was shackled to the wall with silver-etched chains, his hands pulled high above his head.

The silver had burned deep wounds into his skin, crusted with dark, dried blood.

A werewolf's healing ability was useless against it.

"Liam?" I gripped the iron bars, my voice trembling.

He slowly lifted his head.

His eyes, once bright as stars, were now dull and lifeless, the light of his wolf gone.

"Sandra?" His voice was a barely audible rasp. "You came."

I wanted to reach for him, but the bars were in the way.

"Look at your brother now," a guard sneered from behind us. "Once a Beta, now he's less than an omega."

Before I could even turn to snap at the guard, Byron moved.

A wave of pure Alpha rage slammed into the room.

In a blur of motion, he spun, his hand clamping around the guard’s throat. He slammed him against the stone wall with a sickening thud.

"You," Byron’s voice was a low, dangerous growl, like something straight from hell. "Whose name are you dragging through the dirt with that filthy mouth?"

The guard went white, clawing desperately at Byron's hand.

"She is your Luna," Byron snarled, golden fire blazing in his eyes. The sheer weight of his Alpha aura sucked the air right out of the dungeon. "If I ever hear you disrespect her again, I will rip your tongue out myself."

He released his grip. The guard collapsed to the floor, gasping and coughing violently.

Byron straightened his collar, as if the brutal outburst had never happened.

He turned and pulled me back into his arms.

"I'm so sorry, baby. You shouldn't have to hear that filth."

He pressed my head against his chest. His voice was thick with suppressed pain. "I know you're hurting. I am too. But look... the evidence is overwhelming. The Elders have spoken. Even as Alpha, I can't just break pack law."

I stared at him, unblinking.

This "law" he spoke of... wasn't it just another cage he'd built?

This "evidence"... hadn't he forged it with his own hands?

"Sandra." Liam’s voice was weak. "Don't fight him for me. It's not worth it."

"Liam—"

"I know." He looked at me, a flicker of clarity in his dull eyes. "It's too late for words now."

"See?" Byron murmured from behind me. "Even he admits it. Sandra, we have to be rational. If you keep fighting this... more people will get hurt."

More people.

He meant my mother.

"So you're just going to let him die here?" I spun around to face Byron. "You're going to watch my only brother rot away from silver poisoning?"

Byron opened his mouth to answer, but suddenly, his eyes glazed over.

It was the look of a mind-link.

His brow furrowed instantly.

Seconds later, he snapped back to reality, his face etched with undeniable exhaustion.

"I'm sorry. My Beta just linked me. There's an emergency in the pack," he said, already turning away. "I have to handle it. Now."

An emergency.

What kind of emergency was more important than this?

"Byron." I called out.

He stopped and looked back. His eyes still held a flicker of annoyance that didn't belong to me.

"What is it?"

I looked at him. The man I once believed was my fated mate.

"Nothing," I said flatly. "Go."

He gave me a long, complicated look, as if he wanted to say more. But in the end, he just turned and strode out of the dungeon.

I stood frozen, listening to his footsteps fade away.

He seemed to have forgotten something crucial.

I could feel the other end of his mind-link.

I knew exactly where he was going. He was going to see Ariana.