My sister, Lily, was torn to pieces by Rogues. I sobbed, begging my Fated Mate, Alpha Ethan, to find her killers. He never did.

A year later, on the anniversary of her death.

I went to find Ethan, ready to tell him I was pregnant. Instead, I found him holding another omega, Bella, in his arms.

“Don’t worry,” he soothed her. “No one will find out you dropped the pack's mental shield and got Lily killed. Once Harper gives up her title as Luna at the ceremony, you will be my one and only.”

My heart shattered.

So that was it. He never marked me, never rejected me… he wanted me to step down on my own.

He was protecting my sister’s murderer. He wanted to make her Luna.

I stormed in, screaming, but Bella suddenly coughed up blood and collapsed. Wolfsbane poisoning, she claimed.

"She was poisoned saving me! Give me your heart's blood! It's the only thing that can save her!"

Ethan looked at me with more disgust than if I were trash.

“I’m pregnant! It’ll kill the baby!” I pleaded.

But his Alpha Command crashed down. My body was no longer my own. I could only watch as the thick needle pierced my chest, right over my heart.

Golden blood flowed out. A sharp, tearing pain ripped through my stomach…

He had killed my baby.

My wolf shattered inside me.

I closed my eyes, reaching for a forbidden connection in the werewolf world.

"Lycan King Rogan. Tomorrow, I need you to help me destroy everything in the Blackwood Pack. Including Alpha Ethan."

My Fated Mate, Alpha Ethan, never marked me. Instead, he forced me, pregnant with his child, to give my heart’s blood to save his lover—Bella, the monster who killed my sister. He even wanted me to step down, to declare Bella the true Luna of the pack.

I focused on the tiny flicker of life in my womb.

Three years. It had been three years since the Moon Goddess declared us Fated Mates, and still, Ethan refused to mark me.

I knew why. He thought my white wolf bloodline was weak. Besides the healing power of my heart’s blood, I had nothing else to offer.

But now, I was pregnant.

This should have been a day of celebration for the Blackwood Pack. The last hope to save my crumbling bond with Ethan.

The irony was suffocating. Today was also the anniversary of my sister Lily's death.

A year ago, Rogues had ripped her apart.

Ethan had sworn to me he’d protect her like family.

He broke his promise.

I had begged him through my tears to find her killer. He promised he would.

But a year had passed, and the killer was still free.

I took a deep breath, fighting down the nausea, and walked toward the Alpha’s office.

I needed him.

Even if only as my Alpha, he should be with me today. He should come with me to the pack cemetery to see Lily.

The office door was slightly ajar.

I raised my hand to knock, but a sob from inside froze me in place.

It was Bella.

"Oh, Ethan, I… I can't forgive myself…" Bella’s voice trembled, thick with fake remorse. "That Rogue was a monster. It broke right through our defenses… Lily, she pushed me out of the way… she saved me, and…"

My heart skipped a beat.

Her mental shield. Ethan had reinforced it himself. There's no way a Rogue could have shattered it.

Not unless she dropped it.

She did this on purpose. She murdered my sister, and now she was blaming it on a Rogue.

"If the Elders find out Lily died saving me, they'll think I'm cursed… I can't be your Luna, Ethan. I just can't."

I held my breath, waiting for Ethan’s response.

How could he not see through such a simple lie?

But his voice was cold, chillingly calm. "It's not your fault, Bella."

My world shattered.

"From now on, this is the story: You fought to protect the pack. So did Lily. I'll announce that you both fought bravely, but Lily didn't make it. And you were left with severe trauma from the battle." Ethan's tone was flat, final. "You are the future Luna. Your record must be flawless. No stains."

"But… Harper will hate me…"

"Harper?" Ethan scoffed. "She just needs to do what she's told. I'll make her understand. Questioning the future Luna is questioning the entire pack."

A cold deeper than any winter pierced my bones.

He chose her lies. He chose to protect her.

My rage burned away all reason.

I slammed the heavy oak door open. "You're lying!"

Seeing me, a flicker of triumph crossed Bella's eyes before she put on a mask of terror, acting as if I were the Rogue itself. "Harper… let me explain… I'm so, so sorry…"

"Explain what? How my sister died?" I snarled, pointing a shaking finger at her. "It was you! You killed her!"

Ethan immediately stepped in front of Bella, his face a cold mask. His eyes held no guilt, only annoyance at my "childish tantrum."

"Get out, Harper. Bella is fragile right now. Don't upset her."

"She murdered Lily! And you're protecting her?" I shrieked.

At my words, Bella’s body convulsed. She coughed, spraying a mouthful of blood onto the floor. "Ah… my chest… Ethan, the poison… it's acting up again…"

"Look what you've done!" Ethan’s face twisted in fury, his eyes flashing Alpha-red. "Is this what you want? To torture a hero who sacrificed for this pack?"

"She's acting! She's a murderer!"

"Shut up!"

The force of his Alpha command slammed into me. My knees hit the floor with a sickening crack. Pain exploded through me, but my only thought was of my stomach.

"Ethan… please, don't…" I gasped, trying to shield my belly. "I'm preg—"

"She was already poisoned saving my life once! It flared up again trying to save your sister!" Ethan wasn't listening. He lifted Bella into his arms gently, but the look he gave me was pure disgust. Like I was trash. "Give her your healing essence. You owe her this."

"No! I'm pregnant! It will kill the baby!" I pleaded.

Ethan laughed, a cold, humorless sound. "Pregnant? You'd really sink that low, Harper? Making up stories just for attention? Your jealousy is pathetic. Don't use cheap lies to get out of what you have to do."

Bella chose that moment to let out a weak whimper. “Ethan… I’m so cold…”

The red in Ethan’s eyes deepened,.

He strode over to me, looming over my pathetic form on the floor.

“It is your honor to save your future Luna, Harper.”

He raised his hand, his Alpha power radiating from him like a physical force.

“NO! I won’t do it!” I cried, trying to appeal to any shred of decency he had left.

But his next words sealed my fate.

“I command you to submit.”

My body was no longer my own.

My legs moved mechanically, standing up and following Ethan stiffly to the medical station in the corner.

“No… please…” My lips still trembled, but my body went limp, allowing Ethan to drag me along.

Deep inside, my wolf howled in agony, clawing at my mental walls, desperate to protect the fragile life in my womb.

It was useless.

Ethan’s power wasn’t just from his Alpha blood. He was also my Fated Mate.

The double bond left me helpless.

He threw me onto the cold medical table.

Bella coughed weakly, but I could see the pure malice in her eyes.

"Hurry, Ethan… am I going to die? If I die, who will be your Luna…?"

“You won’t die.” Ethan’s voice was sickeningly gentle. He turned around, holding a silver extraction device.

It was designed specifically to draw out a wolf’s Essence. The thick needle gleamed under the light.

My pupils shrank to pinpricks.

This procedure would drain my very life force.

Normally, I might have survived it. But I was pregnant!

My baby was still forming; he needed every ounce of my strength!

“Ethan! Look at me!” I screamed, my vision blurred with tears. “I am carrying your child! If you take my essence, he will die! Are you really going to kill your own heir?”

Ethan’s hand paused.

For a split second, I thought he’d listened.

But then Bella let out a series of violent coughs.

“Don’t listen to her… Ethan…” Bella reached out a weak hand. “She’s lying… she’s jealous… she wants me to die…”

The hesitation in Ethan’s eyes vanished, replaced by an even deeper disgust.

“Enough, Harper. Your jealousy is pathetic.”

He roughly ripped my collar down, baring the skin over my heart.

"Stop playing these pathetic games for attention. If you were carrying my pup, don’t you think I’d feel it? Bella warned me you might pull a stunt like this. She said you'd try to play for pity. And it looks like she was right, wasn't she?"

“Because my bloodline is too weak, you bastard!”

I struggled with everything I had, my nails scratching bloody marks into the edge of the table.

“Hold her down,” Ethan ordered coldly.

Fear drowned me.

Not for myself, but for the tiny life that had never had a chance to see the world.

“Ethan! I curse you!” I shrieked in despair. “You will regret this for the rest of your life!”

Schlick—

The needle pierced my skin and sank into a vein.

The world went silent.

Cold metal twisted inside me, followed by the searing pain of extraction.

I felt something being ripped from my very soul.

My power.

My life.

And… my baby.

Golden blood flowed through the tube—the precious Healing Essence of the white wolf clan.

Ethan didn’t flinch. He quickly turned and walked to Bella.

“Drink this.” He gently held the cup of my essence to her lips.

I lay on the table, my vision blurring, my body growing colder and colder.

Suddenly, a violent cramp tore through my abdomen.

A warm gush of blood streamed down my inner thigh.

My wolf let out one last, soul-shattering howl from within me, and then… silence.

Gone.

The faint, warm connection I’d felt was just… gone.

My baby… was gone.

“Feeling better?” Ethan asked Bella, completely ignoring me bleeding out in the corner.

Bella drank all of my blood, her cheeks instantly regaining their color.

She looked at me over Ethan’s shoulder, a cruel smirk on her lips.

Thanks for the gift, Harper, she mouthed silently.

Ethan helped Bella to her feet and finally spared me a glance.

His brow furrowed when he saw the bright red pool of blood on the floor.

But only for a second.

“Stop playing the victim,” he said, his voice cold. “A wolf’s healing will fix you. Clean this up yourself when you can move.”

He lifted Bella into his arms and walked out without a second glance.

The door slammed shut behind him.

I lay on the cold floor, letting my blood soak into my dress.

Slowly, I placed a hand on my flat stomach.

There was once a tiny heartbeat there. Now, there was only silence.

My phone slid out of my bag on the floor. The screen lit up, showing a picture of my sister, Lily.

She was smiling, bathed in sunlight.

I picked it up with a trembling hand, staining the screen with my blood.

"Lily… I’m so sorry…"

Tears mixed with blood, dripping onto her face.

I failed to get you justice.

I couldn’t even protect my own child.

The Mate Bond, which should have been a warm connection, now felt like a chain of ice, choking me.

I stared at the door. He wasn’t coming back.

"Ethan Blackwood," I whispered, my voice barely audible. "You just killed your own heir."

Pain ripped through me, my wolf soul tearing apart.

I closed my eyes, my mind searching for the forbidden frequency.

"Lycan King Rogan," I projected, “this is Harper Moon. Tomorrow, I need your help. I want you to burn the Blackwood Pack to the ground. And that includes Alpha Ethan.”

A deep, powerful voice echoed in the darkness of my mind, the only thing I could cling to.

"As you wish."

The next time I opened my eyes, I was lying on a cold, white bed in the Pack Infirmary.

"You're awake." Healer Samson stood by my bed, a complicated look in his eyes.

I didn't have to ask. My hand went to my flat stomach.

Samson’s silence, the way he dropped his gaze, was the only answer I needed.

"You lost too much blood. You miscarried," he said, avoiding my eyes. "Harper, your body… it's badly damaged. It'll be difficult for you to carry a pup again."

My heart fractured into a million pieces, but my eyes were dry. I was too empty to even cry.

"And," Samson added, his voice heavy, "your wolf has gone dormant. From the grief. You might feel very weak for a while."

Weak? Yes, my limbs felt like lead.

But what Samson couldn't see was the faint but scorching heat coiling in my veins.

It was an ancient, forgotten power, woken by absolute agony and hatred.

The blood of the Royal White Wolf.

It was already stitching my broken body back together, filling the void my sleeping wolf left behind.

I'd had a chance to go home.

When I first met my Fated Mate, Ethan, the Royals sent for me.

But I refused.

I was naive enough to believe the Moon Goddess's gift was a better home than my own blood.

For him, I hid who I was. I suppressed my power. I played the part of a weak Omega, good for nothing but her healing essence.

What a fucking joke.

A knock at the door. Ethan's Beta walked in, his face blank, a document in his hand.

"Harper. The Alpha sent this for you."

I took the file. The title read: "Submission Contract."

"Tomorrow is the Luna Ceremony," the Beta read in a monotone. "The Alpha requires you to publicly hand over the Moon Stone to Bella and accept your demotion. In exchange, you may remain on pack lands."

Otherwise, exile.

And just like that, I understood his sickening plan.

An ancient curse protects the last of the White Wolves. If he rejected me—or I, him—the backlash would shatter his power. He craved the strength our Fated Bond gave him, but he was ashamed of me.

So this was his solution. He wasn't kicking me out. He was keeping me.

He wanted me here as his living trophy. Forcing me to crown his whore with my own hands. Forcing me to publicly admit I was nothing but a nameless accessory.

He wanted me alive, but broken. A shadow for Bella’s glory. A power source to keep locked away.

My Alpha. My Fated Mate.

Arrogant. Selfish. Cruel.

But he had no idea. The price for being publicly rejected by a Royal White Wolf... was far higher than he could ever imagine.

"I understand," I said, my voice calm.

After the Beta left, silence filled the room.

I stared at the contract. Every line was designed to make me kneel before my sister's and my child's murderer.

Just then, Ethan's voice boomed from the speakers in the plaza outside.

"To honor the memory of Lily Moon, who sacrificed herself in the Rogue attack, I hereby announce the creation of the 'Memorial Sanctuary'…"

Such a noble lie.

"…and its founder and primary donor is our Luna-to-be—Bella Cross!"

I sneered at the cheering wolves below.

They had no idea where that "donation" came from.

It was Lily's death benefit.

The compensation that should have been mine was now a tool for Bella to buy herself a good reputation.

"Miss Bella's kindness and generosity are exactly what this pack needs!"

More applause. More cheers.

I turned from the window and waited.

Sure enough, the door soon opened.

Bella swept in, wearing a gorgeous silk gown and the glittering Luna Tiara on her head.

The crown that should have been mine.

"Harper!" she feigned surprise. "You look so much better!"

Her fake concern made me sick.

"I heard you're still thinking about the contract?" Bella walked to my bedside, making sure I got a good look at her tiara. "Don't overthink it. This is for the best."

"Is it?" I asked calmly.

"Of course!" Bella’s smile widened. "Do you know how much Ethan spent on this tiara? Half a million dollars! He said only the best is good enough for his Luna."

She stroked the diamonds on the crown.

"Too bad you'll never know what it feels like to be cherished like this."

I said nothing, just watched her perform.

Seeing no reaction from me, a flicker of disappointment crossed her face. Her tone turned vicious.

"Actually, I came here today to share a little secret with you."

She leaned close to my ear, her voice a low whisper.

"The day the Rogues tore your sister apart, I was standing right behind a tree, watching."

My body went rigid.

"Her screams," Bella continued, her eyes gleaming with a sick excitement, "were more beautiful than the diamonds on this crown."

The blood in my veins boiled.

"Especially when she was screaming your name. 'Harper! Help me! Harper!' Hahaha…"

"Enough," I said, my voice trembling.

"You know what the funniest part was?" Bella wouldn't stop. "She thought you were coming to save her, right up until the very end. But where were you? At home, waiting for your Alpha to come back to you."

The last thread of my sanity snapped.

My wolf may have been sleeping, my body weak, but the urge to tear her apart consumed me.

I lunged, pulling the silver letter opener I'd hidden under my pillow.

It was a "welcome gift" Rogan had sent me earlier, delivered by shadow.

"Go to hell!"

I threw myself at her, the blade slicing through the air, aimed straight for her disgusting face.

Bella, not expecting me to fight back, screamed and scrambled away, but she was too slow.

SLASH—

The sharp blade slashed across her cheek, from the corner of her eye down to her mouth.

Blood sprayed, staining her white lace dress.

“AH! My face! My face!” Bella collapsed, clutching her cheek. “Ethan! Help! She’s trying to kill me!”

The door burst open instantly.

Ethan stormed in like a hurricane.

When he saw Bella, covered in blood, his eyes turned a furious, demonic red.

“Harper!”

He didn’t even ask what happened. He just raised his hand and slapped me across the face.

The force sent me flying into the wall.

"You bitch!" Ethan roared, scooping Bella into his arms. "You used silver on her!"

I pushed myself up from the floor, blood dripping from my lip, but my eyes were cold.

“What? Does it hurt to see her in pain? Did you feel this way when she killed Lily? Did you feel this way when she drank my blood and killed your child?”

“SHUT UP!” Ethan bellowed. “Bella is innocent! You’re the one causing all the problems!”

“After the ceremony, I’m exiling you to the Badlands!” he snarled. “Since you want to be with your sister so badly, I’ll grant your wish!”

Exile. Just as his Beta had threatened.

Stripped of my name, cast out of the territory, left to be hunted by Rogues without an Alpha's protection.

But I wasn’t afraid.

I was no longer the Omega begging for his mercy.

“Fine,” I said, wiping the blood from my mouth, my gaze like ice. “I’ll be waiting.”

Ethan seemed momentarily stunned by the coldness in my eyes, but he quickly recovered his arrogant Alpha posture.

“You will be there tomorrow. Whether you walk or crawl.”

He carried the wailing Bella to the door, then stopped and delivered his final threat.

His voice was as cold as a snake.

“You will kneel and present the Moon Stone to Bella. And if you try anything…”

“I will have your sister’s grave dug up and her ashes scattered in the filth.”