Our pup, Kyle Draven, is burning with a fever of 104 degrees Fahrenheit. His small body convulses as he cries out for his father.

But my husband, the Alpha, doesn't care. Julian Draven ignores our son's suffering because Kyle's cries might disturb his precious Linda Griffin.

"Linda's trying on evening gowns. Stop using Kyle to get my attention. You're pathetic."

Linda deliberately monopolizes my husband's time, then shows up with cake for Kyle like she's some saint. When Kyle eats it, he vomits black-purple blood.

The cake had Wolfsbane.

I confront her, desperate for answers, but Julian responds with a vicious slap and crushes me under his Alpha authority.

"Linda wouldn't hurt a fly. How could she poison anyone? You clearly framed her. What kind of mother poisons her own pup?"

He shatters my spine and throws both me and our dying pup into the Borderlands.

Just as he gives the order to kill us, a roar erupts from deep within the forest—the kind that makes every beast submit.

My childhood friend has returned.

The bonfire in the square blazed bright. Heat washed over my face, but it couldn't warm my frozen hands and feet.

Today was Alpha Julian Draven's celebration. It was supposed to be my bonding ceremony with Julian too.

But the woman standing in the center of the square, wrapped in a pure white gown and nestled against Julian's side, wasn't me. Her name was Linda Griffin, a human woman Julian had brought back with him.

"Tonight, I swear to the Moon Goddess!" Julian's voice boomed as loud as ever, hitting every ear in the crowd.

"The human, Linda Griffin, will be my one and only Luna!"

The lively crowd fell deathly silent. Then, shocked whispers rippled through the square.

I somehow managed to move my legs. All I felt was a small, warm hand clutching desperately at my skirt.

It was our pup, three-year-old Kyle Draven. His amber eyes, so much like Julian's, filled with terror.

"Julian!"

I dragged Kyle forward and pushed through to the platform. My voice cracked from rage and fear.

"What about Kyle and me? What are we supposed to be? Everyone's watching. You're really going to abandon me and our pup for a human?"

Julian finally looked down. His gaze was so cold and distant that it made my blood run cold.

"Ella, know your place." His voice was cold and dismissive.

"You're just a tool to bear my heirs. As for Kyle..."

He glanced at the crying pup, his brow furrowing in irritation. Behind him, Linda tugged lightly at the corner of his shirt.

She looked at me, her lips curving into the briefest smirk before she quickly replaced it with a pitiful expression.

"I'm so sorry, Ella." Linda's voice was soft as a whisper, yet somehow perfectly audible to the elders in the front row. "I didn't want to come between you two, but I'm already carrying Julian's pup. This is the product of true love. I can't let our pup grow up without a father."

The crowd erupted. I stared at Linda's flat stomach.

She was human and had no werewolf scent. But there was something strange about her smell. I couldn't tell if she was actually pregnant or not.

"She's lying! She's human, Julian. She's human! How could she possibly..."

"Enough!" Julian's roar cut through the air.

The crushing weight of his Alpha authority slammed into me. My knees buckled and I hit the ground hard.

That was when Kyle seemed to remember something. Trembling, he pulled a crooked flower crown from his pocket, woven from grass and twine.

He'd spent three whole days learning how to make it from the pack elders for today's celebration. His little hands were covered in red marks from where the rope had dug into his skin.

"Daddy... flowers... for you..." Kyle could barely get the words out through his tears, but he still lifted that crude little crown, trying so hard to please the cold Alpha in front of him.

Linda glanced at the crown covered in dirt and bits of grass. She let out a shriek and pressed herself into Julian's arms.

"Oh! There's a bug on it! It's so dirty. Julian, I'm scared of bugs..."

Julian's eyes filled with rage. Not only did he refuse to accept his pup's innocent gift, but he lifted his foot and kicked it away viciously.

The flower crown flew through the air and landed near the fire. Kyle froze. His little hand stayed suspended in midair.

"Linda may be human, but she's gentler than you. Kinder than you. And stop letting him call me Dad."

Julian protectively shielded Linda, then turned to look at me. "You're nothing like her. You gave birth to a bastard. Get out. Don't ruin our bonding ceremony."

He didn't even glance at Kyle. He just turned and walked away. Kyle threw himself into my arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

I could hear my heart breaking. Something inside my chest had shattered completely.

I was thrown out of the main house and moved into the place Julian had arranged for us. It was a run-down shack on the edge of pack territory.

Wind whistled through gaps in the walls. There was only one torn mattress.

Meanwhile, Linda became the most honored woman in the pack. Because she had no werewolf abilities, Julian ordered everyone to accommodate her.

"Mommy, it's cold..."

Kyle was sick. Between the shock from last night and the wind howling through every crack in the walls, his small body couldn't take it.

His body burned with fever. The decrepit wooden house let in drafts from every direction. I wrapped our only blanket around him and even took off my jacket to layer on top, but I still couldn't stop his teeth from chattering.

He mumbled "Daddy" over and over, each word like a knife carving out a piece of my heart.

Werewolf pups had poor healing abilities. A high fever could kill them.

I had nothing, not even a single coin to buy a fever reducer from the clinic. I had no choice but to use the mind-link that existed in name only.

"Julian."

I tried to keep my voice steady, trying not to sound like I was begging.

"Kyle has a fever of 104 degrees Fahrenheit. You're the Alpha. Even if you won't come yourself, can you at least have a Beta bring over some medicine?"

The link stayed silent for a full ten seconds before background noise filtered through. There was soft violin music, rustling of fabric, and a woman's laughter.

"I'm busy." Julian's voice came through like he was brushing off a telemarketer. "Linda's trying on evening gowns. This one's a bit tight around the waist. She's upset."

I looked down at my pup convulsing with fever in my arms. My nails dug into my palms.

"Julian! Kyle is your pup! He's burning up and going into convulsions! Just come see him. Please, just bring some medicine!"

"Shut up."

He cut me off, his voice dripping with disgust. "Ella, this attention-seeking tactic is pathetic. Linda's right. You always use Kyle as a bargaining chip. Stop bothering me, or I'll block you."

I didn't have time to deal with the pain stabbing through my head. I grabbed Kyle and rushed out of the shack.

The commercial district blazed with lights. Glass storefronts reflected my pathetic image back at me. My hair was disheveled, my eyes bloodshot, and my arms wrapped around my half-dead pup.

When I passed the steakhouse, my feet stopped as though weights had been tied to them.

Candlelight flickered through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Julian sat at the head of the table, carefully cutting into a medium-rare steak.

Linda wore that supposedly "too tight" designer gown, her cheeks flushed as she opened her mouth to accept a piece of meat Julian fed her. That tender and juicy piece of meat probably cost half a year of my living expenses.

Linda said something that made Julian laugh indulgently. He'd given me the same kind of tenderness three years ago too. Now he saved his warmth for that human and left nothing but cruelty for his own flesh and blood.

I didn't go inside to humiliate myself further. Instead, I turned toward the pharmacy and begged the clerk to accept my expired spirit stone ring in exchange for the cheapest fever reducer they had.

The next morning, someone knocked on our rickety door. Julian and Linda stood on the doorstep.

Julian wore a tailored suit, his brow furrowed, as if the stale air might contaminate him. Linda clung to his arm with an elegant pastry box in her other hand, her expression perfectly guilty.

"Ella, yesterday was my fault." Linda's voice was sweet and soft.

"I didn't know Kyle was so sick. If I had, I would've made Julian come right away."

She held out the pastry box. The logo of the most expensive bakery in the commercial district was printed on top.

"Julian specially bought this Black Forest cake. We thought since Kyle's sick and everything probably tastes bitter, something sweet might help."

I stared at the box. All I wanted was to throw it into the mud.

"Take it." Julian's tone was flat. "Linda's being kind. Don't be ungrateful."

With that, he wrapped his arm around Linda and turned to leave. He didn't even glance at Kyle, huddled in the corner of the bed. That retreating figure was so final, as if we weren't his family but trash waiting to be disposed of.

I wanted to throw the cake away.

"Mommy..." A weak voice called from behind me.

Kyle's fever had barely broken. He stared at the pretty box, swallowing hard.

Ever since we'd been thrown out, he hadn't had a decent meal. My nose stung. All my pride crumbled in the face of my pup's hunger.

"Go ahead. Eat."

Kyle devoured the cake, cream smeared across his mouth, showing his first smile in days.

After he finished the last bite, Kyle licked his fingers reluctantly. Then he carefully reached under the mattress and pulled out the flower crown, half-burned and blackened, the woven grass barely holding together.

He held it like a priceless treasure, his eyes bright as he looked at me. His voice was small but full of hope.

"Mommy, Daddy bought me cake. Does that mean he forgives me? When I get better, I'll fix the broken parts and give him the crown again.

"I'll tell him these are my favorite flowers. Daddy will accept it this time, right?"

As I looked into Kyle's innocent, trusting eyes, my throat tightened. My heart felt like it was splitting open. He had no idea that in his beloved father's eyes, he was worthless.

All I could do was hold back my tears and lie with a nod.

Midnight brought a nightmare. Kyle suddenly started convulsing, but this wasn't the trembling from fever. These were violent spasms.

He opened his mouth wide, trying to breathe, but his throat made a sound like a broken bellows. Then he vomited up a mouthful of black-purple blood.

Mixed with the metallic tang was a strange scent of bitter almonds. My blood ran cold.

The fever medicine wouldn't go down. I hoisted Kyle onto my back and ran barefoot toward the healing center in the middle of pack territory.

The elder on duty took one look at Kyle's deathly pale face and his expression changed. He pried open Kyle's eyelids, glanced inside, and immediately shouted, "It's Wolfsbane! Get the Alpha! Only Alpha blood can neutralize the poison!"

Wolfsbane. A deadly poison to werewolves, especially pups. Even a trace amount could be fatal.

I collapsed to the floor, clutching Kyle's ice-cold little hand. Julian arrived ten minutes later.

He'd just gone to bed. One button on his shirt was fastened wrong, and his face was full of irritation.

The elder handed him a small knife. Julian didn't hesitate. He sliced open his palm and let the bright red blood drip into Kyle's mouth.

The powerful force of Alpha blood worked quickly. Kyle's breathing steadied. His face was still pale, but the deathly blue-purple tinge gradually faded.

Julian casually wrapped gauze around his palm and stared coldly at me. "What kind of mother are you? How could you let Kyle get his hands on Wolfsbane?"

"He didn't eat anything today!" I scrambled up from the floor, my nails digging into my palms.

My voice was hoarse. "Nothing except the cake you two brought!"

A startled gasp came from the doorway. Linda stood there wrapped in a coat, her face full of shock.

"Ella, what are you saying?" She covered her mouth as tears sprang to her eyes.

"Wolfsbane? I've never even heard of it. We bought that cake from a legitimate bakery. I ate a slice myself. How could it be poisoned?"

"It was you!" I lunged at her, but Julian shoved me aside.

I slammed hard into the medicine cabinet. Glass bottles shattered everywhere.

"Enough!" Julian shielded Linda. "Linda's human. She doesn't know how to identify herbs, let alone extract high-purity Wolfsbane. Ella, you'd poison your own pup just to frame her?"

"I poisoned Kyle? What kind of mother would poison her own pup?" I stared at him in disbelief. "Julian, has this woman blinded you? She's human, but that doesn't mean someone isn't helping her!"

The sharp sound of a slap echoed through the quiet healing center. My face whipped to the side, and I tasted iron in my mouth.

"Shut up." Julian lowered his hand. "If I hear you slander Linda one more time, I won't just exile you to the edge of pack territory."

Linda pressed herself into his arms. Her lips curved into the briefest smile before she quickly transformed back into a frightened rabbit.

"Don't hit her, Julian. Maybe it's just a misunderstanding. But how am I supposed to show my face in the pack now?"

Just then, Kyle stirred on the bed. He'd barely regained consciousness and was still desperately weak. He forced his eyes open, and his little hand trembled as it reached toward Julian.

"Dad... Daddy..." Kyle's voice sounded like it had been scraped raw, thin but full of longing.

He remembered the warmth from before he passed out. He knew Julian had given him his blood. His father had saved him.

The little pup fumbled under his pillow for a long moment before pulling out the charred, half-burned remains of the flower crown. It was the treasure he'd been clutching the whole time. He hadn't let go even when he was unconscious.

"Daddy... I fixed it..." Kyle forced out a pleading smile and held up the clump of dried grass toward the tall man.

"I'm not hurting anymore. Don't be mad, Daddy. It's for you..."

Julian's gaze landed on the blackened thing. A flash of impatience crossed his eyes.

He didn't even reach for it. Instead, as if he'd seen something filthy, he instinctively stepped back.

"Get that away from me!" Julian knocked the crown out of Kyle's hand.

"This is a healing center! You're making a mess everywhere. You have no manners!"

Kyle's little hand froze in midair. The faint light in his eyes shattered bit by bit.

"Don't pay attention to them." Julian wrapped his arm around Linda and turned to leave. "Let's go."

I watched their retreating backs, then turned to look at Kyle, who sat there in a daze. That slap had completely destroyed my last illusion about Julian.

That shout of "Get that away from me!" had shattered the image of a father in Kyle's heart. Julian wasn't the charming, strong werewolf I'd once been infatuated with anymore.

Maybe he'd always been like this. I just hadn't wanted to believe it. The Alpha I'd loved for so many years had never loved me back.

Whatever love I'd had left for Julian turned to ash in that moment.