Seven years ago, when Ryke first inherited control of the pack’s trade dominion, it was my father who exhausted every alliance and favor he had to help him steady the unstable territories.

Later, when I was abducted by rogue wolves, it was Ryke who tore through their den and carried me out on his back beneath a blood-stained moon.

That night, I cried in his arms, believing I had found the Alpha I could rely on for life.

And now—because of another she-wolf—he had driven my father and me into ruin.

Fortunately, only three days remained.

I dragged my battered body back to the manor, only to see piles of luggage dumped outside the gates. My chest seized painfully.

Everything that belonged to my father and me had been thrown out.

This territory had been purchased with my father’s lifetime of savings.

What right did Ryke have to cast us out?

I felt dizzy, barely able to breathe. As I turned to leave, I glimpsed the interior through the half-open door.

Syrelle was sitting on Ryke’s lap, feeding him moon-warm porridge.

I forced my shaking hands to steady, raised my communicator crystal, and silently recorded.

Ryke’s arm circled her waist, fingers restless. His voice was low, intimate.

“Back then, I was nothing. I had to secure a political mating and let you belong to another pack. You’ve suffered all these years.”

Syrelle’s cheeks flushed, her smile sweet and clinging.

“No. Even after I bonded elsewhere, did we ever truly separate? You’re the only one who’s ever satisfied me, Ryke…”

His restraint snapped. He bent down and kissed her fiercely.

“When the pup is born, we’ll leave territory together. Agreed?”

Syrelle hummed softly.

“Last time I conceived, you forced me to end it. Why keep this one?”

My heart clenched violently.

Half a year ago—she had been pregnant.

That was also when I conceived, and Ryke forced me onto the Moon Healer’s table, claiming it would interfere with his duties.

I had thought it was ambition.

But the truth was simpler.

Syrelle hadn’t allowed it.

My fingers trembled, but the recording remained steady.

Syrelle pressed against his chest, her voice dripping with venomous sweetness.

“We didn’t know whose pup it was back then. How could I let someone else bear a mongrel?”

Wet, clinging kisses followed.

Her breath turned soft and tangled.

“Don’t worry. This time, the pup is ours.”

Each word struck me like a blade through the heart.

I couldn’t watch anymore. I lowered the crystal and turned away.

But my legs failed me. I misstepped and knocked over a vase near the door.

It shattered loudly.

Ryke rushed out at once. When he saw my disheveled state, his expression stiffened briefly before anger flared.

“What have you done to yourself now?”

In the next breath, he pulled Syrelle into his arms, shielding her instinctively.

“Trying to win my sympathy again? Stop using these pitiful tricks.”

Syrelle recovered quickly, letting out a light, mocking laugh.

“Thinking of dragging me before the Tribunal again? Accusing me of hurting your father? Who would believe you now?”

I looked at them coldly.

“If this affair is exposed, who the world believes is not up to you.”

Ryke’s eyes burned with fury.

“Lavinia, stop talking nonsense! I only invited her for porridge. What filth are you imagining?”

“If you’d just publicly apologize, we could still coexist peacefully. I’ll even give you a pup. Why won’t you submit?”

I had no interest in arguing. I secured the crystal and remained silent.

Just then, Syrelle spoke gently.

“Ryke, fetch another bowl of porridge. Mr. Fang doesn’t seem unreasonable. We can discuss things calmly.”

The moment Ryke left, her softness vanished.

She shoved me into the corner, her voice low and venomous.

“Do you know why I struck your father?” she hissed. “Because he deserved it. Who told him to show off in front of me?”

“Ryke is mine. Even if he bonded with you, his wolf has always belonged to me.”

“Your father deserved everything that happened.”

I lashed out instinctively, throwing a punch—but my body was already broken. I stood no chance against her.

In the blink of an eye, she slammed me to the ground.

Her foot pressed hard against my chest as she bent down, lips grazing my ear, her voice low and vicious.

“If you keep refusing to submit,” she whispered, “I’ll make sure you understand the price. Your father will die in a prison cell because of you.”

I struggled wildly and scraped my nails down her ankle, leaving a deep, bloody mark.

Just then, sensing Ryke approaching, Syrelle’s expression shifted instantly. She clutched her forehead and let herself fall backward as if I had shoved her.

Ryke rushed out at that exact moment. The bowl in his hand shattered on the stone floor, the crack echoing sharply through the hall.

He charged toward us, his face twisted by rage, his wolf aura flaring violently.

“Lavinia!” he roared. “How dare you lay a hand on Syrelle? Do you know what the pup she’s carrying is worth? Even your life and your father’s wouldn’t be enough to repay it!”

He grabbed my shoulders and shoved me with full force.

My body flew backward, my spine slamming into the sharp edge of the entryway. The impact felt like a war hammer crushing my chest.

Pain exploded through me. My vision went dark. I staggered, then collapsed.

Ryke’s furious shouting, Syrelle’s trembling sobs, and the murmurs of onlookers tangled together, piercing my ears like countless needles.

I tried to move—but my body refused to obey.

My consciousness fractured, slipping away rapidly.

In the final instant before darkness swallowed me whole, I saw Ryke frowning at me—yet his arms were wrapped tightly around Syrelle, shielding her, terrified she might be startled.

Then everything went black.

***

When I opened my eyes again, the first thing that struck me was the sharp scent of medicinal herbs and antiseptic moon salves.

A white stone ceiling wavered above me. I tried to move my fingers, but they felt weighed down, distant.

The curtain rustled aside. A healer stepped up to the bedside, his expression composed.

“You’re awake?”

I nodded. My throat burned as if scorched by dry sand.

The healer sighed softly, choosing his words with care.

“Lavinia, when you were brought in, you were suffering from severe internal bleeding.”

My heart clenched. I forced the words out. “So…?”

He paused briefly.

“The pup is gone.”

My breath caught, frozen in my chest.

“The… pup?”

The word slipped out of me, faint and disbelieving.

“You were three weeks along,” he continued gently. “It was too early to sense through moon magic. But your injuries were too severe. The embryo could not survive. We’ve already completed the necessary procedure.”

Cold spread slowly through my fingertips.

So I had been pregnant.

Amid the blows. The curses. The despair.

A tiny life had been growing inside me.

And now it was gone.

Because of their shove.

Because of their violence.

Because of their cruelty.

Seeing my silence, the healer lowered his voice.

“Your injuries were clearly caused by an assault. We’ve reported it to the Pack Authority. Once you recover, you’ll need to give a formal statement.”

I closed my eyes. My chest felt ripped open.

Ryke’s merciless shove.

Syrelle’s triumphant smile.

Her words about letting my father rot in prison.

Each memory sliced into me like a blade.

The pup was gone.

And the mating bond I had struggled to protect collapsed completely in that moment.

I opened my eyes. My voice was calm—cold as a winter moon.

“There’s no need to proceed with the report. Please preserve all healing records, emergency notes, and surgical documents.”

The healer paused, clearly surprised.

“…Very well. But you must rest.”

“Don’t worry,” I replied quietly, my tone leaving no room for refusal.

The healer could only nod and step out.

After a while, the ward door swung open.

Ryke stepped inside. The sharp hostility he’d shown before was carefully hidden, replaced with a mask of near-gentleness. Yet the moment he entered, the air seemed to lose all warmth.

“Lavinia,” he said softly, “I know you’re still angry about yesterday. But I truly had no choice. Syrelle was seriously injured, and your own wounds haven’t healed either. Don’t make things harder for me, alright?”

His tone was sweet and coaxing—the kind used to placate someone who was meant to obey.

That softness was something he gave to everyone.

Everyone except me.

I laughed quietly, cold and empty.

“Don’t worry. I won’t interfere with tomorrow’s press assembly.”

The mockery in my voice wiped the gentleness from his face instantly.

“Enough, Lavinia,” he snapped. “Stop acting pupish. This is your fault. If you hadn’t harmed the pup in Syrelle’s womb, I wouldn’t have touched you. Everything you suffered was brought on by yourself.”

He cast every sin onto me as naturally as breathing.

The cruelty of it froze me to the bone.

I opened my mouth, wanting to tell him about the pup I had lost—but I was cut off.

Syrelle rushed in like a startled fawn, throwing herself into his arms.

“Ryke, where did you go?” she cried. “I woke up and you weren’t there—I thought you didn’t want me anymore. I dreamed about yesterday… I dreamed those people came for me again…”

Her body trembled violently, tears pouring down her face.

Ryke bent over her, shielding her as though she were priceless.

When she finally calmed, he turned on me, his gaze sharp and vicious.

“Look at what you’ve done! Syrelle nearly lost her life because of you!”

I laughed again, the sound cutting through the room like a blade.

Seeing my silence, Syrelle suddenly screamed.

“Lavinia, isn’t it enough that I’m leaving? Please don’t hurt me or the pup anymore… I never should’ve angered you…”

She even tried to kneel beside my bed, her pitiful act nearly breaking Ryke’s resolve.

I didn’t react.

I simply watched their performance with cold detachment.

At last, Ryke lost his patience.

“You still won’t admit your wrongs,” he said harshly. “Stay here and reflect. After the press conference, I’ll reconsider this mating bond. My Alpha bloodline has no place for a woman without a heart.”

With that, he guided Syrelle out without looking back.

Just before disappearing, Syrelle glanced over her shoulder. Her eyes gleamed with arrogance and triumph.

This time, I win.

I didn’t spare them another look as I reached out and shut the door.

The next morning, I began executing my plan.

Three hours remained until the Ryke clan’s press conference.

In three hours, their pack dominion would begin to collapse.

Every territory, every share, every alliance I had once handed to Ryke—I would reclaim without mercy.

For every wound they carved into me, I would repay them with what they treasured most.

I blocked both Ryke and Syrelle’s communicators, then boarded the aircraft with Alaric.

I could hardly wait to watch the grand spectacle they’d created turn into the flames that consumed them.

Their downfall had only just begun!