Alliana’s POV

My head felt like it was splitting open.

The first thing I saw when I woke up was the empty bottle on the bedside table. I groaned and pressed my palm against my forehead. My mouth tasted bitter, and every part of my body felt heavy. I never drank. Not even during banquets. But last night… last night I needed something, anything, to numb the pain of hearing Alpha Benedict’s true thoughts.

I squeezed my eyes shut. It hurt to even breathe. A soft whimper broke through my pounding headache.

My eyes flew open.

“Dione?” I whispered, forcing myself to sit up.

He was curled beside me, tiny body shaking in his sleep. His brows were furrowed, his lips trembling as if he was trapped in a nightmare. Tears were stuck on his lashes.

My heart tightened instantly. “Baby…”

I reached out and touched his hand, it was burning. Not warm. Not feverish. Burning.

“Dione!” I gasped.

His little fingers twitched weakly. He wasn’t fully waking up. He only shook his head, crying in his sleep.

Panic shot through my chest like lightning.

No. No, no, no. This wasn’t normal. He had gotten sick before, but never like this. Never this hot.

I pulled him into my arms, my body trembling. “It’s okay, baby. Mommy’s here. Mommy will get medicine. Just hold on, okay?”

But his head fell against my shoulder, limp.

I swallowed the scream forming in my throat.

I placed him gently down, wrapped him in a blanket, and ran out of the room. My feet stumbled on the steps because of my hangover, but I forced myself forward. The clinic was just three buildings away.

I needed to get him medicine. I needed to get him help. Nothing else mattered.

But then—she appeared. Hannah.

She stepped into my path with a fake, gentle smile on her lips. A smile I once thought was harmless. A smile I now knew hid poison.

“Move,” I snapped, trying to walk past her. “Dione is sick. I need to get to the clinic.”

She blocked me again. “Oh? Sick?” She looked at her maids. She didn’t know I can already hear.

“Please. Move. I don’t have time,” I said as I tried to walk towards the direction of the clinic again.

Instead of moving, she smirked. Then she lifted her phone and typed something.

She turned the screen to me. [Jump off the pond first]

I froze.

My stomach twisted. “What…?”

She tilted her head, still smiling like she was talking to a child. [Did you read it?] She typed.

I let out a shaky laugh. “This isn’t funny. My son is sick.”

She didn’t laugh. She typed again, slowly, and showed me. [Jump now]

My throat went dry. Her eyes glittered with amusement.

Behind her, I saw her men, two pack guards, step forward, blocking the clinic entrance.

“Hannah,” I whispered, breath shaking. “Please. I’m begging you. Let me get my son medicine. He’s burning up. He needs it.”

She shrugged as if it was nothing. [Then jump.] I saw those words on her phone.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to tear her hair out. I wanted to drag her to the ground and make her feel the fear I felt.

But Dione… Dione needed me. Dione needed medicine. My child’s life was more important than my pride.

I clenched my jaw, my eyes burning with hate. “Fine.”

A satisfied smile stretched across her lips.

I turned and walked toward the pond near the clinic. Snowdust covered the stone path. Winter had only started a few days ago, and the water below the small bridge was freezing.

The wind was cruel. The world was cold.

And Hannah laughed behind me.

I stepped onto the bridge, gripping the railing once, just once, before I forced myself to jump.

The cold hit me like a wall.

The shock tore the breath from my lungs. My body froze instantly. It felt like needles stabbed through every inch of my skin. I kicked upward, gasping, my teeth chattering uncontrollably as I climbed out onto the concrete.

Water dripped from my dress. My hair stuck to my face. My bones shook.

Hannah’s laughter echoed. The maids around her giggled, covering their mouths.

“Look at her,” one whispered. “The stupid Luna.”

“She’s so gullible,” another said.

“No wonder Alpha hates her.”

I stared at them for one long, painful second.

Then I walked past them without a word.

I was drenched and freezing, but I pushed open the clinic door, grabbed the needed medicine with trembling hands, and ran back to my son.

When I held Dione again, he whimpered and buried his face in my chest. “Mommy…”

My heart shattered. “I’m here, baby. I’m here.”

I fed him the medicine, wiped his sweat, and wrapped him in two blankets. His breathing steadied slowly, but mine didn’t.

This pack wasn’t safe. Not for me. Not for my son.

I finally understood how deep the danger was. I needed to get out. I needed to leave. I needed to save my child.

By evening, I finally changed out of my wet clothes. My body was cold, my throat sore. I felt dizzy and nauseous, but I didn’t have time to rest.

A maid knocked on my door. “Luna Alliana, Alpha Benedict requests your presence for dinner.”

I kissed Dione’s forehead one more time before heading to the dining hall.

The moment I entered, the warm smell of roasted meat filled the air. But all I felt was disgust.

Hannah was already seated beside Benedict. She always was. She poured soup into his bowl, smiled at him softly, brushed invisible lint off his shoulder.

And Benedict let her. As if she were the Luna. As if I didn’t exist.

I sat in my usual spot, three seats away from them, far enough that they thought I couldn’t hear. For five years, they talked freely in front of me, thinking I was deaf.

Tonight, I heard everything.

“So,” Hannah said casually, taking a sip of her wine, “how will you explain to the elders that your marriage to her was fake?”

My hands froze around my spoon. My head snapped in her direction before I could stop myself.

Her eyes narrowed.

Shit.

I immediately grabbed a dish near her side of the table, pretending that was the reason I turned my head so fast. I forced a small, polite smile.

She didn’t say anything else. She didn’t suspect. I exhaled slowly.

Benedict leaned back in his chair, voice calm. “I’m the Alpha. Everything goes my way. And deceiving Alliana with a fake marriage was a minor thing. Her pack wanted repayment. I let her stay here as my Luna for five years. Isn’t that enough gratitude?”

My vision blurred. My marriage… Fake?

Five years… fake?

Now I understood why no real ceremony happened. Why no elder official ever came. Why the mark he gave me was weak, almost incomplete.

I thought it was because I was deaf. I thought it was because he didn’t want to pressure me.

But it was all fake. A performance. A show.

And I was the fool who played my role too well.

I gripped the edge of the table to keep myself steady. I couldn’t break down here. Not in front of them.

I finished dinner in silence, ignoring the chatter between Benedict and Hannah. I didn’t taste any of the food. It felt like dust in my mouth.

When it was finally over, I ran to my room.

But when I opened the door— Empty.

Dione wasn’t there.

My heart stopped. My lungs froze.

“Dione?!” I shouted, running to the bathroom, then the balcony, then under the blankets. “Dione? Baby?! Dione!”

He wasn’t anywhere. Panic seized my chest. I ran down the hall, grabbing the nearest maid. “Where is my son?! Did you see Dione?!”

She shook her head quickly, frightened.

Then Hannah appeared at the end of the hallway, holding a notepad as if she had been waiting for me.

She walked toward me slowly, her smile calm, almost bored. She flipped the notepad around.

[Your child was very sick. I sent him to the hospital.]

My blood ran cold.

“You… what?” My voice cracked.

She flipped another page.

[You weren’t here. Someone had to take responsibility.]

I didn’t believe her. I didn’t trust her. I didn’t trust anything in this place anymore.

But Dione was sick. And if there was even 1% chance he really was taken to the hospital, I had to go.

I didn’t waste another second. I ran.

Out of the pack house. Down the frozen path.

Past the guards who didn’t even look at me.

My lungs burned. My legs shook. My heart pounded.

“Please,” I whispered to myself, tears stinging my eyes. “Please be okay. Please be there.”

Because if they touched him— If they harmed him— I would burn this entire pack to the ground.

Alliana’s POV

The moment I reached the hospital entrance, I didn’t stop running. My breath came out in harsh clouds of white. The winter air stabbed my lungs, but I didn’t care. My heart was pounding too hard, too fast, as if it was trying to break out of my chest.

“Dione… please be okay…”

I pushed open the hospital doors and rushed down the bright hallway, searching for my son’s scent, soft, warm, sweet like morning bread. I followed it straight to the children’s ward, but two Snowstorm warriors blocked the door.

I froze. “I… I need to go inside. My son—my son is in there.”

They didn’t move.

Instead, one of them lifted a small whiteboard and showed me the words written there, [Luna Alliana is not allowed inside.]

My stomach twisted. “What? What do you mean not allowed? He’s my son!”

The guard kept his face emotionless.

[You are not permitted. Orders from Alpha Benedict.]

“No—no, please,” I whispered, stepping closer. “He needs me. Dione needs his mother. Please let me in.”

They didn’t budge. The second warrior lifted his hand and made a gesture.

[Stay back.]

Then he pushed me away when I tried to reach for the door. The shove wasn’t gentle—I stumbled and hit the wall with my shoulder.

“Please!” My voice cracked painfully. “He’s only three! He’s sick! He must be terrified—I have to be with him. Please, I’m begging you!”

They didn’t look at me.

The first guard simply wrote again, [He is being cared for. Step away.]

“I am his mother,” I choked. Tears blurred my vision. “How can you keep a mother away from her child?”

But they didn’t answer. I pressed my forehead against the cold wall, swallowing a sob. How cruel could this pack get? How cruel could Alpha Benedict become?

Just then, footsteps echoed down the hall. Alpha Benedict and Hannah.

I spun toward them immediately.

“Please,” I said, wiping my tears. “Please let me in. I want to see Dione. He needs me. He’s sick, Alpha. You can’t keep me out.”

He didn’t even look bothered. He only raised his hands and used sign language, slowly, as if explaining something reasonable, [He needs physicians, Alliana. Not you. Don’t cause trouble.]

I shook my head. “You can’t be serious! He’s three! He needs comfort, warmth, he needs his mother! How can you be so heartless?”

Benedict’s expression didn’t change. Hannah slipped her hand through his arm and looked at me with false sympathy.

“You’ll only get in the way,” she said softly. “Just be patient.”

“I’m his mother!” My voice broke, louder this time.

“Enough,” Benedict said sharply. He turned to the guards. “Keep her out. No matter what.”

Then he and Hannah entered the room.

And the door shut right in my face.

I stood there frozen, staring at the door, unable to breathe for a moment. The sound of the latch locking echoed like a slap to my chest.

I sank to the floor, my hands trembling violently.

If I lost him… If anything happened to Dione… I would rather die.

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I hugged my knees. The hallway felt too bright, too cold. Nurses passed by, glancing but never stopping. Nobody dared help the Luna. The fake Luna.

My breathing grew shaky. I felt helpless, useless, powerless.

Minutes passed. Maybe hours.

I didn’t know anymore. Time was slipping away, and all I could think was—

Please, let my baby be safe.

I leaned my back against the wall, trying to steady myself.

Then… I heard it. The soft click of the door. Not all the way closed. It was slightly ajar.

My body went rigid.

Voices drifted from inside the room. I hesitated for half a second… and then I leaned closer, just enough to hear what they were saying.

Hannah’s voice was the first I heard.

“So the Snowstorm wolves will attack Crownfest Pack without warning? Anytime now?”

My blood turned to ice.

Attack… Crownfest? My pack?

I pressed my hand over my mouth, holding in a gasp.

“Yes,” Benedict replied. His tone was cold, serious. “They stole the weapon shipment meant for us. Crownfest Pack took advantage of my father’s kindness and tried to hide it. That’s treason.”

“That’s why you plan to attack them?” Hannah asked.

“Of course,” Benedict said. “They betrayed us. This week, we’ll strike.” His voice dropped even lower, darker. “I will see the fall of the proud Crownfest Pack soon.”

My heart plummeted.

No. No, this can’t be happening. Crownfest Pack would never steal weapons. Never.

My father was an honorable Alpha. My brother was a respected one. My mother had always taught us that a pack’s honor mattered more than anything.

Snowstorm… must have been tricked. Or they misunderstood something. Or someone framed my pack—

My hands shook violently.

They were going to be attacked. This week.

“A good thing she’s too stupid to notice anything,” Hannah laughed softly. “Even if she finds out, she can’t do anything.”

Benedict chuckled. “She won’t find out. She believes everything we tell her.”

I bit my lip so hard it bled.

Everything was falling apart. My son was sick. And my pack was in danger.

I needed to warn them.

I stumbled away from the door and ran to the end of the hallway. I grabbed my phone and dialed my mother.

The call rang.

Once. Twice. Three times. No answer.

I tried my father. No response.

My brother. Still nothing.

My stomach twisted painfully. “Come on… please… please answer…”

I dialed again. Nothing.

Why weren’t they answering? Did something already happen? Was the pack already under attack? Were they hurt?

My legs felt weak. I pressed my back against the wall for support. My mind raced, dizzy and frantic.

I needed to go home. I needed to get to Crownfest Pack. I needed to stop this. I needed to warn them.

But— Dione. My son was inside that room. Feverish. Sick. Vulnerable. And Benedict’s pack would never let me take him.

My hands covered my face. “What do I do…? What do I do…?”

For the first time in years, I felt truly trapped.

Like a wolf caught in a hunter’s snare.

Dione needed me. My family needed me.

But I only had one body. One life. One heart.

And it was being torn in two.

Alliana’s POV

I left the Snowstorm Pack borders with my heart pounding painfully in my chest. I didn’t want to leave Dione behind, not even for a second, but I had no choice. If Benedict’s pack really planned to attack Crownfest without warning, then my parents, my brother, my whole family was in danger.

I ran the entire way. My legs were shaking when I finally reached Crownfest Pack, but I forced myself to keep going. The moment the guards recognized me, they let me in.

“Lady Alliana?” one of them asked.

“I need to see Alpha Cain. Right now,” I whispered.

They didn’t ask questions. They guided me straight to the main hall. My brother was there, talking with a group of elders. When he turned around and saw me, his eyes widened in shock.

“Alliana? What happened?”

I opened my mouth and everything spilled out. My voice trembled.

“Snowstorm Pack… Benedict… he’s planning to attack us. Soon. This week.”

The elders murmured. Cain’s expression darkened instantly. “Explain everything.”

So I did. I told him about the overheard conversation in the hospital. The accusations that Crownfest stole weapons. The declaration of war. The timing. Everything.

My brother clenched his jaw, eyes flashing with anger. “We never stole anything. That claim is false.”

“I know,” I whispered. “Someone is framing us… or bending the truth.”

Cain took a breath, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll prepare. We’re not a weak pack, Alliana. We will defend our home.”

I nodded shakily. “I just… I didn’t want you all to be caught off guard.”

“You did the right thing.” He paused. “But what about you? Why did you come alone? What’s going on?”

The moment he asked, my tears fell.

“Cain…” My voice cracked. “I’ve been suffering there… for years.”

My brother froze, then stepped closer. “Alliana…”

I told him everything. The bullying. The isolation. The fake marriage. The cruelty. The humiliation. The mistress. The lies. Everything Benedict hid behind my back. Every reason why I lost myself.

Cain’s hands curled into fists. “I should’ve taken you home the first time I saw your eyes change. I should’ve known.”

“No,” I whispered. “It was my choice. I thought… I thought enduring made me strong. I thought being patient would make him love me.”

My voice trembled. “I was wrong.”

Cain sighed and pulled me into a hug. “You’re leaving him, right?”

“Yes,” I whispered. “I just… I just need to go back first. I need to get Dione. I’m not leaving without my son.”

“We’ll help you,” he said firmly.

But right then, my phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number.

My heart dropped when I read it. [I knew you can hear now. You took the bait, dear fake luna.]

My blood ran cold. It was Hannah. She knew I could hear. She knew I went home. She knew I found out.

I tightened my grip on the phone. “Cain… I have to go back. Right now.”

“Alliana—”

“My son is there,” I whispered. “If Hannah knows I can hear, she won’t sit still. She’ll do something. I can feel it.”

Cain’s eyes sharpened. “Then go. I’ll send my warriors behind you.”

I nodded, turned around, and ran again. But the moment I stepped back inside Snowstorm Pack, it was chaos. Warriors shouting. Omegas running. Wolves shifting. Panic everywhere.

“What happened?!” I grabbed the closest maid.

The maid’s eyes filled with fear. She quickly used sign language, [Your son… was kidnapped. At the hospital.]

My heart stopped. “No…” My knees weakened. “No—no—NO—”

I grabbed her arm desperately. “Who took him?! Who—”

The maid shook her head, crying silently.

I didn’t wait. I ran to Benedict’s office and slammed the door open.

“Alpha!” I screamed. “Where is my son? WHERE IS DIONE?!”

Benedict was already furious, pacing, slamming his fists on the desk. A warrior ran inside, breathless.

“Alpha! Hannah—she was kidnapped too!”

Benedict’s face twisted. “What?! What the fuck are you all doing?! How did you let her out of your sight?!”

I froze. Hannah… kidnapped? At the same time as my son? Something was wrong. Something didn’t make sense.

“Alpha!” I shouted, stepping forward. “Dione is missing! He’s your son, your flesh and blood. FIND HIM. Please! Just find him—”

He lifted his hands and signed calmly, [I will find him, Alliana. Don’t worry. We will rescue him.]

Relief washed over me, but then he turned to his warriors and yelled, “Find Hannah first! I don’t care what it takes!”

My eyes widened. Hannah first. Not Dione. Not the sick three-year-old boy who might be terrified and freezing somewhere out there.

I felt something inside me break. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

He used sign language to deceive me into thinking he was looking for our son. I couldn’t even imagine the horror if I still hadn’t regained my hearing at that moment. I would have believed that monster!

I stormed out. But halfway down the hall, I stopped. Dione’s nanny, Abby, was standing there, shaking.

I rushed to her. “Abby! What happened? You were with him! How did he get taken?”

She hesitated and started using sign language out of habit.

I grabbed her wrists gently. “No. Speak. I can hear for a week now. Talk to me.”

Her eyes widened. “L-Luna… you regained…?”

“That doesn’t matter!” I snapped, breath shaking. “Tell me what happened to my son.”

Abby swallowed hard, tears falling. “I—I was with him at the hospital. He was asleep. Feverish. I didn’t leave his side. But then… Hannah came.”

My stomach twisted.

Abby continued, voice trembling. “Hannah told me to buy something to eat. She said she would watch him… only for a few minutes.”

“And you believed her?” I whispered, voice breaking.

Abby sobbed. “She’s close to the Alpha. I couldn’t say no… I thought it was fine. I thought… I thought she would help.”

I closed my eyes tightly.

“When I returned,” Abby cried, “Dione was gone. And Hannah was nowhere to be seen.”

My chest burned. “It was a setup.”

Abby nodded, shaking. “I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry…”

I placed a hand over my heart, trying to breathe through the panic. “No… no… I have to find him. I have to.”

I turned around, grabbed my phone, and called Cain with shaking hands.

“Cain…” I whispered when he answered. “Send your elite wolf warriors. All of them. Dione is missing.”

“We’re coming,” he said. “We won’t stop until we find him.”

I ended the call and stepped outside, staring at the storm clouds gathering over the Snowstorm Pack.

And this time, I wasn’t waiting for Benedict.

I would search every mountain, every forest, every river until I found my child. Even if I had to tear this entire territory apart with my bare hands.