My Alpha mate, Razen Blackspire, killed our pup for a liver offering to save my own sister, Navielle, his first mate.

So I did the unthinkable. I bound myself to her mate, Keegan Thunderhowl, to take revenge.

Now, Razen wants me back, and Navielle wants me dead.

***

Nivella's POV

A cold numbness spread through me as I stood by the carved wooden door, listening to their voices echo inside the stone hall. The scent of wolf musk and moon incense lingered in the air.

“Razen, are you sure no one has sensed it?” Layton asked, his tone uneasy.

“No one,” Razen answered, his voice sharp and calm. “Nivella still believes Sven’s death came from a rogue pack ambush.”

My blood turned to ice.

Sven… My son…

“What about the healers?” Layton continued. “Are you sure they will stay silent?”

Razen let out a low scoff. “I gave them enough gold and bound them by oath. They will carry this secret to their graves. I am the heir of Blackspire. None would dare stand against me.”

Secret?

My heart slammed hard against my ribs.

What secret?

“You took your own son’s life for a liver offering,” Layton said, his voice dropping in disbelief. “For Navielle.”

The world tilted. My breath caught painfully in my throat.

No no no…

I heard that wrong!

Sven… dead… because of a ritual? For Navielle? My own sister?

“You think I wished for this?” Razen growled. “I had no other path! Navielle was dying, and Sven was a perfect match. One life for another. Her life is worth far more.”

His words pierced deep into my chest. I clutched at my heart, struggling to stay upright as I staggered back.

My son…. my Sven…

He had not died to rogues like Razen told me. He had been taken… sacrificed by his own father.

“Razen,” Layton said, his voice shaking. “Sven was only a pup.”

“And Navielle is my future Luna,” Razen snapped. “Sven was weak, sickly. He would not survive long in this world. I did what had to be done for the pack.”

“There were others who could match her if you waited even one more night,” Layton argued.

“That risk was not worth taking,” Razen said firmly. “Navielle is everything to me.”

Tears slid down my face as I forced myself to stay silent. Every word he spoke tore something inside me apart. I couldn’t believe this was my mate, the man who once swore under the moon to protect me.

My gaze dropped to the parchment in my trembling hands. The healer’s mark confirmed it. I was carrying a pup. I had come from the healer’s den with joy in my chest, ready to tell him we would have another pup after losing Sven, my seven-winter old boy.

But now that happiness felt distant, like a fading dream.

My fingers tightened around the door until they ached. Razen had killed our son.

“And Navielle, how did she react after you sacrificed her sister’s pup for her?” Layton asked quietly.

“She pitied the boy,” Razen said without care. “But she understood. He was already dying.”

Anger and disbelief surged through me.

My own sister accepted it. She allowed my son to die for her sake. How could she?

“I only hope Nivella never learns the truth,” Layton muttered.

“She will not,” Razen replied with cold certainty. “She’s too soft. Too trusting. Even if she learns it, she has no one. She’s powerless.”

Powerless?

My jaw tightened as that word burned through me like fire.

A mother’s rage is not something the moon can calm.

I would make them pay. Both of them!

They took my pup. They broke me. And now, I would break them in return.

I left the Blackspire stronghold with tears falling freely, my chest tight with betrayal.

I climbed into my carriage and drove without direction, not caring where the road led. I only needed distance. Distance from him and from everything.

The path blurred as my tears would not stop. My mind replayed every word I had heard.

At last, I found myself at the sacred burial grounds. The place I had avoided because the pain was too heavy. My hands trembled as I stepped onto the cold earth.

Sven’s grave rested at the far edge, beneath a lone silver tree. I fell to my knees, my fingers brushing over the name carved into stone.

Sven Blackspire

Beloved Son. Forever under the Moon.

A broken sob left my lips as memories crashed over me. The night Razen returned, covered in blood, his face filled with false grief.

“He was taken by rogue wolves,” he had said, voice shaking. “It happened too fast. I couldn’t save him.”

I had screamed and collapsed, my world shattering in an instant. When I woke, Sven was already buried. Razen told me it was done quickly, to spare me from seeing my son lifeless.

But now I knew. It was never mercy. He buried Sven to hide his sin.

“I am sorry, my little one,” I whispered, my tears falling onto the stone. “I should have kept you safe. I should have seen the truth.”

“You will not fade,” I vowed, my voice trembling with grief and fury. “They took you from me, Sven. But I will make them answer for it. Every one of them.”

I rose slowly, wiping my tears as something dark settled inside me.

Razen called me powerless.

Not anymore.

He was about to learn how wrong he was.

Nivella's POV

The moment I returned to the pack estate, I went straight to Razen’s study. It was the one place he always kept off limits, saying it held matters of power and territory that I should not touch.

I pushed the door open and stepped inside. My eyes moved across the room, alert. Then something caught my attention. A steel safe hidden behind a tall shelf.

I stared at it for a moment, then walked closer. The lock glowed faintly under the dim light. I thought for a second before entering Navielle’s birthday.

A soft click followed. It opened.

A bitter sound left my lips. So he used her birthday as the code, while he could barely recall mine, always forgetting my birth day and our mating anniversary.

Inside were stacks of documents. Healer records. Payment slips. Transfers made to the moon healers.

I flipped through them, my blood rising with every page. It was all there. Proof of everything he had done. How he silenced the healers. How he arranged it all so Sven’s death would look like an attack from rogue wolves.

Then I found it. The ritual record. Navielle’s name marked as the receiver. Sven’s name written as the offering.

My vision blurred as fresh tears filled my eyes. Not just grief this time, but anger.

He took everything from me. My pup. My trust. My life.

I stared at the papers, my thoughts racing. I couldn’t face him yet. Not until I was ready. This was not just pain anymore. This was war. And I needed to be ready for it.

I took out my crystal communicator and captured every page. When I finished, I locked the safe and walked out.

I headed to the bedroom, my chest heavy with the choice I had to make. I had dreamed of this pup. A second chance after losing Sven. But how could I bring a pup into a world built on lies and betrayal?

I picked up my crystal communicator, my fingers shaking as I called the healer’s clinic.

“Hello, Moonpine Healing Hall. How may I assist you?”

“I want to schedule… a termination,” I said softly. The words hurt, but I couldn’t bring a pup into this darkness.

“Of course. Can you come tomorrow morning?”

“Yes,” I answered, my voice empty.

“Name?”

“Nivella Bloodwyn.”

I used my birth name. If I said Blackspire, they would know I belonged to the Alpha bloodline.

There was a short pause.

“Understood. We will see you at ten in the morning,” the woman said before ending the call.

I held the crystal communicator tightly and took a slow breath, trying to steady myself.

“Where are you going?” Razen’s voice came from behind me, and I stiffened. I didn’t notice when he entered.

I slipped the crystal communicator into my pocket and looked at him with cold eyes. “Just going for a healer check,” I said, my tone distant.

Razen tilted his head slightly, his brows drawing together. “A check? Are you not fine?”

“I am fine,” I replied shortly, walking past him toward the wardrobe to change into my night clothes.

His gaze stayed on me, sharp and searching. “Nivella, is something bothering you?”

I paused, then looked back at him. “Nothing is wrong, Razen,” I said with a faint, bitter smile. “Everything is exactly how it should be.”

He studied me for a moment but didn’t press further. “I will join you soon. I need to wash up.”

As soon as the bathing room door closed, his crystal communicator lit up on the bedside table. I glanced at it, then at the closed door. Without hesitation, I picked it up and entered Navielle’s birthday. It unlocked.

My breath caught as I scrolled through his messages. Then I saw her name. Navielle with a heart mark.

I opened it, and my stomach twisted.

Navielle: [I already miss you. When will we meet again? I will tell Keegan I am going to visit my sister.]

Razen: [Tomorrow, my love. I will tell Nivella I have Alpha duties to handle.]

Tears slipped down my face as I kept reading.

Navielle: [I am tired of hiding. I want us together.]

Razen: [Soon. Once I take my place as Alpha King of Blackspire Pack, I will claim you fully. No one will stand between us again.]

I covered my mouth, trying to stop the sound that almost broke free.

From their messages, they had been together every time she came to visit me. All those times she said she missed me. It was all a lie.

My mate still loved his first mate. My own sister.

I locked the crystal communicator and set it back, my hands trembling with anger.

My sister… my mate… they had been lying to me all along.

Navielle had once been with Razen. Then she left the pack to train in distant lands, where she met Keegan and became his mate.

Razen was shattered when she left. And in that pain, he turned to me. What began as quiet talks under the moon slowly turned into something more. Moons later, he said he loved me. A winter after that, we were mated.

I never knew it was all false. Even after seven winters, his heart still belonged to her. I was nothing more than a stand in, someone he would cast aside once he could take her back.

The bathing room door opened, and Razen stepped out with a cloth around his waist. His eyes held concern as he looked at me.

“Are you sure you are alright?”

I forced a smile, though it never reached my eyes.

“I am fine, Razzy.”

Nivella's POV

When I called his nickname, his body eased at once, as if all was normal again.

His eyes softened as he walked toward me. He bent down to kiss me, but I turned my face slightly, letting his lips brush my cheek instead.

“I’m tired,” I said quietly, pulling the covers over myself. “It has been a long day.”

Razen’s expression stiffened for a moment, then he forced a small smile. “Of course. You should rest.”

There was a hint of annoyance in his eyes, but he said nothing more.

His crystal communicator buzzed again. He picked it up quickly, and the irritation on his face vanished, replaced by a bright smile as he replied.

The moment he finished, he got up from the bed and began dressing in a rush. “Something came up in the pack,” he said, not meeting my eyes. “I will be back in a few hours.”

“Of course. Take your time,” I answered calmly.

Razen looked at me, clearly surprised.

Before, I would have complained about him leaving late at night for sudden pack matters. Now I was telling him to go without question.

His crystal communicator buzzed once more. He shook off his confusion and hurried out.

“I love you,” he muttered as he left.

“And I hate you,” I whispered under my breath.

***

When I woke the next morning, Razen had not returned. He most likely stayed at Navielle’s place. But it no longer mattered to me.

I prepared for my visit to the healer’s hall.

As I sat on the bed inside the healing chamber, my heart tightened painfully. Could I really go through with this?

The healer stood beside me.

“Are you sure about this, Lady Nivella?” she asked gently.

I opened my mouth to answer, but no words came. My hand moved to my stomach on its own.

I thought of Sven.

His bright smile… his small hands holding mine… the way he called me mother… the happiness he gave me…

Tears filled my eyes. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t end this life.

“I… I have changed my mind,” I whispered. “I cannot do it.”

The healer nodded softly. “That is alright. Take your time. You may leave when you are ready.”

My pup deserved to live. No matter how dark my world had become, this pup was still a part of me. A part of Sven. I would not let anyone take that away.

As I walked down the hallway, lost in my thoughts, I heard a familiar laugh. I looked up and froze.

Razen and Navielle.

They were leaving the moon ward together, smiling at each other like nothing else existed. Razen’s hand rested on her lower back as he leaned close, whispering something that made her laugh softly.

My blood turned cold. Navielle’s hand rested on her stomach, and my eyes widened.

She was carrying a pup.

They saw me before I could turn away. Navielle’s face lost its color.

“Nivella,” she hurried toward me, her eyes wide with false worry. “I… I was just… Razen came to accompany me for my check.”

“Don’t apologize, Navielle,” Razen cut in gently, placing his hand on her shoulder. His eyes were warm as he looked at her. “You didn’thing wrong.”

I smiled at them. “Yes, you are right, Razen. She didn’thing wrong.”

I stood there, empty, watching them. The way he looked at her… the way he shielded her… it was everything he once promised me.

They both looked surprised. In the past, I would have reacted, would have shown my jealousy or complained. But every time, Razen would scold me for doubting my own sister.

“We were together before, but she’s married now, and so am I. We are only close, nothing more.” He always told me that.

Razen turned to me. “We will talk at home, Nivella. Let me take Navielle back first.”

I didn’t hesitate. “Please, take your time,” I said as I walked past them.

“And congratulations on your pup, Navielle,” I added coldly without turning back.

I left them standing there, both caught off guard.

***

Razen must have sensed something was wrong, because he returned early that night.

“You are back early,” I said, not lifting my eyes from the book in my hands as I lay on the bed.

“Yes. I finished early today. I came back to spend time with my lovely mate,” he said, leaning down to kiss me, but again, I turned my face, and his lips met my cheek.

Razen paused, watching me, but I kept my focus on the book I was not truly reading.

“I feel like we have not spent enough time together. I will take a few days off from pack duties,” he said softly, his eyes filled with concern.

I shrugged lightly. “You have been busy with the pack. I understand.”

Razen frowned slightly, surprised by my calm tone. He knew this was not like me. I had always wanted him to rest and stay with me.

“What’s going on, Nivella?” he asked. “Why are you acting like this?”