Chapter 2

Beatrice’s POV

I thought losing my pup was the worst thing Alpha Logan could ever make me endure. I was wrong. There were apparently deeper places a person could fall after they had already hit rock bottom.

I returned to the Silverpine Packhouse just before dusk, my body still weak from the medicine the healer had given me.

Every step felt heavier than it should have. The healer had told me to rest for at least two days, but I could not bear the thought of staying in that sanctuary any longer. The walls had witnessed too much of my grief. Every time I closed my eyes, I could still feel the emptiness beneath my palm.

There was no tiny heartbeat anymore. I had made my choice. I kept telling myself that it had been the right one. That I had done it to protect my child from a father who had already rejected it before it was even born.

But knowing something was necessary did not make it hurt less.

I pushed open the door to the packhouse.

The familiar scent of cedarwood and burning firewood greeted me.

For years, that scent had meant home. That evening, it only made my chest tighten. I had barely stepped inside when I heard crying.

Not the quiet kind. It was soft, broken sobbing coming from the sitting room.

I stopped.

My eyes lifted. Cassandra was sitting on the couch. Alpha Logan was beside her. His arm was wrapped around her shoulders while she buried her face against his chest, trembling as he murmured something into her hair.

For several seconds, neither of them noticed me.

I stood there silently, watching my mate comfort the woman whose pup he had claimed as his own.

Alpha Logan finally looked up. His expression changed immediately. “Beatrice.”

Cassandra pulled away from him and wiped her tears.

Alpha Logan stood. “Where have you been?” His voice wasn’t relieved. It was angry.

I blinked at him. I had just spent hours recovering from an abortion he didn’t even know about, and the first thing he asked was where I had been.

“I needed some time to think.”

“You needed time to think?” His brows pulled together. “Beatrice, you disappeared the entire night.”

“I told you I needed time.”

“You should have told me where you were going.” His voice rose.

Something inside me flinched, but I forced myself to remain standing. “I didn’t think I needed permission.”

Alpha Logan stared at me. For a moment, neither of us spoke. Then his expression hardened.

“Something terrible happened last night.”

Something terrible? I wondered if he had any idea how many terrible things had happened to me since the Blood Moon.

“She needs you,” he said quietly.

Cassandra lowered her eyes. “The photo…”

Logan’s expression darkened. “Yes.”

He looked back at me. “A photo was leaked last night.”

My stomach sank. “What photo?”

He hesitated. Then he said, “A photo from the night you and Cassandra were taken.”

The room suddenly felt colder. “There was a photograph?”

“It was taken inside the lodge.”

I stared at him. My fingers curled against my palms. “What kind of photograph?”

Alpha Logan didn’t answer immediately. That hesitation told me enough.

“A compromising one,” he finally said.

I felt my face go numb.

He continued, “The woman’s face is blurred, but the pack believes it’s Cassandra.”

Cassandra began crying again. I looked at her. Then at Logan.

“And?”

He stepped toward me. “I need you to help fix this.”

Something in his wording made my chest tighten. “Fix what?”

“The rumors. You know what people are saying.”

I almost smiled. Of course I knew. The pack had already decided I had been impregnated by a rogue. Now apparently Cassandra had been accused of something worse.

Alpha Logan rubbed a hand over his face. “The picture looks bad, Beatrice.”

“Then let them think it’s Cassandra.”

His eyes widened. “Beatrice.”

“What?”

“She is already under enough pressure.”

“And I’m not?”

His expression faltered.

I took a shaky breath. “What exactly do you want me to do?”

He looked at me. “You need to tell everyone the woman in the photograph is you.”

For a moment, I genuinely thought I had misunderstood him. I stared at him. Then I laughed. It was a weak, breathless sound.

“You’re joking.”

“I’m not.”

“You want me to claim that picture?”

“Yes.”

My throat burned. The photograph. The woman in it looked rugged and disheveled. Her hair was messy, her skin covered in sweat, her clothes torn and disordered in a way that made the image look far more intimate than it probably was.

Anyone who saw it without context would assume the worst. It was the kind of photograph that could destroy a woman’s reputation overnight.

And Logan wanted me to claim it. Me. His mate.

The woman the pack already whispered about.

The woman they already believed had carried a rogue’s pup.

I stared at him in disbelief. “You want me to say that’s me?”

“I need you to. For Cassandra.”

I felt something crack inside my chest.

“You have got to be kidding me, Alpha.”

“Beatrice—”

“No.” I stepped backward. My legs felt weak, but anger kept me upright.

“Why would I do that?”

“Because Cassandra has no one else.”

I stared at him. “And I do?”

“You have me.”

I almost laughed again. “You?”

His face tightened. “Yes. Me. And your family. You have a good family background. You can withstand this.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “So that’s what my life is worth to you?”

“That isn’t what I said.”

“You said I can withstand it.”

“Because you’re strong.”

“No.” My voice trembled. “You say I’m strong whenever you want to hurt me.”

His expression changed. “Beatrice…”

I could barely breathe. “Whenever Cassandra needed something, I was strong enough to understand. When you missed our dates, I was strong enough to forgive you. When you abandoned me for her, I was strong enough to stay quiet. When the pack started whispering about my pregnancy, I was strong enough to endure it.”

My eyes burned. “And now you want me to destroy the last piece of dignity I have left because Cassandra is crying?”

“Are you kidding me, Alpha? Why would I do something that will trample on the last remaining dignity I have when everyone already thinks I got impregnated by a mere rogue?”

The room went completely silent. Even Cassandra stopped crying.

Alpha Logan stared at me. Perhaps it was the first time he had ever heard me raise my voice at him. For years, I had swallowed everything. I had convinced myself that love meant understanding. But there was a limit to how much a person could swallow before they choked on it.

Alpha Logan reached for me. “Beatrice, calm down.”

I immediately stepped away. “Don’t touch me.”

His hand froze in midair. “You’re exhausted.”

“I know.”

He lowered his voice. “Just let me explain.”

“You’ve explained enough.”

He tried to pull me into his arms anyway. I pushed against his chest. His expression became pained.

“I’m only trying to protect Cassandra. She doesn’t have anyone while you have me.”

I looked at him. For the first time, I realized how ridiculous those words sounded.

I had him. But did I really? What was the point of having a mate who would always choose someone else?

I wiped the tears from my cheek. “You know what, Alpha?”

His eyes searched mine.

“I finally understand… how little I mean to you.”

His face fell.

I turned away. I didn’t want to see the guilt. I didn’t want his apologies. I didn’t want another promise that he would change. Because somewhere between the northern lights, the abandoned dinner, the fever I suffered alone, and the pup I had just given up, something inside me had finally died.

And I wasn’t sure it could ever come back.

---

The pack assembly was held the following afternoon. The entire meeting hall was packed.

Elders occupied the raised seats at the front while warriors and pack members filled the rows below.

Whispers spread through the room like wildfire.

I sat quietly near the side, my body still weak beneath my clothes.

I hadn’t slept. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the photograph Logan wanted me to claim.

I wondered how many people had already seen it. How many had judged the woman in the picture. How many had looked at Cassandra and decided she was dirty. How many had looked at me and assumed I was lying about being untouched by the rogues.

The elders began arguing.

“This has damaged Silverpine’s reputation!”

“We cannot allow outsiders to believe our Luna was involved in something like this!”

“What will the neighboring territories think?”

“This entire incident has brought shame upon us!”

I listened without saying anything.

Then Elder Marcus slammed his hand against the table.

“The pregnancy and the photograph together are becoming a disaster.”

My fingers tightened. And somehow, I knew exactly who Logan would sacrifice. Cassandra sat beside him. She looked pale. Her fingers were trembling.

One of the elders finally said her name.

“Cassandra’s involvement has to be addressed.”

Cassandra gasped. “I didn’t—”

The room erupted. Alpha Logan suddenly stood. His Alpha aura exploded through the hall.

Everyone fell silent. The pressure of it pushed against my skin. Even the elders stopped speaking.

Alpha Logan’s eyes swept across the room. “Cassandra was not the woman in the photograph.”

My heart stopped. Then slowly, heads began turning. Toward me. One by one. Dozens of eyes landed on my face.

My stomach dropped.

Alpha Logan didn’t say my name. He didn’t need to. His words had already done it.

I looked at him from across the hall. The man I had once loved more than anything in this world. The man who had promised to choose me for a hundred lifetimes.

He had just claimed another woman’s child. And now he was making me look like the woman in a scandalous photograph.

All at once, everything became clear.

The rumors. The pregnancy. The photograph. Cassandra. The rogue. My reputation. My dignity.

He had taken everything from me without ever needing to raise a hand.

And the worst part? He still looked at me as if he expected me to understand. As if I was still supposed to be strong. As if I was still supposed to step aside.

I felt something inside me go completely still. For the first time since I met Alpha Logan, I didn’t want him to choose me. I didn’t want his love. I simply wanted to be free of him.

I looked up at Logan one final time.

His eyes met mine. For a brief second, something flickered in them. Regret. Maybe guilt. Maybe fear.

I didn’t care anymore.