Chapter 1

Seraphina’s Pov

On the day I was supposed to give birth, I was kidnapped on my way to the pack healer.

At first, I thought a rival pack had taken me to strike at my mate, Alpha Alex Valcrest, and weaken his pack through me.

Instead, they tore my pup from my womb.

My screams echoed through the stone chamber as they held me down, forcing me to watch while they smothered my newborn son with a pillow. By the time they placed his tiny, lifeless body in my arms, the last shred of my sanity had nearly slipped away.

Then Alex arrived with his warriors.

The room erupted into chaos as blades clashed and wolves howled. Every masked attacker fell before they carried me to the pack's healing hall.

The whole way there, Alex held me close, whispering that I would survive, that the Moon Goddess would bless us with another pup.

I clung to those words for his sake, even as darkness claimed me and the blood kept pouring from my body.

I don't know how long I remained unconscious, but when I finally stirred, the voices outside my room reached my ears, and in that moment, I wished I had never opened my eyes.

"...What you did was madness, Alex," Damon said. "Kidnapping your own mate and killing your newborn heir... even I never thought you'd go that far."

My heart stopped.

Surely this was nothing more than a nightmare brought on by the healer's herbs.

But Damon kept talking, and I realized I was fully awake. They stood with their backs to me, never noticing my eyes had opened.

"When you charged in with the warriors, I almost thought you'd changed your mind."

Every drop of blood drained from my face.

"I was never going to hurt you, Damon," Alex replied without emotion. "Seraphina needed to believe I saved her with her own eyes. Besides, I promised Cassey that no one would ever take our son's place as my heir. Seraphina's pup couldn't be allowed to live."

My chest tightened until I could barely breathe.

Alex had betrayed me.

He had murdered our son for Cassey—the woman who had rejected their mate bond three years ago.

Then Damon spoke again, each word driving the knife deeper.

"But after you used the newborn's moon-blessed blood to save Cassey's son, you could have let Seraphina's pup live. Why did you order the healer to make her barren as well?"

My trembling hand flew to my stomach.

So that was why the pain refused to ease.

"Cassey's son carries my blood, and he was dying," Alex answered coldly. "Without the moon-blessed blood from Seraphina's pup, he wouldn't have survived. And I have no need for Seraphina to bear more children when I already have Cassey."

The air caught in my throat.

I wanted to burst through the door, demand he repeat those words to my face, but my body refused to move.

I could only lie there, frozen, while the mate who once called me his moon now sounded like a stranger.

"I still think you've gone too far," Damon muttered. "You killed your own pup with your own hands and forced her to watch. What if she ever learns the truth?"

"She won't," Alex snapped. "You knew the plan from the beginning. Everything had to look real. Cassey is my true mate. She only fled because she discovered she was carrying my pup and panicked. And even if Seraphina somehow finds out, what can she do? She's an orphan. She has no family, no pack... no one except me."

"Lower your voice before you wake her."

"The healer gave her enough sleeping herbs to keep her unconscious until moonrise."

I slowly opened my eyes as they turned and walked away.

"I should check on Cassey and my son," Alex said before disappearing down the corridor.

The moment they were gone, I forced myself upright.

Pain tore through my body, but it was nothing compared to the agony inside my chest.

I broke down, clutching my empty stomach as the image of my son's final breath replayed over and over in my mind.

How could Alex do this to me?

I had loved him with everything I had. I had stood beside him when he lost everything, when Cassey rejected him and left him broken enough to throw himself from Moonstone Cliff. I was the one who saved him.

Yet he repaid me by making me carry our pup to full term, only to murder him and steal my chance of ever becoming a mother again.

Alex was right about one thing.

I was an orphan.

But I was not powerless.

Gathering what little strength remained, I reached beneath my pillow for the moonstone I had hidden there and poured a thread of my wolf's energy into it.

The mindlink connected almost instantly.

"Little moon," came the familiar voice, smooth and warm. "To what do I owe the honor after all this time?"

"I'll accept your mating proposal," I whispered, my fingers tightening around the moonstone. "But only if you help me."

A quiet chuckle echoed through the link.

"Have you finally come to your senses? Name your wish."

I closed my eyes, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me.

"Help me destroy Alex Valcrest and his entire bloodline... and when it's done, I'll become your mate."

"My little moon," he murmured with unmistakable satisfaction, "that has always been my favorite hunt. When shall I come for you?"

"Seven days," I replied. "I have a few loose ends to tie up."

As the mindlink faded, so did the last piece of the woman who had loved Alex Valcrest.

In seven days, I would leave his pack forever.

And by the time I was gone, I would make sure every person who had taken my son from me paid for it a hundredfold.