Chapter 2

Seraphina’s Pov

Alex never returned to the healing hall that night, and neither did my tears cease.

I lay awake on the narrow bed, tossing restlessly as the agony from the healer's knife battled the emptiness inside me. My body ached from losing my pup, but nothing compared to the torment of knowing my womb had been stolen along with him.

For a fleeting moment, I wished the Moon Goddess had taken me instead.

But if I died now, my son's death would go unavenged.

No.

I would live.

I would endure every ounce of this pain until the day every one of them paid for what they had done.

By dawn, my tears had long since dried, leaving only a cold emptiness behind. I stared blankly at the stone ceiling while the pack healer entered to examine me.

"How are you feeling, Luna?" he asked gently as he checked the flow of healing energy through my body.

"When may I leave?" I asked, my voice flat.

He looked at me with surprise before nodding.

"You've recovered better than expected. You may return to the Alpha's manor today, though you must continue drinking the herbs I prescribe."

I simply inclined my head.

As soon as he left, I sought out one of the patrol warriors standing outside the chamber.

"I need a favor," I told him quietly, slipping the last silver coins I possessed into his palm. "Ride to the Silver Moon Pack and deliver a message to Elder Rowan. Tell him I wish to dissolve my mate bond with Alpha Alex Valcrest, and ask him to prepare every document required by pack law."

The warrior hesitated only briefly before bowing.

"As you command, Luna."

Three days.

That was how long the elders required to complete a formal separation between mated wolves.

Not long now.

A short while later, the healer returned.

"Alpha Alex has ordered one of the warriors to escort you back to the Alpha Manor," he said with a smile. "He has been preparing your favorite meal himself."

I nearly laughed.

Instead, I smiled politely.

"Thank you."

If only the healer knew the Alpha he praised had ordered him to take away my chance of ever bearing another pup.

But I understood why he had obeyed.

No healer would dare defy an Alpha.

The journey back to the Alpha Manor was silent.

As soon as I stepped inside, I froze.

Cassey sat gracefully beside the hearth, wrapped in an expensive crimson gown, one hand resting protectively over the gentle swell of her stomach while my mother-in-law fussed over her as though she were already the Luna of the pack.

The sight pierced deeper than any blade.

She was carrying Alex's pup.

And now she sat openly inside my home.

Cassey noticed me first and immediately lowered her eyes with practiced innocence.

"Luna Seraphina," she said softly. "Thank you for allowing me to stay, but I truly couldn't impose. I would hate to make Alpha Alex's mate uncomfortable."

My mother-in-law scoffed.

"That orphan?" she sneered. "She has no place complaining about anything. I don't know why my son hasn't cast that barren she-wolf out already."

Once, those words would have shattered me.

Today...

They barely stirred anything at all.

Without acknowledging either of them, I turned toward the staircase.

I had only climbed a few steps before a sharp pain jerked my head backward.

My mother-in-law had fisted her hand into my hair.

"You ungrateful girl!" she hissed before striking my face with enough force to split my lip.

The taste of blood spread across my tongue.

"What do you want?" I asked, meeting her glare without flinching.

"You return home without greeting your elders?" she snapped. "Have you become so shameless? No wonder the Moon Goddess let you watch your own pup die."

Tears burned behind my eyes.

I swallowed them back.

"Perhaps you should ask your son," I replied coldly. "He knows exactly what happened."

"You—"

She raised her hand again.

"Enough, Mother."

Alex's voice echoed through the hall.

He emerged from the kitchens carrying a wooden serving bowl, his expression filled with carefully crafted concern.

"Leave my mate alone."

He crossed the room and reached for me.

"Seraphina... how are you feeling?"

He leaned in, intending to kiss my forehead.

I stepped back before he could touch me.

His hand froze in midair.

Once, I would have melted beneath that touch.

Now it made my skin crawl.

My mother-in-law had never accepted me.

To her, I was nothing more than an orphan with neither family nor rank, a she-wolf unworthy of standing beside her son. She had often claimed my only value lay in giving the Alpha strong heirs.

Now, thanks to Alex, even that had been stolen from me.

"Seraphina," Alex said patiently, "apologize to Mother and Cassey. Why didn't you greet them when you came home?"

I let out a quiet laugh.

"I've done nothing that requires an apology. Why are they here?"

His mother gasped in outrage.

"Is this how your mate speaks to you?"

Cassey hurriedly rose to her feet.

"I should leave," she whispered tearfully. "I don't wish to cause trouble between the two of you."

Before anyone could answer, a tiny voice drifted from the dining room.

"Father... why is that bad lady shouting?"

My breath caught.

A little boy stepped into view.

He had Alex's black hair.

Alex's silver eyes.

Even the stubborn set of his jaw belonged to the Alpha.

He couldn't have been older than two.

Exactly the length of my marriage.

I slowly turned toward Alex.

"What is the meaning of this?"

He didn't hesitate.

"My younger brother is dead," he answered smoothly. "Cassey is his widow, and Elias is his son. She is carrying another pup and cannot remain alone, so they will stay here."

The lie came so naturally that it might have fooled anyone else.

"Then why does he call you Father?"

Alex shrugged.

"He insists on it. Correcting him would only upset him."

I stared at him.

He had become frighteningly skilled at lying.

Just then, he placed a steaming wooden bowl before me.

"I prepared your favorite."

A bitter smile touched my lips.

Two years as his mate...

...and he still didn't know I couldn't even bear the scent of river shellfish.

The aroma reached me, and my stomach twisted violently.

I doubled over, retching onto the stone floor.

Cassey immediately covered her mouth.

"Oh... Luna Seraphina, if my presence upsets you so much, you only had to say so. Why would you insult my son and me like this?"

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

"You were standing halfway across the hall," I said coldly. "How exactly did this involve you?"

Before I could straighten, Alex seized my arm so roughly that pain shot through my shoulder.

With one powerful shove, he forced me onto my knees.

"Apologize," he said, his voice colder than winter frost. "Apologize to Cassey and Elias this instant... or I'll make you lick your own vomit from the floor."