The moment the words left my mouth,the she-wolves who had been beating me froze.
Lyra narrowed her eyes, studying me slowly.
“Did you just say…You’re the Luna?”
I lifted my chin, forcing steadiness through the shaking in my breath.
“Yes.
The pup I carry is the Alpha’s heir.If you’ve harmed him even the slightest —you wouldn’t have enough lives to pay for it.”
For a heartbeat, I thought they would finally back off.But instead…it was as if they had just heard the most ridiculous joke of their lives.
Laughter exploded around me.
“Oh, I’m terrified,” one of them sneered.
“This mutt’s been locked in the inner den so long her brain must have rotted.”
“Or maybe she went crazy wanting to be Luna.No wonder she got thrown in here.”
Lyra looked down at me, her gaze suddenly turning vicious.
“So that’s it?” she scoffed.
“I thought you had real backbone to dare challenge me.”
“Turns out you’re just a delusional idiot who doesn’t know her place.”
“The Luna?” she let out a cold laugh.
“Do you really think the Alpha would hide his Luna in some forgotten den like this?”
“With only one servant?No guard. No ceremony. No court. No witness.”
She leaned closer.“If you’re trying to scare us,at least make up something believable.”
She gestured toward my stomach.
“A mutt who slept with a patrol guard daring to call her bastard whelp the Alpha’s heir?”
“Do you have any idea how suicidal that sounds?”
Then she turned sharply to the others.
“Strip her.I want to see for myself just how filthy a she-wolf looks after spreading for a guard.”
Grins spread across their faces.Hands reached for me.
I had always chosen seclusion in the inner den myself —to escape politics,to avoid rivalry,to protect this life inside me.
This quiet was meant to be safety.Willow was the only one I kept.
She had followed me since I was a girl.I thought it was enough.
I thought his promise was enough.
Stay here.No one will touch you.I swear it on my blood.
That was what he whispered every time his hand rested on my stomach.
As if the world itself would break if this child did.
But now…That decision,that trust,had become their excuse to doubt my very existence.
When their hands tore at my clothes,panic surged through me.
“Stop!” I cried, my voice breaking.
“I am the Luna! If you don’t believe me,go ask the Alpha yourselves!”
They didn’t even slow.Claws ripped fabric.Hands struck my face.
“You’re still lying?” one of them snarled.
“You really won’t shut your mouth until you see a grave!”
My cheek throbbed.
Warm blood slid down my chin.
My hair fell loose, tangled across my shoulders.
My body was half exposed.Pain.Humiliation.
Cold air against my skin.
Lyra clicked her tongue, amused.
“That hair is annoying,” she said.“Get rid of it.”
A servant stepped forward with shears.
I didn’t even resist.
Because I no longer cared about my hair.Or my pride.
I only curled tighter around my stomach,my arms wrapping instinctively over the life inside.
The life he had smiled at.
The life he had dreamed aloud about —how he’d train him to hunt,how he’d carry him on his shoulders,how he’d tell the pack this child would be stronger than any Alpha before him.
A few seconds later,I felt the weight disappear from my head.
Strands of my hair fell scattered on the stone.
The only thing I had used to cover my torn body was gone.
Lyra burst out laughing.
“Good!” she clapped lightly.“That looks much better.”
“A shameless bitch like you deserves to be seen exactly as she is.”
The others followed her, laughing, applauding,like wolves watching a slow kill.
I stared at them, trembling,every breath sharp and burning.
“You will regret this,” I said hoarsely.
Every one of their faces.Every sneer.Every laugh.
They burned into me.
And I swore,even if it cost my life —they would pay.
Lyra stepped closer.Slowly.Deliberately.
She placed her boot against my cheek and pressed down hard.
Stone bit into my skin.My vision swam.
“In this territory,” she whispered,“no one makes me regret anything.”
“But I can make you regret ever being born.”
She lifted her foot.Then turned.
“Take her,” she snapped.“Drag her to the punishment grounds.”
