At Lyra’s order, several female attendants immediately rushed forward and seized my arms.
Ignoring my struggles and cries,they dragged me across the stone path all the way to the punishment grounds.
Behind me,two long trails of blood smeared across the floor —my torn feet scraping against the cold stone step after step.
When we reached the punishment yard,they threw me to the ground like animal waste.
This place was where disgraced wolves were forced to labor.Those stripped of status and honor.
As soon as Lyra brought me there,everyone noticed.
Especially the way I looked —half-clothed, bloodied, trembling.
The work stopped.Dozens of eyes locked onto me.Predatory.Excited.Like a pack of starving wolves staring at wounded prey.
Shame and fury burned through me.
I curled my body inward,doing whatever I could to cover myself and shield my stomach.
Lyra looked down on me with contempt.
“Don’t act all pure now,” she sneered.“If you had the nerve to lie with a guard,don’t pretend you still have dignity.”
“You don’t mind being filthy, do you?Then today, I’ll make you even more so.”
She turned calmly to the outcasts in the yard.
“This filth has committed an unforgivable crime,” she announced.“I grant you the right to punish her.”
“And whoever satisfies me most…I will consider reducing your sentence and granting you release.”
It was an offer none of them could easily refuse.
The moment she finished speaking,objects clattered to the ground.
Buckets. Tools. Chains.
They came closer.And closer.
Terror flooded my chest.
“You can’t,” I cried hoarsely.“I am the Luna!”
No one recognized me because I had lived hidden in the inner den for too long.
My words made them hesitate.
For half a second.
Lyra’s voice cut through sharply.
“She’s delirious.Ignore her.”
“Continue.”
And they did.
Their hands reached out —not with mercy,not with hesitation —only cruelty.
I felt myself shrinking inward,my mind screaming to escape my body,but I could not move.
Some of the women who worked there —desperate to trade cruelty for freedom —took up whips.
The lash cracked through the air.Once.Again.And again.
The blows tore across my exposed back like fire.
Every strike drove the air from my lungs.
Every touch made my skin crawl.
Pain folded me completely.
My cries drowned in the chaos.
Welts bloomed across my body.
Blood.Tears.Mud.
A nightmare I could not wake from.
One of Lyra’s followers hesitated, whispering:
“Lyra… no matter what she’s done… she’s still one of the Alpha’s mates…Is this really appropriate?”
Lyra didn’t even glance at her.
“What’s inappropriate?” she said lazily.“The Alpha dotes on me.”
“I’m just punishing a mutt he barely remembers.”
“And my brother said it himself —as long as I don’t commit direct treason,no one in this pack can touch me.”
Hearing her confidence,the others relaxed.
Laughter spread again.
Under their relentless torment…a sudden, tearing pain exploded through my abdomen.
I froze.
My breath stuttered.
Something hot and heavy
flowed between my legs.
I looked down.
Blood.
So much blood.
Panic swallowed me whole.
“No… no…” I whispered.
I lifted my head, eyes blazing with desperation.
“Get the healer!” I screamed.“My pup… he’s dying!”
At the word pup,Lyra finally flicked her hand.
The crowd parted,she walked toward me slowly,amused,like approaching a dying animal.
Her gaze dropped to the blood pooling beneath me.
“Want me to save him?” she asked lazily.
“Then kneel.”
The world blurred.
I bit my lip so hard I tasted iron.
Then I forced my broken body forward and fell to my knees.
Over and over,I lowered my head.
Each time,my vision dimmed.
Each time,pain exploded through my spine.
I no longer cared about pride，or dignity.
I only saw his face in my mind.
The Alpha.
The night he pressed his forehead to my stomach and whispered:
“This little one… saved me too.”
“You’re not just my Luna.”
“You’re my future.”
And this child…was our future.My life.My entire world.
“I’ll do anything,” I choked.
“I’ll give you anything… just save him…”
My forehead struck stone.
Blood dripped down my face.
Again.And again.
Only then did Lyra burst into delighted laughter.
“So you really care about this bastard,” she said gleefully.
“Good.Then I’ll let him meet you.Face to face.”
She turned,picked up a heavy silver blade from a table nearby.
My body went cold.
She walked back toward me slowly.Like death itself.
“Don’t…” I whispered, shaking.“Please…”
Before I could finish,she kicked me flat onto my back.
The cold stone slammed my spine.
Then—Agony.
White-hot.
Something tore through me.
My vision shattered.
In the haze,I saw her leaning over me…
I saw her hands…And then…
She lifted something small.
Something red.Something still.
“Oh?” she laughed.“It’s a boy.”
Silence crushed me.
Then her voice again, thick with mockery:
“Too bad,he’s already dead.”
My screams never came out,my lungs refused.
The world tilted away.
Around us, cheers erupted.
“Good riddance to a mongrel!”
“Just looking at him, you can tell his father was filth!”
“Lady Lyra truly purged the pack!”
Applause,praise,fawning voices.Like a celebration built on my corpse.
Lyra examined my dead child with satisfaction,like admiring a trophy.
Her smile was slow… twisted… pleased.
“Don’t worry,” she murmured, glancing down at me.
“I’ll find his filthy father too.And I’ll send him to join you soon.”
Then—
A sharp voice thundered from the entrance:
“THE ALPHA HAS RETURNED!”
