The slap came out of nowhere, so hard my skull rang like a struck bell.
"A human-born with no wolf blood whatsoever. How did you even get into Shadowfang territory?"
"She must have spread her legs for some low-ranking patrol wolf. That would explain the pregnancy."
"Human-born really are pathetic. She thinks that just because she bears a passing resemblance to our Lady Seraphina, she can hide here and seduce the Supreme Alpha?"
It wasn't until I heard their venom that I realized who had barged in and struck me. The woman standing before me was none other than Seraphina Crystalis, the one the Silvercrest Alpha had offered to end the war between the packs all those years ago.
For hundreds of thousands of years, the Supreme Alpha could have had his pick of countless beauties. Instead, he spent every day at my side.
He had never spared a second glance at any woman other than me.
That was why, when he agreed to halt the great war on account of Seraphina, a thread of doubt had wound through my heart.
Now, seeing her in person for the first time, I understood. She bore a resemblance to me.
That was what had stirred his mercy.
At this moment, Seraphina's face was twisted with fury, her blazing gaze threatening to consume me whole. The scent of white jasmine and fresh snow rolled off her in waves, but beneath it was something sharp and chemical, something that made the small wolf inside me flatten itself low and still.
"You wretched human-born. You knew the Supreme Alpha was hopelessly in love with me, so you thought you could use that face of yours to lure him in? A face that only barely resembles mine?"
Her arrogance was suffocating, but since she clearly had no idea who I was, I chose not to hold the slap against her.
Instead, I offered a warning out of kindness.
"The Abyssal Den is not a place any of you should be. The Supreme Alpha is away. Leave now, while you still can. If you stay, no one will be able to help you."
But Seraphina showed no gratitude. She seized my throat and snarled through clenched teeth, her canines just slightly too long, her grip carrying a pureblood's crushing strength:
"The Supreme Alpha adores me beyond measure. There is nowhere in the entire Shadowfang territory I cannot set foot. You, on the other hand, you wretched human-born, putting on airs and trying to shoo me away. You're just afraid I'll expose your little scheme and ruin your chances of seducing him, aren't you?"
"Today I'll show you exactly what happens to vermin who try to steal the Supreme Alpha's affections."
With a flick of her pale wrist, a blast of Silvercrest bloodline power swept toward me like a gale.
The force was immense, howling through the chamber. The guardian wolves chained along the corridor threw themselves against their bonds, snarling, but they could not reach us.
My body was hurled into the air and slammed back down against the stone floor.
I curled around my belly, shielding it with both arms, and looked up at Seraphina through the pain. My voice came out cold and steady.
"Do you really think the Supreme Alpha won't find out what you've done here?"
Seraphina scoffed, utterly unbothered. She didn't even bother lowering her gaze, as if submission were a concept that had never once applied to her.
"I am the Supreme Alpha's one true love, the woman he fell for at first sight. A single glance from me was enough to make him end the great war."
"Everyone across the Six Great Packs knows how deeply he loves me."
"All I'm doing is disciplining a pathetic human-born. Even if he finds out, so what? You think he'd blame me over some insignificant nobody like you?"
The Silvercrest she-wolves in her entourage sneered in agreement.
"Exactly. Everyone across the Six Great Packs and the outer territories knows the Supreme Alpha fell for Lady Seraphina at first sight. What are you? You're not even fit to be compared to her."
"The Supreme Alpha stands above all living things. Of course there are shameless little strays like this human-born crawling around, dreaming of climbing into his bed. My lady, we should make an example of her today. Put her down like the runt she is, and crush those delusions once and for all."
"That's right. Let every shameless wretch out there know that the Supreme Alpha's mate is not a title just anyone can claim."
Every one of them spoke with razor-edged malice, their eyes burning with a hatred so sharp it seemed they wanted to tear me apart where I lay. I could smell it on them, sour and metallic beneath their perfumed scents. The hunger for violence.
I kept my expression grave. "You should go ask the Supreme Alpha himself who I am."
Seraphina lifted her chin, contempt dripping from every pore.
"You, a common human-born who snuck into the Abyssal Den, think you're worthy of me inquiring about your identity?"
"I am the one closest to the Supreme Alpha's heart. I am the Silvercrest Alpha's most treasured daughter. What are you? You think your status could ever compare to mine?"
She let her gaze drift across the darkened hall, and her voice turned soft, almost idle.
"This Abyssal Den is far too gloomy. It could use a splash of red."
The Silvercrest she-wolves understood instantly. One by one, they shifted their hands into half-claws, long and gleaming, tipped with the faint silver sheen of their bloodline power.
And they lashed into me without mercy.
I was human-born flesh and bone. I had no way to withstand an assault from this many pureblood wolves at once.
I was beaten to the ground, curled into myself, my skin split open in ribbons of blood. The scent of my own blood filled the chamber, night-blooming moonflower and warm amber drowned beneath the copper tide of it.
Through the blinding agony, I locked both hands over my belly and screamed with everything I had left:
"Stop! I am the Luna Queen!"
