Elira’s POV
My head felt like it had been split open from the inside.
When I finally came to, the first thing I noticed was the empty liquor bottle sitting on the bedside table. I let out a low groan and pressed my palm against my forehead. My mouth was stale and bitter, my body heavy like it didn’t belong to me. I never drank. Not at banquets, not even during celebrations. But last night… last night I needed something—anything—to drown out the weight of Alpha Adrian’s words echoing in my mind.
I squeezed my eyes shut, but even breathing hurt. A faint whimper slipped out before I could stop it.
My eyes snapped open.
“Ezra?” I murmured, pushing myself upright.
He was there—curled beside me, his small body trembling in his sleep. His face was scrunched up, lips quivering like he was trapped in something terrifying. Tear tracks clung to his lashes.
My chest tightened. “Baby…”
I reached for him—and froze.
His skin was scorching.
Not warm. Not feverish.
Burning.
“Ezra!” I gasped, panic slicing through me.
His fingers twitched weakly, his head shaking slightly as he cried without waking up. The sight shattered something inside me.
No. This wasn’t right. He had fallen sick before, but never like this. Never this hot.
I pulled him into my arms, my hands shaking uncontrollably. “It’s okay, sweetheart. Mommy’s here. I’ll get you medicine, just hold on…”
But his body went limp against me.
A scream clawed up my throat, but I swallowed it down.
I laid him gently on the bed, wrapped him tightly in a blanket, and ran.
My legs nearly gave out on the stairs, still heavy from last night, but I forced myself forward. The clinic wasn’t far—just a few buildings away. That was all I needed.
Get medicine. Get help. Nothing else mattered.
And then she stepped in front of me.
Mira.
That same soft smile. That same gentle face. The one I used to mistake for kindness.
“Move,” I snapped, trying to shove past her. “My son is sick. I need the clinic.”
She shifted slightly, blocking me again like it was nothing. “Sick?” she repeated lightly, glancing at her maids.
“Please,” I said, already losing patience. “I don’t have time for this.”
Instead of stepping aside, her lips curled. She pulled out her phone and typed something, then turned the screen toward me.
[Jump into the pond first.]
I froze.
“…What?”
She tilted her head as if I was slow. [Did you read it?]
A shaky laugh escaped me. “Are you serious right now? My child is burning up.”
She didn’t react. Just typed again.
[Jump.]
My throat went dry.
Behind her, two guards stepped forward, silently blocking the clinic doors.
“Mira…” My voice cracked. “Please. He needs help. Just let me pass.”
She only shrugged, like I was asking for something trivial. [Then jump.]
Something inside me twisted violently.
I wanted to scream. To drag her down. To make her understand what it felt like to be powerless.
But Ezra…
Ezra came first.
My jaw clenched so hard it hurt. “Fine.”
Her smile widened, satisfied.
I turned away and walked toward the small pond near the clinic. Snow dusted the stone path, and the winter air cut through my wet clothes from earlier. The water beneath the bridge looked dark, frozen at the edges.
Behind me, I could hear her laugh.
I stepped onto the bridge. My fingers curled around the railing for a second—just one second—before I let go.
Then I jumped.
The cold hit like a weapon.
It stole the air from my lungs, dragged me under in an instant. My body went rigid, every nerve screaming as icy water swallowed me whole. I kicked hard, gasping, teeth clattering violently as I forced myself back up.
When I crawled out, I was shaking so badly I could barely stand.
Water dripped from my hair, my clothes clinging to me like ice. My entire body trembled uncontrollably.
Behind me, Mira laughed.
The maids with her snickered too.
“There she goes again,” one whispered. “So pathetic.”
“Honestly, no wonder Alpha Adrian doesn’t care about her.”
I didn’t respond.
I just walked past them.
Soaked. Freezing. Silent.
I grabbed the medicine with trembling hands, ran back through the wind, and didn’t stop until I reached my son.
When I held him again, he stirred weakly, pressing his face into my chest.
“Mommy…”
That one word broke me.
“I’m here,” I whispered, holding him tighter. “I’m right here.”
I gave him the medicine, wiped his fevered skin, and wrapped him in layers of blankets. His breathing slowly steadied—but mine didn’t.
Something was wrong with this place. Deeply wrong.
And I finally felt it in my bones.
We needed to leave.
By evening, I changed out of my wet clothes, though my body was still freezing and my head spun with nausea. I didn’t rest. I couldn’t.
A knock came at the door.
“Luna Elira, Alpha Adrian requests your presence for dinner.”
I kissed Ezra’s forehead before leaving.
The dining hall was warm when I entered, filled with the smell of roasted meat—but all I felt was disgust.
Mira was already there.
Of course she was.
Seated right beside Adrian like she belonged there more than I did. She poured soup into his bowl, smiled softly, adjusted his sleeve like she had every right.
And he let her.
Like I wasn’t even part of the room.
I sat in my usual seat—far away, forgotten. They always assumed I couldn’t hear anyway.
Tonight… I heard everything.
“So,” Mira said casually, swirling her wine, “how are you going to explain to the elders that your marriage to her was never real?”
My fingers tightened around my spoon.
Adrian leaned back, calm as ever. “I’m the Alpha. I don’t answer to anyone. And that arrangement with her? Just repayment. I allowed her to stay as Luna for years—that should be enough.”
My stomach dropped.
Fake?
My marriage… fake?
Suddenly everything made sense. The missing ceremony. The incomplete bond. The absence of elders.
I thought it was because I was deaf.
I thought it was care.
It was neither.
It was a lie I had been living in.
My grip tightened on the table just to stay upright.
I forced myself to finish dinner in silence, the food tasting like nothing at all. Every laugh between them felt distant—like it was coming from another world.
When it finally ended, I rushed back to my room.
But the moment I opened the door—
Empty.
My heart stopped.
“Ezra?!” I ran inside, checking everywhere. “Baby?! Where are you?!”
Nothing.
Panic swallowed me whole. I ran down the hall, grabbing the nearest maid.
“Where is my son?!”
She shook her head in fear.
Then I saw her.
Mira, standing at the end of the hallway like she had been waiting.
She walked toward me slowly, calm as ever, holding a notepad. Then she flipped it around.
[Your child was very ill. I sent him to the hospital.]
My blood ran cold.
“…What?” My voice broke.
She turned the page again.
[You weren’t available. Someone had to decide.]
I didn’t trust her. Not a single part of me did.
But Ezra was sick.
And if there was even the smallest chance she was telling the truth, I had to go.
I turned and ran.
Out of the pack house. Into the freezing night.
Past guards who didn’t stop me.
My lungs burned. My vision blurred.
“Please,” I whispered, tears spilling now. “Please be okay… please be there…”
Because if anything happened to him—
I would destroy everything in my path without hesitation.
