Micah’s POV
“He is still your son,” Alpha Renan said, eyes on me. “Do what I told you. After everything you have done to my child, it is enough.”
His son. Not ours. The words cut deeper than any blade. I could not breathe, but I forced a smile. Tears would not fix anything. Begging would not change what they already believed. Even if I died, it would not be enough.
Had they ever listened to my side? No. No matter how I tried to explain, it never mattered. I was the one to blame for Noah’s death in their eyes.
They left to fetch Maurice while I scrubbed the pack floor. No one helped. No one had sympathy. Everyone hated me.
“Why does the Alpha keep that terrible wife?” someone whispered.
“She should be banished.”
“What a shame to have her as Luna.”
Their words fell over me like spit. I had once been someone they dared not disrespect. I had given up everything for love. I had chosen my mate and left the life I belonged to because I believed in him.
I thought choosing Renan would give me the life I dreamed of—love, care, protection. Instead, it tore me to pieces. Tears slid down my face and fell into the water at my feet. How many times would I cry before their accusations stopped?
My own blood and flesh hated me.
If only they had listened. Then Noah’s death would not weigh so heavy inside me. I would not have to carry a sin I never committed.
How long could I endure pain I did not deserve?
Soon, I promised myself, I would leave this hell.
After work I went to the kitchen to prepare Maurice’s meal. I had not eaten properly in days. At Moonreer, I had never been shown mercy. Renan’s parents kept me hungry, whipped me when I slacked, and forced me to work until I had no strength left. Martin and Louisa Monreer made my life a living torment. They wanted me locked away, but they would not sully their image, so they punished me in other ways.
I had thought Renan would believe me that night, when I tried to save Noah. I did everything I could, but I was too late. I beat myself with the thought that if only I had reached him sooner, none of this would have happened.
I gripped the knife tight as I cut meat, the handle pressing into my palm.
“How are you, Micah?” Maurice’s silver voice slid behind me. “You look so thin. I thought you might die.”
To everyone else she was a lamb, but to me she was a predator. She enjoyed my ruin.
“You are like a poison that dies slow,” she said and stopped beside me. “I feel sorry for you, Micah. You used to be loved, but you did this to your own blood. How could a mother do that to her son?”
I kept working and pretended not to hear. What fight could I start? If I called her out, she would cry to Renan and he would strike me again. How many times had he slapped me? How many times had he choked me? How many times did he press my head into a wall?
I had hoped he would listen, that his love would clear the misunderstanding. But I was finished hoping.
I was done looking pathetic. I was done being punished for a crime I did not commit. I was done with them.
She rubbed her belly and smiled. “I am carrying Renan’s pups. He is going to marry me soon.”
The words stung like salt in a raw wound. How could Renan so easily replace me and forget his promises?
I remembered his whisper in my ear as we danced one night, how he had promised, “I will love you, cherish you, believe you, and protect you.” He had placed a ruby necklace on my throat as a vow.
Years passed, and his anger never faded. He never came to ask what really happened. The promise turned to ash.
“Are you jealous, Micah?” Maurice asked, the smile sharp. “Is someone you love loving me instead of you? Replaced?”
I kept my face steady. She grabbed my hair hard enough to make my scalp burn. I did not give her the satisfaction of a scream. I only waited.
Renan approached and she let go as if I had pushed her. She dropped to the floor and put on a show.
“How could you? You tried to harm me and my pups,” she cried, acting wounded.
“Micah! What are you doing?” Renan’s voice echoed, angry and loud.
I stood and faced Maurice, feeling nothing. Renan came to her like I had never existed.
“You have gone too far, Micah. You would kill my children too,” he spat, his hand grabbing my neck.
I looked at him without anything left to give. I saw the shock in his eyes, the same eyes that had once held softly at me.
