He Stole Our Pup’s Fate, So I Claimed His Alpha Crown

Selenes POV

On the night of our sixth mating anniversary,I walked into Alpha Lucians den with two gifts hidden beneath my cloak.

One—a small black box bound in moon-silk—held the forged crest of a Shadowfang bloodline stallion,the fastest beast in all Northern packs.Lucian had been obsessed with claiming one,and I had traded half my dowry lands to obtain it.

The other gift was more fragile—a small crystal vial containing two glowing pink strands.Proof that the Moon Goddess had blessed me again.I was carrying his pup.

My heart raced with joy as I pushed open the oak doors.The fire was burning low,and the scent of jasmine and musk filled the air.

I almost wished I hadn’t entered.

He wasn’t alone.

Maris—the she-wolf who had once sworn sisterhood to me beneath the moon—was perched on Lucians war-table like she owned the pack.Her tunic hung open,her lips swollen,her claws tracing slow circles across his bare chest.He stood between her thighs,growling softly,a predator drunk on lust.

My breath hitched.

My best friend.

My mate.

The gifts trembled in my hands as I froze in the doorway.I wanted to snarl,to let my wolf burst free and tear them apart—but my body refused to obey.The betrayal hit deeper than any blade.

Then,his comm-crystal flared with a sharp light.

He pulled away from Maris,irritation flashing in his golden eyes.“What do you want now?”His tone was cold,dangerous.“I paid you to keep quiet.Don’t test me.”

Maris giggled,trailing her fingers along his arm.

“I already gave you a chest of moonstones for the ritual,”Lucian hissed into the crystal.“Do you know how much I spent to make this disappear?”

Ritual?My ears rang.

The mage’s muffled voice echoed faintly from the other end,but Lucians next words sliced through me like claws.

“I already gave you the payment so that the heart essence would go to Maris,not Jasmine.Jasmine’s gone now—don’t threaten me again.”

The ground vanished beneath my feet.

Our daughter’s heart…her spirit core…had been given to Maris?

I staggered backward,struggling to breathe as the world spun.Lucians voice lowered,deadly calm.

“If this leaks,you’ll wish the Moon had never birthed you.”

He ended the call,tossing the crystal aside.Maris smiled,her wolf eyes glowing faintly silver.

“You still can’t believe you did all that for me,”she whispered,loud enough for me to hear.“You really gave me her heart essence.”

Lucians expression softened.He kissed her wrist reverently.

“I told you,Maris.I’d do anything for you.Selene never suspected.She even signed the spell scroll herself.I told her it was a trade alliance contract.”

A strangled sound escaped me,half growl,half sob.They didn’t notice.

Two moons ago,our pup Jasmine’s heart had been failing.The healers said only a direct spirit-core infusion could save her.Then came a miracle—a matching heart essence had been found.

I had fallen to my knees in gratitude.I believed the Moon Goddess had heard me.

But Jasmine had died during the ritual.

Lucian told me there were complications.I believed him.

Now I knew the truth.

He had stolen our pup’s heart and given it to Maris,whose bloodline was too weak to awaken her wolf fully.

My mate.My child’s father.The Alpha I trusted.

Maris—my dearest friend,my daughter’s godmother—had smiled at me while my baby’s heart pulsed inside her chest.

The vial in my trembling hand glowed faintly between my fingers.The unborn pup within me shifted,sensing my rage.

Under the pale moonlight that poured through the window,my wolf stirred,whispering from deep inside:

“He took our child’s heart,Selene.Now take his.”

And for the first time in six years,I did not suppress her voice.