Selenes POV
I lost track of time on the cold stone until the lock clicked and the door swung open.
Lucian Silvermoon stood there,disgust carved into his face.
“You should thank Maris,”he said.“If it weren’t for her,you’d still be rotting in there.She begged me to let you out—for the sake of your‘friendship.’”
His words were knives.I kept my face still.“How noble of her,”I croaked,throat raw from screaming.
He stepped aside without offering a hand.My legs trembled;he didn’t help.“Clear everything from this room by tomorrow,”he said,flat,and left.
I leaned on the wall in the hallway and breathed until the heat of humiliation cooled to coiled resolve.Soon,they would pay.
~
That evening Maris walked in as if she owned the den,cradling a bowl of soup.“You should eat.You look terrible,”she purred.
I packed.She tutted.“You can fool Lucian,but not me,”she said softly.“I see it in your eyes.You know the truth.”
I kept packing.She stepped closer.“How does it feel,”she asked,“knowing he sacrificed your pup for me?”
I turned to the window and said nothing.Exhaustion made me mute.
A mocking laugh escaped her.“I can’t imagine how it felt—seeing us in his study.”
Silence.Not the reaction she wanted.Then a loud thud:she slammed her head against the wall.“Lucian!”she cried,tears welling on cue.
Heavy steps pounded.The door burst open.“What happened?”Lucian demanded.
Maris dissolved into sobs.“She slammed my head against the wall!I came with food—she hit me!”
I opened my mouth.“That’s not true—I didn’t—”
His fist cut me off.The impact sent me into the stone;I slid down,spine raking the floor.“Are you insane?!”he barked.“You touch her again and I swear—”
“I didn’t touch her,”I mouthed through blood.“She—”
A boot into my stomach knocked the air out.I doubled over,hands clamped to my abdomen.Maris stood behind him,tears glittering but empty.
“I—”I coughed.“Lucian…I’m—”The word on my lips—pregnant—cried to be born.His fist smashed into my face again before I could finish.My head hit the floor.Pain flared;the room blurred.
“I’m…carrying—”I forced the syllables out.
“Shut up!”he spat,and kicked me.“You’ll learn your place!”he snarled,a final blow that left me gasping.
He hauled Maris away and slammed the door.The lock clicked.
Warm wetness pooled.I touched the floor—my fingers came away red.
“No…”I whispered,pressing my hands to my belly.Blood soaked through my fingers and down my legs.I didn’t need a healer to tell me what it meant.Rage and hate flooded me;they were the only things keeping me standing.
“Lucian!”I screamed.Hate steadied every breath.
~
I dragged myself from the den to the nearest carriage.Every step imploded with pain.Blood stained my dress.I forced the driver to the hospital.
Hours later,hollow and spent,I lay on a narrow cot while a healer’s voice said the thing I already knew:the pregnancy couldn’t be saved.They kept me overnight,then discharged me the next afternoon.
Lucian never came.He didn’t call.He did not care.
Two days later he stood at the door with Maris at his side.“Selene,my birthday gathering is tonight.Be on time.Maris and I have plans;we’ll meet you there later.”
I gave him a soft,obedient smile.No anger,no complaints.I learned silence—agreeable,docile.He liked it.He smiled like a master pleased with a tamed wolf.He leaned to kiss me;I turned my head so the kiss landed on my cheek.
“See you later,”I said sweetly.
They left.Mariss purse brushed the table and knocked Jasmine’s framed photo to the floor.Glass spidered.Lucian flinched,waiting for me to react.I only smiled calm,unbothered.“Don’t worry.I’ll clean it up,”I said.
For a moment he hesitated,then he let Maris guide him out.He had no idea this would be the last time he saw me as his wife.
I gathered the papers—divorce paperwork,orders to pull Redfang investments from Silvermoon Holdings,photos of Lucian and Maris,my medical report,evidence that he’d betrayed and sacrificed our daughter.I slid them into a brown envelope.
On the front I wrote,plain and cold:Happy Birthday,Alpha Lucian Silvermoon.—Selene Redfang.
I handed the envelope to the courier.“Deliver this at the party,”I said.
Minutes later,a black SUV—Redfang transport—pulled up.My father’s driver opened the door for me and loaded my bags;no words,no pity.
We drove away.I did not look back.My fists clenched until my nails bit into my palms.The fury inside me coalesced into a single promise.
One day,Silvermoon would answer for what they’d done.
