I stopped a few feet from the long wooden table. The air in the great hall felt thick and heavy. The six pack elders sat perfectly still, their faces carved from stone. Beta Julian stared at the floor, his jaw clenched so tight a muscle ticked in his cheek. Gamma Torres refused to meet my eyes.
My gaze drifted past them, up to the raised platform where the Alpha's chair sat. Desmond was standing. But he wasn't alone.
A woman stepped out from the shadows behind his chair. She wore a sleek, crimson dress. Her long blonde hair fell in perfect waves over her shoulders. The heavy, suffocating scent of expensive floral perfume rolled off her, completely masking her natural wolf scent.
Seraphina.
My sister.
My breath hitched in my throat. The room tilted for a second. She offered me a soft, breathy smile that didn't reach her calculating eyes. Then, she stepped closer to Desmond and slipped her delicate hand into his. He didn't pull away. Instead, he laced his fingers through hers and stood taller.
Maren, my wolf, let out a confused, wounded whimper in my mind.
"Desmond?" My voice sounded small. I hated how small it sounded."What is this?"
Desmond's eyes were flat and dark. He didn't look guilty. He looked completely resolved. When he spoke, he used his Alpha tone. The heavy, commanding frequency pressed down on my shoulders, trying to force me to my knees. I locked my legs. I refused to bow.
"Three years ago, you stepped in to fill a void," Desmond said. His voice echoed off the dark wood panels."A temporary fix for a broken alliance. But Seraphina has returned. My true chosen mate is back."
I stared at him. My heart pounded so hard I could hear it in my ears."A temporary fix? Desmond, I am your marked Luna."
"A mistake," he snapped back. He took a step forward, dropping his Alpha aura heavily over the room."A mark born of pure necessity. Your scent... that warm cedar and honey. It never truly called to my wolf. It was just convenient. You were just convenient."
The lie hit me like a physical punch to the gut. Maren howled in sheer agony. He was denying the bond. The fundamental, sacred truth of our mating. He knew my scent drove his wolf wild. I had seen it in his eyes for three years. But his pride and his sick obsession with my sister were blinding him.
Seraphina looked down at me from the platform. She tilted her head, playing the perfect victim."It's for the best, Harper," she said in her sweet, high-pitched voice."You were never meant for this life. You tried your best, sweetie, but you just aren't Luna material."
I ignored her. My eyes stayed locked on my mate."Desmond. Don't do this."
He didn't even blink. He squared his shoulders, looking out over the elders.
"I, Desmond Spencer, Alpha of the Silverfang Pack," his voice boomed, loud and unforgiving, "reject you, Harper Gilbert, as my mate and my Luna."
The words tore through my chest.
It felt like invisible, white-hot claws ripping my soul in half. The mating mark on my neck burned like someone had pressed a branding iron to my skin. Maren screamed inside my head, a sound of pure, dying grief. My knees buckled. I caught myself on the edge of the heavy wooden table, my knuckles turning white. I bit the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted blood.
I would not fall. Not in front of them.
Desmond watched me struggle. His face remained a mask of arrogant indifference. Then, his dark eyes flicked down to my stomach.
"Dr. Whitfield gave me his morning report," Desmond said coldly."He informed me of your... condition."
The blood drained from my face. My hand flew to my flat stomach on instinct.
Beta Julian's head snapped up. He looked between Desmond and me, his eyes wide with sudden shock. Even the elders shifted uncomfortably in their seats.
"A pup," Desmond said. He said the word like it was a disease."Conceived out of desperation. Or perhaps infidelity. Because I know my own wolf, Harper. I know I never fully claimed you in my heart. That pup is no true Silverfang heir."
Gasps echoed from the table. Julian took a step forward."Alpha, you can't—"
"Silence!" Desmond roared, his Alpha tone slamming into Julian and forcing the Beta to drop his gaze. Desmond turned back to me, his lip curled in disgust."I deny it. I deny any claim to that pup. It is nothing to me."
Denying a pup. It was the ultimate taboo. It was a death sentence to a mother's reputation. He wasn't just throwing me away. He was throwing our child to the wolves, branding me a liar and a cheat just to keep his own image clean for Seraphina.
The blinding pain in my chest suddenly stopped.
It didn't fade. It just froze. The agonizing grief of the rejection hit a wall of pure, absolute ice. Maren stopped thrashing. She stood up inside my mind, the hair on her spine raised, her teeth bared.
*He is dead to us,* she snarled.
I looked at Desmond. I really looked at him. I saw the dullness in his eyes. I saw the weak, pathetic man hiding behind a loud Alpha voice. I saw my sister, clinging to his arm, wearing a dress she probably bought with someone else's money.
For three years, I had made myself small for this man. I had cooked his wolfsbane-free meals, managed his pack, and begged for scraps of his affection.
The desperate, people-pleasing substitute Luna died right there on the marble floor.
I slowly stood up straight. I kept my hand pressed flat over my stomach, shielding my tiny, unacknowledged pup. I felt the burn on my neck, but I didn't reach for it.
I didn't cry. I didn't scream. I didn't drop to the floor and beg for him to reconsider.
The silence in the great hall grew thick. It grew terrifying. Desmond frowned. A flicker of unease crossed his face. He expected me to crumble. He expected tears. Seraphina's fake smile faltered, her brow furrowing as she watched me.
I met Desmond's gaze with eyes as cold and empty as a winter night.
"You deny the pup," I said. My voice wasn't shaking anymore. It was perfectly calm. It was so steady it made Gamma Torres flinch.
"I do," Desmond said, though his voice lacked the booming confidence from a moment ago.
I nodded slowly. I didn't break eye contact.
"Remember this moment, Desmond," I said quietly, my words slicing through the heavy silence of the room."Remember exactly what you threw away."
