Heat surged through my veins, drowning out reason. My vision tunneled, every sound muffled except the deafening pound of my heartbeat. The wolf inside me clawed for release, demanding blood, demanding retribution.
She spoke again.
"I’ve had your mate wrapped around my fingers, Elara," she said, her voice sweetly venomous. "All those nights you waited under the full moon, clinging to your bond mark like a fool, your Alpha Aleron spent buried in me. And if it weren’t for the wolfsbane-laced protection he used so carefully, I’d already be carrying his pup. Unlike you, who probably never will."
Her words struck like claws to my chest. “What… what did you say?” I whispered, my voice barely more than a breath, my throat tight, my eyes swimming with tears that refused to fall just yet.
She stepped closer, her scent thick with roses and deceit, not even bothering to hide her triumph. “You’ll never bear a child, will you, Elara? Your womb’s as barren as your mating bond is cold. Alpha Aleron is done pretending; he’s a high-ranking Alpha-blooded heir, born into legacy and luxury. Why would he settle for a weak, unmated omega like you?”
My fists clenched. My wolf stirred, snarling low in the back of my mind, sensing the threat, begging to rise.
Liezel took my hand then, mockingly gentle, like a sister consoling her sibling. “But don’t worry, dearest. When I do get pregnant with his pup, you’ll be the first to know. I’ll even name the child something pretty, just for you.”
“Liezel!” I screamed, the pain exploding in my chest. Her every word had driven a silver dagger deeper into my heart. “You’re shameless! You’ve ruined my life, my bond, and now you want to wear my skin like a cloak?”
I swatted her arm away on instinct, but her gasp rang out louder than thunder. She collapsed with a pitiful cry that echoed through the halls.
“Elara!” came Alpha Aleron Nightbane’s furious roar as heavy footsteps pounded down the corridor.
He burst into the room, eyes wild, his wolf just beneath the surface, fangs nearly bare, but not for me. Never for me.
He didn’t ask what had happened. He didn’t care.
“What the hell are you doing?!” His glare was blistering. “How dare you lay a hand on Liezel?”
“I-I didn’t…” I stammered, trembling, the air thick with betrayal. “I never pushed her…”
Liezel whimpered as Alpha Aleron’s arms went around her, shielding her like a mate should protect his own. But I was the one he was bonded to, or so, I had thought.
"Elara was just upset," she said, soft and broken, resting her head on his chest like it was hers to claim. “Don’t blame her… It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have said anything about the pup…”
More footsteps arrived. Pack members. Friends. Witnesses. Their gazes were daggers, their disgust potent enough to make my wolf recoil inside me.
“Follow me. Now,” Alpha Aleron snapped, his tone wrapping around me like a noose.
But he didn’t take Liezel to her private suite with silk sheets and moonstone chandeliers. No… He led us down to what had once been my room. A cold, forgotten storage closet that still smelled of mold and winters spent curled up on a threadbare blanket, even when frost bit at the windows. It had become Liezel’s junk room now.
“There’s a first aid kit in the back,” she said sweetly, her voice carrying that cruel undertone. “Would you get it for me, sister?”
“She’s lucky I let her come at all,” Aleron muttered as he brushed past me, not once glancing back.
Still, my legs moved, numb and obedient, trailing him like a broken omega trained to heel. I entered Liezel’s lavish room a moment later. She lay against Aleron’s chest, purring softly, crying falsely.
Alpha Aleron stood abruptly, his eyes flaring with rage. His fingers clamped around my wrist.
“Elara, massage Liezel’s feet. Now. You embarrassed her. Do you even realize how much you’ve hurt her?”
My heart twisted. My mate, my bonded, the wolf who swore to protect me, swore to stand by me at all costs, was defending another woman, one who wore my life like a stolen pelt.
“I won’t,” I said, my voice trembling but firm.
“What did you just say?”
“I. Will. Not.” I stared him down, even as my wolf howled within me.
In a flash, he shoved me down. My knees crashed against the floor, and I gasped, cradling my belly on instinct.
The pups. Goddess, protect them. I dared not shift, not when I was carrying life.
He didn’t stop.
“You useless excuse of a she-wolf,” Alpha Aleron spat. “You dare accuse Liezel of stealing anything? You had everything, and you still couldn’t be loved. You’re nothing but a dead bond.”
“Alpha Aleron!” I screamed, my voice a broken wind.
He didn’t hear me. Or didn’t care.
Liezel, ever the actress, began again with her trembling voice. “She’s the real Luna, not me. I’m just the adopted one. She’s the heir. And yet... I took everything from her. It’s my fault. My fault…”
“No,” Aleron snarled. “It’s hers. She deserves it all.”
The world spun. My soul cracked. And still, Liezel turned to me with glistening eyes.
“Luna Elara, please don’t hate me…”
“Shut up!” The words ripped from my throat like a feral growl. “Shut up with your lies!”
The crack of Alpha Aleron’s palm across my face echoed like a gunshot through the stillness of the room. My head snapped to the side, the sting sharp, but it was the betrayal behind that strike that cut deeper than claws ever could.
My wolf whimpered inside me, recoiling. I pressed trembling fingers to my cheek, still burning from the imprint of his hand, the scent of his rage heavy in the air.
The bond between us rippled, wounded. And for the first time, I felt it began to snap.
