After my identity as a fake heiress of the McDonald Pack was revealed, the council demanded that my mate, Alpha Shepard Munoz, strengthen the alliance by producing heirs with the true heiress, Louisa McDonald. Unwilling to comply, he suggested a double suicide to pressure the council into relenting. We met as planned, only for the pack warriors to accuse me of kidnapping the Alpha out of spite. I hoped Shepard would clear up the misunderstanding, but he remained silent, his alpha aura heavy and unyielding.
I was subsequently sentenced to three months in isolation in the pack’s dungeons for attempted murder. Upon my release, Louisa was visibly pregnant. Shepard knelt before me, his powerful frame trembling as he overflowed with apologies. Although I was a renowned Healer specializing in maternal care, I delivered Louisa’s pup and was coaxed into signing rejection papers.
“Mallory, trust me, you’re the one I truly love. Once the pup is officially registered, we’ll reconcile,” he promised, surrounding me with yellow roses as an expression of remorse.
He pledged to fix everything before the last rose wilted. But when the 99th rose faded, the only news I received was of the pack celebrating Louisa’s second pregnancy. That was when all hope deserted me, and I chose to release him from the mate bond.
As I glanced at the ultrasound scan on the table, a bitter smile appeared on my face. Shepard disregarded my feelings and spoke as if I were invisible. “Once this pup arrives, I really will leave her,” he claimed. “You’ll be the godmother, and we’ll all live happily together.”
His words left me speechless. I could only watch his lips move while he fantasized about a future that would never be. When Louisa entered, his illusion abruptly shattered.
“Mallory, could you step out? Louisa and I need to talk.”
Since my release from the dungeons, Louisa had taken her place as the Luna, leaving me with access only to the study. But now, even that was under threat. I tried to resist but couldn’t find the words.
Not long before, frustrated by Louisa’s flaunting, I complained to Shepard. In response, he called his warriors to cruelly cut off part of my tongue!
“How dare you insult her! She’s the mother of my pup. Are you disrespecting her or me?”
Since then, every time I became emotional, I could no longer speak. I left, brokenhearted.
Returning later, I overheard their intimate whispers.
“Louisa, stop. Mallory will notice when she returns.”
Louisa scoffed, “So what? I’m the real heiress. Whether it’s this house or you, they’re mine.”
“Yes, all yours. I love you.”
Their tender words felt like blows to my ears. I sat in the living room all night, surrounded only by the roses he had once given me, now wilted and lifeless.
I stood to head to my room, but as I climbed the stairs, Louisa kicked me down.
“Karter is sleeping comfortably, and we’re planning a bath together. Don’t be a nuisance.”
I slammed into the wall, blood streaming from my head, crying in pain. She tore my blouse, revealing ugly scars.
Burned onto my chest with a cigarette was the word: LOSER.
“Do you dare let Karter see your body now? I arranged for your cellmates to ‘welcome’ you. How was their hospitality?”
“The word fits you perfectly. Everything is mine—my identity, my mate. If I were as much of a failure as you, I’d be too ashamed to show my face.”
I tried to push her away, but she toppled down the stairs.
“Mallory! What are you doing?”
Before I could explain, Louisa began to cry and plead.
“Shepard, don’t be angry with her. I just wanted her, as a Healer, to accompany me for a check-up. I forgot she was upset about my pregnancy. It’s my fault for ignoring her feelings.”
“These years, you’ve been gracious not to expel her. How dare she behave like this!”
Shepard held Louisa tenderly, his voice full of indignation. But when he looked at me, his eyes were icy cold.
“It was my pup, and I mated Louisa willingly. If you have issues, take them out on me!”
“Speak, which hand pushed her!”
He grabbed my jaw, forcing me to look up. Had he cared to see, he would’ve noticed my bloodied forehead and bruised body. But he didn’t.
“You won’t speak? Then you’ll lose both filthy hands!”
He ordered his warriors to hold me down, beating my hands mercilessly.
“I dare you to do it again!”
The pain was so intense I nearly fainted, but each time I lost consciousness, cold water roused me.
Even the pack’s Omega, Quincy Torres, couldn’t bear it anymore. “Alpha Munoz, Healer Mallory needs her hands. How will she manage with injured hands?”
Shepard’s expression darkened as he replied, “This is what happens when you harass my Luna. If you intervene, you’ll face the same!”
My heart turned cold, lying on the ground like an abandoned dog.
Nearby, Shepard tossed the 99 roses into the trash.
He never planned to remarry me. Since the birth of the first pup, he had replaced the wilting roses daily to buy time.
Now he didn’t even bother pretending.
I was devastated, using my last ounce of strength to call Luna Judith Fernandez of the neighboring pack. “Luna Fernandez, does the aid mission in Africa still have openings? My hands are hurt, so I can’t perform surgeries, but I can assist with vaccination efforts in outbreak regions.”
When I next awoke, I found myself in a hospital room.
Shepard was by my side. “Mallory, you’ve come around.”
“I apologized to Louisa for you. I’m thankful you’re alright.”
“You know I have to maintain appearances for the pack with her.”
I looked at my bandaged hands, forcing a smile without saying anything.
He continued, indifferent. “I made some soup for you. Accept it as my apology.”
His eyes reflected remorse.
How many times had I seen it before?
Too many to count.
Each time he hurt me, he wore that expression.
Occasionally, he’d swear he’d change, but he never did.
When Louisa returned as the real heiress, the council demanded they have pups.
He refused and asked me to join him in a suicide pact.
What followed?
On the day of our supposed double suicide, the warriors arrested me, claiming I had kidnapped him.
During my time in the dungeons, he’d visit often, crying and promising to make things right, to stand up to the council once I was released.
Yet when I was freed, Louisa was already pregnant.
Even then, I thought he was coerced.
“I’m a top Healer; if you want, I can help her abort the pup.”
He slapped me then, furious. “Are you crazy? A pup is a life! Louisa’s rightful place was taken by you for years. I’m simply restoring what’s hers!”
After everything, I should have recognized his true intentions.
Now, he tenderly offered me soup.
But within the spoon, I discovered a pup’s baby tooth.
The soup was just leftovers from Louisa and the pup.
Shepard followed my gaze, noticing it too.
He appeared embarrassed. “I’ll order you some food.”
After a long delay, Karter entered instead.
He was Louisa’s pup.
Without a word, he jumped onto my hospital bed, stomping on my wounds.
“You must be the shameless woman?”
My hand bones were already displaced, and his stomp undid my previous surgery.
He pulled out my IV, using the needle to pierce my skin.
In the struggle, I noticed the charm around his neck.
Through the pain, I reached out with my bandaged hand. “Who gave you this?”
“I found it! Get your disgusting hands off!”
Sensing my interest, he took off the charm, tossing it to the ground and stepping on it.
“Mom says I’m the rightful heir to the Munoz and McDonald packs. Everything here is mine, and I can do as I please!”
My mind went blank, and when I regained consciousness, I was kneeling, holding the charm.
Before my imprisonment, I had been pregnant once.
I spent a month painstakingly crafting this for my pup.
But tragically, that pup never saw the world, lost to my own stress.
Seeing the ruined charm, my heart twisted in agony.
The grinning Karter sneered, “Serves you right. Mom says someone like you doesn’t deserve a pup.”
“Dad wanted me to make you my godmother. Ha! Keep dreaming.”
His spiteful comments landed one after the other, and still unsatisfied, he spat on the charm.
My entire body trembled.
When Louisa had difficulty in childbirth, I had saved both mother and pup through surgery.
Now, this monster bore no gratitude, only the audacity to destroy the charm.
It was my sole evidence that my pup once existed!
“I regret saving you. Now, let me teach you a lesson on behalf of your parents!”
