I froze in place.
My gaze dropped to the ground where my pup’s ashes had spilled like dust.
Fragments of the broken jar glittered under the moonlit chandelier, tangled with what was left of her.
My pup, my Althea had left again—this time beyond the moon’s mercy.
“Oops,” Nyxara sniggered, applauding like it was entertainment.
“Well, the remains of that little bastard are worthless now. Just like the one who birthed her.”
Whatever restraint I had left broke.
I leapt at her. “You filthy bitch!”
My palm slammed into her face, jerking her head sideways, her glass crashing and shattering at our feet.
She screamed.
I grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her to the ground.
She clawed at me while I held her down, my claws digging deep into her head.
My sight was red — ashes, blood, pain. “You sick, evil beast!”
“GET HER OFF ME!” Nyxara screeched.
Theros’s guards burst into the chamber and wrenched me off her.
I kicked and struggled, strands of her hair still caught in my claws.
She crawled behind the couch, wailing and shaking, as though she hadn’t just crushed the last remnants of my world.
Theros arrived seconds later, eyes wide with panic as he pulled Nyxara close.
“Nyxara? Tell me—what happened?!”
She hid her face in his chest, crying.
“She’s insane!” She whimpered. “She attacked me, Theros—she threatened she'd kill me!"
“She’s lying!” I shouted. “Please—just listen to me—just once—”
I tried to speak, but the moment I opened my mouth—
He slammed his hand into my left cheek, sending me stumbling back in shock.
Then once more, more and more, until I stopped counting and tasting blood all over my mouth.
My ears screamed. My face burned. My knees weakened as his slaps kept coming, drowning the world in the roar of my heartbeat.
Tears slipped down my face as I stared at the Alpha I once loved — the one who used to press kisses to my hands and vow in front of the pack to protect me for life.
“You never learn,” he said flatly, “I’ll stop paying for your bastard’s healing den since you refuse to obey.”
“You don’t have to.” I murmured, blood on my lips. “You don't have to, anymore.”
His expression darkened as he snarled, “And how do you plan to pay for it? By spreading your legs through every pack?”
“She’s gone, Theros,” I said, the words ripping through me. “Althea is gone.”
He froze. Just for a heartbeat—he faltered.
Nyxara pulled back from his chest and gasped, her voice dripping with false shock.
“That’s a lie—she’s lying!” Nyxara gasped. “I—I went to see Althea this morning! That’s why she attacked me—she warned me to stay away from her pup!”
“You’re lying! You never went near the healing den—” I tried to say, but Theros cut me off.
“You’re cruel to the core.” He growled, his eyes blazing.
“Her ashes are on the floor!” I cried, gesturing to the broken fragments by the couch. “That’s our pup — your pup!”
Nyxara lifted her hand, revealing a small, pitiful burn on her wrist. “She burned me,” she said softly, “She even burned parchment and called them Althea’s ashes.”
“You lying bitch…”
Too late. Theros’s rage flared once more, his aura crushing the chamber.
"Omega!" He ordered coldly. “Clean it and cast it out. I won’t have filth lingering in my den.”
My world was falling apart.
“No—no! Please!” I howled, fighting the pack guards. “Don’t touch her! That’s my pup—my Althea!”
I thrashed wildly. “Please, don’t sweep her away. Please!”
I tore free for a heartbeat and crawled toward the ashes, my claws stretching out. But Theros seized my hair and dragged me back, hauling me toward the hearth.
“You truly never learn, do you?” he said coldly.
“Theros, no—please!”
He seized my wrist and slammed my hand onto the burning hearthstone.
The scream that tore from my throat no longer sounded. I thrashed and kicked, but he forced me down, flesh sizzling as the pain shot like lightning through my spine.
I collapsed onto the floor, gasping, my body trembling uncontrollably.
But the moment I saw the maids sweeping up my daughter’s ashes, I ignored the pain and lunged toward them.
“Stop it!” I screamed, grasping at the broom with shaking hands.
“Hold her down—she’s completely lost her mind!” Nyxara snapped.
The guards seized me as I thrashed and sobbed in their grip, while the maids swept up Althea’s ashes and dumped them into the waste bin.
“No!” I cried, my heart breaking.
“I was going to spare you,” Theros said coldly, “But since you insist on this farce, I’ll teach you a lesson.”
I wasn’t looking at him. I lay crumpled on the floor, clutching my burned hand, staring into nothing.
“Hit her,” Theros commanded.
Suddenly, the healer’s warning echoed in my mind.
“I’m carrying a pup!” I screamed. “I’m carrying your pup, Theros. Please, don’t…”
His eyes fixed on me for a moment.
Then he laughed.
“I never marked you.” He snarled. “So it's impossible for you carrying another pup. And if it isn't?"
His lips curled. “Then another bastard pup — and I’ll end it myself.”
“No—please … please, not again.”
He moved too fast to stop.
His foot slammed into my belly. A howl tore from my throat, loud enough to shake the den walls. Another hit landed, then another, as I curled into myself on the floor. Blood filled my mouth. Something deep inside me break.
“Stop, please. STOP!” I begged.
“You think I’m a fool?” he roared. “You think I’d ever keep another mongrel pup?”
Another blow slammed into me.
“Theros .…” I whimpered.
Blood spread beneath me, soaking my clothes, trailing down my legs, staining the den floor.
He loomed over me, his chest rising and falling like a beast fresh from the hunt.
I looked at him in blurry. The Alpha who had once been my sanctuary now looked like a demon born of hell.
You killed her.
And now … you had destroyed the only part of me that remained.
The pain surged. The world spun away.
And then…
Darkness.
