Serena POV
Maya's tears stopped the moment Silas insulted me.
Her eyes flashed back to those wild, golden wolf slits.
She lunged forward, her tiny fists hitting Silas's expensive suit pants.
"You are a bad Alpha!" Maya screamed, her voice cracking. "I will not go to your house! I hate your smell!"
Silas did not so much as flinch; his body became a rigid statue of tailored wool, the only movement a slow, dangerous tightening of the muscles along his jaw. He looked down at the angry pup with cold, unreadable eyes.
I felt a sharp pain in my bones. Another wave of the silver poison was spreading through my veins.
I knew I was dying. I had no time left.
If Maya kept fighting him, she would have no one to protect her when I was gone. She had to rely on her father. She had to let me go.
I stood up. I forced my weak Omega aura outward, trying to mimic a harsh authority.
I raised my hand and slapped Maya's cheek.
It was not hard, but the sound echoed like thunder in the small room.
"Stop it!" I yelled, my voice shaking. "You are acting like a wild Rogue! You will go with the Alpha, and you will obey him!"
Maya froze.
She touched her red cheek. The golden wolf slits melted away, leaving only the wide, heartbroken eyes of a little girl.
She did not growl anymore. She just covered her face and began to cry silently.
Each of her tears was a hot coal against my own skin, a searing brand of guilt.
I turned away quickly so they would not see my own tears. I walked into her small bedroom.
I grabbed her backpack. I stuffed it with her favorite blanket and the soft sweaters she loved.
I made sure to pack the things that carried my scent. A pup needed their mother's scent to feel safe, to soothe their Inner Wolf.
When I walked back out, Silas was staring at me.
His dark eyebrows were pulled together. He was watching the rapid, shallow rise and fall of my chest.
He noticed my breathing was wrong.
He opened his mouth to speak, but his phone rang.
The loud ringtone broke the heavy silence. Silas answered it immediately.
"Silas," Sonia's voice drifted from the speaker, soft and sweet like honey. "Are you almost done? Milo is asking for you. We made your favorite dinner."
Silas's hard expression softened instantly.
"I'm on my way," he said gently.
He hung up the phone. The slight concern he had for me vanished, replaced by his rush to return to his new family.
He walked over and took the heavy backpack from my hands.
"Let's go," he said to Maya.
He walked to the open door. Maya followed him slowly, her head down, her small shoulders shaking with silent sobs.
At the door, Silas paused and looked back at me.
"When are you picking her up?" he asked.
I gripped the edge of the table to keep myself from collapsing.
"Three months," I said. My voice was completely flat.
Silas's brow furrowed. A muscle in his cheek gave a slight, irritated twitch, as if he were chewing on a question he had no intention of voicing.
I could see the slight shift in his posture. His Inner Wolf was sensing something unnatural in my answer. An Omega mother would never willingly abandon her pup for three months.
"Three months," he repeated slowly, his eyes narrowing. "That is a long time, Serena."
I said nothing.
But he did not ask questions. He just nodded and led Maya away.
The door clicked shut.
The apartment was suddenly empty. The silence was deafening.
I fell to my knees. The scent of my pup was already fading from the air.
I curled into a ball on the floor, gasping for breath as the sorrow threatened to drown me.
An hour passed, the silence in the room becoming a physical weight I could no longer bear.
I stumbled out of the apartment, hailed another taxi, and gave the driver the address of the Silver Moon Packhouse.
I just needed to know she was safe.
I stood behind a large oak tree outside the massive iron gates of the Packhouse.
The villa was a towering mansion of glass and stone, glowing with warm light against the night sky.
The Maybach's engine died with a low hum, and a moment later Silas emerged. He moved with an unhurried grace, first opening the rear door to unbuckle Maya, then leaning across the seat to assist Milo from the other side.
Silas scooped the boy up, laughing.
The heavy front doors opened. Sonia stepped out, wearing a beautiful silk dress. She looked like the perfect Luna, the spiritual mother of the Pack.
She walked over to Maya, kneeling down with a warm, welcoming smile. She gently took Maya's hand and led her inside.
They looked like a complete, flawless family.
I placed my hand over my mouth to quiet my breathing. Maya was safe. She was in a warm house with plenty of food and protection.
That was all that mattered.
I turned around, wrapping my thin coat tighter around my body, ready to walk back to the dark edge of the territory.
"You must be very brave to leave her here."
A voice spoke from the shadows behind me.
I stopped and turned.
Sonia was standing a few feet away. She had followed my scent out to the gates.
Her sweet smile was still in place, but her eyes held a cold, calculating gleam I had never seen before.
"But then," Sonia added, her voice dropping to a whisper, "you've always been brave, haven't you? Even now, with the silver eating you from the inside." She tilted her head. "I can smell it, you know. Beneath all that Omega weakness. The moon's own metal, running through your veins. How poetic."
My blood turned to ice. No one knew. No one.
Sonia smiled, and it was the smile of something ancient and hungry. "Run along now, Serena. Enjoy what little time you have left."
