"Alpha, you must see this!" The urgent voice—broke the silence in the meeting room.
Everyone was there—the Beta, the Delta, and Amethyst, clinging possessively to my husband. Those in power let her, knowing that as his wife and queen, I had no authority to stop it.
She acted as if she were his rightful wife, while I was just a pawn, necessary to keep the kingdom from crumbling. The Lycans were loyal to their own kind.
And I—I was a vampire, an outsider they believed would betray them the moment I had the chance.
Perhaps that was why my husband never cared to be close to me. He saw me as they did.
"Julio, what is so important that you had to disrupt this meeting?" Lucas asked, irritated.
Julio, the mediator between our races, looked pained. He hesitated before speaking.
"Are you not going to check on the queen at the ruins?"
Lucas scoffed. "Must I? This early? I’ll deal with her tonight."
Julio’s face darkened. "But Alpha, the ruins are cursed. You need to see what has happened."
Lucas' irritation flared, but his Beta, Leo, cleared his throat.
"Postpone this and go to her, Lucas. She carries your first heir," Leo urged.
My husband cursed under his breath. Amethyst tightened her grip on him, then spoke with feigned concern.
"Go to her, hon. Don’t be so harsh. I understand how she must feel," she said softly, even managing a smile.
Lucas sighed, then leaned down and kissed her. In front of everyone.
"I’ll be back," he promised her. "And I’ll make sure she learns her lesson this time."
He left with Julio. I followed, my chest heavy. Even as my death loomed, my husband felt nothing.
The ruins stood in a desolate part of the forest, a place no one dared enter.
"Alpha, the ruins are cursed," Julio said, his tone accusatory. "How could you leave the queen and your heir here?"
Lucas growled. "She’s tied up. She can’t hurt herself. But if she did something to the child just to spite me…" His voice turned lethal. "She’ll get what she deserves."
A ghost cannot cry, but the way my soul drifted between cold and warmth told me I had been destroyed—again.
When Lucas opened the door, he staggered back, coughing at the overwhelming stench. He covered his nose, looking up.
"Selene! What the hell did you do here?! Did you—" His words froze.
I stood before him, barely recognizable. My skin clung to my bones, my body hollowed out like a lifeless husk.
The ruins devoured those trapped within them.
"Selene?" Disbelief tinged his voice.
Then his gaze sharpened. "Is this an act? Where is Selene? I won’t fall for her tricks!"
I wrapped my arms around myself. I had once been strong, untouchable. And now? I was nothing. And still, he blamed me.
"Alpha, look at this…" Julio knelt beside the bloodstained floor.
The remains of my child. Frail—Empty—was there.
"I think the queen gave birth inside the ruins… and it killed both of them," Julio murmured.
Lucas turned quite—his eyes flickered between my corpse—the blood—and our lifeless child.
Was he angry? At me? At himself? Or… was he relieved? We’re dead.
"Alpha?" Julio’s voice broke the silence. "What do we do now? The queen is dead. You have no heir. The vampires will turn against us."
My jaw clenched. They wouldn’t. I had sacrificed everything for peace—even my life. They’d not waste it.
Lucas exhaled. "Gather the men," he ordered, calm. "Bury them properly. I will make the announcement myself."
Julio hesitated. "Alpha… are you not going to hold either of them before their funeral?"
Lucas glared.
"Selene was a headache," he muttered. "It’s better this way. And that child… would’ve been a burden. This is karma. She got what she deserved."
As he turned away, I felt a presence behind me.
"You still want to go through with our deal?" the demon’s voice slithered in my ear.
I met its gaze—exhausted.
"If the only way to make him regret my death is to use everything I did for him—every sacrifice I made—against him," I whispered, "then I will."
I would not let my child’s soul be trapped here. I would not let this be the end.
—
"The queen is dead. She did not survive childbirth," Lucas announced before the council.
Gasps filled the room. I saw Leo stiffen in shock. Even Amethyst knew the cause of my death—they all did.
The murmurs grew loud. But amid the chaos, my right-hand man stepped forward. The room fell silent.
Instead of spitting curses, he handed Lucas an envelope—one I had prepared long ago.
"I know of your cruelty toward the queen," he said coldly. "She wanted everything hidden beneath the terror of your marriage, but look at you—you seem pleased she’s dead."
Lucas sneered. "And so what?"
My right hand smirked. "Then see for yourself how your reign was never yours alone. It wasn’t just because of you." His gaze flickered to Amethyst. "Not even because of another woman."
He leaned in. "The queen made you. And her death… will cripple you."
Lucas stiffened. He studied my right hand, as if sensing something unnatural.
And then, without a word, I stepped out of my right hand’s body.
He inhaled sharply—acted confused now.
I smiled.
"I'm sorry," I whispered into the air. "But I had to possess someone—to make sure he’ll discover everything now."
