Charlotte POV:
The Omega quarters smelled of mold and unwashed bodies. My room was a closet.
It had been two weeks.
Two weeks of hell.
I was the 'Pack Slut' now. That was the narrative Harper spun. She told everyone I seduced Gabe in a moment of weakness, and the benevolent Alpha allowed me to stay out of pity.
I worked in the kitchens, scrubbing pots until my hands were raw. They fed me scraps. Every bite was a battle I fought for the baby.
Gabe blocked our Mind-Link. I couldn't feel him. It was like a phantom limb-a constant, aching emptiness.
One afternoon, I managed to sneak to my old studio. Before all this, I was the pack's architect. I had designed the new community center. I wanted my portfolio.
I opened the door and froze.
It was pink. Everything was pink.
My drafting table was gone. My blueprints were ripped to shreds, scattered like confetti.
Harper stood in the middle of the room.
"Oops," she said. She held up a piece of paper-my design for a greenhouse. She crumpled it and dropped it. "We needed a nursery. And this room has the best light."
"My work," I whispered. I fell to my knees to pick up the torn pieces. "Why? You could have moved them."
"I don't like your style," Harper sneered. "It's too... common. Like you."
She kicked a pile of torn paper at my face. "Clean this up, Omega."
Something snapped.
The heat that had been building since the gala flared up.
I stood up. "No."
Harper blinked. "Excuse me?"
"I said no." I looked her in the eye. "You took my mate. You took my home. You are not taking my dignity."
Harper laughed. "You have no dignity. You are a wolfless freak." She raised her hand to slap me.
I reacted.
I shoved her.
It should have been weak. I was malnourished. But Harper flew. She slammed into the freshly painted wall.
She slid down, leaving a smear in the wet paint.
"My baby!" she screamed, clutching her stomach.
The door burst open. Gabe was there instantly.
He saw Harper on the floor. He saw me standing there, hands trembling.
"You monster!" Gabe roared.
He crossed the room in a blur. His hand wrapped around my throat, lifting me off the ground.
I clawed at his wrist. I couldn't breathe. His eyes were red.
"Gabe... stop..." I rasped.
"I gave you a chance," he snarled. "I let you live. And you attack my Luna?"
He threw me. I hit the floor, gasping.
Harper sobbed fake tears. "She tried to kill the heir, Gabe! She's jealous! She's dangerous!"
That evening, the door to my basement room slammed open.
It was Eleanor, Gabe's mother. She held a clipboard. Behind her stood a doctor I didn't recognize. He smelled of antiseptic and silver.
"Get up," Eleanor spat.
I sat up on the cot. "What is this?"
"Gabe is too soft," Eleanor said. "He thinks you can be controlled. But today proved otherwise. You are violent."
I looked at the paper. Medical Consent: Termination of Pregnancy.
My blood ran cold. "No."
"We can't trust the bloodline," Eleanor said coldly. "We ran a test. The results just came in. It's not Gabe's. It has Rogue markers."
"That's a lie!" I screamed. "I've never been with anyone else!"
"It doesn't matter what you say," Eleanor smirked. "I showed the results to Gabe. He was... disappointed. He agreed that a Rogue bastard cannot be born in the Pack House."
"You forged it!" I backed into the corner. "You poisoned him against me!"
"We are removing the problem," Eleanor said to the doctor. "Prepare the clinic. I want this done before the Council arrives."
"Wait!" I cried. "Gabe wouldn't allow this!"
Eleanor stopped at the door. She looked at me with pure contempt.
"Gabe signed the order, dear. He doesn't want a whore's mistake."
She slammed the door. The lock clicked.
