Chapter 1

The little life in my womb was barely two months old, its faint resonance trembling against me through flesh and blood. Yet my Alpha, Neil, ordered me to sacrifice my lineage for his childhood sweetheart, the Omega—Fawn.

My hand pressed protectively over my belly, feeling the unstable pulse of my bloodline echoing from within. I shook my head.

“No. You know my condition—this will hurt the baby…”

I didn’t even finish before the Betas behind him grew restless. His pack members, loyal to him, stared with icy fire, accusing me of disrespecting “the future Luna” Fawn and ignoring the survival of the wolfkind.

“Fawn suffered bloodline backlash during the Moonlight Ritual. Only your ancient blood can save her! What’s the harm in giving a little? Will it kill you?” The leading Beta stepped forward, his voice rough and sharp.

Before I could answer, several strong hands gripped my arms, dragging me without mercy toward the treatment room, thick with the stench of bitter medicine.

And Neil—my Alpha—just stood there.

I looked into his eyes. In the depths of those golden wolf-king irises, a crack of hesitation flickered—something almost like pity.

But in the end, Alpha’s coldness, hard as iron, drowned that fleeting warmth.

He avoided my gaze, his voice steely. “Kay, just a small extraction. Our pup… isn’t as fragile as you think.” Yet while he spoke, his burning eyes never left the pale figure on the bed—Fawn. His golden pupils trembled only for her.

I stopped struggling. Warm tears mingled with despair, falling heavily onto the polished, icy floor. A Luna abandoned by her own Alpha was lower than the lowest Omega.

When the needle withdrew, I felt a hollow carved out of my bones.

The wolfish strength I lived on had been torn from me at the root, like being stripped of the right to run wild under the full moon. All that was left was a weak shell. Somehow, I dragged this failing body to the tribe’s shaman.

On the cold stone altar, I performed the ritual to end my pregnancy.

My little pup, before it could even bask in moonlight once, dissolved into nothing but a silent sigh.

By the third day after, the stench of disinfectant clung stubbornly to my lungs.

I lay alone in the pale ward, while down the hall, outside Fawn’s room, Neil’s shadow stood guard—an eternal sentinel.

My womb was hollow, the severed bond to my child throbbing with a pain sharper than any claw.

On the day of discharge, I ran into them in the hall. Neil and Fawn, flanked as always by his loyal Betas.

I carried only a light pack. Fawn, newly “recovered,” leaned bonelessly against Neil, letting him steady her every step, a faint, delicate flush gracing her cheeks.

Neil’s wolf-eyes widened when he saw me, surprise unmasked. “You’re still here?”

“Nothing,” I murmured, lowering my eyes. The secret of my lost pup lodged in my throat, my face pale as a winter moon. I only wanted to escape this suffocating air.

“Come back with us.” He stepped forward, Alpha command rolling from his voice. His fingers, hot and iron-strong, clamped around my wrist so tightly my fragile bones nearly cracked.

In the parking lot, Fawn slid into the passenger seat with Omega grace. She turned back, wide eyes glistening like a startled fawn. “Kay, after the backlash my breath is still unstable… it’s easy for me to faint. Sitting here helps me. You don’t mind, do you?”

I said nothing, moving silently toward the back door.

But the Betas had already filled the back seat, their broad frames leaving no space.

Their eyes, heavy with disdain, pinned me like I was the intruder.

“Kay, Fawn needs to rest in the pack’s core territory. We’re all going to watch over her,” one Beta said gruffly, leaving no room for refusal.

I looked at Neil at the wheel. His face was stiff, lips pressed into a bloodless line. But he said nothing.

Outside the car, summer cicadas screamed, splitting the air—mocking me.

A bitter laugh scraped my throat. How could I still expect anything from this man?

To his pack, I was always the obstacle. They believed he should marry the “purer,” gentler Omega—Fawn. I was nothing but the sinner who bewitched him, tore them apart.

Even when I carried his pup, my sacrifice became obligation. No thanks, only the cold reminder: it’s an honor to serve the future Luna.

This wasn’t the first time I was humiliated, but it was the first time I refused to swallow it. “Fine,” I rasped. “I’ll go back myself.”

I slammed the door, the echo booming through the sweltering parking lot.

Turning away, I stepped onto the asphalt scorched and twisted by the sun. Rush-hour traffic roared with heatwaves. My body, drained after the ritual and stripped of wolf power, staggered on for an hour under the blazing sky before I finally reached that so-called “home.”

The moment I opened the door, complaints poured like a tide.

“Kay, what took you so long? We’ve been home forever!”

“Starving here. Hurry up and cook something—let’s see your skills make up our energy.”

My gaze swept past them, landing in the living room. In the heart of summer, the air-conditioning was shut off—because the delicate Fawn might catch a chill.

Neil sat beside her, fanning her awkwardly but with full attention. Sweat beaded his temples, but his focus stayed on her shallow breaths, whispering gently.

The loudest Beta—Daisy—saw me frozen in the doorway and shouted impatiently to Neil: “Neil! Tell your wife to get cooking! Fawn needs nutrition!”