Chapter 72

Sarah

The footsteps echoed down the long, dark corridor. I didn’t need to look up to know who it was; the way the other moonwolves cowered was enough for me.

The footsteps weren’t hurried. They weren’t aggressive. They came slowly, measured and deliberate, heels clicking against the floor like each step was calculated for effect.

Sarah.

“Awake already?” Sarah’s voice lilted through the air, as casual as ever, but the sinister edge beneath it was unmistakable. I lifted my head just enough to see her approaching, the dim glow from the overhead lamp catching on the sharp lines of her face. Her eyes shimmered in the low light like a snake’s, cold and predatory.

I swallowed the knot forming in my throat but didn’t answer.

“Not going to say hello?” she teased as she stopped just outside the bars, folding her arms across her chest. “I thought we were closer than that by now.”

“I don’t have anything to say to you.” My voice came out more hoarse than I would have liked, but surprisingly steady given the circumstances. I wasn’t sure how I managed that, because frankly, I was fucking terrified.

Sarah hummed, tapping a single nail against the bar as if considering my words. “Well, that’s a shame. Because I have so much to say to you.”

As we stared at each other, I felt the weight of the other moonwolves’ gazes on me, silent but vigilant. Across the cell, my mother sat rigid, her eyes fixed on Sarah with a quiet intensity that made my stomach twist painfully.

Sarah’s gaze flicked to her briefly before settling back on me. She smiled, but of course it didn’t even come close to reaching her eyes. “I imagine this must all be very confusing for you, Elara,” she cooed. “A long-lost mother. A bloodline you didn’t know you had. And here I thought you were just an unfortunate little Omega who stumbled into Alaric’s bed while I was away.”

Somehow, I managed to hold her icy stare. “I don’t care what you thought,” I growled.

“No?” She arched a brow as she leaned casually against the bars. “Not even a little curious as to why I’ve gone through all this trouble?” Her voice dropped lower now, softer. “Why Ella and Zoe were switched at birth?”

The breath caught in my throat.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, although something inside me already knew I wouldn’t like the answer.

Sarah laughed quietly, the sound sending ice down my spine. “Oh, Elara. You really are just as naive as you look, aren’t you?” She straightened, brushing a lock of hair from her face before continuing. “Six years ago, I made sure Alaric’s true heir was taken from him. An Alpha with no legitimate heir is weak, vulnerable. It was the only way to ensure his downfall.”

Zoe.

My heart dropped.

“You switched the girls,” I said quietly, gripping the chain in front of me with trembling fingers. “You stole Ella and planted Zoe—an Omega child—as his daughter.”

She grinned. “Not just any Omega child. I thought I was ruining his line with a simple switch, but I didn’t realize who you really were back then.” She gestured toward my mother with a disinterested flick of her hand, as if she were gesturing toward a piece of mud on the ground.

“Your mother’s little game of hide-and-seek put a dent in my family’s plans for years,” Sarah continued. “Imagine my surprise when the Omega bitch I thought was nothing turned out to be her child. A moonwolf, hidden right under our noses.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. Not that I needed to say anything. What could I even say to change a single thing? I was in chains, locked in a cage, in a cavern somewhere underground. Sarah had me in her grasp, and there was no escape.

I glanced toward my mother, but she was staring down at her lap, her shoulders trembling.

Sarah took a step closer, the smugness radiating off of her. “My family’s been hunting moonwolves for centuries, draining them for the gifts in their blood. It was only fitting that I carry on the tradition.”

She tilted her head, her eyes narrowing. “Mind-altering drugs made from moonwolf blood are… lucrative. But more importantly, I believe that with the right chemistry, they can even control the minds of Alphas. Imagine an entire generation of Alphas, completely under my command.” Her voice turned to a sinister whisper, her eyes gleaming under the light. “And Alaric was supposed to be my first.”

I felt sick.

“Is that why you faked your death?” I managed, my head spinning. “So you could do this?”

Sarah smiled sweetly. “Of course. I had to break him down to nothing, and while he was grieving, I spent years working on my little potion.” With a swift movement, she slipped a small vial containing red, slightly glowing liquid from her pocket. She held it up to the light, and it shimmered faintly as the liquid swished inside the bottle.

My stomach twisted at the sight. That wasn’t what was given to me—that was a different drug entirely. Even just looking at it, I could sense its malicious purpose.

But then she quickly hid it again in her pocket. “But I didn’t expect Alaric to replace me so quickly,” she said, pushing her lower lip out in a mock pout. “Or that the woman warming his bed would end up being the one person who could ruin everything.”

I tugged against the chains, the sharp bite of metal digging into my skin as anger bubbled up in my chest. “You’re insane.”

“Maybe,” she allowed with a half-shrug. “But insane women get things done.”

I couldn’t breathe. This wasn’t just manipulation—this was something deeper, darker, a carefully spun web stretching for years. Generations. Every moment, every decision Alaric and I had made was part of some twisted game Sarah had been playing long before I came into the picture.

With that, Sarah stepped forward, pulling something else from the inside of her coat. The glint of the knife caught the light as she carefully pulled the cage open with her free hand.

I stiffened immediately as she swung the door open and stepped inside.

“What are you doing?” I demanded, the words rushing out faster than I could process.

She didn’t answer. She only smiled.

“Elara…” My mother’s voice trembled from across the cell, but she was already pulling at her chains, panic filling her eyes. “Don’t—don’t hurt her. Please.”

Sarah traced the edge of the knife along her palm absentmindedly as she approached me. “It’s nothing personal. But you keep getting in my way. And now you’re carrying Alaric’s child… That simply won’t do.”

The world narrowed to the edge of that blade as she stepped closer to me.

“No—” My mother lunged forward, the chains yanking her back sharply. She fell to her knees, her wrists bruising as she strained against the iron. “Take me. Not her. Take me.”

Sarah crouched in front of me, her gaze flicking to my stomach with that same chilling smile.

“How sweet,” she murmured, fingers tightening around the knife handle. “Don’t worry, Mommy. You’ll both die together. First the daughter, then the mother.”

My heart hammered wildly, but the chains held me fast. Not that I could even move if I wanted to. I felt frozen, like a statue cast in marble as I stared up at that knife—as I imagined it plunging into my belly, snuffing out the little life that had only just taken root there.

“Sarah, don’t do this,” I pleaded, the words falling uselessly into the cold air between us.

She lifted the knife.

But then, like thunder, a roar split through the chamber.

The cavern doors burst open, and Alaric’s silhouette filled the room in a wash of bright light.