Chapter 4

The slap snapped my head to the side. Pain flared across my cheek, and for a moment, I could barely see straight.

Owen froze. Then he burst into tears.

"Don't hit my mommy! You're bad!"

Before I could reach for him, Owen struggled out of my arms and charged at Marcus with his little fists raised. Marcus caught him and lifted him off the ground.

"Put me down! I don't want you!" Owen kicked and struggled so hard that one of his shoes flew off.

I lunged forward to take him back, but Marcus's Alpha dominance crashed down on me. My knees hit the stone floor.

The pain forced me forward. Marcus looked down at me and planted his boot on the hem of my dress.

My wolf fought against the crushing weight of his Alpha dominance. I pressed both hands against the stone floor, desperate to get back up while he held Owen.

I managed to lift one knee, but another wave of pressure slammed down on my shoulders and forced me back to the ground.

"Mommy! I want Mommy!"

Owen reached for me. His little hand caught Marcus across the jaw, leaving two bloody scratches.

Marcus grabbed his wrist. "Just as badly behaved as your mother."

He handed Owen to a guard standing behind him.

"Take him to the sitting room. Shut the door and let him calm down."

"Don't take him!" I struggled to reach my son, but the pressure made it almost impossible to lift my head.

The guard carried Owen away.

"Mommy!" His cries echoed down the corridor.

I dragged myself forward on my knees, trying to follow, until Marcus stepped in front of me and blocked my way.

I strained to see past him. All I caught was a glimpse of Owen twisting in the guard's arms before they disappeared around the corner. His voice lingered long after I could no longer see him.

"Are you going to make a scene all night?" Marcus asked impatiently.

"Give him back!" My throat tightened. "He's only four. He's terrified!"

Marcus raised his hand, and the crushing pressure finally lifted.

But the moment I tried to stand, two guards seized my arms and held me in place.

Marcus turned to his Beta.

"Prepare a custody transfer agreement."

Beta Mark hurried to a nearby table and laid out a sheet of parchment, quill in hand.

"Stonecliff law allows a father's pack to claim custody once paternity is established." Marcus dropped his pouch of gold at my feet. "Three hundred gold coins if you sign him over willingly."

Celeste rushed to the table and grabbed the edge of the parchment, stopping the steward from writing.

"Wait. You're claiming him? What about our pup? He's your heir!"

"That child isn't inheriting anything," Marcus snapped.

"I know that!" She shot him an irritated look, then lowered her voice. "But you can't let him grow up thinking he has a claim to anything that belongs to our son."

Marcus's expression hardened.

"I can feed him and raise him without making him my heir. He's my blood."

For a moment, Celeste looked as though she wanted to argue. Then her expression softened into a calculating smile.

"Fine. Then make him our son's attendant." She tapped the parchment. "Put it in writing. I won't have him growing up with ideas above his station."

Mark hesitated, his quill hovering over the page.

He'd heard Celeste reduce a four-year-old child to a servant, yet he lowered his head and continued writing while the guards kept their grip on my arms.

"His mother can be the nanny, and he'll serve our son," Celeste added, smoothing her gown. "It's still better than living outside a pack, isn't it, Nora? You should be grateful."

I turned my wrist toward them, making sure the bracelet beneath my sleeve was visible.

"Look at the crest. This is the Silverpine Luna Queen's mate token. Bring Owen back, and let us leave."

Celeste seized my arm.

"Still trying to scare us with that fake?"

Before I could pull away, she ripped the bracelet from my wrist. Its edge cut into my skin, and I gasped as a sharp sting shot through my arm.

"Give it back!"

She threw it to the floor.

The moonstone shattered.

For a moment, I couldn't move.

Rowan had fastened that bracelet around my wrist himself. He'd shown me the initials he'd had engraved on the inside, smiling as he secured the clasp.

Now the pieces lay scattered across the stone floor.

Celeste ground them beneath her shoe.

"You actually thought you could pass yourself off as the queen?"

The cut on my wrist burned, but I barely noticed.

I stared at the broken stones, unable to believe she'd destroyed something Rowan had given me simply because she refused to accept the truth.

A guest nearby raised his glass in approval. Others began to clap.

From somewhere down the corridor, Owen's cries had grown faint.

"Marcus." My voice trembled despite my best efforts. "Please. Just let me see my son."

He looked down at me with a satisfied smile.

"You could've saved yourself trouble if you'd asked nicely from the start."

He took the custody agreement from his Beta and held it out.

"Sign this, and you can go to the sitting room."

I looked at the parchment.

The final clause stated that I, Nora, voluntarily relinquished all custody of Owen to Marcus, without conditions.

He was making me sign away my own child as if it were my decision—as if he hadn't taken Owen from my arms and left him frightened and alone.

The guards still held me. The guests watched in silence, and no one stepped forward to help.

"Sign it," Marcus said. "He'll be better off with me."

I wanted to tear the agreement to pieces. But Owen was alone, and I had no idea how badly he was frightened. I needed to get to him first.

My fingers closed around the quill. Its tip hovered over the parchment, shaking.

Marcus's patience ran out.

"Sign it, Nora."

Before I could move, the banquet hall doors crashed open.

A wave of Alpha dominance swept through the room, forcing every head to bow.

Then Rowan's cold voice rang out behind us.

"Who's forcing my Luna Queen to sign?"