Chapter 1 Full Moon Judgment and Premature Birth

Elara Sharp's POV

The pure silver chains bit deep into my flesh, filling the air with the acrid stench of burning skin.

A white wolf's healing ability was completely useless against silver corrosion. My charred wounds split open, my whole body convulsing. But I clenched my jaw, forcing down the metallic taste of blood pooling in my mouth. I refused to scream.

On the judgment platform, my fated mate—Kevin Cole, Alpha of the Shadow Pack—stared coldly at my swollen, heavily pregnant belly.

"Elara, what do you have to say for yourself?" His voice cut like ice.

Below the platform, Hestia Sharp stood in a flowing white dress, leaning delicately against Kevin's side.

In her hands, she clutched a forged blood test and a torn piece of clothing reeking of rogue werewolves.

"Sis, how could you stoop so low..." Hestia's eyes reddened, though beneath the tears I caught the glint of barely concealed excitement. "You slept with those border rogues! You're carrying Caleb's bastard! You've humiliated Alpha Kevin—how can you live with yourself?"

"Shut up!"

I jerked my head up and spat blood onto the stone floor. "That's scent-masking serum! The test is fake! Kevin, are you blind? I'm carrying your child!"

With his Alpha senses, there was no way he couldn't detect something off about this so-called evidence.

But as I stared into his cold, hard eyes—as I watched his jaw remain locked, unmoved—my heart sank deeper and deeper.

He wasn't oblivious.

He just didn't care.

Truth mattered less to him than absolute power.

I saw it all too clearly now.

Every time Hestia lowered her head, every tremor in her voice, every show of dependence—it made Kevin's expression grow calmer, more satisfied.

Her feigned weakness and obedience fed his need for control.

And me? The fated mate who refused to submit had become a threat he needed to destroy.

"The evidence is clear, and you still dare lie!"

Kevin's eyes darkened. A crushing wave of Alpha pressure slammed down on me.

BOOM—!

Invisible weight crashed onto my spine. Around me, pack members collapsed to their knees in terror.

"Ahh—!"

A violent contraction seized my belly.

Warm amniotic fluid gushed down my inner thighs, splattering into the dirt beneath the judgment post.

"It hurts..."

The chains cut deeper as I struggled.

"Alpha, she's going into labor!" From the crowd, Dr. James Smith shouted, his face pale. "The silver is devouring her life force—if you don't remove the chains, she'll bleed out!"

"No one touches her!"

Kevin's roar echoed across the clearing. "She gives birth right there! Since she dared betray this pack, let everyone watch. This is what happens when you challenge my authority!"

My contractions came faster and faster.

No bed. No privacy. No pain relief.

All I could do was grip the silver chains with my mangled, bloodied hands and push with everything I had.

"AHHH—!!!"

I screamed toward the sky.

Thud—

With one final, guttural cry, something slipped free.

A tiny, blood-covered body fell into the pool of crimson below me.

"Wahhh—"

A faint wail shattered the full moon's silence.

My baby came into the world just like that.

My head lolled forward, chest heaving as I gasped for air.

Tears poured down my face, mixing with cold sweat.

The pack priest stepped forward to examine the child. The moment he drew near, his entire body went rigid. His eyes widened in shock.

His voice trembled. "This child survived... How is this... Blood of the Moon Goddess?!"

The crowd erupted.

Blood of the Moon Goddess! I'd heard the clan elders speak of it—first among the Four Great Powers of the White Wolves, an ancient bloodline blessed closest to the Moon Goddess herself. The Shadow Pack hadn't sensed an aura like this in generations.

Through the blood streaking my face, I managed a weak smile.

Kevin, do you hear that? This isn't some bastard child. This is the purest Blood of the Moon Goddess!

I lifted my head toward Kevin, hope flickering in my chest.

But there was no surprise on his face. No joy of fatherhood. No guilt at discovering the truth.

Only fear.

And bone-chilling intent to kill.

My hope shattered.

In that moment, I finally understood the terror in his eyes.

He'd clawed his way to the Alpha position through ruthless force.

In his world, anything that threatened his power couldn't be allowed to exist.

If the pack learned that the mate he'd publicly tortured had given birth to a legendary 'Blood of the Moon Goddess'... his authority would become a joke.

Worse—when this child grew up, they could replace him entirely.

He craved power too desperately.

"Priest, you're mistaken."

Kevin strode down from the platform.

"A bastard reeking of rogue blood couldn't possibly carry the Blood of the Moon Goddess. This is just mutated lycanthropic venom—nothing more."

"But Alpha, this infant is definitely—" The priest tried to speak.

"I said you're mistaken!"

Kevin unleashed savage killing intent, crushing the priest into silence. "Take this bastard to the Moon Hierophant's Hall immediately! For the safety of the pack, we'll verify its bloodline there!"

Sent to the Moon Hierophant's Hall.

Those words sliced through my heart like knives.

"NO—!!!"

I thrashed against the silver chains like a madwoman, blood spraying across the post. "Kevin! That's your own flesh and blood! Give them back to me!"

"Take her away." Kevin didn't even glance in my direction.

The guards roughly seized my child.

"Wahhh—"

The crying grew fainter and fainter, until it disappeared entirely behind the cold stone doors of the Moon Hierophant's Hall.

The last of my strength drained away.

Kevin, for your pathetic hunger for power, you'd abandon your own child.

I slumped against the chains, sinking into darkness...