Chapter Two

Sera POV

I knew this woman. She was the daughter of an Alpha from another Pack, rumored to have grown up alongside Caden, their bond intimate and deep.

Elena had awakened early, and after her transformation, she'd left Ashenford to train under more powerful werewolf mentors. I'd never had the chance to meet her before now.

But I didn't care who he'd been thinking of.

I thought everything would be different. I thought no one would dare call me "worthless" anymore, that no one could tear us apart.

The next morning, I woke by the Sacred Spring with his coat draped over me.

Heart brimming with joy, I ran back to the manor, eager to share the news with everyone.

Yet at the corner of the hallway, I overheard his conversation with the Beta.

"Alpha, how did you manage your rut last night?" the Beta asked with concern.

Caden's voice was cold as ice: "Found a she-wolf in heat. Took care of it."

"But... I caught Sera's scent in the forest, and in your scent there was—"

"Shut up." Caden cut him off, a trace of barely perceptible irritation in his tone. "That was an accident. She's just Wolfless. The Pack can't accept a Wolfless as Luna. She was nothing more than a tool for release. This matter stays buried."

I froze in place.

Tool. Accident. Wolfless.

So that sacred "bond" was merely an accidental release in his eyes.

Even though our souls had already become entwined, he could still lie through his teeth, refusing to acknowledge me as his destined mate.

I didn't dare rush out and confront him.

Because I knew if I did, to preserve his dignity as Alpha, to protect his vision of a "perfect Luna," he would kill me.

I could only bury that night's secret deep within myself.

But soon I discovered that after that night, my belly gradually began to swell.

I was carrying Caden's child.

The days of pregnancy were the longest, darkest period of my entire life.

As Wolfless, I already occupied the lowest rung of the Pack hierarchy, living in the most remote, frigid wooden cabin. Caden would never allow me to carry his child. To avoid discovery, I had to bind my belly tightly every day with oversized old clothes, even as they dug painfully into my ribs, even as the baby kicked restlessly inside me in protest.

I didn't dare visit the medical center for checkups, didn't dare take an extra bite of food from the Packhouse, terrified someone might notice.

Whenever night fell and silence descended, I'd hide under my covers, secretly stroking my increasingly swollen abdomen, whispering silently in my heart: "Baby, I'm sorry. Mama can't let you see the light. Be good, stay healthy, and once Mama gives birth to you, we'll leave this place..."

The day of labor came during a thunderstorm.

No doctor, no painkillers, not even a clean towel.

I bit down on a stick, curled up on a moldy pile of straw, enduring the heart-rending agony alone. Afraid my screams would attract the patrol warriors, I could only bury my face in tattered cotton padding, letting cold sweat and tears soak through my entire body.

When that faint cry finally rang out, I nearly fainted from exhaustion.

A girl.

She was so small, so thin, her skin showing an unhealthy bluish-purple hue, her cry as weak as a dying kitten.

Trembling, I held her in my arms, using my body heat to warm her cold little form, tears streaming uncontrollably: "Lily... my Lily... you're finally here."

I thought the baby's arrival would be the Moon Goddess's compensation to me.

But I was wrong. Lily's frailty and constant illness became my new nightmare, and a fresh reason for the Pack to despise us. No one cared about Lily's condition—they even mocked us coldly, saying Lily was some unknown "bastard child" unworthy of living among the Pack.

Due to malnutrition during pregnancy, Lily was born with severe defects.

She couldn't possess the robust constitution of normal werewolf cubs—even the most common cold could leave her burning with fever for days.

Under crushing difficulties, I barely managed to raise Lily to the age where she could talk and walk, but then Elena returned from her training abroad.

She seemed relatively kind to us. I once believed she might persuade Caden to accept us.

But three weeks ago, Lily started running a fever again. Her body had grown increasingly weak, and the medicines I could scavenge on my own were no longer enough to sustain her condition.

I took her to the Pack's medical center.

The healer, Dr. Maren, didn't even remove his gold-rimmed glasses, merely casting a cold glance at Lily huddled in the chair.

"Non-Pack members are not within treatment priority. Next."

"She's Alpha Caden's child!" I tried to argue, my voice trembling. "Just one treatment session—her condition would stabilize!"

"That was before!" Dr. Maren cut me off coldly, his eyes full of disdain. "Now Alpha Caden has his own Luna. Resources must be prioritized for the future mistress. As for you... Sera, don't use those old stories to morally blackmail the Alpha. Take her and leave."

Two weeks ago, Lily burned with such fever she couldn't even stand, curled up in a tattered blanket shivering, her skin taking on a terrifying ashen color.

I sold the last of what my father had left me and went outside the city to find human doctors. But those physicians couldn't identify any cause, only saying it was "unexplained organ failure."

I had no money for a human hospital, so I had to bring Lily back.

Seven days ago, Lily began losing consciousness.

Despair tore at me like a wild beast.

That evening, the manor was hosting a grand pre-ceremony reception. Like a madwoman, I charged inside, ignoring the guards' attempts to stop me, bursting into the resplendent hall.

The crystal chandelier's brilliance stung my eyes. Around me were elegantly dressed guests holding expensive champagne, watching me—this disheveled woman—as if I were a joke.

I pushed through to the center of the crowd, desperately blocking Alpha Caden's path.

"Alpha Caden!" I grabbed at the leg of his custom-tailored suit pants, my voice hoarse, tears mixing with dirt as they ran into my mouth. "Lily's dying! She just needs some treatment! You promised my father—you promised you'd protect us!"

Caden stopped. He swirled a wine glass in his hand, his brow slightly furrowed, as if I were merely an annoying fly buzzing at his feet. Beside him, Elena wore a shimmering evening gown, gently holding his arm with the grace and composure befitting a Luna.

"Caden," Elena said softly, her voice carrying just the right note of concern, "this must be Miss Sera? She seems quite distressed. Perhaps we should—"

"No need." Caden's voice was deep, cold, carrying unquestionable authority.

His gaze held not a trace of old affection—only the displeasure of being interrupted.

He gently brushed my hand away as if it were something filthy.

"Sera," he looked down at me, his tone glacial, "people must learn to grow up. I can't live forever in the shadow of the previous generation. Elena is the Luna I've chosen. My responsibility is to the Pack's future, not to fill a bottomless pit."

"A bottomless pit? That's your daughter!" I screamed, no longer caring about etiquette or appearances.

But Caden remained unmoved.

I'd abandoned all dignity, wanting only to secure a sliver of hope for my daughter. So I knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly until my forehead bled.

"Alpha, please, please save her!"

The people around me looked on with only coldness and disgust. No one cared whether we lived or died.

"That's your child, not mine." Caden tilted his head slightly, saying two words to the captain of the guard beside him: "Remove her."

In that moment as I was dragged from the hall, I looked back and saw Elena.

She stood at the center of the guests, wearing that mask of compassionate pity.

But in that instant, when our eyes met across the crowd, I clearly saw the satisfaction flashing in her gaze.

It was the look of a victor surveying an insect.

That night, I was locked in the detention room, pacing anxiously on the dark, filthy stone floor. I pounded on the door countless times, begging those outside to let me out to check on my daughter. Every plea was refused, ignored.

Finally, I could only curl up in a damp corner, feeling helplessly frantic.

And that same night, Lily lay on our shabby little bed and stopped breathing forever.