Chapter 1

“Aaaaaaaaaah!”

Another violent contraction ripped through my abdomen, forcing a ragged scream from my lungs.

I curled into a tight ball on the stone bed. Outside the tower windows, a Highland hurricane battered the glass.

My alpha husband, Lachlan, sat beside me. His fingers gently brushed the damp hair from my forehead, wiping away the cold sweat. "Elspeth, I slept with someone else."

His voice was perfectly calm. The words drove into my chest like an ice pick. The blinding pain of a ten-centimeter dilation seemed to freeze instantly.

"It was Liora."

My vision blurred. Liora. My best friend. The girl I grew up with.

"Remember that ex I told you about? The one I said I could never get over? It was her all along."

"While you’ve been in here for the last few hours, biting your lips bloody and screaming, we were right next door," he said, his tone casual. "Her nails were digging into my back. Honestly, Ellie, she was moaning louder than you are screaming."

My hands shook uncontrollably as I gripped the blood-stained sheets. "Why..." I gasped. "Why tell me this right now?"

His fingers drifted down, lightly tracing the massive swell of my belly. The touch made my skin crawl.

"Because Liora is pregnant too," Lachlan continued, standing up and looking down at me with cold, dead eyes. "She’s carrying my pureblood heir. The Elders already signed off on it. Once she gives birth, you’re stepping down. I’m making her Luna."

I stared at him, my mind spinning into a freefall.

This was the man who took nine lashes from the clan’s barbed whip just to marry me.

He fought the entire Elder Council for me.

He swore I was his only salvation, the only woman whose touch didn't trigger his Burn Syndrome.

Another contraction hit, infinitely worse than before. The physical pain collided with the sheer horror of his words, shattering my senses. Blackness rushed my vision. I felt my body go limp against the pillows.

When a sliver of consciousness returned, the scent of blood and burning sage filled my nose. I was lying in the center of the birthing circle.

Muted, hurried voices echoed from the hallway outside the open door.

"Alpha, the pup is fully formed. The heartbeat is there. We can save it," the clan medic whispered frantically. "But the Luna... because of her mixed blood, her uterine wall is incredibly thin. She's hemorrhaging badly. But... do you really want us to abort? You’ve waited for this pup for a year."

Silence fell over the hallway.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three.

"Liora waited for me for years," Lachlan's voice cut through the air. "She’s carrying the true pureblood heir. Elspeth's mutt can't stay. Get rid of it. I'll compensate her when she wakes up."

[Get rid of it.]

An icy tear slid out of the corner of my eye, tracking through the blood and sweat on my cheek. I let the darkness pull me under completely.

When I opened my eyes again, the room was dead silent. I reached down. My stomach was flat.

My baby was gone.

The door creaked. Liora walked in, carrying a steaming wooden bowl of herbal brew. Her eyes were red and puffy. She looked exactly like the fiercely loyal best friend I had known my whole life.

My vision blurred as cold tears slipped down my cheeks.

When I took the mating bite with Lachlan, I knew he had a former mate he couldn't let go of. I just never realized it was Liora.

I remembered the night I first discovered his lingering obsession with his ex. I was so devastated I recklessly ran past the clan wards, straight into the deep woods. I was almost cornered and torn apart by a rogue wolf. It was Liora who threw herself in front of me. She took a brutal claw to the head and shattered her ankle, stuck resting in Maggie’s infirmary for three months.

During one of our late-night talks, while I was nursing her, Liora told me about her ex-mate.

"I have zero sense of direction in the Highland fog," she had smiled softly, staring at the ceiling. "One time I wandered off, and he deployed the entire shadow-guard and fifty trackers to scour the mountains. When he finally found me, he hugged me so tight I thought my ribs would snap."

"I loved mixing potions, so he built me a private glasshouse. I hate the smell of mugwort but love sweetgrass, and he kept every detail in mind."

She had giggled, a blush creeping up her neck. "Except for being a little too feral and rough during the full moon rut... he was perfect in every way."

I had envied her and that mate so deeply. Because Lachlan was always so cold and detached with me. He never cared if I came back late from border patrols. He didn't blink if I came home bruised or bleeding. He didn't give a damn about my preferences.

Now I realized—he wasn't incapable of warmth. His warmth was just entirely reserved for her.

"Ellie," she whispered, her voice cracking perfectly. "Oh, honey, don't be scared. The baby is gone, but we can always try for another one later. I’m right here with you. We’re sisters, remember? I'll never leave you."

My mind snapped back. I looked at her face. The careful concern in her eyes. The gentle curve of her brow. I felt a surge of unadulterated disgust.

I swung my arm hard and smacked the bowl right out of her hands.

The boiling brown liquid splashed directly onto the back of her hand. Her skin instantly turned red and blistered.

"Aren't you tired of faking it?" I croaked. "You've been acting for years. Give it a rest."

Lachlan burst through the door, his eyes locking onto Liora's burned hand. He lunged forward, grabbed my shoulder, and shoved me backward with brutal force.

My spine slammed hard against the edge of the stone headboard. Warm, fresh blood instantly soaked through the back of my thin hospital gown.

Lachlan pulled Liora into his chest, frantically examining her reddened skin. He spun around, his jaw clenched, eyes blazing with absolute fury.

"Elspeth! Are you out of your damn mind?" he roared at me. "She came in here out of the goodness of her heart to take care of you, and you assault her? You really are a crazy bitch."