Chapter 3
That day, I helped Lucas fasten his trial cloak. He looked up at me, eyes shining.
“Mom, do you think I can beat Noah today?”
“Of course,” I smiled, smoothing down his fur-trimmed collar. “You’re my little hero.”
He bounced a few steps, then ran off toward the training grounds, his cloak fluttering behind him like a banner.
I had no idea… it would be the last time I ever saw it.
“Fire! West sector! Evacuate now!”
The cry split the valley like a whip crack.
I turned and saw smoke spiraling up from the young wolves’ rest area. Flames already curled over the rooftops.
“Lucas is still in there!” My heart seized. I ran.
Guards moved to block me.
“Alpha’s orders! No one goes—”
“Get out of my way!” I shoved past them and plunged into the fire.
The heat hit like a wall. Smoke clawed at my throat. I dropped low, crawling, shouting through coughing fits.
“Lucas! Answer me—Lucas!”
A faint voice—“Mom…”
I followed it to a collapsed beam and tore the charred wood aside. He was curled in the corner, tiny, shaking, ash coating his skin.
“I’ve got you,” I whispered, pulling him into my arms.
And then I felt it—a shift in the air. Alpha pressure pressed down like a weight.
I turned.
Alpha Alex stood in the flames, untouched.
“He’s hurt!” I shouted. “Help me get him out!”
He didn’t even glance at us.
His eyes swept the scene—then locked onto a different figure.
Noah, crouched behind a pillar, tears in his eyes.
Alpha Alex walked past me without a word and lifted Noah into his arms.
“Alpha Alex!” I cried. “Lucas is your son!”
He looked down at Noah, cradled him, then finally turned back to me.
“I never claimed that child.”
I froze.
“What… did you just say?”
He spoke as if stating fact. “Noah is the only one I want.”
“Lucas is weak. Quiet. Doesn’t even look like me.”
I couldn’t breathe.
“You said—” I stammered. “You said we’d raise him together—”
“That was pity,” he interrupted. “A mistake.”
“You’re my fated mate.”
“And you’re nothing,” he said flatly. “Omega Isabella is the only one I ever cared for.”
“And you? You’re not even worthy of being her shadow.”
My lips parted, but the words died in my throat.
Lucas stirred in my arms, whispering weakly, “Mom… does Dad hate me…”
I bit back a sob. “No, baby, no…”
“But I called him…”
His voice faded.
I ran, clutching him close—but his breath was already slipping away.
The next day, the pack held a funeral for Lucas.
I arrived in silence, wearing mourning white.
Before I reached the sacred platform, two guards stepped in front of me.
“You can’t go in.”
“I’m his mother,” I said.
One sneered, “Exactly. You let him die. Now stay where you belong.”
Far away from the pack. Far away from their “honor.”
I stood behind the stones, watching as smoke rose from the pyre.
Ash drifted through the air, falling across my cheeks like snow.
And then I heard it—that voice I hated most.
“Such a pity.”
I turned.
Omega Isabella stood behind a pine, dressed immaculately, holding a cup of steaming tea.
“You… what are you doing here?”
She stepped closer, speaking softly.
“Did you know? He wasn’t supposed to go to that area.”
I stared at her.
“I told him you were waiting for him on the west side,” she smiled. “He ran right off, the little dear.”
My blood ran cold.
Her eyes gleamed. “Then I... may have nudged an oil lantern. Or maybe I dropped it. Who knows? Fire spreads fast.”
I couldn’t speak.
She took a sip of her tea, sighing.
“Don’t blame me. You were always so obsessed with him.”
Her voice dropped, cruel and sweet.
“Alpha Alex doesn’t like what you produce. You know that, right?”
“He likes my son. Noah. Quiet. Loyal. Not like Lucas—so much trouble, even just being alive.”
I clenched my fists, fingernails biting into flesh.
She leaned in, whispering, “At least now he’s not a burden anymore.”
I didn’t scream.
Didn’t cry.
Didn’t even flinch.
I just stood there, numb.
