My Daughter Died So He Could Win Her Love

Elara's POV

My husband, Callum, never loved me. On our wedding night, he panted another woman’s name.

For five years, I endured a cold, loveless marriage. The only reason I held on was my daughter, Tessa.

But on the eve of her fourth birthday, Callum went behind my back and personally delivered her to his mistress Seraphina's underground lab.

The moment my daughter was drained of her blood and her heart stopped beating on that operating table, he was drinking champagne with Seraphina to celebrate their success.

From the moment I walked out of the crematorium holding Tessa’s freezing urn, the submissive wife I used to be died.

—

"Elara, something happened to Tess. You need to get back to the pack infirmary. Now."

The voice on the phone was trembling. I was the Silver Pine Pack’s only herbalist. I had just spent ten grueling days in the rogue territories, my backpack stuffed with life-saving Moonsilver weed.

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. The moment I pushed open the ER doors, the suffocating stench of bleach and heavy blood rushed into my lungs.

"Where is Tessa?" I grabbed the receptionist’s shoulders, my nails digging into her flesh. "Tell me! Where is my daughter!"

The nurse’s eyes were entirely red. She couldn't meet my gaze. "Elara, I’m so sorry... We tried everything."

"Tessa didn't make it. Her heart stopped ten minutes ago."

How is that possible? She was only four. Just last night, she used Callum’s phone to call me, her sweet, milky voice whining for me.

"Mommy, tomorrow is my birthday. Can you make it back to cut the cake with me?"

The nurse led me to Resuscitation Room 3 in the second basement. On the operating table, Tessa’s tiny body was covered by a white sheet. A massive dark red stain seeped through the fabric.

I ripped the sheet back, my pupils shrinking.

Her little arms were densely covered in needle marks. At her carotid artery, there was a gruesome tear—where a massive gauge had been brutally inserted to extract her blood.

"Who did this?" I glared at the assistant doctor cowering in the corner. "Who did this to her?"

"It... it was Mr. Callum," the assistant stammered, shaking violently. "He handed Tessa over to Dr. Seraphina."

Seraphina.

The name Callum had moaned while covered in sweat on our wedding night. Over five years of marriage, he treated me like ice.

"Why was Seraphina drawing my daughter's blood?" I took a step closer.

"For the 'Eclipse Serum' trials..." The assistant broke down in sobs. "Dr. Seraphina needed a pup as a live subject. Mr. Callum volunteered Tessa."

"Halfway through the procedure, Dr. Seraphina said she felt dizzy from low blood sugar, so Mr. Callum took her to the lounge to rest. The moment they left, Tessa went into severe rejection shock—and we couldn't find Dr. Seraphina anywhere..."

Callum only ever cared about one thing: securing a Beta recommendation signed directly by Alpha Damian. And the person who had Damian’s ear the most? Seraphina.

To impress his mistress and secure a title, he handed his own daughter over as a sacrificial lamb.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. A notification from my favorites list.

Callum had just posted an update.

In the photo, he looked immaculate. He was holding a glass of champagne, staring affectionately at Seraphina, who was leaning against his shoulder by the floor-to-ceiling windows of an office. They looked like the perfect couple.

The caption read: [Celebrating a breakthrough phase for the Eclipse Serum. A perfect night with the brilliant Dr. Cole.]

My stomach violently churned. The taste of copper flooded my mouth, but I swallowed the blood back down.

With trembling hands, I sent a single text to that familiar number. No tears. No questions.

[I am breaking the mate bond.]