Chapter 1

Nyra's POV

I had died on an operating table after being led to believe I was saving the life of my husband's son.

"Are you ready, baby?"

Silas's voice was soft, almost tender, as his fingers brushed gently through my hair. Anyone watching would think he was a devoted husband, worried for his wife.

At the time, I thought so too.

Never, not even in my worst nightmare, would I have imagined that his hesitation had nothing to do with concern.

It was simply courtesy.

A final kindness before he watched me die.

My lips parted to answer but all that escaped was a weak breath.

I was so tired. So unbearably tired and for a second I wanted to say no.

For months, it had felt as though my bones had been hollowed out every single time I was placed on the operating table.

Just one more for Zac. Just one more.

That was what Silas always said, and every single time I swallowed my fear because Zac was no longer just Silas's son but had become mine too.

And I loved them both.

The poor child had spent last year in and out of the healer's wing with Silas even spending weeks away, to sleep over at the doctors.

Zac had started a battle with a rare marrow disorder a month after dad's death.

Because I was of royal lineage, the healer said I was the only viable donor due to my Alpha generative essence.

I had lost count of the times I'd been put under the knife.

The transfusions, essence derivations and how each one left me weaker than the last.

I couldn't walk long distances without trembling.

But what kind of monster would I be if I refused to save a dying child?

Moreover, when I had brought up how I was feeling earlier on, Silas had smiled sadly and reminded me that Zac's condition was worsening.

So I ignored every warning my body gave me and buried the deep instinctive fear drenching my skin as another IV line was fastened into my arm, adding one more scar to the dozens already there.

Today was different.

Maybe it was something in the air, but I had this deep sense of foreboding ever since Silas informed me of the emergency surgery.

"I don't think I feel good," I managed to say, just before the operating doctor called for his attention.

A soft sniffle drew my gaze to the present.

Vanessa, my stepsister, stood near the foot of the operating bed in a pale blue dress, pressing a handkerchief to her eyes.

I managed a faint smile.

She had no reason to be here, but there she was! My biggest supporter, my comforter, ever since I could remember.

"My poor sister," Vanessa whispered brokenly. "You're suffering so much for Zac."

"It's okay," I breathed. "The doctor said this was the last trial…"

She clasped my hand. "Silas owes you the whole world… look how pale you look." She burst into tears.

I barely had time to process how calm she felt beneath her distress when Silas came back into my view… devastatingly handsome, dark hair immaculate, amber eyes filled with torn pain.

He bent over me and brushed a strand of damp hair from my forehead.

"Hey," he murmured softly. "Be brave for me."

I nodded weakly. "After this… Zac will finally be okay, right?"

For a second, I could swear I saw Silas hesitate. His gaze slid from mine to stare at Zac in the opposite room. "Of course. You have already done more than I could ever thank you for."

Relief should have followed.

Instead, the more I stared at their tight smiles, the more unease crawled beneath my skin.

Why were there more doctors today?

Usually two, but I could count five.

Two large silver canisters beside the table for a minor procedure.

No nurses in the room with Zac.

And Silas, why couldn't he hold my gaze for more than a second?

A strange pulse struck inside my chest.

Sharp and primal.

I had no wolf and the healer had confirmed it, dormant or weaker than any Alpha-born heirs should have been.

But right now, she spoke.

"…Don't do this, Nyra…" Weak. Then silence again.

Fear trailed up my spine.

"Silas… maybe we should stop first before—"

"You're overthinking it, baby." He kissed my forehead. "It's just a minor surgery. I'll be right here."

Before I could say more, a doctor stepped forward. "Administering anesthesia, Luna."

The needle sank into the IV and the familiar cold burn flooded my bloodstream.

"No… wait…"

My protest died as heaviness descended over my already weak limbs. The ceiling blurred. Voices stretched until silence. I tried gripping Nessa's hand but she was ushered out, hers slipping from mine.

Please wait!

For a moment, everything went still.

Then the doctors started working.

A silent scream escaped my lips as pain beyond anything I knew hit me.

I shouldn't be feeling anything after anesthesia — this was supposed to be mild.

It felt like something was being ripped out in chunks while wildfire spread through every nerve ending in my body.

Conscious and unconscious at the same time.

I don’t know how much time had passed but at this point, I could hear the machine alarms beeping even louder.

Something was wrong!

"Luna's vitals are dropping," someone barked.

"Don't stop!" Silas ordered, Alpha command unmistakable. "Keep going."

What was Silas thinking?

"Alpha Silas, if her pressure keeps falling…"

"I said do not move an inch. Not until you've extracted everything viable."

Everything?

My heart stuttered weakly in my chest, something was wrong.

"Shit, her pulse is crashing!"

My breath came in shallow, panicked gasps, tears spilling helplessly from the corners of my eyes.

I couldn't move.

I couldn't do anything but listen to the sound of my own body dying.

And through the thick haze, their voices drifted back to me.

Voices they must have thought I couldn't hear.

Silas was cold now, stripped of every ounce of tenderness I had ever known.

"I can't tell you how exhausting it has been pretending to care. I could barely keep my excitement at bay today."

My heart stopped.

Vanessa laughed softly. "Poor idiot. At least she'll die believing you loved her."

Nessa? Why?

"She has served her purpose," Silas continued. "We had taken care of Alpha Rowan first, so once she dies I become Alpha King and you take her place as my Luna."

"What if she survives? She has been quite resilient and it is getting tiring."

Silas scoffed, "She won't. And even if she does, we'll put her through another round until the council sees her as unfit for the throne."

“I can’t wait to be with you openly anymore, hiding the fact that Zac is mine was hard but Dumb Nyra made it easy.”

I had been so blind?

Silas chuckled and it seemed like he pulled her closer.

“You know I’ve missed you more, baby.”

My heart stuttered but they weren’t done with me.

Vanessa clicked her tongue, “Honestly, the single fact that she never realized Zac was never ill at all makes me question how she survived this long, her dad was right… his daughter was as gullible as he thought.”

A loud ringing exploded in my ears.

Zac wasn’t sick?

Silas chuckled darkly, “Or we are just better actors.”

Another kiss.

This was a night mare!

A loud ringing exploded in my ears.

Zac wasn't sick?

"Let's give accolades to the suppressants that worked perfectly," Vanessa continued. "A fever here, a collapse there, enough bloodwork manipulation and she kept volunteering like the obedient fool she is."

All those surgeries. All those nights vomiting blood. Every tear shed for little Zac.

All a lie.

These sick people had used a child as bait and my love as a leash.

I wanted to claw Silas's face open, to rip Vanessa's lying tongue from her mouth.

But I couldn't even twitch.

I was forced to do nothing but listen as they laughed.

"We have removed it all," a doctor reported. "What next, Alpha?"

"Put her to sleep. She's useless anyway."

Memories crashed into me.

My late father, standing in his office a day after my wedding.

I had just asked him to sign off my shares to my Silas since we were now married.

‘It’s not too late to back out of this Nyra, Silas is clearly using you.’

The other time I had told him Vanessa was going to be on the council with me as my right hand woman and he had lost it.

‘I don’t get why you choose to hang around Vanessa even after you have seen how clearly she envies what belongs to you.’

I had screamed at him then and accused him of being so cruel and void of love not to see when someone else is being loved.

I had chosen Silas and Vanessa.

Three months later, Dad died of a mysterious illness.

A broken sob echoed silently inside my head.

I had chosen this as my fate.

‘Oh daddy, I’m so sorry… I was wrong.’

I knew I was dying but the thought that I had caused it myself caused my chest to tighten more painfully.

As my heartbeat slowed, I felt rage unlike anything I had ever known… I hated the idea of going like a church rat while the people I had sacrificed everything for watched in delight.

And the thought of what life meant for Zac…

I didn’t want to die, not after finding out that I had been so blind to the truth around me.

The monitor beside me gave a long shrill beep but I could still feel the rage surge through what remained of my consciousness.

And with that little strength, my heavy heart cried out to the only one that could hear me, ‘Please… goddess of the moon…. hear my cry.’

My chest tightened in fury as more memories flashed, from Zac’s fragile smile and warm hugs to the healer's lies to Sila's evil love and my sister's comforting words…

The worst betrayal of them all was hers.

‘They had mistaken my sacrifices for weakness and trampled on my love… just one more chance.’

‘They had to pay.’ and with that, there was nothing…

No pain or panicked voices…just darkness.

It felt like I was floating in endless silence.

Was this all that remained after death?

A sob escaped my throat but nothing resounded…

A distant feminine hum filled the void like a surrounding sound, breaking the silence.

“No descendant of mine dies begging.”

It felt wrong to make a noise in her presence so I stayed calm in reverence.

“You asked for justice, my daughter Nyra Celestine Thorne of Blood Moon pack…”

I couldn’t see it but I felt her hands touch me softly on my chest.

“Now make haste and go!”

I felt heat ignite through me.

At first it was a spark then an inferno tearing through every inch of my being.

A scream escaped my throat and at the same time, the black void cracked apart.

“Make them pay!”