Betrayed by My Alpha Mate

The silver burned like liquid fire against my wrists, each link of the chain searing deeper into my flesh with every passing hour. I hung suspended in the pack house tower, my swollen belly pulling at my spine while my arms screamed in agony above my head. The metal had long since eaten through the first layer of skin, and now blood trickled down my arms in thin, crimson streams.

*Elliott,* I called through our mate bond, my mental voice cracking with desperation. *Please, our pup... I can feel something's wrong. The cramping won't stop.*

Silence. Cold, devastating silence where there should have been warmth, concern, love. The mate bond that had once thrummed with his presence now felt like an empty cavern, echoing only my own pain back at me.

*Elliott, please!* I tried again, my physical voice nothing more than a hoarse whisper. *Remember when you first felt the baby kick? You cried. You said it was the most beautiful moment of your life. Don't let our child die because of your pride.*

Nothing. Not even acknowledgment that he could hear me screaming for him across the bond that was supposed to unite our souls.

Another cramp seized my abdomen, this one so violent it made me cry out. The baby's movements had grown frantic hours ago, then gradually weaker. Now, I could barely feel the flutter of life that had once brought me such joy.

Footsteps echoed on the tower stairs, and for a moment, hope flared in my chest. Maybe Elliott had come to his senses. Maybe—

"Well, well." Delilah's voice drifted up from below, sickeningly sweet. "How are we feeling, Luna?"

She appeared at the top of the stairs, immaculate as always, not a hair out of place. Her eyes swept over my burned, bleeding form with satisfaction rather than horror.

"Come to gloat?" I managed, my voice barely audible.

Delilah circled me slowly, like a predator savoring a wounded prey. "Actually, I came to thank you. You've made this so much easier than I expected."

"Made what easier?"

"Getting rid of you, of course." She stopped directly in front of me, her perfect smile never wavering. "Do you know how long I've been working on Elliott? Months of careful whispers, gentle suggestions, planting seeds of doubt about the whole 'fated mate' nonsense."

My wolf stirred weakly, trying to summon rage, but the silver had drained too much of our strength.

"You see," Delilah continued, examining her manicured nails, "Elliott is a practical man. And I convinced him that fated mates are just Moon Goddess superstition—romantic fairy tales that have no place in real pack politics. A chosen mate who understands the complexities of leadership? That's so much more valuable."

Another cramp hit, and I doubled over as much as the chains would allow, gasping.

"Oh, and I told him how fated mates often go insane during pregnancy. The hormones, the mystical bond—it's all too much for weak female minds to handle." Her laugh was like breaking glass. "When you started ranting about my poor brother, well... it just proved everything I'd been saying."

"Your brother is a rapist," I whispered.

"My brother is a red-blooded male who took what was offered," she snapped, her mask slipping for just a moment. "Your sister was always throwing herself at unmated males. She got what she was asking for."

Rage gave me strength I didn't know I still had. "She was innocent! She was pure and kind and—"

"She was weak," Delilah cut me off. "Just like you. Elliott sees that now. He sees that I'm the strong Luna this pack needs, not some whimpering girl who can't handle a little discipline."

Blood was pooling on the floor beneath me now, some from my wrists, some from... somewhere else. The metallic scent mixed with something sweeter, more terrifying.

"Enjoying the view from up there?" Delilah asked, following my horrified gaze to the growing puddle. "Don't worry. Elliott's already planning the funeral. Such a tragedy—the Luna's grief-induced hysteria caused her to lose the heir. Of course, we'll need a new Luna quickly. Someone stable. Someone who can give the pack strong pups."

She turned to leave, pausing at the top of the stairs. "Oh, and Victoria? He can't hear you anymore. I convinced him to block the mate bond completely. Said it was the only way to resist your 'manipulation.' Sweet dreams."

As her footsteps faded, I felt something inside me break that had nothing to do with physical pain. Below, I could hear pack members moving through the halls, their voices carrying up to my prison.

"This isn't right," someone whispered.

"She's our Luna," another voice protested. "Pregnant with the heir. How can he—"

"Quiet," came the sharp response. "You want to end up beside her?"

But the whispers continued, spreading like wildfire through the pack house. Even as my world crumbled around me, even as I felt my pup's life slipping away, I clung to that small spark of rebellion growing in the darkness below.