From Barren Mate to Pregnant Queen

Lilith’s shriek shattered the silence in the room.

Before Cayden could react, her arm swept across the vanity.

CRASH!

My mother's magic music box hit the floor and shattered into a thousand pieces.

Crystal shards and silver gears scattered across the rug like fallen stars.

The heirloom that had been with me for over twenty years was destroyed.

"Lilith, what happened!" Cayden rushed to her side.

"No—" I scrambled toward the wreckage of the music box.

When the static of lies became unbearable, only its music, and the magic my mother had poured into it, could calm me.

Now it was gone.

Utterly destroyed.

Without its comfort, my wolf grew more agitated, more feral.

The aura of lies around Lilith became blinding, the static deafening.

"You did that on purpose!" I grabbed her arm.

"Ahhh—" She let out a pained cry. "Cayden, she’s trying to kill me! Her wolf—it's out of control!"

She slid to the floor, clutching her stomach, her face instantly pale.

"My pup... Cayden, our pup..."

A flawless performance.

But I could feel the smug satisfaction inside her.

This was all part of her plan.

"Stop pretending," I snarled.

"Becca!" Cayden shoved me away without a second thought.

He shoved me so hard I slammed into the sharp corner of a shelf. Pain exploded in my head as the edge sliced open my forehead. Warm blood immediately trickled down my face.

Cayden didn't even look at me.

He dropped to his knees beside Lilith, scooping her carefully into his arms. "It's okay, I'm here. The pup will be fine."

"It hurts... Cayden, I'm so scared..." Lilith sobbed, clinging to his neck.

I sat in the corner, watching them.

Blood dripped onto the broken music box, staining my mother’s picture red.

"How could you do this to her?" Cayden finally looked at me, his eyes cold and unfamiliar. "She's carrying my pup!"

"I didn't push her," I said, my voice hoarse. "She did it her—"

"Shut up!" he roared. "I saw you grab her arm!"

Yes, I had grabbed her.

But not to hurt her.

But no one would believe me.

No one would believe the rejected woman.

"What's going on here?"

Elder Seraphina's voice came from the doorway.

She was Cayden's mother, one of the pack's elders.

She was the one who had objected the most when Cayden brought me to the pack, declaring he wanted to mate with me.

"Fated mates can be rejected! How can a packless orphan be worthy of you?"

Cayden had argued with the council for three days and three nights. In the end, they’d agreed to let me become Luna only after I was pregnant.

Eight years had passed. I never got pregnant.

But Cayden’s love for me had only grown stronger. He even announced the Luna ceremony against their wishes.

And then, at that very ceremony, he chose another.

The heartache hit me again. I pulled myself out of the memory.

Seraphina swept into the room, her sharp eyes taking in the scene—the blood on the floor, the broken music box, Lilith crying in Cayden's arms, and me, bleeding in the corner.

"You vicious bitch!" Seraphina snarled. "You tried to kill my grandchild? The heir to this pack?!"

"Elder, I didn't—"

"Silence!" she snapped. "The evidence is right here! Lilith almost miscarried because of your jealousy and wickedness!"

She waved two guards forward.

"Lock her in the silver room. A dangerous woman like her can't be allowed to roam free."

The guards moved toward me.

I struggled to my feet, blood dripping from my forehead. "Cayden, do you really believe I would hurt an innocent pup?"

He held Lilith, his face unreadable.

But his eyes gave me the answer.

In his eyes, I was no longer the Becca he loved.

I was just a crazed woman, driven mad by jealousy.

The guards grabbed my arms, ready to drag me away.

Cayden finally spoke.

He stared down at me—bleeding on the floor of our home—and there wasn't a trace of pity in his eyes.

"Watch her," he commanded, his voice pure ice. "Don't let her out of your sight until the pup is safe."