MOONBOUND VENGEANCE

When they heard those words, everything around us went still. Even Lila’s clique paused, their eyes flicking between each other, uncertain of what to do next. Lila, the ringleader, stood off to the side, glaring at me with narrowed eyes, her predatory stance clear.

“You said you’re the Demon Alpha’s mate?” she sneered.

I straightened my back, keeping my voice firm. “That’s right. If the Demon Alpha finds out what you’ve done to me, he won’t let any of you live.”

I believed I’d made things clear enough. Surely, Lila and her werewolf clique would see reason and back down. But instead, laughter erupted from them like the howling wind.

“This pitiful mortal thinks she’s the Demon Alpha mate? She must be out of her mind!” One of them sneered.

“Because she looks like Lila, she dares to act like the Demon Alpha’s chosen mate! Does she really think anyone here would believe her?”

“Everyone knows the Alpha only favors Lila. How could a lowly mortal like you even dream of being his Luna?”

I couldn’t help but glare back at them, my heart pounding in my chest. Lila’s eyes gleamed with malice as she smiled cruelly, her fangs glinting in the dim light.

“I thought this tramp might have a few tricks up her sleeve, sneaking into the Nine Shadow Pack’s den like that,” Lila said, tilting her head. “But it turns out you’re just a brainless fool.”

The surrounding laughter only grew louder, cutting into me like the claws they wielded so proudly.

“You claim to be the Alpha’s mate, yet you’re stranded here, in the forbidden lands, all alone,” Lila mocked, stepping closer. Her eyes traced the curve of my belly, still swollen with the child I carried. “No power, no pack... what makes you think you’re anything special?”

She raised her hand and motioned towards her clique, who immediately bared their claws, readying themselves to tear me apart.

“Take her down. Cut off her limbs. Let’s see how much she can still talk after that.”

My breath caught in my throat as they advanced. These wolves were unaware of the reason behind the deserted territory. It wasn’t because it was uninhabitable—it was because the Alpha had forbidden anyone from coming near. He wanted to keep me hidden, waiting for the day I would give birth to his heir. He’d planned everything meticulously, preparing to announce to all the packs that our child would be the Lord of the Nine Realms.

But Lila and her pack didn’t believe me. Their claws gleamed in the moonlight as they drew closer, and I felt a rising panic. I shouted, desperate to make them see reason. “I’m really the Demon Alpha Luna! If you don’t believe me, ask the Alpha yourself!”

They ignored me. Their claws flashed, slicing through the air into my limbs. Agonizing pain shot through my body as, one by one, my limbs were severed. I could feel my strength draining, my vision blurring. The only thing keeping me conscious was the life force of the Demon Alpha still burning inside me.

Lila laughed, covering her mouth with her hand as she looked down at me, now reduced to a broken heap. “Look at her—no hands, no legs, and still trying to protect her enormous belly like some kind of kingpin!”

I gritted my teeth, glaring at her through the haze of pain. “You’ll regret this,” I hissed.

Her eyes flickered with amusement. “In the Nine Realms, no one makes this wolf regret anything.”

Then, with a wicked grin, she stepped forward and plunged her claws into my belly, tearing through my skin like it was nothing. I gasped as the pain threatened to overwhelm me, my consciousness slipping in and out. But even through the fog, I saw it—the moment she pulled my son from my womb, his tiny body covered in blood, yet fighting, his hands flailing in protest.

Lila stared at him in surprise. “A mortal’s child, and yet so full of life?” She scoffed. “But in the end, you’re nothing but a mongrel. You’ll taint the bloodline of the Demon Wolf Pack, and I won’t allow it.”

Fear surged through me. “Please!” I begged, my voice barely more than a whisper. “He’s the Alpha’s child—don’t hurt him.”

Lila’s smile twisted into something darker. “The Demon Alpha’s child? How ridiculous. No mortal could carry his heir without being torn apart.” The others laughed, their voices echoing cruelly around us.

I tried to protest, but my strength was fading. The Alpha had kept me alive, nourishing my mortal body for centuries, trying to make me his equal. But now, it didn’t matter. I was powerless against them, and Lila knew it.

“You think that after killing my child that your status will save you? If anything happens to him, the Alpha will destroy all of you. He won’t stop until the Nine Realms are in ruins,” I gasped, hoped my words would make them hesitate.

But Lila only smiled more cruelly. “The more you beg, the more I want to kill him.”

With that, she slammed my son to the ground. I screamed, writhing helplessly on the ground, trying to get to him—but I had no limbs left. I was nothing more than a writhing worm to them, a helpless creature to be toyed with.

“How is he still alive?” one of the wolves muttered as my son, impossibly, continued to move. His tiny hands reached out, still defiant, still fighting.

Lila’s fury only grew. She stomped down on him again and again, but each time, my son survived.

“Why won’t you die?!” she screamed, unleashing the full power of her Heavenly Flame. The blaze engulfed my son, the heat searing the surrounding air.

I watched in horror as the fire consumed my child. I could feel my heart shattering into a million pieces. He was our heir, the culmination of centuries of effort, and now he was being annihilated before my eyes.

Tears streamed down my face as Lila finally turned away from the charred remains of my son. Her face twisted with satisfaction. “That sinful seed is finally dead.”

Just as her pack began to cheer, thunder rumbled in the distance. A voice, deep and filled with rage, echoed through the sky.

“What are you doing?!”

The Demon Alpha had returned.