My Alpha Sacrificed Our Pup to Save His Ex

The ritual chamber was carved from black stone, ancient symbols etched into walls that had witnessed countless ceremonies. But none like this. None where a mate was dragged against her will, where an Alpha's command would be used to murder his own heir.

"Reid, please!" I clawed at the stone floor as he pulled me toward the altar. "This is your pup! Our pup!"

But he wasn't listening. His eyes were fixed on Karina, who lay on a smaller table nearby, her breathing shallow and labored. Dr. Webb bustled around her, checking her pulse, adjusting the mystical apparatus that would steal my life force.

I shifted partially, my wolf surging forward in desperation. Claws extended from my fingertips, and I raked them across Reid's forearm. He hissed but didn't release me.

"Don't make this harder than it has to be," he growled, blood seeping through his shirt.

"Harder?" I laughed, the sound sharp and broken. "You're murdering our child!"

"We can have another—"

"No!" The word tore from my throat. I twisted in his grip, my partially shifted form giving me extra strength. For a moment, I broke free.

I ran for the door, my claws scrambling against stone, but Reid was faster. His hand caught my ankle, and I went down hard, my chin cracking against the floor. Stars exploded behind my eyes.

"I didn't want it to be like this," Reid said, hauling me upright. His voice was thick with something that might have been regret. "But Karina is dying now. Right now."

I spat blood. "So is your pup!"

His jaw tightened. "Enough."

Then he did the unthinkable.

Reid's Alpha aura exploded outward, but this wasn't the warm dominance I'd felt during our mating. This was something else entirely. Something cold and crushing and absolute.

"Submit," he commanded, and his voice carried the full weight of his Alpha power.

The Alpha Tone hit me like a physical blow. My wolf, already weakened by pregnancy hormones, crumpled under the assault. My partially shifted form melted back to human, my claws retracting, my strength draining away like water through a sieve.

No. No, no, no.

I tried to fight it, tried to move, but my body was no longer mine. My muscles went slack against my will. My arms fell to my sides. Even my voice died in my throat, though tears streamed down my face in silent protest.

"I'm sorry," Reid whispered, but his hands were already lifting me, carrying me to the altar. "I'm so sorry, Nora."

Sorry. He was sorry as he strapped leather restraints around my wrists. Sorry as he secured my ankles. Sorry as he stepped back and nodded to Dr. Webb.

The Healer's face was pale, his hands shaking as he approached with silver needles that gleamed in the candlelight. "Alpha, perhaps we should—"

"Do it," Reid ordered.

I could only watch, trapped in my own body, as Dr. Webb inserted the first needle into my arm. The silver burned, but I couldn't even flinch. The Alpha command held me frozen, a prisoner in my own flesh.

"The ritual will take approximately ten minutes," Dr. Webb said quietly. "The essence transfer is... intense."

Karina's weak voice drifted from her table. "Thank you, Reid. Thank you for choosing me."

Choosing her. Over me. Over our pup.

The apparatus hummed to life, ancient magic responding to Dr. Webb's touch. I felt it immediately—a pulling sensation deep in my core, like something vital was being drawn out through my very bones.

Golden light began to flow through the silver tubes, my essence made visible as it was siphoned away. With each pulse of light, I felt weaker, emptier, like I was dissolving from the inside out.

But the worst part wasn't the physical drain.

It was the moment I felt something tear inside my womb.

Sharp. Final. Irreversible.

My pup. My baby. The tiny life I'd discovered just hours ago was... gone.

I couldn't scream. Couldn't move. Couldn't even close my eyes as I felt our child slip away into darkness.

Then my wolf—my beautiful, fierce wolf who had been my companion since childhood—let out a sound I'd never heard before. A howl of such pure anguish, such complete betrayal, that it seemed to shake the very foundations of the chamber.

And then... silence.

Not just quiet. Silence. The absolute absence of her presence in my mind.

She was gone too.

Everything went black.