chapter 2

Jackson’s eyes turned bloodshot as he stared at me. “Harp, don’t put me in this position.”

Bitterness swelled in my chest, but before I could speak, the sound of my daughter’s wailing came from outside. A female wolf servant brought her to me so I could calm her down.

Jackson’s gaze flickered when he saw the baby in my arms.

“Harp, even if not for me, think of Sasha. We can’t break the fated mate bond—she can’t grow up without a father.”

I cut him off coldly. “The moment you slept with those four whores, you stopped being her father.”

As long as our bond was severed, I would take my daughter and return to the Shadowmoon Pack.

“You don’t need to worry, Alpha. Once our bond is broken, I’ll find Sasha a real father—one who won’t betray his mate.”

Just as I turned to leave with the baby, Jackson grabbed my wrist.

“Harper, please believe me. I never meant to betray you. I was poisoned that night… it was an accident, I swear.”

His pain-tinged voice made me pause for a moment.

Since our mating, Jackson had never marked another woman. Maybe this really had been an accident.

I looked down at the pup in my arms and finally compromised. “There’s one other option.”

“What is it?” A glimmer of hope returned to Jackson’s eyes.

I looked him straight in the eye and said, “They abort the pups. Then they can go find new mates among the warriors. If they agree, I’ll turn a blind eye to what happened and pretend it never did.”

It was the biggest concession I could make short of breaking the bond.

But Jackson frowned, his face full of hesitation.

Suddenly, his mother appeared in front of me and slapped me across the face.

“You vile woman! Those pups in their bellies are my grandsons! Who the hell do you think you are, telling them to get rid of them? I can’t believe my son chose such a malicious Luna!”

I knew she’d always wanted a grandson to raise as the future heir of Darkridge Pack. The day I gave birth, she’d mocked me when she saw it was a girl—called me bad luck.

Said I was useless for failing to produce a male heir on my first try.

As if that had ever been my fault.

Seeing the disgust on her face was like a thousand silver needles stabbing my chest. My grip on my daughter tightened.

Sensing my distress, she started crying harder in my arms.

Autumn suddenly stood up and looked at me in disgust.

“Luna! We’ve followed you for years, and now you want us to kill the Alpha’s children? Everyone in Darkridge Pack knows we were marked by him and are carrying his pups. What warrior would ever agree to mate with us now?”

She then pulled Elsie up from the floor and pleaded with Jackson’s mother.

“Madam Dorothy, we don’t care if we have a title or not! We’re willing to bear heirs for the Alpha and help the pack thrive!”

Clara looked at her in shock. “Autumn, are you out of your mind? Luna is still our mistress!”

Autumn replied without hesitation, “Mistress? The moment she asked us to abort our pups, she stopped being worthy of that title.”

I laughed bitterly to myself. I never thought she would turn out to be such a two-faced traitor.

Clara looked at me nervously, pleading for forgiveness.

“Luna, Autumn doesn’t know any better. Please don’t upset yourself over her.”

I stepped back, unwilling to accept any more of their false apologies.

“You don’t need to say anything. We were besties once—I truly want you to be happy. Whatever path you choose now, it’s your own.”

With that, I turned and walked away with my daughter in my arms.

That night, Madam Dorothy arranged for the four of them to move into another house on the estate.

I had grown used to them caring for me, so suddenly having no one around made it hard to adjust—for both me and my daughter.

She cried nonstop through the night.

I sang a lullaby softly while rocking her.

“There, baby… just wait a little longer. Soon, we’ll go see your grandfather.”

Over the next few days, Jackson kept trying to see me, but I refused every time.

So did those four pregnant “besties". I rejected them all.

After a few days, my emotions settled, and I decided to speak with them directly.

But just as I reached their door, I overheard voices from inside.

“Autumn, you really shouldn’t have disrespected Luna like that.”

“Clara, you’re too soft. We’re carrying the Alpha’s pups. Why shouldn’t we live in luxury?”

Autumn’s voice was full of pride.

“Didn’t you hear what Madam Dorothy said? Whichever one of us gives birth to a boy first—his son will be the next heir! At that point, we’ll be equal to the Luna. Maybe even replace her.”

Saddie chimed in, “Still, our top priority is to figure out how to get Luna to agree to let us stay.”

Hearing those words chilled me to the bone.

So they’d planned this betrayal all along.

But we had once been besties, and they were my clanmates from Shadowmoon Pack.

I decided to let them go with dignity.

Back in my room, I divided all my personal assets into four portions—one for each of them.

Whatever they chose to become in the future—Jackson’s playthings or the new Luna—that would be up to them.

But just then, a panicked servant burst in.

“Luna! Something’s wrong!”

“Sasha… she’s gone!”