Chapter 1

After the seventh time Alpha Arthur locked me in the dungeon, a voice spoke in my head.

"Die, and you'll awaken."

It told me I wasn't just human.

Witch blood slept in my veins—blood that would ignite only in death.

So I became the perfect Luna.

I stopped caring that Arthur spent every night in Elara's chambers.

I stopped obsessing over his promise—one mate, forever.

When Leo knocked over the stew I'd made, I just had the maid wipe his hands. Said I'd never cook for him again.

When the pack member brought that bowl of wolfsbane brew—even knowing I was pregnant—I drank it without hesitation.

By the time Arthur arrived, the floor was soaked in blood.

He pressed his silver blade to my throat, voice breaking.

"Sera, do you hate me this much?"

"You're a healer. You know what that poison does. And you still killed our pup?"

I stared at the blade.

Smiled.

Then leaned into it.

......

The moment the blade pierced my skin, Arthur's golden eyes went wide. He yanked the dagger back, but it was too late.

The silver edge slashed across my throat.

Blood pearled along the wound, soaking into my white cotton dress.

The dagger clattered to the floor.

Arthur dropped to his knees, pressing his hand against my neck, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Sera, you've lost your damn mind!"

Pity I didn't die. I answered his first question instead.

"You said it yourself, Alpha. One son is enough."

"If I bore you another pup, wouldn't that make poor widowed Elara feel inadequate? After all, she only gave your brother a daughter before he died."

Arthur's breath hitched.

"What did you just call me?"

I blinked.

It took me a moment to realize how distant we'd become.

After we mated, I always called him Arthur.

His mother despised me.

She said my low birth and lack of upbringing made it improper to call him by his name.

But I refused to change.

Now, I'd finally learned my place.

His fingers tightened around my throat.

I gasped in pain. He loosened his grip, just slightly.

His voice was a snarl in my ear.

"I told you. My brother's death left the Pack unstable. Taking Elara under my protection was a necessity. Once she bears a male heir, I won't touch her again."

"I'm begging you, Sera. Just wait a little longer. Please."

Wait.

That word had kept me alone for three years.

From once a month, to every single night—Arthur sleeping in Elara's bed while I lay awake, crying until I had nothing left.

I waited through Elara's pregnancy.

Then Arthur moved into her wing entirely, claiming she needed protection during her vulnerable state.

I waited another year.

She gave birth to a daughter.

And still, he kept going to her chambers.

I couldn't wait anymore.

So I fought back.

I forbade him from seeing her.I screamed, cried, threatened—like a madwoman.

All I wanted was my mate. The one who was supposed to be mine alone.

But to Arthur, I'd become an insufferable, jealous shrew.

Funny. When he marked me, he said I was his fated mate. Said he loved my bold, unfiltered heart.

Swore I'd be his only one. No others.

Over seven years, he locked me in the Dungeon again and again.

To teach me a lesson. To make me like Elara. Graceful. Compliant.

Chained in the cold and dark until I could barely stand.

All I got: "Sera, when will you learn?"

The pup in my belly came from a Pack celebration. Arthur got drunk and stumbled into my bed.

I thought he'd come to make peace.

But when he reached his climax, he moaned Elara's name.

I swallowed the bitterness like bile mixed with blood.

I lifted my head and looked him dead in the eye.

"You don't need to lie to me anymore, Alpha."

"From now on, go to Elara whenever you want. Stay the night. I won't say a word."

"And if that's still not enough, I'll request a severing of the mate bond. I'll set you both free."