She isn't dead yet?
"Barely hanging on," another replied. "A little more and she'll be gone. Just like she deserves."
"That's what she gets for stabbing the Alpha's mistress."
"What kind of Luna harms her own sister?"
"Half-sister," the other corrected with a sneer. "Ma'am Catherine is the Alpha's true Luna. Not some cursed stray like her."
I didn't hear the rest. Their words blended into a low hum as I strained against the chains that held me. My body barely moved, and even when I tried, the pain from my wounds was enough to remind me I wasn't going anywhere. The dress I wore, once a symbol of pride and power, now hung in tatters, the fabric stained with my blood and filth. My silver-blonde hair clung to my face in dirty, tangled strands. It had once been my crown, but now it was just another part of my humiliation.
I couldn't speak. I couldn't even beg. The strength was gone, buried beneath the weight of everything I had lost. What remained inside me was nothing more than a flicker of life—a heartbeat that wasn't mine.
"Bring her out!"
My heart stilled. Not again. I wouldn't survive this. Not this time.
I flinched at the grinding sound of the gates opening. My chains rattled as they moved toward me.
"On your feet," one of them barked.
When I didn't move fast enough, rough hands grabbed me, nails digging into my bruised skin. I gasped, my legs giving out beneath me, but they didn't care. They dragged me across the stone floor, my body swaying between them like a ragdoll.
"No—please," I managed, my voice weak and shaking. "Please, let me go. I didn't do it! She attacked me first… She tried to kill me."
The words came out broken and desperate, but it didn't matter. None of them cared.
They hauled me through the corridor, my head spinning with every step. I was barely aware of what was happening. All I knew was that the room ahead was the last place I wanted to be.
They threw me into an iron chair and strapped me down. I could taste the blood in the air—my blood, the blood of others. The scent of it clogged my throat.
The first blow came without warning. Pain exploded in my side, white-hot and suffocating.
I screamed, but it barely registered. Blood seeped through my torn dress, and I felt myself slipping.
"Please—please, I didn't do it!" I begged again, my voice hoarse and cracked. "She attacked me first—she tried to kill me."
Another strike. This one across my chest. I couldn't even breathe, let alone scream.
"You deserve this, Luna," one of the guards hissed. "Alpha has longed for this! An heir to carry the name of the pack and you—you killed it! You killed our Alpha's only heir! You deserve nothing but death!"
I trembled, unable to move, my body on the edge of giving up. Every breath felt like it was pulling me farther from the world. But there was something still left—something deep within me that wouldn't let go.
"I just… I just wanted… to protect…" I whispered weakly, not sure if anyone even heard me.
They didn't stop. Blow after blow, strike after strike. My vision blurred. I could barely make out the forms of the guards as they continued, their words a blur in my mind.
"Please…" I whimpered, the air so thin, my voice so small. "Let me see him. Let me see my husband."
The torture stopped for a moment, the air still, and then a voice sliced through the air, cold, commanding.
"Enough."
My body sagged in relief, though I could barely feel it. I could breathe, even if it was a struggle.
"Bring her." Beta Calder's voice was firm, his cold gaze unreadable. He wasn't the man I once knew.
The guards didn't hesitate. They yanked me from the chair, my body swaying between them like a lifeless puppet. I couldn't tell if I was walking or being dragged.
When they threw me onto the floor of the grand hall, I felt the impact in every bone. Pain flared in my limbs, but it was nothing compared to the fear that rushed through me when I saw him.
He was there.
Roman.
My husband. My Alpha.
But the man standing before me now wasn't the one I had once known. His eyes, once a stormy blue, had bled into a deep, terrifying crimson. He looked… broken. And his gaze was filled with hate.
"Roman…" I whispered, my throat raw.
He took a slow step toward me, each movement deliberate and predatory. The room around me felt suffocating, and all I could hear was the sound of my own shallow breath.
He stopped in front of me, towering over me. His hand shot out, closing around my throat.
I gasped, my legs dangling uselessly. His grip tightened, lifting me off the ground. My fingers scrabbled at his hand, desperate for air.
"You killed my child," he growled, his voice shaking with fury. "My pup."
I tried to shake my head, to speak, but the air was gone.
"I didn't—Roman, I didn't. I'm—" I managed to rasp, but his grip only tightened.
"You stabbed your own sister! You twisted that knife and watched her bleed my pup out. You're nothing but a monster, Adina!" Roman snarled, his voice sharp with venom.
I shook my head, my eyes welling with tears. "I-I'm pregnant too."
For a moment, everything stilled. Roman's grip loosened slightly, but not in mercy. He stared at me, his eyes narrowed, as if he didn't believe what I was saying.
Then he scoffed, a cruel laugh escaping him. ."You?" he sneered. "You're barren, Adina." He scoffed again. "A barren, empty shell like you could never bring life into this world."
And then, he dropped me. My body hit the floor with a sickening thud. I gasped, my hands clutching at my neck, blood seeping from the mate bite he'd given me. The pain of the broken bond surged through me, and I couldn't stop it.
Roman stood over me, cold and indifferent. He pulled out a blade, raising it to his palm.
"I, Roman Heightens, reject you, Adina, as my mate. I break the bond that ties us together." Blood dripped from his palm onto the floor.
My heart felt like it stopped beating. The bond… shattered. The pain was unbearable, but worse was the hollow, aching emptiness that followed.
"You are nothing to me now," he said, his voice cold, devoid of emotion.
He turned to Beta Calder. "Take her away."
As they dragged me away, Beta Calder spoke up. "Should we kill her, Alpha?"
Roman's eyes met mine, his gaze, colder than death. "No. Death is too good for her. She deserves a fate worse than death."
A cruel smirk tugged at Roman's lips. "Prepare the slaves. She'll be sent to the Southern Realm. Let the Lycan King decide what scraps of her are worth keeping."