Selena's POV:
Thunder roared outside, crashing against the villa as if it meant to rip the roof apart.
On the cold bathroom floor of the master bedroom, I, Selena White, curled in on myself. Pain tore through my body, forcing me to clutch my stomach as it came in waves. It felt like something inside me pulled apart.
When I lowered my eyes, red spread across the white tiles.
The scent of blood filled the air, heavy and sharp, mixing with the faint trace of my own pheromones.
I was having a miscarriage.
Three years ago, I had lost my wolf. Since then, my body couldn't carry a strong Alpha child.
Even so, I still took the risk.
I thought that if I could give birth, Kael Brooks might show me some care for the baby's sake.
But I lost that gamble.
The small life left my body. There was no movement. No heartbeat. No warmth.
The child was gone.
My hands shook as I picked it up from the blood. It was tiny, barely formed, with faint hair. Even then, Kael's scent was there.
Tears fell onto my hands and mixed with the blood.
"I'm sorry... baby. I'm so sorry..."
I failed to protect it.
My phone lit up at that moment. The ringtone I had set for Kael rang out.
I reached for it and answered with shaking hands.
"Kael," I said, my voice rough. "We lost the baby. Where are you?"
No reply came from Kael.
Instead, loud applause and cheers burst through the phone.
Then a woman's voice followed, soft and clear. "Thank you all for coming to my award ceremony tonight."
It was Aria Smith, the popular actress held dear by everyone in the pack despite being a mere Omega.
Her voice was choked with emotion as she spoke. "There were times I wanted to give up. But I was fortunate because I always had the strongest Alpha behind me. Thank you, Kael. Thank you for staying with me."
Applause followed, mixed with whistles. Voices in the crowd called them a perfect match.
So that was where he was.
While I was losing the child and struggling through the pain, he stood beside another woman.
"Whose call is that?" Kael's voice came through at last, edged with impatience.
"It looks like Selena," Aria replied. "I picked it up, but she didn't say anything. Kael, should we cut the cake now?"
"Yes. Ignore her. Come cut the cake," Kael replied firmly. "It's your day. Don't let anyone ruin it."
The call ended.
Silence filled the bathroom.
"Don't let anyone ruin it..." I repeated and looked at the dark screen, trying to lift the corner of my lips, but I didn't have the strength left.
In his eyes, Aria was the one who needed care, while I was nothing more than someone who forced this bond on him through a family pact.
He didn't even know about the pregnancy.
A few months earlier, I had taken the report to him, hoping to tell him.
He hadn't looked up from his work and had only said, "I'm busy. I don't have time for your reports. If you need money, ask my assistant."
I had hidden the paper behind me back then.
Looking back, that report meant nothing.
Lowering my gaze, I looked at what I held in my hands. It had already lost warmth.
Should I tell my family?
My eyes settled on the contact labeled "Father" on my phone. My finger stayed there for a moment, then I let out a quiet, bitter breath and pulled back. They wouldn't care.
Even though I was their real daughter, lost for over a decade and only brought back a few years ago, I meant nothing to them. In their eyes, I was just someone rough and unrefined, someone they could use to secure ties with the Brooks family and gain what they wanted.
The one they truly valued was Chloe White, the girl who had taken my place.
If they found out I had lost the child, and that my place beside Kael was no longer secure, they would only feel I had failed in my role and disgraced the Crescent Pack.
A long time ago, I had already lost any place I could call home.
"This is better," I whispered, brushing my finger over its small face. "Don't blame me. I'll take you somewhere quiet."
Going to the hospital wasn't an option.
If I stepped inside, they would find out the truth, that I had no wolf.
That truth was something Kael's family couldn't accept to be exposed.
Back then, to save his life, I had gone to a witch and let her transfer the poison from his body to mine.
My wolf had shielded me and absorbed the poison for me.
Holding onto the sink, I forced myself up. My legs shook, and pain spread through me.
I found a wooden box and placed a soft scarf inside it.
Carefully, I put the baby in and closed the lid.
After that, I changed into a long black dress and walked out without shoes, carrying the box.
Rain poured down outside. Water struck my body, cold and sharp. Getting soaked like this would only make things worse for me, but it didn't matter anymore.
I went to the corner of the garden and knelt in the mud. Using my hands, I started digging. My fingers broke open, and blood came out.
I kept going without stopping. I dug, set the box down, and covered it with earth.
At last, I placed a stone over the mound.
Rain soaked through me as I sat there, my eyes fixed on the villa glowing with light in the distance.
A cough tore through me, and dark blood spilled from my mouth. The silver poison had reached my heart.
The witch had warned me that once the black blood appeared, I would only have three months left.
"Three months..."
I watched the rain wash the blood away and let out a quiet, hollow smile.
My life was finally nearing its end.
Kael didn't return that night.
By the following day, the news spread. Aria had taken a drink at the after-party that contained wolfsbane and was sent to the hospital because of an allergic reaction.
Kael stayed with her the entire night, never leaving her side.
Selena's POV:
By the next afternoon, I sat on the living room couch, holding the Rejection I had prepared long ago.
I had cleaned myself up and changed into a white set of clothes, yet the scent of blood still lingered on me.
Outside, the sound of a car broke the silence.
It was Kael's Bugatti Veyron.
He had returned.
The door unlocked, and Kael stepped inside.
He still wore the same black suit from yesterday. His tie hung loose around his neck, and stubble had formed along his jaw. Fatigue showed clearly on him.
As he entered, another scent came with him.
It was Aria's pheromones.
The moment Kael entered, his expression shifted. His brows tightened, and he lifted a hand to cover his nose, disgust showing clearly as he looked at me.
"What is that smell? The blood is so strong. Selena, what kind of witchcraft are you using in this house again?"
He had always believed I turned to dark magic just to win his heart.
I didn't respond. I only watched him.
Before this, I would have stood up right away, taken his coat, and spoken to him carefully.
Today, however, I remained where I was.
My silence only made Kael's temper rise. He walked straight toward me, and his Alpha pressure came down heavily. "Aria was hospitalized last night. She almost died. I don't have the patience to deal with your tricks right now."
"Kael, our baby is gone. It happened last night, while you were celebrating Aria," I said, my voice steady at last.
Kael's steps stopped. For a brief moment, he said nothing. Then a cold laugh left him, like he had just heard something absurd.
"Our baby?" He stood in front of me, looking down. "Selena, you've really outdone yourself this time. You want me to get rid of Aria so badly that you'd make up something like this?"
"I didn't make it up." I lifted my hand and pointed toward the garden. "It's buried in there. If you don't believe me, go see it yourself."
"Enough!" Kael snapped.
His hand shot forward and caught my chin, forcing my head up. The grip tightened, and pain spread through my jaw.
"Stop this act! It's disgusting. Yesterday, you called me and said nothing on the phone, and now you're bringing up a child? How long are you planning to keep this going? Aria drank the wrong wine and ended up in the hospital, so I stayed with her last night. Are you really this jealous?"
I looked at him. At that moment, I felt drained. Explaining anything felt pointless.
I pushed his hand away and shoved the document on the table toward him.
"Believe whatever you want," I said. "Just sign it. Once you do, you're free."
Kael's eyes narrowed as he looked down at the table.
When he saw the title, he let out a short laugh. "The Rejection?"
He walked over, picked it up, skimmed through it, then tossed it back down.
"Selena, you've become ridiculous," he said, looking at me. "Last time, you pretended to be sick, and now, you're threatening to end things? Do you think I'd believe that? You worked so hard to become Luna, and now you're just going to walk away? What's wrong, nothing to say now?"
Kael stepped closer, his expression turning cold. "Three years ago, I was injured and unconscious. You used that chance to secure your position and got my grandfather to tie us together with that blood bond. Do you even know why I accepted it, even though I couldn't stand you?"
His fingers tightened under my chin as he forced my face up. "Because I wanted you to understand what greed costs. You wanted the Luna title? Fine. I gave it to you. Stay there and watch who I actually choose."
I kept looking at him. My hands pressed into the couch until they hurt.
So that was all it meant to him. Three years together, nothing more than punishment.
"Did you forget what happened back then? If Aria hadn't stepped in to clear the poison, I'd be dead. She paid for it with her own health and had to leave to recover. Even then, she told me to accept you for the sake of the future. She endured all of that. She's the one who gave everything. And you? You took advantage of the situation and refused to let go of the Luna position she gave up so much for."
My body shook. My nails cut into my palms.
The one who gave everything wasn't her. It was me. I was the one who took the poison. I was the one who endured it. I was the one who lost my wolf.
"It wasn't her!" I shouted. "I was the one who saved you back then. It was me. I was the one—"
"Enough!" Kael's voice crashed down. The Alpha command hit me without warning.
My throat tightened, and my voice disappeared. My mouth closed on its own, and no sound came out no matter how hard I tried.
Fear filled me as I looked at him. He took away my voice just to protect that fraud.
"Selena, what do you take me for? Do you think you can walk in and out whenever you want?"
Selena's POV:
Kael looked at Rejection on the table, and something dark settled in his eyes.
A tearing sound broke the silence. He snatched the Rejection I had signed, ripped it apart, and flung the pieces at me.
"This is my answer!" he snapped, a primal reaction to his Alpha authority being challenged.
"Selena, don't get ahead of yourself. You think something like this will get my attention?"
I didn't react. I simply watched him.
Before, I would have been shaken. I would have lowered my head, afraid to provoke him. Now, there was nothing left for me to fear. My wolf was already gone, and his pressure no longer meant anything.
"I'm not trying to get your attention." I looked straight at him and spoke in a calm voice. "Kael, I don't love you anymore. I'm leaving the pack. I'm leaving you."
He stopped. He clearly hadn't expected that the person who had followed him for three years would say something like that.
But the moment passed quickly. The surprise turned into anger.
He rushed forward, grabbed my throat, and slammed me hard against the cold wall.
He stood close, his breath falling against my face, yet all I felt was cold.
My head tilted back as I struggled to breathe, but I didn't resist. I kept looking at him, my eyes empty.
Something about that made him pause, and his grip loosened just a little. At that moment, his phone vibrated in his pocket.
Kael froze. He let go of me, took out his phone immediately, and his expression shifted from anger to tension. "Aria? What's wrong?"
Aria's voice broke through the call, unsteady, with noise behind her. There were screams and shouting. "Kael, help me. There are paparazzi and rogue wolves. They've surrounded the entrance. I'm scared. My heart won't calm down."
Kael went pale. That kind of panic had never appeared on him before.
"Stay calm, Aria," he said gently. "Find somewhere safe. Don't hang up. I'm on my way."
He moved toward the door, not sparing me a glance.
Right before leaving, he paused. Something crossed his mind, and he turned back, his gaze cold.
"Until you figure out how to atone for your sins, you are not going anywhere."
After that, he walked out.
The lock clicked. The door was secured from the outside.
From beyond it, his voice carried as he gave instructions. "Keep an eye on her. No one lets her leave the villa without my order."
Soon, the sound of the engine faded.
The house fell quiet again.
My eyes moved to the torn pieces scattered across the floor. Slowly, I crouched down and picked them up one by one.
My hands didn't stop shaking, yet no tears came.
Kael didn't realize it, but this time, I was truly done with him.
After gathering the pieces, I dropped them into the trash. Then I turned and walked toward the closet.
The clothes Kael had bought for me stayed untouched. The jewelry remained where it was.
Instead, I crouched down and pulled out a black duffel bag from the bottom. Inside were the few old clothes I had.
At last, I reached into the lining of the mattress and took out a black satellite phone.
It was something I had kept from my time as a bounty hunter.
In Kael's eyes, I was nothing more than a useless woman from the countryside. He would never imagine I had this.
Without hesitation, I dialed the number I had memorized.
A single beep sounded.
The call connected almost immediately.
"Selena?"
A low male voice came through, faint static in the background. It was Damon Walsh.
The Rogue King I had hunted countless times, who eventually became my closest friend. He was also the only person who knew the truth about my lost wolf.
"Damon," I said, keeping my voice steady. "You told me before that if I wanted to leave, you'd take me away."
"Now?" he asked, direct as always.
"Now. I'm at Kael's villa."
"I'll be there in ten minutes."
The call ended. I removed the ring from my finger and set it on the cabinet. It marked my place as Luna.
Kael believed a locked door could keep me here, but he was wrong.
I stepped out onto the rooftop terrace.
The wind pushed against me, yet for the first time, I felt free.
