1

My fated mate, Kieran, had purposely delayed our son’s rescue, all so he could give my son’s heart to the bastard daughter he had with his mistress.

The hushed murmurs outside the door faded, replaced by the rhythmic thud of approaching footsteps. I instinctively lay still, my breath slow and steady, feigning unconsciousness.

The door creaked open, and the moment it did, I caught his scent—Kieran. His presence was unmistakable. He moved closer, the heat of his body radiating against my skin before his fingers brushed over my cheek with deceptive tenderness.

"Didn’t you say Luna Selene’s condition was stable?" His voice was sharp, demanding. "Why hasn’t she woken up?"

A brief pause, then the measured voice of Evan, the pack doctor, followed.

"Alpha, Luna has only just recovered from nearly drowning. And after the—" a hesitation, a wary exhale, "the eye removal surgery you ordered… she will need time to regain consciousness."

What?

My mind reeled. Eye removal surgery?

I fought against the overwhelming urge to move, to touch my face—to confirm the unthinkable. But I couldn’t. Not yet. Not while Kieran was here.

"Fine," Kieran continued, his voice eerily composed. "But have you prepared how to explain it to her when she wakes up?"

Evan hesitated. I could hear the conflict in his voice when he finally spoke.

"Alpha… Luna Selene was the most gifted healer of our pack. And now, you’ve taken her eyes and given them to Lady Lilith. With Tim gone… would it not be too much for her? What if she—" a strained pause, "What if she can’t accept it? What if she follows the same path as Tim…?"

Kieran cut him off with a scoff, laced with arrogance.

"No. Selene loved me too much. She would never leave me or allow another she-wolf to take her place."

Silence. A heavy, suffocating silence. Then, Kieran’s hand pressed against my forehead.

"Make sure she gets the best medicine," he ordered. "I don’t want her to suffer any unnecessary pain when she wakes up."

Before another word could be spoken, Damon, Kieran’s Beta, rushed in.

"Alpha, Lady Lilith requests your presence. She’s—" a pause, laced with hesitation, "she’s throwing a tantrum in her house."

Kieran barely waited for him to finish before storming out, his Beta and the others trailing after him.

And just like that, I was alone.

Finally.

Slowly, carefully, I lifted my trembling hands, pressing them against my face. Hollow. Empty.

A strangled cry escaped my lips. My eyes. The Moon Goddess’s gift—the very thing that defined me. The power that made me the most revered healer in the pack.

Gone. All gone.

…

My son.

The last time I saw him, he was in that lake, his small body swollen, his beautiful face lifeless.

And after his death, his heart—his innocent, precious heart—was carved from his chest and sent as a gift to that wretched bitch Lilith and her daughter.

A sharp, violent sob tore from my throat.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to rip apart everything in my path. But what would that do?

Nothing. Kieran would only mock me, scoff at my weakness.

No.

I let myself sink into the abyss of darkness, of emptiness.

Letting the pain, the grief, the rage consume me.

Cause I knew this wasn’t the end.

No—this was only the beginning.

When I woke again, I would have a plan.

And I would burn Kieran and his little mistress to the ground.

…

When I woke again, Kieran was there.

His scent filled the room, wrapping around me like a suffocating fog. Once, it had been a source of comfort, of safety. But now, it was poison. Every second in his presence made my skin crawl, made my blood boil until I could barely contain the urge to lunge at him and rip his throat out.

I shifted under the covers, and he immediately noticed.

"My love," he murmured, his voice soft, almost hesitant. "Are you awake?"

I hesitated before speaking, my voice measured. "Yes. But… I can’t see a thing. What happened to my eyes?"

A pause. A breath. And then, the lie.

"It was my fault, Selene. I failed to protect you. I failed to protect our son.” His arms wrapped around me, his embrace meant to soothe—but all it did was ignite disgust. "Your eyes were removed… due to contamination."

His breath brushed against my ear as he whispered, "But don’t worry, my love. You are still as beautiful as ever. And I love you just the same."

Lies.

The pack doctor, Evan, spoke next, his voice devoid of emotion. "Luna Selene, Alpha Kieran has already explained everything to you. If you have any questions regarding the procedure, I am here to answer them."

I swallowed the bile rising in my throat. Kieran didn’t even have the courage to tell me himself. He let the doctor do it.

Coward.

But I smiled—a small, measured thing.

"I trust you, Evan."

I turned to Kieran, tilting my head slightly, as if searching for him in the darkness that now consumed me. My voice was steady, almost too calm.

"Where is Tim? How is he? Has he been properly buried?"

Werewolf tradition dictated that a body must remain whole before cremation—only then could a soul rest in peace. But I already knew the truth. Tim wasn’t whole.

Kieran had carved out my son’s heart and gifted it to his bastard daughter.

If he dared to tell me that Tim had been properly buried, I would know—without a doubt—that he was lying again.

As expected, he hesitated.

Guilt. Shame. The weight of his sins clung to every breath he took, pressing down on him like chains.

"I… I had him cremated our son already," he finally said, the words strained. "His ashes are buried in the forest near the pack grounds."

A bitter smile curled at my lips.

Another lie.

A part of me shattered all over again.

"I’m sorry, Selene," he continued, "I was too late to save him. The rogues—" he exhaled sharply, "they took him to blackmail us. He tried to escape… that’s how his legs were damaged. He was too stubborn, my love. I would never see him less with his legs disabled. But he … after everything he endured… he couldn’t take it anymore. We are too late to save him. He was already died when you got him from that lack.”

A sharp stab of rage seared through me, but I forced myself to remain still.

"But rest assured," Kieran added, as if that would soften the blow, "I have already taken revenge. Every single one of those rogues is dead. They paid for what they did to our son.”

Lies! Once again! All lies.

I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood. How had I been so blind for so many years?

How had I not seen what a filthy, disgusting liar Kieran truly was?

I should have known. As his fated mate, I should have been able to tell when he was lying.

But I hadn’t.

And Tim had paid the price.

Sensing my silence stretched too long, Kieran spoke again, his voice carefully casual. "I brought you food. Steak—rare, just the way you like it. Something comforting."

My stomach turned.