Chapter 4

Selene’s POV

“What?! What do you mean, what’s wrong with my baby?”

I burst into the room, panic clawing at my chest. The healers stood motionless, their heads bowed, refusing to meet my gaze. Their silence suffocated me.

“My Luna… she’s in…”

“Speak up!” I roared, the desperation in my voice echoing off the walls.

“She’s in a coma,” one of them finally mumbled, barely audible. “It’s… severe.”

My world tilted. I staggered, clutching the doorframe for support as my eyes darted to Ella’s still, fragile body on the bed. My baby girl, my heart, lay motionless, her tiny chest barely rising.

“Her treatment was delayed... There was nothing we could do in time.”

Delayed. The word struck like a whip, and I knew exactly who was to blame.

“What’s going on here?” Natasha said in a whisper as she and Alexander walked into the room.

That was it. The dam of my restraint shattered. I lunged at her, grabbing her by the collar before she could feign innocence.

“You are the reason! It’s all because of you! You did this!”

My hands moved on their own, slapping her face with all the fury of a mother’s broken heart.

“Selene!” Alex barked, his grip tightening around my arm as he dragged me away. But I fought against him, my rage unyielding.

“What’s wrong with you!” He yelled at me,

“What’s wrong with me?! I should ask you that question because you are the dumb one here! She’s playing with you, and now our daughter might not survive because of it!” I yelled at him.

His jaw clenched, his Alpha power radiating through the room in a suffocating wave. But I stood firm.

“Yes, I said it! Ella is in a coma because of her! And you’re too foolish to see it!”

“Shut the fuck up, Selene! I didn’t mean to make things this difficult since, after all, you had been with me for some time. But are you sure now you want to be insane with me, just for a bastard?”

I was first confused, but then I saw the disgust in his eyes—the way he looked at me, like I was nothing.

“Stop pretending, Selene,” he sneered. “We both know Ella isn’t mine.”

For a moment, the world stopped spinning.

“What…did you just say?”

“You heard me,” he said, his voice colder than I’d ever heard. “Stop the lies. I know the truth. Ella isn’t my child. She’s Lucian’s.”

“Lucian?” My voice wavered, caught between disbelief and laughter. His dead brother? Was this some kind of sick joke?

Before I could respond, Natasha’s crocodile tears filled the room. “It’s time you faced reality, sister,” she sniffled, her voice trembling with mock sympathy. “Everyone knows Ella isn’t Alex’s. You had your daughter out of wedlock, and that’s long before you married the Alpha. You only claimed it belonged to Alex to secure your place as Luna.”

I turned to Alex, searching his face for a shred of the man I’d once loved. “You can’t possibly believe this,” I whispered. “Alex, you know the truth. Tell her. Tell her this is all a lie!”

In the hell whole world, Alexander should be the last one to accuse me of adultery! He was the only one who knew what happened between me and his brother; he knew I hadn’t slept with anyone before we married!

But his silence said everything.

“You…” My voice cracked. “You of all people... You knew I had nothing to do with Lucian! How could you—”

“I always knew you were a slut,” he cut me off, his words slicing through me like a blade. “I just needed proof.”

He pulled a paper from his pocket and tossed it at me. My hands trembled as I unfolded it, scanning the text.

A DNA test. A forged one, no doubt. It claimed Ella wasn’t his.

“You’d rather believe this? A piece of paper? Over me? Over the years we’ve shared?” My voice cracked under the weight of my devastation, “Alex, this is—”

“I don’t need your explanation. Stop playing the victim,” he growled. “Everyone knows about your lust towards my brother while he was still alive. Don’t act like you are innocent.”

“It’s impossible! Alex,” I pleaded, the tears streaming down my face. “Ella’s life is at stake. How can you even think about this nonsense right now? She’s our daughter!”

“She’s your burden to bear, not mine,” he snapped, his tone devoid of any warmth. “And as for this sham of a marriage, I’m done with it.”

His worrisome look was replaced with a smile, as he pulled my sister by her hands, he placed a kiss on her forehead.

“I have found my new mate, and true Luna, who would take care of my pack and bear me an heir.”

“Oh, Alex,” Natasha cooed, her voice dripping with false modesty. She kissed him back, her eyes sparkling with victory.

The room spun as humiliation and rage coursed through me. They were shameless, flaunting their betrayal right in front of me.

“You’re pathetic,” I spat, crumpling the paper in my fist and throwing it at him. “Both of you are shameless and disgusting!”

“How dare you—”

“Six years!” I screamed, shoving him back. “Six years of my life, wasted on you! I gave you everything, and this is how you repay me? With lies and betrayal?!”

He pushed me away from him. “Don’t you dare lay your hands on me again; otherwise, I would have you beheaded,” he spat at me in disgust.

“Go ahead!” I dared, my voice shaking with fury. “What more can you take from me? You’ve already stolen everything!”

He stared at me for a long moment, his gaze filled with disdain. Then, with a smirk that made my blood boil, he uttered the words that shattered my soul.

“Selene Hawkmoon, I reject you as my mate.”

The bond between us snapped, and the pain was excruciating. My wolf whimpered in agony, its voice fading into nothingness.

But I wouldn’t let him see my weakness. I straightened, wiping the tears from my face with trembling hands.

“I, Selene Hawkmoon, accept your rejection.”

The words tasted like ash, but I forced them out, my voice steady.

Alex’s lips twisted into a cruel smile. “For your disrespect, I sentence you to life imprisonment. You’ll rot in the darkest dungeon.”