13

Scarlett

I turned to meet his gaze, blood still warm on my hands, Vanessa’s last breath lingering in the air between us. Something dark and satisfied curled my lips into a smile. “What do you think? She screamed so beautifully for me, didn’t she?”

“You dare...” His voice trembled with barely contained fury, eyes blazing alpha-red as he stalked toward me. “You dare murder my mistress?” The words escaped him in a feral growl that would have once terrified me. I had nothing to fear. Absolutely nothing. What else was there for me? I had lost everything, and the only source of joy was gone.

“Murder?” I laughed. “No, Dickson. This was justice.” My hand drifted to my empty womb, the void there aching like an open wound. “She took my baby from me. My innocent child. I simply returned the favor.”

He moved with alpha speed, his hand gripping my throat tightly. I didn’t resist. Instead, I smiled, savoring the sensation of his touch on my windpipe.

“Do it fast and clean,” I whispered, meeting his rage-filled eyes. “Or are you too much of a coward?”

His grip tightened for a moment before a cruel smile twisted his features. “You think I’d grant you the mercy of a quick death?” He hurled me to the floor with enough force to knock the breath from my lungs. I landed in the cooling pool of Vanessa’s blood, feeling it soak into my dress, marking me with her death.

“You killed her over that bastard spawn,” he snarled, towering over me. “I should have ripped it from your womb myself if I knew it could cost her life.”

Something inside me snapped. “He was not a bastard!” The scream tore from my throat, raw and primal. “He was my child! My baby! My—”

His hand fisted in my hair, yanking me up until my feet barely touched the ground. “He was an abomination,” he hissed against my ear. “And now you’ll learn what true suffering means.”

He dragged me through the pack house like a broken doll, leaving a trail of my blood and Vanessa’s on the polished floors. Whispers followed us. I saw faces - servants, pack members - all avoiding eye contact with their fallen Luna.

Dr. Matthews appeared, his aged face pale with horror. “Alpha, please—the Luna needs medical attention. The poison, the trauma—”

“Medical attention?” Dickson laughed. “She had strength enough to slaughter Vanessa, didn’t she? To rip out her throat like a rabid animal?” He yanked harder, and I felt strands of hair tear from my scalp. “Or are you questioning my authority in my own territory, doctor?”

“Alpha—”

“Shut up. How dare you question my authority, Matthews? How dare you tell me what to do in my palace?”

Dr. Matthews fell to his knees. “Have mercy, my lord. Please forgive me.”

Without replying or looking back, Alpha Dickson dragged me away by my hair, down to somewhere dark and sinister.

“Ah!” I screamed as he shoved me into a dark place. My eyes scanned the surroundings, adjusting thanks to my wolf’s instincts. The place looked like a cage.

“Welcome to my private hell,” he sneered, returning with a metal rod that gleamed dully in the low light. “Let me show you what real pain feels like.”

The first strike caught me across the back, splitting skin and drawing a scream from my lips that echoed off stone walls. The second blow crushed the breath from my lungs. By the third, I tasted blood.

“Please,” I gasped, though I wasn’t sure if I was begging for mercy or death.

“Oh, now you beg?” Another strike, another scream. “Vanessa begged too.”

He beat me until my world narrowed to nothing but pain and the wet sound of metal meeting flesh.

“Kill me,” I begged.

“I won’t.”

He grabbed a fistful of my hair, yanking so hard I thought he might tear it from my scalp. I screamed, the pain blinding, as his grip tightened. I could feel his hot breath on my face, the veins in his neck bulging as he snarled, his eyes wild with rage. His hatred consumed him.

When he finally stopped, I lay in a pool of my own blood, every breath an orchestra of agony.

“This is just the beginning,” he promised, his voice distant through the ringing in my ears. “Every day, I’ll remind you why no one crosses me. Every. Single. Day.”

The door clanged shut, his footsteps fading up the stairs, leaving me alone with my suffering. Or so I thought.

“Are you okay, Scarlett?” I could hear my wolf ask, her pain visible in her tone.

I closed my eyes to communicate with her.

“Ray...” I tried to reach for her through our bond, finding her presence dimmer than usual. “What’s happening to you?”

“I’m absorbing what I can of the pain,” she whispered. “Rest now. Save your strength.”

“Ray, don’t—”

“I need to rest. I will communicate with you later.”

Ray cut off the mindlink, and I felt her retreat to the back of my mind. I lay down, my breathing harsh.

---

My eyes snapped open when someone poured water on my face.

Rebecca stood over me, her beauty twisted by malice. “My, my,” she purred. “How the mighty have fallen. Good to see you again, Luna,” she grinned.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“You’re still acting high and mighty when you’re already beneath me,” she whispered. “What does it feel like to be here?”

“Why are you here?” I asked again.

“You killed her, right? You killed Vanessa?” she asked.

I looked away, but her next words nearly ripped my soul out.

Her laugh echoed off the cell walls. “What a fool! Oh, I’ve come to thank you, actually.” She crouched down, bringing her face close to mine. “You see, you did exactly what I wanted. You killed that bitch Vanessa for me, took all the blame...” Her smile widened. “Just like she took the blame for your baby’s death.”

The world stopped. “Ha,” I breathed. “So it was you.”

“Oh yes," she whispered, her voice dripping with satisfaction. “I killed your precious little bastard. Vanessa was just... convenient. The perfect scapegoat. I hate her for stealing Dickson’s love and attention for herself, so she deserved to die. And you,” her finger traced my cheek, “you played your part beautifully.”

A surge of intense anger, a feeling I thought had faded with the loss of my child, suddenly reignited within me. It was a fiery, uncontrollable rage.

“I’ll kill you,” I promised. “I’ll tear you apart slowly and make you feel every second of pain my baby felt.”

She stood, brushing off her dress as if I’d dirtied it just by existing. “Bold words from someone who won’t survive the week.” Her heels clicked against the stone as she walked away. “Die well, Luna. Die knowing you avenged the wrong person.”