Betrayed by My Alpha Mate

The cold stone table beneath me had become as familiar as my own bed these past months. I stared at the ceiling of the medical chamber, counting the cracks in the plaster as the pack healer inserted another needle into my arm. The sharp sting barely registered anymore.

"Hold still," he muttered, though I hadn't moved. My body had learned that resistance only made things worse.

I watched my blood flow through the clear tube, crimson life force destined for another woman's veins. For Luna Blackwood. The woman my mate had chosen over me, despite our bond, despite the child growing inside me. His child.

The first rays of dawn filtered through the high windows, casting long shadows across the room. Another day of being nothing more than a living blood bag. Another day of carrying Harrison's pup while being treated like pack garbage.

"Grace?" A small voice whispered from the doorway.

I turned my head, wincing as the needle shifted in my arm. "Emma, you shouldn't be here."

My sister stood shivering in the doorway, her thin frame drowning in an oversized sweater. Even from across the room, I could see the dark circles under her eyes. Without a wolf, her body had always been fragile, prone to illness and fatigue. She clenched her fists at her sides, but I could see the tears she was fighting to hold back.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

"I'm fine," I lied, forcing a smile that felt like broken glass on my lips. "Go back to our quarters before someone sees you."

The healer glanced at Emma with irritation but said nothing. He was one of the few pack members who still showed me a shred of decency, though even his patience was wearing thin with these daily extractions.

The familiar scent of moonflowers and expensive perfume wafted into the room before she did. My stomach clenched, nausea rising that had nothing to do with my pregnancy.

Celeste Blackwood glided into the medical chamber like she owned it. In many ways, she did. As Harrison's chosen Luna, every inch of the Silvermoon Pack house belonged to her now.

"Still not done?" she asked the healer, not bothering to look at me. "I need my treatment before the morning council meeting."

"Almost finished, Luna," the healer replied, his tone shifting to one of deference.

Celeste's gaze finally fell on me, her perfect features arranged in a mask of contempt. Then her eyes slid to Emma, and something predatory flickered across her face.

She moved toward my sister with deliberate steps, her silken black hair swaying with each movement. Emma pressed herself against the doorframe, trying to make herself smaller.

"What's this?" Celeste's voice dripped with false sweetness as she leaned close to Emma. "The other Morgan sister. The one without a wolf."

I strained against the straps securing me to the table. "Leave her alone, Celeste."

She ignored me, reaching out to touch Emma's pale cheek. My sister flinched but didn't pull away. She couldn't. No one defied the Luna.

"You know," Celeste purred, "a wolfless weakness like you is a drain on pack resources. Perhaps it's time we moved you to the omega quarters, where you belong."

Emma's eyes widened with terror. The omega quarters were little more than glorified prison cells, where the lowest ranking pack members lived in squalor, fighting for scraps.

Something inside me snapped. I'd endured months of humiliation. I'd let them drain my blood. I'd watched silently as Harrison paraded Celeste through the pack while I grew heavy with his child. But this—threatening Emma—was my breaking point.

With strength I didn't know I still possessed, I tore free from the restraints and ripped the needle from my arm. Blood sprayed across the white sheets as I lunged from the table.

"Grace, don't!" the healer called after me, but I was already moving.

I caught Celeste in the hallway, grabbing her arm and spinning her to face me.

"You will not touch my sister," I snarled, my voice barely recognizable even to my own ears. "You will not threaten her. Ever."

Celeste's eyes widened with shock before narrowing dangerously. "How dare you put your hands on me? I am the Luna of this pack!"

"You're nothing but Harrison's plaything," I spat, the words pouring out before I could stop them. "And when he tires of you, you'll be discarded just like me."

The air around us suddenly grew heavy, charged with power that made my skin prickle. A familiar scent of pine and dominance filled the hallway.

Harrison.

He materialized from around the corner in a swirl of black fur and authority, his Alpha power rolling off him in waves that made my knees weak. His eyes, cold as winter frost, locked onto mine.

"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded, his Alpha tone vibrating through my bones.

Before I could speak, Celeste rushed to his side. "She attacked me, Alpha! After all you've done for her, allowing her to stay despite carrying that...that mistake."

Harrison's gaze dropped to my swollen belly, and something dark passed over his features. Without warning, he slammed me against the wall with his Alpha power alone, pinning me there like an insect.

"You dare to touch what is mine?" he growled, closing the distance between us.

"She threatened Emma," I gasped, struggling against the invisible force holding me. "Your own sister—"

His hand shot out, delivering a crushing blow directly to my pregnant belly. Pain exploded through me, white-hot and all-consuming. I crumpled to the floor as Harrison's power released me, clutching my stomach as warmth spread between my thighs.

Blood. My pup's blood.

As darkness crowded the edges of my vision, I felt something inside me tear—not just the life of my unborn child slipping away, but the mate bond itself, severing like a thread stretched beyond its breaking point.

Harrison stood over me, his face a mask of cold indifference as he watched his own child die within me.