My Alpha Sacrificed Our Pup to Save His Ex

The wolfsbane revelation came three days after I woke up empty.

I was still confined to bed, my body a hollow shell that barely responded to commands. The healers had tried everything—herbs, salves, even ancient chants—but nothing could coax my wolf back from wherever she'd retreated. Dr. Webb said she was dormant, not dead, but the distinction felt meaningless when all I felt was silence where her presence used to sing.

Reid had left that morning for border patrols, his goodbye kiss landing on my forehead like a brand. I didn't react. Couldn't. My emotions had crystallized into something hard and cold, a diamond of rage buried so deep I could barely feel it myself.

Then Karina walked into my room.

She didn't knock. Just glided in wearing a silk robe that probably cost more than most pack members earned in a month, her skin glowing with health, her scent strong and vibrant. Nothing like the dying wolf from a week ago.

"Oh good, you're awake." She perched on the edge of my bed, and I caught it—the faintest whiff of something bitter beneath her natural scent. "I wanted to thank you properly. You know, for saving my life."

I stared at the ceiling. Didn't trust myself to speak.

"The thing is," Karina continued, examining her manicured nails, "I wasn't actually dying. Well, you probably figured that out by now, right? I mean, look at me." She gestured to herself, a smile playing at her lips. "Wolfsbane is fascinating stuff. Just a tiny bit, carefully measured, can mimic all sorts of symptoms. Elevated heart rate, weakened aura, even that 'fading' scent. I had to be so careful with the doses."

Something cracked in my chest. Not my heart—that had already shattered. Something deeper.

"You should've seen your face when Reid dragged you into that ritual chamber." Karina laughed, the sound light and musical. "All that begging. 'It's your pup, Reid! Our pup!' God, it was pathetic."

My fingers curled into the sheets.

"Oh, and speaking of the pup—" She leaned closer, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Dr. Webb gave me the remains afterward. Medical waste, he called it. I flushed it down the toilet. Seemed appropriate, don't you think? Just flushed your little mistake right down the drain."

The diamond of rage exploded into fire.

But I didn't move. Didn't scream. Didn't lunge at her throat the way every cell in my body demanded. Because in that moment of white-hot fury, clarity cut through like a blade.

Karina wanted a reaction. She wanted me broken, hysterical, easy to dismiss as an unstable Luna. She wanted Reid to see me as the problem, not her.

So I gave her nothing.

I turned my head slowly, met her gaze with eyes as empty as I felt, and smiled. "Thank you for telling me."

Her triumphant expression flickered. "What?"

"I said thank you." I pushed myself up to sitting, ignoring how my arms shook. "I needed to know exactly who you are. Now I do."

Karina's eyes narrowed. "You can't tell Reid. He'll never believe you anyway. He chose me, Nora. He'll always choose me."

"I know," I said softly. And I did. That truth had carved itself into my bones during those ten minutes on the altar.

She left shortly after, confusion warring with satisfaction on her face. The moment the door clicked shut, I reached for the burner phone I'd hidden under my mattress—a gift from my brother Samuel during his last visit, "just in case."

My father answered on the first ring.

"Songbird?" His voice was rough with concern. He hadn't called me that since I was a child.

"I need to come home, Dad." The words stuck in my throat. "But I need help. Legal help. The kind that involves treaties and territorial rights."

A pause. Then: "Tell me everything."

I did, speaking in the code we'd developed years ago for sensitive pack business. When I finished, silence stretched so long I thought the connection had dropped.

"That bastard." My father's voice could have frozen fire. "I'm calling Benedict. You remember Prince Benedict?"

"Yes." The Lycan I'd been betrothed to before I chose Reid. Before I threw away everything for a love that turned out to be poison.

"He's been asking about you. Heard rumors." Another pause. "Nora, for this to work legally, you need to be in a public space. Somewhere Reid can't claim absolute territorial authority."

"A Pack Gathering," I whispered.

"Exactly. Can you manage that?"

I looked down at my trembling hands, at the body that felt like a stranger's. "I'll find a way."

Two days later, I walked into Reid's office on legs that barely held me. He looked up from his paperwork, surprise and something like hope flashing across his face.

"Nora. You're up."

"I want to call a Pack Gathering." My voice was steady. I'd practiced in the mirror for hours. "I want to publicly forgive Karina. Show the pack that we're united. That the Luna supports her Alpha's decisions."

Reid stood slowly, studying my face. I kept my expression serene, submissive, everything he wanted to see.

"You'd do that?" His hand reached for mine. I let him take it, let him pull me close, even though my skin crawled. "Nora, I knew you'd understand eventually. We can move past this. We can try again for a pup—"

"Let's heal the pack first," I interrupted gently. "Then we can talk about our future."

He kissed my forehead, and I tasted bile.

"I'll arrange it for tomorrow night," he said. "Full moon. The whole pack will attend."

Perfect.

I smiled up at him, the same empty smile I'd given Karina. "I can't wait."