Chapter 1
I was five months pregnant when I was pushed off the third floor.
Maximilian, my beloved husband-the Alpha of the Frosthowl Pack-immediately summoned the best wolf healers from across the lands to save me. But for the seventh time, I lost my pup.
Grief consumed me. I wandered the halls like a ghost, half-crazed with sorrow, desperate to catch one last glimpse of my
unborn child.
That’s when I heard them-Maximilian and the healer-talking in hushed tones just beyond the door.
“Maximilian, there were other ways,” the healer said quietly. “You didn’t have to make Luna Juliette lose the pup. It’s your
child too.”
Maximilian’s voice was cold. Unapologetic. “Scarlett’s picky. Juliette wanted a child, so I gave her one. This was the
cleanest way.”
His words hit me like a dagger to the chest.
It was him. My fated mate. The man I trusted with my life-he was the reason I lost my baby.
Tears blurred my vision as my heart cracked open, the pain almost too much to bear.
And then came the final blow.
“Remove Juliette’s uterus,” Maximilian said flatly. “Do the surgery before she wakes up.”
The healer recoiled. “You want to-what? Remove her uterus? Alpha, that would mean no heir for Frosthowl!”
“I don’t need an heir from Juliette,” Maximilian said coolly. “Scarlett gave birth yesterday. Everything I own will go to our
pup.”
The healer’s voice strained with disbelief. “But Scarlett’s child… that pup carries her former mate’s name and pack legacy. Luna Juliette has already endured seven miscarriages-she may never conceive again.”
Maximilian exhaled smoke, his tone smooth, almost gentle. “Scarlett is my true mate. Her last mate was abusive. She
barely escaped with her life. I swore I’d give her everything.”
“But-”
“No buts. Do it.”
Just then, Maximilian’s phone buzzed on the table-still on speaker.
“Maximilian,” a voice chuckled. “Got the cash. Hit me up for the next job. Seven hits in, I’m practically a specialist. Maybe
next time I’ll wear a vampire disguise-rip straight through Juliette’s womb…”
My breath caught in my throat.
That voice-Malric. The rogue who’d once kidnapped me. The one who’d taken my pup.
“No next time,” Maximilian said coldly. “Take your money and get out of Ironvale.”
Inside me, my wolf curled into a ball, whimpering. Mourning. We’d been betrayed in the cruelest way.
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I stumbled back to my room, barely making it to the bed before the door creaked open behind me.
“Juliette,” Maximilian said. “You’re awake?”
Drenched in sweat, I forced my expression into something calm. “Just now. I… was looking for you.”
His eyes locked onto mine-sharp, suspicious, dangerous. He scanned my face like a hunter eyeing prey.
I thought he’d seen right through me.
But then he pulled me into his arms, laying me gently on the bed.
“You have to take better care of yourself,” he murmured. “We already lost Buddy. I can’t lose you too.”
Buddy.
He dared say our pup’s name.
My wolf snarled, claws itching beneath my skin, yearning to tear him apart.
The truth clawed at me, relentless. The car crashes. The robbery. The fall. None of it had been coincidence.
It had always been him.
My fated mate had tried to kill me-again and again-just to please his lover.
And in that moment, I knew: My heart would never be whole again.
