Betrayed by His Own Alpha

The sharp scent of blood filled my nose, making it harder to breathe. My vision blurred, but I forced myself to stay conscious. I had to.

Naya was in my arms, her tiny body limp, barely breathing.

“Baby… please, please hold on,” I choked out, pressing my trembling hands over the gaping wound on her side. My own body screamed in pain, but I ignored it. I had to keep her warm. I had to keep her alive.

The crash happened so fast. One moment, I was driving through the forest road, my hands tight on the wheel, and the next—impact.

A violent, deafening crash.

Metal twisted. Glass shattered. And then—darkness.

When I came to, I was already out of my car, my body aching, my head spinning. My werewolf form had shielded me from the worst of the damage, but at a cost. I could feel my wolf whimpering inside me, too injured to heal quickly, too weak to shift back.

At first, I thought I’d protected Naya with my body. But when I saw her, when I saw how much blood she had lost, something inside me shattered.

She was so still.

Too still.

I was about to scream for help when I heard a weak groan a few feet away.

Skyla.

She was slumped against her car, her face twisted in pain, her hands clutching her stomach. Her pregnant stomach.

Of course, it had to be her.

The woman who had destroyed everything. The woman who had once walked away from Ezekiel, choosing to abandon him when he needed her the most—only to return the moment she saw him happy.

Skyla was Ezekiel’s first love.

And when she saw that he had moved on with me, that we had built a life together, had a daughter together, she was doing everything to pull him back.

I clenched my teeth, refusing to look at her. She didn’t matter.

My daughter was dying.

With trembling hands, I grabbed my phone, my fingers slipping from the blood coating them as I dialed.

Ezekiel.

He picked up almost immediately.

“Viana?” His voice was sharp, urgent. “Where are you? What’s wrong?”

“It’s about Naya, Ezekiel, it’s bad. She—” My voice cracked. “She needs help. I need you, please! She’s dying!”

A low, dangerous growl rumbled through the speaker, followed by hurried movement.

“I’m coming. Stay with her, Viana. Don’t let go.”

I sobbed, holding Naya closer. “Please hurry…”

And then I heard it.

The thunderous sound of paws slamming against the earth.

A shadow moved through the trees, fast. Massive.

And then—he was already here.

Ezekiel burst into the clearing in his full werewolf form, his silver fur slick with sweat and blood from battle. His golden eyes burned fiercely in the darkness, scanning the wreckage, his massive chest rising and falling with heavy breaths.

My heart clenched at the sight of him. He had come. He had come for us.

“Ezekiel!” I cried out, relief flooding through me. “Help her! Help Naya!”

He moved towards me, his golden eyes locking onto our daughter’s fragile form. My heart soared—he was going to save her.

But then—

A broken sob.

“ZZeke…”

Skyla’s voice.

And everything changed.

Ezekiel froze.

His ears twitched at the sound of her voice.

And then, before I could even process what was happening—he turned away from me.

Away from Naya.

Away from us.

He turns toward Skyla instead, his powerful form towering over her.

“Skyla?” His deep voice was raw, filled with something I couldn’t comprehend.

She was trembling, holding her stomach, her face twisted in pain.

“Zeke… please…” she whispered. “Our baby…”

Our baby.

The words echoed in my skull, sharp as a knife, slicing through every remaining thread of hope I had left.

Ezekiel’s breath hitched. His claws curled.

And in that moment, I knew.

I knew he was going to choose her.

I scrambled forward, my hands shaking. “Ezekiel, no! Naya needs you! Your daughter needs you!”

He turned back to me, but his gaze was cold. Emotionless.

It was a look I had never seen before.

A look that told me he had already made his decision.

“I can’t save all of you,” he said. His voice was low, final.

The weight of his words crashed down on me, stealing my breath.

I looked down at my daughter. My baby. Our baby.

She was still alive—but barely.

Skyla, on the other hand, was strong enough to talk, to beg. She wasn’t dying.

But Ezekiel had already chosen.

I lunged forward, gripping his bloodstained fur. “Please, Ezekiel! Please don’t do this! She’s your daughter—our daughter!”

But he didn’t even flinch.

Instead, he ripped himself from my grasp.

I fell to the ground, the cold seeping into my bones. I watched, helpless, as he knelt down and carefully scooped Skyla into his arms, cradling her the way I had cradled Naya.

His massive wolf form shifted slightly, muscles tensing.

And then—he ran.

He took Skyla and ran.

He left me there.

Left us there.

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think.

The weight of betrayal crushed me as I looked down at Naya, my beautiful little girl.

She was barely holding on. Her small hand twitched, her lips parting slightly as if to say something—

“Mmom… Ddon’t ccry…”

And then—

Her tiny fingers went still.

Her breathing stopped.

And I screamed.

Screamed so loudly the entire forest trembled with the sound of my heartbreak.

Ezekiel had left us to die.

And I would never forgive him.

I was losing my mind.

My body was screaming in exhaustion, my arms numb from carrying my daughter’s lifeless body through the vast forest. I had lost track of time, of how long I had walked, of how many times I had stumbled and fallen. My knees were bruised, my skin covered in dirt and dried blood. But I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.

By the time the sun began to rise, I reached the werewolf cemetery. My legs buckled, but I forced myself to stand. I had no one. No pack, no family. Only Naya. And now… even she was gone.

With my bare hands, I dug into the earth, my nails breaking, my skin tearing, but I didn’t care. I only stopped when my fingers finally hit deep enough ground. And there, under the cold morning light, I laid my daughter to rest.

I sat there for hours. Motionless. Empty.

Until night fell, and I realized—I couldn’t just sit here. I needed something. One last thing.

I needed to take something of hers.

So I dragged myself home. Back to the house I shared with him.

But when I stepped inside, the silence was loud. The house was empty.

“Where is Ezekiel?” I asked the maid.

She hesitated before lowering her head. “He’s at the werewolf meeting, my lady. They’re announcing Miss Skyla’s pregnancy…”

My breath hitched.

“…and the expected heir of the Moonford family.”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut, leaving me speechless.

No. No, no, no.

I should have collapsed. Should have screamed. But I didn’t.

Instead, I turned around and walked out.

And then I ran.

Ran straight to the meeting.

The grand doors burst open as I stepped inside. The chatter stopped. Every eye turned to me, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t here for them.

I was here for him.

Ezekiel stood at the front of the room, tall and composed, his arm wrapped around Skyla’s waist. The woman he had chosen.

His gaze landed on me, but there was no surprise in his eyes. No guilt.

“Viana.” His voice was sharp, cutting through the silence. “What the hell are you doing here?”

I barely recognized him.

I forced my legs forward, each step fueled by rage, by heartbreak. “You—” My voice broke. “How could you do this?”

Ezekiel exhaled sharply, his expression darkening. “Leave.”

I let out a shaky laugh. Leave?

“That’s all you have to say to me?” I hissed. “You don’t even have an explanation?”

“What do you want me to say, Viana?” His voice was calm, cruel. “Do you want me to comfort you? To mourn with you over a child that was never mine to begin with?”

The room erupted into gasps.

I felt like I had been slapped.

My breath hitched. “What—”

Ezekiel moved, pulling something from his jacket before tossing it at me. An envelope. It landed at my feet.

“Read it,” he ordered coldly.

My hands trembled as I picked it up, ripping it open. The first thing I saw was a picture—of a woman kissing another man. A woman who looked exactly like me.

My stomach twisted.

Then I saw the second paper. A DNA test.

The words burned into my skull.

Not Ezekiel’s child.

This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real.

I lifted my head, my vision blurred with rage and disbelief. “You know this isn’t true, Ezekiel.”

He let out a cold chuckle. “You’re the only one saying that.”

“I never betrayed you,” I whispered. “You are the only man I’ve ever loved. The only man I’ve ever given myself to. How can you believe this?”

His jaw tightened at my words, but then he scoffed, his lips curling into a smirk.

“You want the truth, Viana?” He leaned closer, his voice dropping low. “The truth is, choosing you was my biggest mistake.”

Something inside me shattered.

“I should have killed you the moment I met you,” he added, his voice void of any warmth. “If I had known what kind of traitorous woman you were.”

I sucked in a sharp breath.

Skyla, beside him, let out a soft laugh. “Did you really think you’d get away with it, Viana?”

That’s when it hit me.

The way she was smirking at me. The way she was enjoying this.

She planned this.

She. Planned. Everything.

“You…” My voice shook. “You did this.”

Skyla’s eyes gleamed with amusement. “What are you talking about?”

My chest rose and fell violently, my fists clenching at my sides. “You set me up.”

“No one wants to hear your lies, Viana.” Ezekiel’s voice was sharp.

I snapped my head back to him. “Believe me or not, I never betrayed you. And Naya—” My voice cracked, my throat raw from all the emotions clawing out of me. “She was your daughter.”

His expression didn’t change.

No hesitation. No second thoughts.

He just turned his back on me.

And then, the pain hit.

A burning sensation ripped through my body, starting from my chest and spreading through my veins like wildfire. I choked on my own breath, my knees buckling beneath me as an unbearable force crushed my soul.

“No…” I gasped, clutching my chest. “No, no, no.”

I knew what was happening.

He was breaking our mate bond.

The invisible thread that tied my soul to his—our connection, our destiny—was being torn apart. And he was the one doing it.

I screamed.

Not just from pain, but from betrayal. From the sheer agony of watching him sever the one thing that once made us whole.

My vision blurred. My body trembled violently. I could hear the murmurs, the gasps from the crowd, but all I could focus on was the man who was supposed to love me.

The man who was killing me in the cruelest way possible.

I looked up at him, my breathing ragged. “You… You’re really doing this?”

Ezekiel didn’t even flinch.

“This is what you deserve, Viana.” His voice was sharp, final. “From now on, you are nothing to me.”

The last thread snapped.

A choked sob left my lips as my body collapsed to the ground, the weight of his rejection crushing every part of me. My mate—the father of my child—had just erased me from his life without a second thought.

And Skyla… that witch was smiling.

She won.

She took everything from me.

I felt hands grabbing me—guards, dragging me toward the exit like I was nothing more than filth. My body were too weak to fight, my heart too hurt to resist.

The last thing I saw before they threw me out was Ezekiel. Standing tall. Unbothered. Holding her close like she was his world.

I landed on the cold ground outside, gasping for air, my mind screaming in denial. This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be.

But as I lay there, broken and humiliated under the dark sky, one thought consumed me.

I will make them pay.

Every single one of them.

I couldn’t feel anything anymore.

Not the cold wind hugging through my skin. Not the blood trickling down my arm from Ezekiel’s rejection. Not even the ache in my chest where our mate bond once existed.

All I felt was emptiness.

They had taken everything from me. My daughter. My mate. My dignity.

And yet, I kept walking. Step. By step. By step.

I didn’t know where I was going.

I just knew I couldn’t stay there. Not in that pack, not in that hall where they all laughed at me, sneered at me like I was nothing but a stain in their perfect world.

“A traitor, her daughter deserves to die.”

“She doesn’t belong here.”

Their words rang in my ears.

I wanted them dead. Every last one of them.

But I was weak. Ezekiel had stripped me of my strength, of my status as his mate, leaving me vulnerable. The moment he rejected me, I felt my body give out. Like a part of my soul had been ripped away, leaving only a hollow shell.

I stumbled. The forest spun around me, twisting into shadows. My knees hit the dirt, my breath coming in sharp, painful gasps.

I couldn’t even cry anymore.

Was this it?

Was this how I was supposed to end? Alone, broken, abandoned?

No.

Not like this.

A rustle in the darkness.

I snapped my head up, instincts flaring.

The scent hit me first. Rot. Blood. Death.

A low growl rumbled through the trees, and a pair of glowing red eyes emerged from the shadows. A rogue.

No—more than one.

Three wolves stepped out, their lips curling into snarls, their claws already extended.

“Well, well,” one of them sneered. “What do we have here? A lost little Luna?”

My breath hitched. They knew who I was.

Or who I used to be.

“She smells different,” another one murmured, tilting his head. “Weaker.”

The third one smirked. “Rejection,” he mused. “She was thrown away.”

Thrown away.

My hands curled into fists, but I didn’t have the strength to fight. I could barely keep myself upright.

And they knew it.

“Looks like she’s free game.” The first rogue stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. “Shame. I heard she used to be beautiful. Now? Just a broken little bitch.”

He lunged.

I braced myself—

But he never reached me.

A blur of black. A sharp, wet sound. A body hitting the ground.

The rogue gasped. Choked.

I blinked.

His head wasn’t attached to his body anymore.

The other two barely had time to react before something—or someone—ripped through them like they were nothing. Limbs twisted. Blood sprayed. Flesh tore.

And then—silence.

Three bodies lay in the dirt, torn apart like animals.

And in front of them stood him.

A man. A monster.

Dressed in black, drenched in blood, his golden eyes gleaming like molten fire.

He tilted his head, inspecting me like I was something fragile—something already broken beyond repair.

“Viana Moonford.”

My breath caught.

I didn’t recognize him. But the way he said my name…like it was already his to own.

“Who—” My voice cracked.

His lips curled. “The one you should’ve prayed never to meet.”

A shiver ran down my spine.

But not from fear.

From something darker.

“Your mate abandoned you,” he continued, stepping closer. “He chose another. Humiliated you. Threw you to the wolves.” He gestured to the dead rogues. “Literally.”

I clenched my jaw.

He was right.

Ezekiel had tossed me away like garbage. Rejected me in front of everyone. Told the entire pack I was a liar, a cheat, a disgrace. That Naya wasn’t his daughter.

I knew the truth. But it didn’t matter. Not to them.

Not even to him.

The man stopped just inches away. I could smell him now. A mix of smoke, blood, and power.

Overwhelming. Suffocating.

Deadly.

“You want revenge.” His voice was smooth, laced with amusement. “I can see it in your eyes.”

I didn’t deny it.

“You want them to suffer. You want him to suffer.” He leaned in, his breath ghosting over my skin. “But you can’t do it alone.”

I swallowed hard.

“Join me.”

The words sent ice through my veins.

I knew who he was now. The Bloodbane Alpha.

The rogue king. The exiled warlord. The one Ezekiel’s father had betrayed years ago, slaughtering his pack and driving him into the shadows.

Now, he is back.

And he was offering me a deal with the devil.

“I can give you power,” he murmured. “I can give you everything you need to make them bleed.” His fingers grazed my chin, tilting my face up to meet his. “But if you swear loyalty to me, there’s no turning back.”

He smiled. But it wasn’t kind. It wasn’t gentle.

It was a warning.

I should’ve been afraid.

Maybe a part of me was.

But what else did I have to lose?

Ezekiel had already taken everything.

And if this man, this monster, could help me take it all back, then what did it matter if I sold my soul?

“I swear,” I whispered.

His golden eyes darkened.

“Good girl.”

Before I could react, pain exploded through my body.

I screamed.

It felt like fire was crawling through my veins, burning me from the inside out. My bones cracked. My skin seared. Something was changing.

I fell to the ground, clawing at the dirt, gasping for air. My vision blurred, my ears ringing.

I heard his voice, low and unforgiving.

“Now, let’s make you something worth fearing.”

The last thing I saw before darkness swallowed me whole—

Was his smile.

“You’re now Snow Bloodbane. And you will never escape me.”

Darkness.

Then, pain.

A dull, pounding ache spread through my skull, making me wince as I stirred. My body felt foreign—like I had been asleep for too long, detached from it. I tried to move, but my limbs were sluggish, heavy, like they weren’t mine.

I exhaled sharply and forced my eyes open.

White.

The ceiling above me was smooth and unfamiliar. The bed beneath me was soft, the fabric of the sheets rich against my skin. None of it felt right. My chest tightened.

Where… am I?

Panic crawled up my throat as I sat up too fast, the room spinning violently around me. I gritted my teeth and pressed my palm against my temple, trying to steady myself.

I didn’t recognize this place.

I didn’t recognize...

My breath hitched.

I didn’t recognize anything.

The thought sent a cold shiver down my spine.

Why couldn’t I remember?

A door creaked open, pulling me from my panic.

Footsteps. Steady and controlled.

A tall figure stepped into the room. My chest tightened instinctively at the sheer presence of him—towering, commanding, exuding a silent power that made the air feel heavier.

His golden eyes locked onto mine, unreadable.

“Awake at last.”

The deep, cold voice sent a sharp jolt through me.

Something about him felt… dangerous.

I swallowed hard, trying to find my voice. “Who are you?”

His expression remained impassive. He didn’t move, didn’t react, as if my question was irrelevant.

I forced myself to meet his gaze. “Where am I?”

Nothing. No answer.

Fear curled in my stomach.

I clenched my fists against the sheets, my breathing unsteady. My mind was blank, painfully empty. No memories, no names, nothing that could explain why I was here or who I was supposed to be.

And yet…

Something about this man, Something about those eyes.

A strange feeling stirred deep inside me, an instinct I couldn’t place.

“Why can’t I remember anything?” My voice was hoarse, unsteady.

Finally, he moved.

Slow, deliberate steps carried him closer until he stood directly in front of me, looking down with an expression that sent ice through my veins.

“You don’t need to,” he said simply.

I blinked. “What—”

Before I could finish, his hand lifted.

Something pulsed in the air, something unseen but alive. I barely had time to flinch before his fingers pressed against my forehead.

A searing light erupted in my mind.

Whitehot, electric—ripping through me like a storm.

I choked on a gasp, my entire body seizing as the world around me shattered.

And then—

Memories flash into my mind. It hit me like a tidal wave, brutal and unforgiving.

Pain. Betrayal.

And Ezekiel.

I saw him. I felt him—his touch, his warmth. The way his arms had wrapped around me, his voice a soothing promise in my ears.

“You are my queen, Viana. Naya is our princess. I will always protect you both.”

“You are my life. You and Naya. Nothing will ever come between us.”

“I will be the strongest Alpha for you. No one will ever hurt you two—not while I still breathe.”

The words echoed in my head.

Lies.

The memory twisted, warping into something darker.

Naya’s cries, desperate, weak.

Blood. So much blood.

And Ezekiel—

Turning away.

I gasped, my entire body shaking as the memories kept crashing down.

The humiliation. The way they laughed at me when he abandoned me.

The agonizing, soulcrushing moment when I realized...

He chose her.

Not me. Not our daughter.

Skyla.

Rage burned through my veins, an allconsuming fire that threatened to devour me.

I clenched my jaw, my nails digging into my palms as I tried to steady myself. My chest rose and fell with each ragged breath, the weight of everything I had lost pressing down on me.

A name slipped past my lips before I could stop it.

“Prime Bloodbane...”

A sharp, suffocating silence filled the air.

I lifted my gaze, my vision still spinning, and met his eyes.

He was watching me—unmoving, unreadable. But there was something in his gaze now.

Satisfaction.

“You remember everything now,” he murmured, his voice disturbingly calm. “But tell me, Viana, do you still intend to keep your promise?”

His words were a dagger to my chest.

The promise.

I had made it before everything fell apart.

But now, now that I remembered everything…

My lips parted, but no words came out.

For a split second, I hesitated.

Ezekiel’s touch. His warmth. The way he had once looked at me like I was his world.

It was stupid. It was pathetic.

And Prime saw it.

His eyes darkened, his expression shifting into something dangerous.

A cold laugh left his lips. He leaned closer, his voice a sharp whisper.

“You’re hesitating?”

I swallowed hard, my pulse hammering in my ears.

Prime’s gaze sharpened, cutting into me like a blade.

Prime’s voice turned cruel. “Did you forget what he said that night?” His golden eyes burned with something unreadable. “He denied her, Viana. He denied that she was even his.”

My breath hitched.

“A child that carried his blood, a child who loved him, yet he chose to believe a fabricated test over his own mate.”

Something inside me snapped.

Like a thread pulled too tight.

Prime stepped back slightly, watching me with unreadable eyes. But there was no amusement anymore.

Just cold expectation.

“Tell me, Viana.” His voice was steady, unwavering. “Do you still intend to keep your promise?”

My hands curled into fists.

The memories burned. Ezekiel’s betrayal. Naya’s death.

I lifted my gaze to meet Prime’s.

And this time, there was no hesitation.

“Yes.”

The word was final. Absolute.

Prime’s lips curled into a slow, knowing smile.

“Then prove it.”

A force slammed into me, like the ground itself had risen to crush me. A suffocating, merciless heat filled the space, pressing down on my lungs.

The flames of judgment had begun.

I gasped. The moment I opened my eyes, the world had shifted.

I was no longer in Prime’s room.

A massive arena stretched before me, the sky above shrouded in crimson haze. Surrounding the stone platform I stood on were thousands—no, tens of thousands—of wolves. Their eyes glowed in the dim light, watching in eerie silence. Rogues.

A shadow moved in front of me.

Prime.

He stood tall, his silver eyes reflecting the flickering torches lining the arena walls. His presence was unshaken, as if he had been expecting this all along.

“You feel it, don’t you?” His voice was calm.

I clenched my fists. My entire body was burning—not with fire, but with something deeper, something that reached into my bones and coiled around my very soul.

“What… did you do to me?” My voice came out strained, foreign.

Prime’s lips curved slightly. “I have cast the Ritual of the Hollowed.”

The words sent a ripple through the watching rogues. A hushed murmur spread among them, some stepping back, others standing rigid, as if the mere mention of it was enough to shake them.

I swallowed hard. “The what?”

Prime’s expression remained unreadable. “An ancient spell. Lost for centuries. Forbidden even among the strongest of our kind.” His gaze darkened. “It strips away what makes you weak. Fear. Regret. Love. Every emotion that binds you to the past.”

I sucked in a sharp breath.

Love.

Ezekiel’s face flashed in my mind. His voice. His warmth. His betrayal.

A sharp, twisting pain coiled in my chest. The mate bond, the one that still lingered despite his rejection—was unraveling, fraying apart thread by thread.

“It is not instant,” Prime continued. “The ritual lasts three days. Three days of agony, where your very soul will be torn apart and rebuilt.”

My breathing hitched. “And if I don’t survive?”

His gaze locked onto mine. “Then you die.”

Silence.

A cold, unrelenting silence.

I turned my head slightly, looking past Prime at the thousands of rogues surrounding us. They weren’t just watching, they were waiting. Expecting.

I could feel it in the air.

They wanted to see if I would make it.

If I was worthy.

Prime took a step forward. “There is no turning back, Viana.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. I was afraid. My body screamed at me to run. But deep down, I knew there was nowhere left to go.

I had already lost everything.

What else was there to fear?

My lips parted. “I’m ready.”

Prime’s gaze lingered for a second longer before he stepped aside. Behind him, a structure stood—a tall, coffinlike chamber made of black stone. The door was slightly ajar, revealing a darkness so deep it swallowed the light.

“This is the threshold,” Prime said. “Once you step inside, there is no leaving until the ritual is complete.”

I exhaled slowly. Then, without another word, I walked forward.

The moment I reached the doorway, Prime’s hand pressed against my back. A single, forceful push.

Darkness swallowed me whole.

The door slammed shut.

The walls closed in.

I was trapped.

A space so tight I could barely move. My arms were pressed to my sides, my back against the cold stone, my head locked in place.

Then it began.

A sudden, unbearable heat exploded inside my chest. It wasn’t fire—it was worse. It was like my very soul was being dragged from my body, shredded apart piece by piece.

I screamed.

The pain was unlike anything I had ever known.

Every inch of me burned. My veins felt like they were being carved open, my bones splitting apart. My wolf howled inside me, thrashing against the invisible force that was tearing us apart.

No. No. No.

Ezekiel’s face surfaced in my mind again, his golden eyes, the way he used to look at me, the warmth of his touch—

RIP IT OUT.

The ritual obeyed.

The memory was yanked from me, ripped out so violently I could almost hear it shatter.

I gasped.

Another memory. Another wave of pain.

Ezekiel’s voice whispering my name—gone.

His scent—gone.

His touch, his love—gone.

The pain grew worse, consuming, endless. I clawed at the walls, my nails digging into the stone, but there was nothing to hold on to.

Everything was being erased.

I sobbed. I screamed. I begged.

And then...

Silence.

I was floating. Weightless. Empty.

For the first time in three days, there was no pain. No grief. No love.

Nothing.

And then—

The door opened.

A rush of cold air hit my skin.

I didn’t move.

“Viana?”

A voice. Deep. Steady. Familiar.

Prime.

I felt him step forward. He was close, his presence looming. “You survived.”

I did not answer. He exhaled. “Your emotions have been erased. Your fear, your pain, your love—they are no more.”

Silence.

I heard him shift, as if hesitating. “Are you—”

I opened my eyes. Prime stilled.

I stepped out of the chamber, my body light, effortless. The weight—the pain, the anger, the sorrow—it was all gone.

I walked past Prime without a word.

And then—

A sound. A single rustle.

Then another.

Then, as if a wave had crashed over the arena, thousands of rogues dropped to their knees.

Their heads bowed. Their voices rose as one.

“Hail, Bloodbane Queen.”

The words echoed across the vast arena, a chant that rumbled like a storm.

“Hail, Bloodbane Queen.”

“Hail, Bloodbane Queen.”

They were kneeling for me. They were swearing loyalty to me.

I lifted my gaze to the sea of wolves before me, the thousands who now bowed in reverence.

I should have felt something.

Pride. Power. Victory.

But I felt nothing.

Nothing at all.

Because Viana—the woman who once loved, who once cried, who once bled for the mate who betrayed her, was gone.

And in her place, a Queen was born.