Chapter 1
Sloane's POV
"Zane, please... stop..." I pleaded through gritted teeth, my voice shaking with pain.
Zane Blackthorn, my Alpha, pinned me against the wall, thrusting into me with relentless force.
My body convulsed as though being torn asunder. A white-hot pain seared through me, yet intertwined with it was a perverse, agonizing pleasure that twisted my senses. I groaned, the sound a guttural mix of humiliation and raw desire.
"Look at me," he growled, his voice low and commanding.
Tears blurred my vision, but I forced myself to lift my head and meet his eyes. He crashed his mouth against mine in a brutal kiss.
His hand gripped my jaw so tightly I thought it might bruise. His kiss was fierce, demanding, and punishing, stealing the last of my breath.
Tears spilled down my cheeks, each one a silent cry of despair.
Just as I thought I would suffocate, Zane finally released my mouth. He spun me around, pressed against my lower back, and drove deeper inside me, initiating another torturous round.
"Zane, please," I whispered, my voice breaking, "he was just a waiter. We only talked about the wine—nothing more." My words came out between my cries and gasps, pleading as I tried to explain.
Regret stabbed through me like a blade.
If only I hadn't gone to check the underground arena tonight... if only I hadn't accepted that glass from the waiter... then maybe Zane wouldn't be punishing me like this.
The arena's chamber was stifling, sweat beading on my skin in the thick, humid air. I felt adrift and powerless, like a small boat being tossed about in a violent storm.
"Have I not made it clear? You are forbidden to speak with other male wolves," Zane's voice roared, his thrusts becoming even more brutal.
"Please... I know I was wrong... it hurts... Zane, please stop..." Broken whimpers escaped my lips as I cried, begging for his mercy through my tears.
He gripped my shoulders, his eyes blazing crimson like burning embers that threatened to consume me.
"You're my Luna, Sloane. You chose this, remember? This is your duty. Accept it."
A wave of anguish crashed over me, and I wept silently, my heart fracturing under his words.
He was right. Becoming his Luna had been my choice, a terrible choice.
Looking back, three years ago, I never should have agreed to be Zane's Luna——
Back then, our Fullmoon Pack had clashed with the notorious Obsidian Pack in a brutal territory war. Zane had taken a near-fatal blow, leaving him in a coma so deep that even the witch declared he would never open his eyes again.
In desperation, his grandmother, Hester Blackthorn, had begged me to step up as the pack's Luna to help her keep the pack from falling apart.
I was just an Omega maid in her service, powerless to refuse her orders.
Besides, I'd always carried a secret flame for Zane, and I desperately wanted to help him in any way I could.
One month after the pack elders named me Luna, the impossible happened—Zane opened his eyes.
When he discovered they had appointed me as his Luna during his coma, he refused to accept it.
After all, he already had Evelynn—his perfect mate. In his eyes, I was nothing but a worthless Omega who didn't even have a wolf.
To make matters worse, Evelynn herself had accused me of trying to poison her with silver bane.
Evelynn was the sister of Obsidian Pack's Alpha. Before the war, she and Zane had been the envy of all, their love a dazzling tale everyone admired.
But during the war, I stumbled upon her secret——She was no true mate to Zane, only a pretender. When she realized I knew her secret, she threatened to do whatever it took to keep me quiet.
"You would give everything for what you know." she said at the time.
Evelynn staged her attack, coating herself with Silver Bane before falling to the ground in front of everyone. Blood-covered, she screamed that I had tried to murder her because I was jealous.
That moment destroyed any trust Zane had in me.
Only after his grandmother, Lady Blackthorn, threatened to take her own life did he grudgingly accept me as his mate.
"You hurt my mate and now she's disappeared," he snarled. "You'll pay for what you've done."
At our mating ceremony, his eyes held nothing but hatred and contempt when he looked at me.
For three years, his anger was a constant shadow, lashing out at me day after day.
This s****l torment seemed endless. I gradually lost all strength, my body swaying mechanically with his movements.
Finally, after what felt like hours, Zane let out a low growl and released in me.
Tears and shame soaked my skin.
He threw me onto the cold floor like I was nothing but trash.
I curled up in agony, blood seeping from between my legs as excruciating pain tore through my abdomen.
Zane's lovemaking was always violent. Without my wolf, I would often bleed afterward, but today, the pain was particularly intense.
"Zane... it hurts so much... please... take me to the hospital," I whispered, reaching for his sleeve.
"Stop pretending," he said coldly, pushing my hand away like it disgusted him.
His towering figure was clad in tailored black dress pants and a fitted black shirt, giving him the appearance of a distant deity.
"I'm not pretending," I whispered, my voice shaking. "It really hurts..."
For a moment, his expression faltered. Maybe my trembling voice didn't sound like faked, he frowned and watched me for a moment, then reached out to help me up.
Then his phone rang.
He frowned and answered it. A second later, his whole demeanor changed.
His face became agitated, full of desperate longing.
Those eyes of his, usually cold as winter stone, sparked with a light I'd never seen before.
"Evelynn, is it really you? Where are you?" His voice quivered, betraying a vulnerability I didn't know he possessed.
I froze, my breath catching in my throat.
Evelynn?!
Evelynn's calling Zane?
Three years had passed since Evelyn mysteriously disappeared after the Silver Bane incident. Despite Zane's relentless search, following every lead and rumor, she remained untraceable.
My chest tightened, a flood of old wounds ripping open. I knew all too well what Evelynn's return meant, and the weight of it crushed the air from my lungs.
Zane's composure shattered. He clutched the phone, his words tumbling out in a frantic rush. "I'm coming to get you right now!"
The joy in his voice was palpable, a warmth he'd never once offered me.
My heart twisted, a dull ache spreading as my eyes burned. I stared at him, helpless, drowning in the despair of watching someone I loved slip further away.
He hung up, his hand still gripping the phone, trembling slightly.
For a long moment, he stood there, wrestling with the storm inside him. When he finally turned to me, his eyes had reverted to their usual icy detachment.
"Thank the Moon Goddess Evelyn's alive," he said coldly. "She's back now. You should be grateful—if she had died, you would have paid dearly for it."
He fell silent for a moment before delivering the final blow."We need to break our bond."
His words were a blade, slicing straight through my heart.
"You... You want to break our bond?" I stammered, staring at him in shock, unable to believe what was happening.
For years he never listened to my explanations, and now that Evelyn was back, our three-year mating bond would come to an end.
Zane, what was I ever to you?
His patience seemed to fray. He tugged at his tie, irritation creeping into his tone. "I'm submitting the request to dissolve your Luna status to the court today," he said coldly. "Name your price for compensation and let's be done with this."
With that, he turned and strode out, the door slamming shut behind him with a finality that echoed in my bones.
My tears broke free, a flood I couldn't hold back.
I felt like I was drowning in grief, a deep, consuming despair that swallowed everything.
My body ached, but my heart hurt more. I felt a raw, tearing agony that left me gasping.
Darkness crept over me like a storm cloud, thick and endless.
I remained on the floor, motionless, until a sudden mindlink broke through my thoughts.
"Sloane!" It was Grace Padilla, my best friend, her voice bursting with joy. "I have amazing news! Your medical results just came in—you're pregnant!"
"What?" My tears stopped, shock widening my eyes as her words sank in.