“I see it’s taking effect.” Alice’s voice drips with satisfaction—a tone I’ve never heard from my normally timid maid. Through the sudden grogginess clouding my senses, I track her silhouette in my office doorway, fighting to understand why I can no longer feel my wolf’s presence. The complete silence where her spirit should be fills me with terror.

I try to stand, but my legs won’t cooperate. The room spins as I grip the edge of my desk. “What did you do?” I ask, proud my voice remains steady despite the numbness spreading across my tongue.

“Just a little something to quiet that mighty wolf of yours.” She steps into the room, her delicate features twisted into a cruel smile that transforms her pixie-like face into something almost demonic.

My stomach turns as Jackson, my fiancé and my Starfang pack’s Second In-Command, follows. He towers over Alice’s petite frame, his broad shoulders filling the doorway as his usually warm green eyes regard me with cold calculation. His arm slips around Alice’s waist with practiced familiarity. “We couldn’t risk her interfering with today’s transition of power.”

I stare at them, mind blank. The betrayal hits harder than the poison. I’ve trusted Jackson with everything—my heart, my pack, my future. We’ve been preparing for our mating ceremony next month. Yet here he stands, holding another woman like she belongs there. “How long?” I manage to ask, fighting to keep my voice steady despite the burning in my throat.

“Eight months.” Alice’s hand drifts to her stomach, and I notice the slight swell there for the first time. “Long enough for your devoted fiancé to put his pup in me.”

The words strike like physical blows. I turn to Jackson, searching for any trace of the man I’ve loved. His green eyes, once warm with affection, now hold nothing but cold ambition.

Disgust roils inside me. Months. They’ve had a baby on the way, this sick relationship going on, right under my nose, and I never noticed. Meanwhile, Jackson took advantage of my trust to seize the pack for himself. My skin crawls as the sudden doubt takes root. What else has he taken? What else has he done under my nose?

“The pack needs a real Alpha,” he says, as if explaining something simple to a child. “A male Alpha. The other packs won’t respect us with a female in charge, no matter how strong you think you are.” He steps closer, tucking a strand of my dark red hair behind my ear, and I flinch away. “A Starfang Alpha has ruled for generations. I won’t let you ruin our legacy.”

“The pack chose me,” I snarl, or try to. Without my wolf, it comes out as more of a rasp. “They chose me because I brought change. Under my leadership, we’ve opened trade routes with human settlements, strengthened our alliances with other packs, and given our people opportunities beyond just being warriors. Our pack is thriving because we dared to be different. The Starfang wolves swore me their loyalty.”

Jackson’s laugh is ugly. “And now they’ve chosen differently. Your father might have trained you to fight like a man, but you’ll never be one. The pack needs stability and alliances—things only a proper male Alpha can provide.”

Hot tears burn my eyes, but I force them down. To him, this is nothing but business. More ways for the pack to survive. But my friends, my people—they’re trading one “proper” Alpha for another, one who views them as little more than a tool. There’s no way to convince him this is a mistake. He’s made up his mind.

It takes several tries to gather enough strength to stand. Jackson holds me when I wobble, and I let him. Once I’m steady, I shove him back hard enough to send him stumbling, keeping a firm grip on my desk. “If you think you can waltz in here and start ordering my pack around, you’ve got another thing coming.”

“It’s too late for you,” he informs me nonchalantly.

As if on cue, heavy boots echo in the hallway as guards file in—my guards, warriors I’ve trained personally. None will meet my eyes as they surround me. I glance from face to face, my hope crumbling with each sympathetic look. They’ve already turned on me.

“You won’t get away with this.” I try to sound commanding, but the words slur slightly. Whatever they’ve given me is getting stronger.

“Looks like I already have,” Jackson replies and steps forward, close enough that I can smell Alice’s scent on him. “By pack law, as your chosen mate, I have the right to reject our bond before the official ceremony.” He raises his voice as he continues, the cruel sound carrying through the room with unmistakable clarity. “I hereby reject Lara Black as my mate, dissolving all claims between us.”

The words trigger a searing pain in my chest, like molten steel being poured directly into my heart. Without my wolf to share the burden, the severing of our partial bond is excruciating. I bite my lip until I taste blood, refusing to cry out. Jackson studies my rigid expression, disappointment twisting his mouth when I don’t react further.

“The neighboring Alphas have already recognized my claim,” Jackson continues, his voice distant through the haze of pain. They’ve been planning this for a while. “They’re quite relieved to have a proper male leader to deal with. Take her to the dungeons.”

Rough hands grab my arms. I could have broken free easily yesterday, but now my muscles feel like water. Still, I force myself to stand straight as they drag me from my office. I won’t give them the satisfaction of seeing me broken.

“I trusted you,” I whisper, meeting Jackson’s eyes one last time. The small bit of satisfaction I get watching the regret flash across his face is a paltry reward for everything he’s taken. A moment later, his usual arrogance reasserts itself.

“That was your mistake. You’re too soft to be Alpha, Lara. You care too much.” His next words stop me cold, fear making my pulse stutter. “I’m going to enjoy seeing your head stuck on a pike over the gatehouse.”

“You’re wrong.” I let every ounce of contempt I feel color my voice. “Caring about the pack makes me stronger, not weaker. When I get out of here—and I will get out of here—you’ll learn exactly how strong I am.”

Alice laughs, the sound following me down the hallway. “Bold words from someone who just lost her wolf. Face it, Lara. You’re nothing now.”

Her words cut deeper than anything Jackson could’ve said, striking the one thing they both know will destroy me. For a werewolf, losing their wolf is worse than death, marking a fate darker and lonelier than anything human minds can comprehend.

And they’ve just forced the wolfless punishment on me.

Even being executed will be a more merciful end.

Still, I fight as the guards continue to drag me. What else can I do? If this really is the end, I have to keep struggling to buy myself a few precious moments more. Every ounce of pain, every moment of panic and fear, is another weapon in my arsenal. I’m not dead yet, and while my spirit lives, I’ll fight.

The guards march me through corridors I’ve run through as a child, past pack members who quickly look away. Beta Marcus, who just yesterday praised my handling of the border dispute with the River Pack, now stares at his feet. Young Sarah, whom I helped train for her first shift, presses herself against the wall, silent tears streaming down her face. Even old Thomas, who served my father for decades, merely shakes his head sadly. None step forward to help. None dare to challenge Jackson’s new authority. My father’s words echo in my head: “An Alpha’s true strength isn’t in their wolf, but in their heart.”

The dungeon air hits me like a physical blow—cold, damp, and heavy with despair. They shove me into a cell, the chains around my wrists clinking against the ancient stone. As the door clangs shut, I force myself to remember everything my father taught me about being Alpha.

How to survive. How to lead. Never show weakness. Never let them see you break. And most importantly, never give up hope.

Because no matter how helpless I feel right now, the gods can’t interfere with fate. Jackson was wrong—an Alpha is meant to fight. It’s in my blood. I won’t lose the pack this easily.

I might have lost my wolf, but I am still Alpha Lara Black. And somehow, someway, I will make them regret the day they thought they could cage me.

The drug’s effects become stronger and as consciousness begins to fade, my last thought is of my sister, Chloe. I have to stay strong for her. Have to find a way to protect her from whatever Jackson and Alice have planned.

The darkness takes me then, but not before I make a silent vow. This betrayal will not break me. It will forge me into something stronger, something deadlier.

Only death will stop me from making good on my promise.

And when I emerge from this cage, they will learn why even wolves fear the dark. 

Good luck, Jackson. I’ll be seeing you soon.