Chapter 7

Kathy frantically shook her head, "Ashton, don't listen to Elaine's lies!"

"I've been with you the whole time! How could I have killed your pup!"

I walked up to Kathy and used every ounce of remaining strength to slap her hard across the face.

She fell to the ground, and the impact caused a small vial of concentrated wolfsbane to tumble from her pocket, along with the eagle control crystal.

The vial shattered, releasing its toxic scent into the air.

I turned back to face Ashton.

"If you want to know how our baby died, just look at the evidence."

Ashton stood frozen in place, unable to move. Finally, Marcus ordered his warriors to restrain Kathy and retrieve her control crystal.

The eagle's recording crystal had automatically captured footage. When they connected the crystal to the Pack House's large viewing sphere, the truth began to play before every wolf present.

In the images, my baby was bound by the neck, dangling from the eagle's talons as it swung him back and forth through the air.

Then, after my desperate pleas, the pup was suddenly released and dropped.

The footage showed me falling from the second floor, crawling with my broken body to hold my baby, desperately searching for a healer—every moment of my agony exposed before the entire pack.

When Eleanor saw this, the shock was too much. She collapsed unconscious on the spot.

"Kathy Thorne! I'll kill you!" Ashton roared.

Ashton instantly shifted into his rage, his wolf surfacing as he kicked Kathy viciously.

"You worthless she-wolf! How dare you harm my son!"

Kathy curled up on the ground, protecting her belly.

"Ashton! I'm still carrying your pup!"

Ashton hesitated, stopping his assault for the sake of the child she claimed to carry.

"Impossible!" Marcus stepped forward.

"A she-wolf without the Moon Goddess's blessing cannot conceive a Silver bloodline heir! This has been proven over a thousand years! There has never been an exception!"

"The bastard in your belly absolutely cannot be from the Silver family!"

Ashton summoned the pack healer. "Extract fluid from Kathy's womb and run a bloodline verification ritual immediately!"

Kathy was dragged away screaming.

Ashton threw himself at my feet, slapping his own face repeatedly.

"Elaine! I was wrong!"

"I shouldn't have listened to that she-wolf's manipulation!"

"Please forgive me! We can have another pup!"

Watching Ashton's tear-streaked face now, I felt nothing but contempt.

I extended my arm, revealing the countless needle marks covering my skin.

"Ashton Silver, my blood and tears have run dry! I curse your entire Silver family line to divine retribution and extinction!"

Before I could say more, the bloodline verification results were announced through the pack link.

"Alpha! The ritual confirms you share no blood bond with the pup in Kathy Thorne's womb!"

Marcus waved his hand, signaling his warriors to investigate further.

Ashton cried out in anguish, his voice breaking.

"I was wrong! So terribly wrong!"

"I was deceived by a worthless whore and murdered my own son because of it!"

Marcus continued beating Ashton mercilessly, but even killing him now wouldn't change what had been done.

"Alpha Marcus! The pack's territory borders are being challenged by rival packs!"

"Alpha! Our allied packs have severed their treaties with us!"

"Alpha! The Elder Council reports that your father Charles has suddenly collapsed, convulsing uncontrollably, and has passed away!"

"Alpha! Three of our hunting parties have been ambushed—half our warriors are dead or wounded!"

The disasters came too suddenly. Ashton collapsed to the ground, his wolf whimpering in defeat.

The Silver family's relatives and pack elders all dropped to their knees before me in unison, including Marcus himself.

"Elaine! For the sake of all the years you've been part of the Silver-Moon Pack, please give this beast one more chance!"

"You can punish him however you wish! Just please, withdraw the blood curse!"

Too late.

If my baby were still alive, I might have shown mercy for the years the Silver family raised me after my parents died.

But even if I was willing to spare the Silver family, who would spare my child?

I laughed coldly. Ashton had brought this upon himself. Whether the Silver family lived or died was no longer my concern.

I looked down at Ashton one last time, my voice cold as winter frost.

"Ashton Silver, I, Elaine, reject you as my mate."

The words hung in the air like a death sentence. Ashton's eyes went wide with horror.

"No! Elaine, please—"

"I sever our mate bond forever," I continued, feeling the sacred connection between us begin to crack and splinter.

I turned to leave.

But I had barely taken two steps when a searing pain tore through my abdomen—the mate bond breaking as my wolf howled in agony. My vision went black, and I collapsed to the floor.