Chapter 1

Three years ago, during a border raid, I took a silver bullet for my Alpha mate, Enzo.

The silver poison destroyed my womb.

For three years, the Blackthorn Pack doctor tried to repair the damage before finally telling me, in a low, careful voice,

"Luna Elena, your body can't take many more healing procedures. This is your last chance to have a pup."

Enzo had missed the last eight mating windows, every single one because of Nina, the lone wolf he had rescued five years earlier.

The first time, I took the heat-inducing pills. My body had gone cold from waiting too long to mate, cramps twisting through my abdomen, and I ended up curled on the rug in the master bedroom, trying to reach him through the mindlink.

He told me he'd be there in twenty minutes.

Twenty minutes later, he told me Nina had lost control during a night training session, spiraled into a breakdown, and he had to go to the training grounds first.

The second time, the fertility drugs made me vomit nonstop. Enzo kept the mindlink open while Nina talked him through the next day's training schedule.

"If we miss this cycle, we'll just wait for the next full moon."

He said it so casually, like what I was going through barely mattered.

The eighth time, I had a 104-degree fever and was lying in the recovery lounge at the pack hospital, waiting for Enzo to come confirm the procedure.

In the end, his phone was off, and he had blocked me on the mindlink too.

The next morning, Nina finally texted me.

"Sorry, Elena."

"My chest got tight during patrol last night. I almost collapsed on the mountain trail, so Enzo took me to the ER."

"But don't worry. I've already rescheduled him for next Monday. Your procedure won't be delayed this time."

I stared at the message, my fingertips slowly going cold.

The pack had long since gotten used to seeing the Alpha with Nina at every kind of function. Somewhere along the way, she had gone from pitiful lone wolf to the Beta handling the Alpha's personal schedule.

Everyone assumed that as long as Nina kept track of his calendar, nothing would fall through the cracks.

Because for years now, it wasn't me, the Luna, running Enzo's daily life. It was her.

I told the doctor,

"Cancel the procedure."

"Luna, this is your best chance of conceiving. The injections are already prepared. If we cancel now, three months of preparation will be wasted."

"I know. Cancel it."

The moon priestess studied me for a long moment, then nodded.

"As you wish, Luna."

By that evening, the bloodline dissolution papers had been delivered to me.

I signed my name, pressed my thumbprint to the page, and sealed it with wolf blood.

That night, for once, Enzo came home before ten.

He was still on the phone with Nina when he walked in, and he didn't really look at me until the call ended.

"Nina confirmed everything for Monday."

He tossed his cloak over the back of a chair.

"You don't need to worry. Nothing's going to go wrong this time."

The dissolution papers I had just printed were lying on the dining table.

He reached for them.

My chest tightened.

But then his phone rang again.

Nina.

Enzo answered almost immediately.

"What's wrong?"

He turned away, his voice softening at once.

"You're short of breath again? Did you skip meals today?"

"Don't stay alone. I'm coming over."

I stood there, watching him already reach for his coat.

"Nina doesn't need to reschedule the ninth procedure."

Enzo paused, then finally turned to look at me.

He frowned and lifted a hand toward my forehead.

I stepped back.

"The last few times were my fault."

"This time I've cleared my schedule. I'll be with you all day, okay?"

I looked at him without saying a word.

His phone buzzed again.

A new message from Nina.

"Enzo, I really can't be alone right now."

His brow furrowed immediately.

"She's not in a good place right now."

His hand was already on the doorknob.

"I'll go check on her. We'll talk when I get back."

"Enzo."

I stopped him.

"What I want to say isn't about Monday."

He turned back, and for the first time, I saw real impatience flash across his face.

"Then what is it?"

I looked at him and said nothing.

Once the door shut, the pack house fell silent again.

I sat back down at the table, logged into the pack medical system, and removed all his access. I revoked his status as my emergency contact and blood-bond partner.

From that moment on, Enzo no longer had permission to view my treatment records.

This time, I didn't need him there.

And I didn't need his consent.