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Divorced by the Alpha, Crowned as Queen - Short Drama Full HD 1080p #AVS
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00:00you want him to think you're dead perform a soul-severing ritual on me you want him to think
00:05you're dead yes the full moon glared down at the birthing altar a contraction ripped through me so
00:15hard my spine arched off the stone dominic squeezed my hand almost there selena my mate
00:22my alpha bound to me by the union goddess herself the pack priest walked in carrying a silver tray
00:27i offered my arm for the pain relief the needle pierced my skin but it wasn't medicine the
00:32pungent scent hit my nose wolfsbane i looked at dominic he wasn't surprised he was checking his
00:38watch vivian's water just broke delay her for two hours our true heir needs to be born first he turned
00:45and walked away didn't look back i tried to scream i wanted my wolf to tear free and lunge after
00:51him
00:52but the wolfsbane was already working my wolf was dragged under my voice died in my throat
00:57and my pup halfway into the world stopped moving frozen inside me by her own father's command
01:02two pack guards dragged me down into the dungeon beneath the temple a place for rogues war prisoners
01:08and wolves sentenced to death now it held the alpha's fated mate and his unborn child
01:14a single rune lamp flickered on the wall straw on the floor no bed i slid down the freezing stone
01:20wall
01:21hands clutching my belly she was still kicking faint frantic mommy's here mommy's here three months ago
01:29dominic's older brother marcus died in a territorial dispute
01:40his mate vivienne was carrying a boy a pure blood alpha air the only pup you could inherit
01:46mine was a girl girls couldn't inherit the moment the ultrasound confirmed it the entire blackwood pack
01:53abandoned us both heels clicked down the corridor cassandra blackwood dominic's sister the pack beta
02:04she stood outside the iron bars twirling a silver dagger the blade dragged along the bars metal screeching
02:10selene don't blame my brother vivian is carrying marcus's posthumous son a pure blood alpha air the only
02:18pup in our generation who can inherit the alpha title it doesn't matter how early you give birth
02:24you're carrying a girl girls can't inherit you know that a contraction slammed into me the wolf spain
02:30pushed the labor down my body fought back two forces tore me apart from the inside get the priest the
02:37baby is
02:38coming. Please. The wolfbane will last another three hours. Vivian has already been taken to
02:46the birthing altar. You'll stay here and wait. If she starts howling, gag her. Don't let the
02:52noise reach upstairs. Don't scare Viviana. I looked down. My dress was soaked in blood.
03:04All I could see was Dominic's face. When he turned away, his eyes held no guilt, just
03:08cold calculation. I dragged myself to the cell door. Then I punched the cell door hard,
03:13again and again, until my skin split open. Somebody! Help! I'm in labor! Save my baby!
03:20Shut up. If it dies, that's its fate. A girl with no inheritance rights, her death won't
03:25affect the pack. My blood-stained hands slid off the cell door. I collapsed into a pool of
03:32my own blood. This wasn't fate. Someone was murdering my child. Just as my vision began
03:37to blur, the heavy door crashed open. She saw Dr. Holden, the pack doctor. The moment he
03:43saw me, all the colors drained from his face.
03:46Luna? What are you doing here? Dominic said you were resting in the Moonstone Lounge, fully
03:51dilated, water broke. You're losing too much blood. The wolf of Spain is still suppressing
03:56your healing. Guards! The luna is hemorrhaging! Only echoes answered. No one came. He tried
04:04his comm stone, nothing. The dungeon's warding runes blocked all signals. Gritting his teeth,
04:10he scooped me up and ran. An aging beta carrying a bleeding woman up three flights of stone stairs,
04:15every jolt sending agony through my pelvis. He burst onto the ground floor, ran for the medical
04:21wing. Kicked open the door and froze. He kicked open the door and froze. Everything was gone.
04:28Stripped bare. Every Moonstone crystal, runestone, potion, gone. How? I checked inventory this
04:35afternoon. Cassandra strolled down the hall. Two Omega attendants followed behind her. We move to
04:41the third floor. Vivian's C-section is high risk. She needs the best resources. Her gaze drifted to me,
04:47drenched in blood, half-dead in Dr. Holden's arms. She smiled. I knew that smile. Six months ago,
04:53she'd worn it downtown, linking her arm through mine. Selena, you're the best Luna I've ever met.
04:59You're more like a real sister to me. The antique Moonstone necklace I gave her still rested against
05:04her collarbone. It glowed softly in the dim hallway and made her smile look monstrous. Dr. Holden laid me
05:10on a bare stone cot. He tore open every cabinet and drawer. Empty, not a single herb. I'm sorry,
05:17Luna. I have nothing. Relax. Once Vivian is done, the supplies will be returned.
05:23What's the rush? Her gaze dropped to my belly. Besides, you were nothing but a breeding machine
05:30from the beginning. And you couldn't even produce the right product. Dr. Holden stepped in front of
05:36me. This is murder, Cassandra. Two lives. Her smile vanished. Mothers and pups die in childbirth
05:42every day. Dystedia, hemorrhage, healing failure, perfectly natural causes of death. No one will say
05:49a damn thing. And this is Blackwood family business. You're a contract beta doctor. Know your place.
05:55She snapped at the guards. Drag him to the third floor. Vivian needs him. I'll handle her. Two guards
06:01grabbed Dr. Holden. He thrashed against them, screaming over his shoulder. Luna, press your stomach.
06:06Dominic, shard the wolf hard. Fight the wolf bun. The baby still has a heartbeat. You can still save
06:12her. Cassandra slammed the door, then pulled out a comm. Stone, Dominic's face appeared in the
06:18holographic screen. Behind him, the birthing altar blazed with light. Priests moved in and out.
06:23Nurses swarmed around Vivian. Dominic? Selina looks like she's about to deliver.
06:29Want to see? Dominic's eyes shifted to me. One glance, like I was trashed by the roadside.
06:35Stop messing around, Savina. Vivian isn't doing well. The baby's heart rate dropped twice.
06:41Cassandra moved the stone closer, making sure the screen clearly showed my dying form. But look,
06:45she's bleeding a lot. Doesn't she look like she's dying? Tell her to wait. Once Vivian is done,
06:50I'll send a priest down. Cassandra pocketed the stone. You heard him? Vivian is the priority.
06:56Marcus's son is the priority. You were nothing. I closed my eyes, stopped looking at her. My hand
07:02crept behind my back, fingers finding the tiny raised bump on my left hip. It looked like a mole.
07:07It wasn't. A blood seal rune. My father had carved it into my skin on my wedding day with his
07:12own
07:12alpha blood. His voice echoed in my head. Selina, the waters in the Blackwood family may run deeper
07:17than you know. If the day ever comes when you need help, bite your finger and let one drop of
07:22blood fall
07:22on this rune. No matter where you are, someone will reach you within 30 minutes. I had laughed
07:27and pushed his hand away. Dad, you're being dramatic. Dominic treats me so well. I'm his
07:33mate. The moon goddess chose him for me. How could he ever hurt me? My father had been silent for
07:39a
07:39long time. Then he only said one thing. The moon goddess binds the souls, Selina, but she doesn't
07:45bind the heart. I was such a fool. Blood welled on my fingertip. I let it fall on the rune.
07:5330 minutes. I looked at the blood pooling beneath me. My baby's heartbeat was still there. Hold on.
07:59Please hold on. The wolf's bane suppression broke. Every contraction that had been held back for hours
08:04hit at once, like a damn collapsing wave. After wave. Faster. Harder. I screamed. The sound ricocheted
08:10off stone walls. An omega attendant rushed in, checked me, and went white. Fully dilated. The
08:16head's crowning. Hemorrhage. We need moonstone crystals. Healing rooms. Anything. Cassandra didn't
08:20even step into the room. Then let them die. It's just a girl. Completely useless. Alive. She's a waste
08:28of space. Dead. Changes nothing. She turned and walked away. The attendant tried. But I had no blood
08:36left. No strength. No wolf. My muscles wouldn't obey me. The baby was stuck in the birth canal. I
08:41could feel her heartbeat. Getting weaker. Slower fading. My vision went black. I am sorry baby.
08:46Mommy tried. A deafening wolf howl tore through the night. The entire Blackwood territory shook.
08:52The protective wards flared violently across the walls. Then shattered. A booming blast rocked the
08:58building. Centuries of Blackwood enchantments. Destroyed in seconds. Moonlight flooded the room.
09:03In that silver light stood a massive man in tactical combat gear.
09:10He ripped off his helmet. Battle scarred face. Cold silver eyes. Eyes that had witnessed countless
09:16massacres and never flinched. But the moment they found me, they turned bloodshot. Garrett.
09:21My father's head better. The man who caught me every time I fell learning to walk. Who shifted into wolf
09:27form and slept beside my bed when I was afraid of the dark. Who stood at the very back of
09:31my wedding,
09:32silent, jaw locked, eyes red. Because he already knew. He crossed the room in one stride and dropped
09:37to one knee. The stone floor cracked under the impact. Princess. I am late. Behind him stood 12
09:45heavily armored warriors. Silver eyes. Weapons drawn. The elite shadow fanguard. Blackwood guards
09:51lay unconscious in the hall. The Omega attendants screamed. This is Blackwood territory. Who are you?
09:57How did you get it? Garrett didn't look at her. He was already lifting me off the cot, one arm
10:01beneath
10:01my knees. The other cradling my head, as gently as if I were made of glass. Blackwood? Soon, there won't
10:09be a Blackwood. The shadow fang warriors moved with terrifying efficiency. From the moment the captain
10:15picked me up to the second, I was loaded into an armored pack ambulance waiting just outside the
10:19borders. Barely four minutes had passed. Four minutes, I had bled in that dungeon for hours,
10:24begging for help and no one came. Shadow fang shattered the territory's defenses and extracted
10:29me in four minutes. Inside the medical transport, emergency moonstone arrays flared to life,
10:35bathing my body in pure silver light. Blood pressure critically low. Blood loss exceeds the lethal
10:39threshold by three times. Fetal distress is severe. Heart rate is under 60 and dropping. We must perform
10:46an emergency c-section right now, but her vitals can't handle surgery. Do it! The captain's roar rattled the
10:51walls of the ambulance. Every medic flinched. He gripped my hand, his knuckles white, veins bulging
10:57up his forearms. I'll take full responsibility. Cut her open! I squeezed his fingers back, using the
11:04absolute last shred of my strength. Garrett, Garrett, save the baby. Save the baby first. Garrett, my father's
11:14headbeater. The man who had guarded me since the day I was born. When I was learning to walk and
11:18fell,
11:18he was the one who picked me up. When I was terrified of the dark, he shifted into his wolf
11:22form and slept beside my bed the entire night. On the day I got married, he stood at the very
11:27back
11:27of the crowd, completely silent, his eyes red. Now he was kneeling beside my stretcher, his combat
11:32armor stained with blackwood blood, his silver eyes completely bloodshot. Princess, don't speak.
11:38Save your strength. His voice trembled, but he gritted out every word like a blood oath. The alpha is on
11:44his way. He'll be here soon. You and the pup will be fine. I swear it on my life. Before
11:49he could
11:49finish, the moonstone array above the operating table violently flickered. The vital sign monitors
11:55erupted into a shrill, piercing, uninterrupted scream. Cardiac arrest! The Luna's heart has stopped!
12:04Push the moonlight essence! Start the recitation Ronin's! Fetal heart rate is plummeting! 70, 50,
12:1030! Scalpel! Now! The medics shoved Garrett out of the way. He stumbled back into the corner of
12:16the ambulance, clenching his fists so hard his claws tore through his own palms, blood dripping onto the
12:21metal floor. The surgeon sliced open my abdomen with a rune-carbed scalpel. Silver energy flooded
12:26the incision, forcibly cauterizing the bleeding. They were draining the absolute limits of their
12:31healing stones just to keep my soul tethered to my body. Essence injected. Heartbeat is faint,
12:36but back. Where's the pup? Found her! Extract! Pull her out! The umbilical cate is wrapped around
12:42her neck. Damn it! The wolfsbane choked off her oxygen in the womb for too long. She's out!
12:47She's out! They pulled a baby from my womb, but she didn't cry. In the final second, before the
12:53darkness swallowed me entirely, I forced my eyes open. My vision was a massive blur of blinding
12:58silver light, but I saw it. Through the haze, the doctor held a tiny blood-covered infant in his
13:04hands. She wasn't moving. She wasn't breathing. She didn't cry. The voices faded. Faded into an
13:10abyss of static. The last thing I heard was Garrett, a battle-hardened warrior in his 40s,
13:15covered in 37 scars. A man who had ripped the throats out of hundreds of rogues, collapsing
13:20into the corner of the ambulance, and silently weeping. I woke up to the harsh smell of medical
13:24bleach, mixed with the crisp, ozone scent of moonstone crystals.
13:28The princess is awake! Someone shouted in relief. Several faces crowded my vision. Familiar faces.
13:36My father's personal elite guards. Uncles who had watched me grow up. Garrett stood closest to the
13:41bed. His jaw was clenched so tight a muscle ticked in his cheek. His eyes rimmed with red. Seeing me
13:47open my eyes, his lips parted, but no words came out. He just gave me one stiff, trembling nod.
13:53Where is she? A figure standing at the foot of my bed slowly turned around. My father.
13:59My father, the current alpha of the Shadowfang Pack, the absolute ruler of the oldest, most lethal
14:04werewolf bloodline on the North American continent. In the entire werewolf world, his name alone made
14:10other alphas bow their heads in submission. He was 54, his posture as straight as a spear. I had never
14:16seen him slouch. But right now, his hair was completely white. Overnight, he had gone totally gray.
14:21He walked over and sat on the edge of my bed. He took my hand in his. His hands were
14:26massive, calloused,
14:28scarred from decades of war. These hands had snapped the necks of his enemies and signed treaties that
14:32dictated the fates of millions of wolves. Right now, they were shaking. He choked on my name. He bowed
14:39his head. In my entire life, I had never seen this man bow his head. Not when facing the interrogations
14:45of
14:45the Seven Alpha Council. Not when executing traitors with his bare hands. Not even when he stood before my
14:51mother's grave for an entire night. But now, looking at me, he bowed his head. She's gone,
14:57isn't she? I looked at him, and I knew the answer. My father nodded. A single, scalding tear fell from
15:05his face onto the back of my hand. The hemorrhage, placental abtruction, the wolf bait in her bloodstream.
15:12She was deprived of oxygen for too long. The doctors did everything. The moonlight essence,
15:17the healing stones, the ancient bloodline resurrection rituals. We couldn't bring her
15:22back. The room fell dead silent. The only sound was the low, steady hum of the medical crystals.
15:27I closed my eyes. That tiny life that had lived inside me for nine months. The pup that kicked my
15:33ribs. The pup that made me run to the bathroom three times a night. The little wolf who would
15:37instantly calm down the second I rubbed my belly and whispered, Mommy's here, gone. Where is Dominic?
15:44My father lifted his head and wiped his face. Who? At the Blackwood Pack. By Vivian's side.
15:49She gave birth. A boy. Pure blood alpha lineage. The entire Blackwood Pack is throwing a massive
15:55celebration for their new heir. They held the moonlight recognition ceremony. The old alpha
16:00hosted it himself, right before he died. Not a single person thought of you. Not a single person
16:05asked if you were dead or alive. I laughed. My chest heaved as a broken hysterical laugh tore out of
16:12my
16:12throat. The mate bond was still pulsing faintly in my chest. I could feel Dominic's heartbeat.
16:18Steady. Joyful. Untroubled. He was smiling. He was celebrating. His fated mate had nearly
16:24bled to death in a dungeon and his daughter was a corpse. And he was celebrating.
16:30Good. That's good.
16:31My father tightened his grip on my hand.
16:33Selina. Come home with me. Blackwood Pack doesn't deserve you.
16:40Dad. I need you to do something for me.
16:44Anything.
16:46Perform a soul-severing ritual on me.
16:48My father froze the soul-severing ritual.
16:51One of the darkest, most ancient forbidden arts of the Shadowfang bloodline.
16:55It artificially severed a mate bond, forcing the other party to experience the exact physical
16:59sensation of their mate dying. The stopping of the heart. The shredding of the soul. The
17:04permanent snapping of the bond. To the person on the receiving end, it felt exactly like
17:09their mate had perished.
17:10You want him to think you're dead?
17:12Yes.
17:13The soul-severing ritual took place on the obsidian altar, deep within the Shadowfang's
17:17ancestral lands. Midnight. A new moon. Pitch black. It was the only time we could deceive
17:23the moon goddess's gaze. I lay on the cold stone, surrounded by four of our oldest priests.
17:29Their chanting was deep, guttural, vibrating with the ancient, lost tongue of the first
17:33wolves. My chest pounded violently. It was Dominic's heart beat, eating inside me, clear
17:39across a thousand miles. The high priest pressed his palm against my sternum. The runes flared
17:44blinding white. And then, an invisible silver spike was viciously ripped out of my heart.
17:49The mate bond is a tether woven into the soul. Severing it felt like two deeply intertwined
17:54trees being violently ripped apart by their roots. I clamped my teeth together, refusing
17:58to scream. In my mind's eye, I saw glowing golden threads. The physical manifestation of
18:03our bonds snapping one by one, turning into ash. When the final thread broke, my chest went
18:08completely hollow. A terrifying, absolute emptiness. Like someone had reached into my rib cage and
18:14carved out my heart, leaving nothing but a gaping void. The ritual was complete. From this second
18:19onward, in Dominic's mind and soul, I was dead. Meanwhile, a thousand miles away, in the heart of
18:25Blackwood Territory, Dominic stood proudly at the main altar, accepting the congratulatory toasts from
18:31his pack members. Without warning, it felt as if an invisible claw had just plunged into his chest and
18:37ripped it open. The bond snapped. He crashed to his knees. His hands desperately clawed at his own
18:42chest, his nails digging so deep into his own flesh that blood poured out over his shirt.
18:47A primal, guttural roar of pure agony exploded from his throat. Cassandra shoved through the panicked
18:53crowd.
18:55Brother! What's wrong?
18:57Dominic convulsed on the marble floor, his claws scraping sickeningly against the stone.
19:01Selina. She's dead. The bond just broke. She's dead.
19:07Cassandra's face drained of colour for a split second, but only a second.
19:11Brother! Calm down! She was always going to-
19:14Get the fuck away from me!
19:16Dominic backhanded her so hard she went backward, crashing violently into the altar pillars.
19:21He scrambled to his feet, stumbling and sprinting wildly out of the temple.
19:25The dungeon was empty. There was nothing left but a massive coagulated pool of blood and a
19:31soaked pile of straw and the rapidly fading scent of Selene lingering in the damp air.
19:35Dominic stood frozen in the centre of the blood pool. He stood there for a very, very long time.
19:41Long enough for Cassandra to finally creep into the room and gingerly touch his arm.
19:46Brother.
19:49You locked her in here?
19:51I just told her to wait.
19:54Wait for what? Wait to die?
19:58Those were two lives! My mate! My pup!
20:02Cassandra took a step back.
20:03But she was having a girl! She was useless to the pack!
20:07The sharp crack of flesh meeting flesh echoed through the dungeon.
20:11Cassandra's head whipped to the side, a bright red handprint instantly welling up on her cheek.
20:16She clutched her face, staring at Dominic in total disbelief.
20:20Dominic glared at her.
20:21If I had been by her side, she wouldn't have died!
20:24If you hadn't taken all the medical supplies, she wouldn't have died!
20:29If I hadn't ordered them to inject her with wolf faith...
20:32He couldn't finish the sentence.
20:34Because the subject of that sentence was pre-sindling, from start to finish,
20:38he made every single decision.
20:40Cassandra was just the executioner.
20:42The person who murdered Selene and their child was him.
20:44I spent the next few weeks recovering in the Shadowfang estate.
20:48My body healed agonizingly slowly.
20:50The wolf's vein residue severely crippled my cellular regeneration,
20:53and the pack doctor estimated it would take three months to completely purge it from my system.
20:57But I wasn't in a hurry. I had all the time in the world.
21:00My father ate with me and walked with me every day,
21:03treating me exactly like he did when I was a little girl.
21:05He never brought up the Blackwoods,
21:07but I knew his intelligence network never stopped spinning.
21:11Shadowfang's eyes and ears were buried in every major pack in North America.
21:15That was the terrifying power of an ancient bloodline.
21:18Every meeting, every decision.
21:20Every hushed conversation the Blackwoods had was transcribed and placed on my desk.
21:24Dominic had brought my corpse, a flawlessly forged illusion,
21:27created by the soul-severing ritual back to the Blackwood Manor.
21:31He didn't place the casket in the main hall.
21:33It was shoved into a side morning room.
21:36Vivienne and her son had already moved into the Alpha's master suite.
21:40They were surrounded by wet nurses, guards, and priests around the clock.
21:45Elder Blackwood had issued his final decree before his stroke.
21:48Keep the funeral brief and simple.
21:50Do not bring bad luck to the newborn heir.
21:54Find a random day to bury her coffin in the family cemetery.
21:57She was a Luna, so make the grave look decent.
22:00He dressed it up in polite words, but the translation was clear.
22:05Dispose of the dead woman quickly.
22:07The living heir is the only future this pack has.
22:11Dominic didn't argue.
22:12He sat in the morning room, guarding the casket.
22:15Three days and three nights.
22:16No food, no water.
22:19Cassandra tried to talk to him.
22:21But he threw her out.
22:23Vivienne eventually walked in, cradling the baby.
22:27Dominic, my condolences.
22:31Selina is with the Moon Goddess now.
22:33She wouldn't want to see you like this.
22:36Do you know what she was thinking about?
22:38Dominic slowly lifted his head and stared at her.
22:41Right before she died.
22:45She was wondering why her Alpha wasn't with her.
22:49Why everyone was waiting for your baby to be born.
22:51And no one gave a single damn if she lived or died.
22:54Dominic, what is that supposed to mean?
22:57I practically died on that table too?
22:59Yes.
23:00You went through a lot.
23:01Dominic interrupted, his voice dead.
23:03But she died.
23:05Two corpses.
23:10Just because the pup in her stummy didn't have a dick, they deserved to die?
23:14As she turned to leave, she threw one last sentence over her shoulder.
23:18Don't forget Dominic.
23:19My son is the one continuing the Blackwood bloodline now.
23:24Dead people are useless.
23:26The absolute decimation of the Blackwood pack began in the second week.
23:30First, their territorial alliances collapsed.
23:33The Silvercrest pack, allies with the Blackwoods for three generations, abruptly terminated their
23:40treaties.
23:41When Dominic sent I envoies to negotiate, the gates were slammed in their faces.
23:45An anonymous dossier was submitted to the Seven Alpha Council.
23:49It detailed the Blackwood pack's use of Wolfsbane on their Luna, her illegal imprisonment,
23:54and the deliberate denial of medical care during labor.
23:57Every single accusation was a heavy felony under pack law.
24:00The council dispatched inquisitors to occupy Blackwood territory for a month.
24:05Panics swept through their subordinate packs, and one by one they defected, seeking asylum
24:11with rival Alpha families.
24:13Next, their resources were completely severed.
24:16The Blackwoods had monopolized the Moonstone mines for generations.
24:20Suddenly, the neighboring pack upstream dammed the mystical rivers.
24:24Without the spiritual water nourishing the land, the Moonstone yield plummeted to zero.
24:30Moonstone crystals were the Blackwood pack's entire economy.
24:33When production halted, their trade routes snapped, and their finances instantly went bankrupt.
24:39In less than a month, the Blackwoods devolved from a top-three powerhouse on the east coast
24:45into an isolated, quarantined, bankrupt, starving pack.
24:50Elder Blackwood was so enraged that his inner wolf went rogue.
24:53During a forced shift, his blood vessels ruptured.
24:56He suffered a massive stroke and collapsed.
24:59This time, there was no saving him.
25:01Save the pack.
25:03The air.
25:03The bloodline.
25:04And then he died.
25:11Yep.
25:12Almost no one attended his funeral.
25:14Those who did only showed up to sneer.
25:17Dominic stood by the coffin like a stone statue, completely expressionless.
25:21When the last guest left, he turned to Vivienne.
25:24Take the kid and leave the Blackwood territory.
25:27Vivienne shrieked.
25:28What did you just say?
25:30I'll give you a safe house outside our borders and enough cash to live comfortably for the
25:35rest of your lives.
25:36Get out.
25:37I'm your sister-in-law.
25:39This boy carries Marcus's blood.
25:41The elder named him the sole heir.
25:43Heir to what?
25:44Dominic chuckled.
25:45A dark mocking sound.
25:46A pack that's being liquidated by the council?
25:49A territory that's about to be butchered and divided among our rivals?
25:53Vivienne glared at him, then let out a sharp, cold laugh.
25:57Don't bullshit me, Dominic.
25:59You're not doing this out of guilt for Selina.
26:02You're just terrified.
26:03Terrified of what?
26:05Of those black wolves that stormed the dungeon that night.
26:08You're terrified of whatever monstrous fact was backing you, Selina.
26:11You know they're coming back.
26:13You're kicking me out so you can wash your hands of us and save your own skin.
26:18She adjusted the baby in her arms and sneered as she walked to the door.
26:21She paused to spit out one final insult.
26:23You weren't so scared when you ordered the price to inject wolfbuck into her veins?
26:28Dominic stood alone in the empty morning hall.
26:31He didn't say a word because she was absolutely right.
26:34I sat in the study of the Shadowfang estate, flipping through the latest intelligence reports.
26:40My father walked in holding a cup of tea.
26:42The council has ruled to strip the black hoods of two-thirds of their territory.
26:47The core sector they have left won't survive six months.
26:51I closed the file.
26:53Faster than I predicted.
26:55My father sat down, staying quiet for a moment.
26:59Selina, is it enough?
27:01I looked up.
27:02I don't pity.
27:03My father clarified.
27:04I just don't want you trapped in this darkness.
27:06Vengeance is a double-edged blade.
27:08Hold it too long and it'll slice your own hand.
27:10I stood up and walked to the window.
27:12Beyond the glass stretched the vast, jagged mountains of the Shadowfang ancestral lands.
27:16The moonlight spilled over the pine forests, turning the world into an ocean of silver.
27:20I stepped out of the darkness the second my daughter died.
27:24Right now, I'm just collecting a debt.
27:27My father looked at me, his eyes full of complex sorrow.
27:30You've changed.
27:32You used to smile so much.
27:33Now, even your smiles look hollow.
27:36I didn't turn around.
27:37Some people take a lifetime to grow up.
27:40Some people just need one betrayal.
27:42My father didn't argue.
27:43He set the teacup down and quietly left the room.
27:46My phone buzzed.
27:48Arshawuzi, it was Dominic.
27:49More accurately, it was him calling the old comms and frequency, Dead Selene.
27:54Shadowfang's Texem Witches had kept the line open and ratted it to my secure device.
27:58I didn't say a word.
28:00His raspy, broken voice bled through the speaker.
28:03Selina, I know you can't hear me.
28:07But I don't know who else to talk to anymore.
28:09He sounded like he had been swallowing glass.
28:11The background was dead silent.
28:12He was probably sitting in the morning hall again.
28:14The pack is finished.
28:15The territory is gone.
28:16Our allies ran and the council report drops next week.
28:18They're probably going to strip my alpha title.
28:20My father is dead.
28:22Vivienne left.
28:23Cass hates me.
28:24It's just me left.
28:25I'm the only one left in the whole territory.
28:28A long, suffocating silence.
28:31I keep thinking, if I hadn't let them inject you with Wolf Fane that night, would you still
28:36be alive?
28:36If I had just left you half of the Moonstone crystals, would your wolf have healed you?
28:39If I wasn't so damn greedy, wanting the perfect air, wanting the alpha seat, wanting absolute
28:44control over everything, would you still be here?
28:47Would you still be rubbing your belly, laughing and telling she was kicking again?
28:52Another silence.
28:53Then, a microscopic, muffled sob.
28:57But there are no ifs.
28:59You're dead.
29:00Our pup is dead.
29:01And I did it.
29:03I could live a thousand lifetimes and never pay off this debt.
29:07The line clicked dead.
29:09I sat in the moonlight, gripping the phone.
29:12Outside, the wind tore through the pine trees, rustling the branches.
29:16After a very long time, I put the phone down on the desk.
29:20The black screen reflected my face.
29:22Totally blank.
29:23Not a single tear.
29:25Three months later, my body was entirely healed.
29:28The wolf bay was purged from my veins.
29:30My cellular regeneration was operating at maximum capacity.
29:33And my wolf had finally woken up.
29:35She was quieter than before.
29:37But vastly more lethal.
29:39My father was waiting for me in the study.
29:42On the mahogany desk lay a single document.
29:44The official transfer of the Shadowfang Alpha title.
29:47Are you ready?
29:48I'm ready.
29:49He nodded, sliding the papers towards me.
29:52Sign this, and you are the next Alpha of the Shadowfang Pack.
29:56The apex predator of the seven ancient bloodlines of North America.
30:00Are you absolutely certain?
30:02Once you walk this path, there is no turning back.
30:04I picked up the pen and signed my name without a fraction of hesitation.
30:08The second the ink dried, a terrifying surge of raw power exploded from the floorboards,
30:12rocketing up my spine and flooding every cell in my body.
30:15The Shadowfang bloodline was acknowledging me.
30:17The earth of our ancestral lands was answering me.
30:19Outside the window, massive, thousand-year-old pine trees violently trembled in unison,
30:24emitting a low, groaning hum, as if bowing to their new Alpha.
30:27My father looked at me, his eyes slightly red, but he smiled.
30:31You look just like your mother.
30:32From that day on, I officially took over the Shadowfang Empire.
30:35To the outside world, I was the new Alpha, operating under the alias Silver.
30:39No one knew Silver was Selina.
30:41No one knew the discarded, murdered Luna of the Blackwood Pack
30:44was actually the reigning queen of North America's deadliest werewolf syndicate.
30:49I stopped paying attention to the Black Keys collapse.
30:51I didn't need to anymore.
30:54Dominic had liquidated the last scraps of their territory and formally disbanded the pack.
31:00A dynasty that had ruled for five generations completely ceased to exist in three months.
31:08He lived alone in the crumbling Blackwood Manor.
31:11The council allowed him to keep the house as a final sliver of mercy for a former Alpha.
31:17He only did two things every day.
31:20Drink.
31:22And sit in front of my gravestone.
31:24Sometimes he talked.
31:26Sometimes he just stared.
31:29Garrett's intelligence reports noted that he had lost nearly 30 pounds.
31:34His hair was mostly white and his mental state was completely shattered.
31:38The backlash of the severed mate bond was slowly rotting him from the inside out.
31:43Insomnia.
31:44Auditory hallucinations.
31:46The inability to shift into his wolf form.
31:49Uncontrollable violent outbursts.
31:51It took symptoms of an Alpha whose mate had been ripped from her soul.
31:54A mild case could survive for a few years.
31:57A severe case wouldn't last a year.
32:00Dominic was the most severe case possible.
32:02Because our bond didn't break through natural death.
32:05It was violently amputated by a dark magic.
32:08The room was infinitely deeper.
32:10The rot was infinitely faster.
32:12Princess.
32:13Should we intervene?
32:15At this rate of decay, he has six months.
32:18Max.
32:19No intervention.
32:22This is his debt to pay.
32:25Month six.
32:26A freezing late autumn night.
32:28I had just finished signing off on the day's operations and stood by the study window,
32:33staring out at the mountain ridges.
32:37Princess.
32:39He went to your grave again.
32:41He goes every day.
32:44Tonight is different.
32:47He brought a silver dagger.
32:49A silver dagger?
32:50To Ewolf, that wasn't a weapon.
32:53It was an execution tool.
32:54If silver pierced the heart, the healing factor was instantly neutralized.
32:59Death was absolute.
33:01It was the only foolproof method of suicide for our kind.
33:05What is he doing?
33:07Sitting in front of the headstone, holding the blade.
33:10He hasn't moved yet.
33:11It looks like he's hesitating.
33:15Or waiting for something.
33:17I looked up at the sky.
33:18Tonight was a full moon.
33:20Exactly nine months ago, under a full moon,
33:22I lay on the birthing altar while he casually ordered them to pump Wolfsbane into my veins.
33:28Nine months.
33:29The exact time it took to carry a child to term.
33:33Get the car ready.
33:37Princess?
33:38I'm going to see him.
33:40One last time.
33:42And then, this is completely finished.
33:45The cemetery at midnight.
33:47The Blackwood family graveyard was situated on a sloping hill at the edge of the Old Territory.
33:52Surrounded by pines, the moonlight bled through the branches, scattering silver shards across the grass.
33:59I stood deep in the shadows, watching Dominic.
34:02He was sitting in front of my gravestone.
34:05He was so emaciated, he barely looked human.
34:08His cheekbones jutted sharply against his gaunt face.
34:11His eye sockets were sunken hollows.
34:13He wasn't even 40, but he looked like an old man.
34:17He gripped the silver dagger, the blade glinting with a lethal icy white glare.
34:21The doctor says my wolf is dying.
34:25The bond rot has hit the terminal stage.
34:32I can't shift anymore.
34:35My healing is gone.
34:38I'm no better than a human now.
34:40No.
34:41I'm worse than a human.
34:45Humans don't have nightmares every single night, of their mates screaming their name in a pool of blood.
34:51He raised the dagger, staring at his own pathetic reflection in the polished silver.
34:55I thought about a lot of ways to die.
34:58But a wolf should die by silver.
35:00The most dignified thing I'll ever do is die like a werewolf.
35:03He pressed the tip against his chest, right over his heart.
35:08Savine, I'm coming.
35:10Let me be a dog in my next life.
35:13You can kick me.
35:14You can curse me.
35:15Just please, don't let me.
35:17He squeezed his eyes shut, his hands shaking as he prepared to thrust the blade.
35:22I kicked a pebble.
35:23The sharp clack echoed loudly in the dead, silent graveyard.
35:26Dominic's eyes snapped open.
35:28The tip of the blade had just pierced his skin.
35:30A thin line of blood trickling down his shirt.
35:33Who's there?
35:34He scrambled up, turning toward the sound.
35:36The moonlight shifted, illuminating my face.
35:39He saw me.
35:40The silver dagger slipped from his trembling fingers, burying itself into the dirt.
35:45You.
35:46His lips quivered uncontrollably.
35:49He looked like a man whose sanity had just snapped.
35:52It's me.
35:54I'm not dead.
35:56Surprised?
35:57He stood absolutely paralyzed, bolted to the earth, his eyes flooded with tears.
36:02He lunged forward, trying to pull me into his arms.
36:05Garrett instantly stepped in front of me, planting a massive hand on Dominic's chest
36:09and giving him a slight shove.
36:11Dominic staggered backward like a dead leaf, nearly tripping over his own feet.
36:15Six months ago, he was an alpha now.
36:17He couldn't even withstand a casual push from a beater.
36:22Saliva, you're alive.
36:24I knew it.
36:25The bond broke, but I could still feel it.
36:27He tried to sidestep Garrett, but three more Shadowfang guards instantly materialized from
36:32the tree line, boxing him in.
36:34Only then did he realize who I had brought.
36:36I killed four warriors in pitch black tactical armor, all with silver irises, all wearing
36:41the Shadowfang crest on their chests.
36:43His expression shifted from hysterical joy to confusion to a slow, creeping, terrifying
36:47realization.
36:48Who are they?
36:50My men.
36:51Dominic stared at me.
36:52He looked at me from head to toe, and my own eyes were faintly glowing silver in the
36:55dark, the absolute mark of an awakened ancient bloodline alpha.
36:58I looked nothing like the submissive, fragile omega wife you remember.
37:00Who the hell are you?
37:01He choked out, his whole body shaking.
37:03Let me reintroduce myself.
37:04I stared down at him, my tone as polite and detached as if I were speaking to a stranger.
37:09Selene Ashfield, direct bloodline heir to the Shadowfang pack, current reigning alpha
37:13queen.
37:14The apex predator of the seven ancient bloodlines.
37:17Dominic whispered, his mind breaking, as if responding to my presence.
37:20The moonlight suddenly intensified, blazing down on us.
37:29Behind me, my four elite guards simultaneously dropped to one knee, lowering their heads in
37:36absolute submission.
37:37Dominic stumbled backward.
37:41One step, two steps, until his spine slammed against my gravestone.
37:45Impossible.
37:45You said you were rogue, an orphan, no pack, no f-
37:54Family.
37:55I lied.
37:55My father forbade me from marrying you.
37:57He said a black pit wasn't worthy of wiping dirt off the shadow.
38:04No fox boots.
38:05I didn't listen.
38:06I threw a tantrum and forced his hand.
38:07Looking back, every single word he said was right.
38:16No, no, no.
38:19So everything that happened to the Blackwoods over the past six months, the territory lost,
38:23the allies betraying us, the council sanctions?
38:25My father orchestrated it.
38:26I simply chose not to stop him.
38:28Or-
38:29Why didn't you tell me who you were?
38:30His voice suddenly skyrocketed, cracking like tearing fabric.
38:34If you had told me you were the Shadow Falk heir-
38:37I would what?
38:38I cut him off smoothly.
38:39You would have treated me better?
38:41You wouldn't have pumped wolf bean into my veins?
38:44You wouldn't have locked me in a dungeon to bleed out?
38:48Think very carefully before you answer that, Dominic.
38:50From the very beginning, all you wanted was an easily manipulated, powerless mate with zero backing.
38:56Someone you could sacrifice whenever it became convenient.
38:59If you had known I was the Shadow Fane heir, you would have been too terrified to even look in
39:03my direction.
39:05You probably would have found a way to magically sever the bond before I even got pregnant,
39:09just so you could trade me out for a more obedient Luna.
39:12He couldn't say a word.
39:14Because it was the absolute truth.
39:16He knew it.
39:17I knew it.
39:18The silence stretched on for an eternity, long enough for the moon to drift from the treetops to the dead
39:23center of the sky.
39:24Finally, Dominic laughed.
39:26A very quiet, hollow laugh.
39:28The sound of a man completely accepting his own destruction.
39:31So from start to finish, I was just the loser.
39:34This was never about winning or losing.
39:36It's about the two lives you owe, and you can't afford to pay.
39:39He looked at me.
39:40His eyes slowly shifted from agonizing torment to a strange, vacant peace.
39:44The kind of peace a man only finds when he has absolutely nothing left to lose.
39:50Can I ask you one last question?
39:52Ask.
39:55Did you, even for a single second, actually love me?
40:00The moonlight was quiet.
40:02The pine forest was quiet.
40:03I looked at his skeletal, decaying face.
40:06I couldn't even recognize the man he used to be.
40:08I thought back to the library on campus, years ago.
40:11You read a lot, huh?
40:12He had helped me pick up my dropped books, flashing a bright, warm smile.
40:16You read a lot, huh?
40:17He had laughed.
40:19The sunlight hitting his face had felt so safe, so clean.
40:23I loved you.
40:25Tears finally spilled over Dominic's eyelids, tracking down his hollow cheeks.
40:31That's enough.
40:32I turned around and started walking away.
40:35After three steps, I stopped.
40:36I didn't look back.
40:38Garrett, confiscate his silver dagger.
40:41Yes, Alpha.
40:42I kept walking into the dark.
40:44I didn't stop again, behind me.
40:46Dominic's voice drifted through the freezing wind, so faint it sounded like a ghost.
40:50I'm sorry, Selene.
40:52I didn't turn my head.
40:53Three months later, Dominic died alone on the floor of the Blackwood Manor.
40:57It was the mate Bond rot.
40:58Garrett had taken his dagger, but he couldn't confiscate the festering wound carved into Dominic's soul.
41:04The severed Bond was a bleeding gash that could never be closed, devouring his life force day by day.
41:09First, his wolf died completely.
41:12A werewolf without a wolf was just a hollow shell, like a tree stripped of its roots.
41:17Then, his immune system collapsed.
41:19His senses deteriorated, and his muscles atrophied.
41:23Finally, total organ failure.
41:25According to the last few rogue omegas who had squatted in the manor, it was a full moon the night
41:30he died.
41:30The moonlight spilled through the skylight, painting the floorboard silver.
41:34He lay on the exact spot in the morning hall where my fake casket had once been placed.
41:39He was clutching something in his hand.
41:41A red hair tie.
41:42Mine when I was pregnant.
41:44My hair was always in my face, so I constantly tied it back with a dark red ribbon.
41:49The night I went into labour, it must have slipped off and fallen into the bloody straw in the dungeon.
41:54I don't know when he went back to dig it out of the filth, but he had held onto it
41:58ever since.
41:59He held it until his last breath.
42:01The omegas said he died very quietly.
42:03No thrashing.
42:04No expressions of pain.
42:05The corners of his mouth were even slightly turned up, like he was smiling.
42:09Or like he had finally, finally been allowed to exhale.
42:12It was when the news reached Shadowfang.
42:14I was in the middle of signing a massive territorial integration treaty.
42:19Once the ink dried, Shadowfang would officially annex the resource networks of the three remaining ancient packs on the east
42:25coast.
42:26Cementing us as the absolute supreme power on the council.
42:29Garrett knocked and stepped into the office.
42:31He stood silently in front of my desk, hesitating.
42:35I didn't look up from the paperwork.
42:37Speak.
42:38Dominic Blackwood was confirmed dead this morning.
42:41Mate bond backlash.
42:43Organ failure.
42:44My pen paused for a fraction of a second.
42:47Understood.
42:48I closed the file and handed it to my assistant.
42:50Dispatch this treaty today.
42:51I want the signatures of the other two alphas on my desk before next week.
42:55The assistant bowed and quickly left the room.
42:58Garrett and I were the only ones left.
43:00He stood there in silence for a long time.
43:04Alpha Queen, there's one more thing.
43:05Spit it out.
43:07While clearing out his belongings, the scavengers found a letter.
43:11It was explicitly addressed to you.
43:13He pulled a weathered envelope from his jacket and placed it on the edge of my desk.
43:17The envelope was incredibly frayed and worn around the edges, like it had been picked up, squeezed, and put back
43:23down thousands of times.
43:25Only one word was written on it.
43:27Selene.
43:28I stared at the envelope.
43:29I didn't move a muscle.
43:31Leave it there.
43:32Garrett nodded, turning to walk out.
43:34At the door, he paused.
43:36Alpha Queen.
43:38What?
43:38When he passed, he was holding your hair tie.
43:42I picked up the next dossier and flipped it open.
43:46I said, I understand.
43:48Garrett quietly closed the door.
43:50The room fell dead, silent.
43:52When outside the window, the jagged peaks of the Shadowfang Mountains rolled endlessly into the horizon.
43:58The pine forests swayed in the wind like a silent, violent ocean.
44:02The moonstone chandelier overhead cast a soft silver glow over my desk.
44:07Over the envelope, Selene.
44:09I stared at my name for a long, long time.
44:12Then, I casually tossed it into the roaring fireplace.
44:16I watched the paper curl, turn black, and dissolve into a wisp of white smoke.
44:22Time kept moving forward.
44:23Under my rule, Shadowfang grew terrifyingly powerful.
44:27The territorial alliances held strong.
44:29Our council seats doubled.
44:31And the influence of the ancient bloodlines suffocated every corner of North America.
44:36My father formally retired.
44:38He spent his days planting trees in the mountains behind the estate.
44:42Training hunting eagles and occasionally shifting into his massive wolf form to take slow, lazy walks through the pines.
44:49He lived like a completely normal, peaceful old man.
44:52But sometimes, during dinner, he would abruptly go quiet.
44:55He would just stare at me, for a long time.
44:58The moon is very bright tonight.
45:00I knew exactly what he was trying to say.
45:03It was a full moon.
45:05If my daughter had lived, she would be one year old.
45:08Then two.
45:09Then three.
45:10She would be walking.
45:12She would be calling me mommy.
45:15And on nights with a full moon, she would feel her inner wolf stirring for the very first time.
45:20She would run up to me, grabbing my fingers, vibrating with excitement.
45:26Mommy!
45:27Mommy!
45:28My wolf is moving!
45:30I never let myself think about those things.
45:33I absolutely forbade myself from going there.
45:37But the body remembers.
45:38Every single full moon, my inner wolf would let out a low, mournful whimper deep inside my chest.
45:45A mother wolf crying for the pup she failed to protect.
45:49That kind of pain isn't cured by time.
45:51It was exactly like my father said.
45:53Some wounds are forever.
45:57Outside my window, the moon hung heavy and bright.
46:01The forest was dead silent.
46:04The moonlight washed over my hands.
46:07Over my left ring finger.
46:09It was completely bare.
46:11Once, I had worn the lunar ring of the blackwood pack there.
46:15A silver band encrusted with moonstone.
46:18Dominic had personally slid it onto my finger during our mate binding ceremony.
46:25On the night of the soul-severing ritual, the ring had shattered entirely on its own.
46:30I had gathered the shards and tossed them into the sacred lake of the Shadowfang ancestral lands.
46:35They sank to the bottom, never to be recovered.
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