Chapter 2

Ana POV

They threw me into the cage like a sack of garbage.

The floor was cold iron, sticky with old blood and excrement. The smell was enough to make my empty stomach heave.

In the cage next to me, a Feral Wolf slammed against the bars. His eyes were yellow and wild, drool dripping from his muzzle. He had lost his human side completely.

Growl.

My Inner Wolf curled into a ball deep in my mind. She was too weak to even project a defensive aura.

I'm sorry, I whispered to her. I'm so sorry.

I reached into my rags and pulled out the only thing they hadn't taken from me-a small, cloudy Moonstone pendant. It was hidden under the photo of Kinsley.

This stone was the source of my latent power. It was what I used to channel energy to heal Courtland's blindness fifteen years ago. Now, it was dim. Dying. Just like me.

"Pathetic."

The voice was sharp and old. I looked up.

Standing outside the cage was Eleanor, Courtland's mother. The former Luna. She wore pearls and a look of absolute disgust.

"Get up," she ordered.

The warriors opened the cage. Eleanor didn't touch me. She used a cattle prod to poke my shoulder. "Move."

She marched me not to the house, but to a small stone building in the garden. The Shrine.

Inside, it was filled with white lilies. In the center was a massive portrait of Kinsley, looking angelic.

"Kneel," Eleanor commanded.

I fell to my knees. The stone floor was unforgiving.

"Apologize to her," Eleanor hissed. She grabbed the back of my hair and slammed my forehead against the floor.

Thud.

Pain exploded in my skull. Warm blood trickled down my nose.

"I... I am sorry you died," I whispered, my voice trembling.

"Louder!" Thud. Again.

"I am sorry!" I sobbed.

The door opened behind us. The air pressure in the room dropped. Alpha Courtland had arrived.

He walked in, holding a small vial filled with a thick, purple-black liquid.

My blood ran cold. I knew what that was. Every wolf knew what that was.

"Mother, leave us," Courtland said.

Eleanor gave me one last kick in the ribs and left.

Courtland stood over me. He looked at the blood on my forehead, and for a second, I saw a flicker of something in his eyes. Pain? But it was gone instantly, replaced by ice.

"You keep asking for your brother," he said, swirling the purple liquid.

"Is he okay?" I gasped. "Please, tell me he's okay."

"He is unpresented. Weak. Like you." Courtland crouched down. "I can let you see him. But there is a price."

He held out the vial.

"Wolfsbane," I whispered.

"Concentrated," he corrected. "This version doesn't kill you. It severs the connection between your human soul and your wolf. Permanently. It also destroys your womb."

I stared at him in horror. "You... you want to sterilize me?"

"You killed my Mate," he said, his voice devoid of emotion. "You think I will let you bring more monsters into this world? Your bloodline ends with you, Ana."

"But I am your Mate!" I screamed, the truth tearing at my throat. "If I drink this, you will never have a true heir! You will feel the pain too!"

"I rejected you in my heart five years ago," he sneered. "Now, drink it. Or Aspen goes to the mines in your place."

My heart stopped. Not Aspen. He wouldn't survive a week.

I looked at the vial. It was death. Not of the body, but of the spirit. It meant I would never run again. Never feel the moonlight. Never have children.

"If I drink it," I choked out, "I see Aspen?"

"You have my word as Alpha."

I didn't hesitate. For Aspen, I would burn the world.

I grabbed the vial. My hands shook. I looked at Courtland one last time, hoping to see a shred of the boy I once loved. There was nothing.

I tipped my head back and swallowed the poison.

It tasted like fire and ash.

The reaction was instant. A scream tore from my throat as I felt something inside me-my wolf-being ripped away from my soul. It felt like my spine was being pulled out through my mouth.

I collapsed on the floor, convulsing.

Ana... goodbye... my wolf whimpered, her voice fading into static.

And then, silence.

The beautiful, chaotic noise of the pack mind, the connection to the earth, the strength... it was all gone. I was hollow.

I looked up at Courtland through a haze of tears.

He was watching me, his jaw clenched tight. He rubbed his chest absentmindedly, as if he felt a phantom pain.

"Done," he whispered.