Chapter 3 My sister's core

I couldn't move.

The joy I carried in my heart-my baby, the life growing inside of me-was shattered in an instant. I clutched my stomach protectively, as though shielding my unborn child from the cruelty that surrounded us. My voice trembled with grief.

"How could you?" I asked softly, choking on the pain. "You're my sister. I loved you."

Bianca laughed cruelly. Mark joined her.

Their laughter echoed through the room like a cruel chorus, mocking my shattered soul.

I turned to look at him, my mate-the man who once promised forever. The man I believed would stand by me even when my wolf was stripped away. Betrayal settled in my bones like frost.

And then-slap.

The sting burned across my cheek. I gasped.

Bianca had slapped me.

"How dare you look at another woman's man?" she spat.

I stumbled backward. Another woman's man? But he was mine-wasn't he?

"That's enough," Mark said casually, adjusting his shirt. "She's already crushed. That's more than enough."

I dropped to the floor, broken. My tears wouldn't stop, spilling like endless rain. My lungs heaved but couldn't fill with air. My thoughts spiraled.

Why me?

Why did this have to happen?

In that moment, a dark thought crossed my mind-it would be better to just die. To disappear.

But then my hand found my belly again, and I remembered.

My baby.

My precious baby who didn't ask for any of this.

No. I had to live-for us.

I stood up slowly, silently. My pain was too deep for words. I walked out without another look at them. Behind me, the guards stood at attention. I saw it then-in their eyes.

They knew.

They all knew.

The maids stared as I passed. Whispers followed me. I wasn't just betrayed by Mark and Bianca-I had been mocked and pitied by the entire pack.

When I reached my room, I tried to close the door behind me, but a maid arrived moments later.

"This will no longer be your room," she said coldly. "Follow me."

I followed her without resistance, numb, as though I were sleepwalking.

She led me to a small, dim room at the far end of the pack grounds-worse than even a servant's quarters. Damp walls. A thin mattress. No window. No comfort.

I collapsed into the silence.

I cried until there were no tears left. Until I became a ghost of myself. I didn't eat. I didn't move. I simply existed.

Days turned into weeks.

And then one day, there was a knock. I didn't answer. I didn't care. The door creaked open, and suddenly warm arms wrapped around me.

"Becca, please..." a voice begged.

My eyes widened.

"Mama?"

It was my mother.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she held me. "Please, baby, don't do this to yourself. I'm so sorry. I failed you. We all did. But you have to live. Please... leave this place. Go far away and start over. I've convinced Mark to give you Bianca's core. Please take it and run. Forget us. Forget the Bright Light Pack. Let it all go."

I stared at her, hollow, then gave a dry chuckle.

"Do one good thing for me, Mama," I whispered.

She nodded quickly, hopeful.

"When the core is inside me... give me something that makes it seem like I died. please mom, do this for me. Let them all believe I'm gone."

Her eyes widened in horror. But after a long pause, she nodded again. "This will be the last good I do for you."

The procedure was scheduled. My mother made the arrangements with a trusted doctor. As the core was placed into me, she slipped something into the anesthesia.

Mark wasn't there. Of course he wasn't. He didn't care.

The operation went well-at first. But then my heart began to slow. Machines beeped frantically. Nurses screamed. The doctor worked to bring me back...

But it was no use.

Becca-the wolfless Luna-was dead.

News of my death reached the Alpha by nightfall.

"What did you just say?" Mark whispered. "No... that's not possible. She's one of the strongest girls I know."

But the doctor only shook his head.

Mark clutched his chest. Panic, guilt, and something else clawed at his insides. He didn't want me dead. He only wanted my core... so he could finally be with the twin he truly desired.

But it was too late.

I was buried with honors-a Luna's grave. The pack gathered in black. Mark stood in silence, unreadable. But Bianca... she sensed something. A flicker of unease settled in her stomach.

That night, my mother returned with the doctor she'd bribed. They dug up the grave, their hands shaking with urgency.

She injected me.

And suddenly-gasp.

I breathed again.

I was alive.

Pain stabbed through my chest as I coughed and gasped for air. My mother held me tightly, sobbing.

"You're okay, baby... you're okay."

They took me to a secluded hut where the doctor continued my treatment. I slowly regained my strength.

But then... came the worst news.

I had lost the baby.

I screamed. I cried. I broke all over again.

They had taken everything from me-my core, my place, my dignity... and now my child.

As I lay there, silent and scarred, a fire began to burn in me.

I vowed.

I vowed to return stronger. To make them pay.

I would give Mark and Bianca pain twice what they gave me.

They would suffer for what they did. For my baby. For my broken soul.

When I was strong enough, my mother handed me an envelope of money. I hugged her one last time. I thanked the doctor with a broken smile.

And then I left.

Disguised by a scarf and glasses, I boarded a bus heading... anywhere. As long as it was far from the Bright Light Pack.

I didn't know what the future held.

But I was free.

When the bus stopped and I stepped out, I felt the unfamiliar breeze on my face. A small restaurant sat by the roadside, and my stomach growled for the first time in weeks.

I walked in, ready to begin again.

But before I could speak, a voice called from behind.

"Mate."

I froze.

Gasps echoed through the restaurant.

Slowly, I turned.

And there he stood-a stranger, tall and intense, staring straight at me.

But I knew, without a doubt, he wasn't my mate.

He was Bianca's.

Because I carried her core.