Chapter 1 Chapter 1 THE ACCIDENT

OLIVIA'S POV

A deafening screech of tires. The sickening crunch of metal. Then-nothing but darkness.

When I woke, the sterile bite of antiseptic burned my nose, and blinding hospital lights stabbed my vision.

"Olivia. Thank the Moon." James-my foster brother and the pack's head healer-let out a shaky breath as I blinked up at him.

I tried to sit, but my body screamed in protest, every muscle pulsing like I'd been trampled by the entire pack.

"Easy." His hand pressed my shoulder down. "You're lucky. Just bruises and a concussion."

My mind clawed through the fog. I'd been driving to the supermarket to do my weekly grocery shopping for the pack when suddenly a truck lost control and veered straight toward me. The impact that sent my world spinning.

"I'm sorry," I murmured bitterly. "Another burden on the pack."

"Don't say that, Olivia," James's jaw tightened. "You're the Luna of the Blackwood Pack."

Then, his voice turned softer: "There's more. You're pregnant, Liv. Six weeks."

My breath vanished.

Five years. Five years of hollow pity and hissed rumors that I'd never give Dominic an heir. Five years of watching my mate's eyes grow colder with every failed fertility test.

Yet now. My fingers trembled against my stomach. "Are you sure?"

His smile was the first warmth I'd felt in months. "Positive. And don't forget-" He ruffled my hair with familiar ease. "-top of my class at Johns Hopkins." He helped me lie down. "Now rest. I've got an emergency surgery, but I'll check on you after."

As the door shut, hope fluttered in my chest like a trapped bird. Maybe this was the Moon Goddess's mercy-a child to finally make Dominic see me as more than the thief who stole his future.

Then the hallway whispers slithered under the door:

"-that Omega fraud's back in the hospital-"

"Olivia stole everything from Evelyn-"

"She never deserves the title of Luna-"

My grip twisted the sheets. I wanted to find some words to deny them. But they weren't wrong. If it weren't the prophecy, I'd have no right to be Dominic's Luna.

Ten years ago, Elder Alyosha's prophecy declared only the true Blackwood Luna would bear the Phoenix mark-a sacred omen of power that could lead the Blackwood Pack to glory.

Everyone believed Dominic's beloved girlfriend, Evelyn, was destined for the honor. Their love story was well-known. The pack waited breathlessly for the sacred flames to claim her...

Until the fire chose me instead.

An Omega.

An outcast.

The most hated she-wolf in Blackwood history.

No one accepted it. Not the pack. Not Evelyn. Certainly not Dominic. But prophecies don't bend for broken hearts. Officially, I became Luna.

But in most people's eyes? I was just a usurper who shackled Dominic to a bond he never wanted.

Now, fate had handed me a chance to change everything.

I couldn't miss it.

I reached for my phone and dialed Dominic's number. My wolf had died in an attack that left me Mindlink-mute at eighteen. Thank the goddess, my device survived the crash.

One ring. Two. Voicemail.

It was the norm. Dominic rarely answered my calls. I understood-an Alpha always had the pack's emergency first. I never pushed. But today...today was different.

Today, I needed him to hear me.

To know about our baby. To pretend, just for one second, that I mattered.

The phone rang endlessly. No answer.

Dread coiled in my stomach. Had something happened? Dominic was powerful, but enemies lurked everywhere. Lately, he'd been distant, buried in work he refused to share. I knew there must have been something. But I didn't dare to ask.

The Phoenix mark on my neck made me Luna in name only-the pack still saw me as just another Omega, fit only for grocery runs and chores.

My trembling fingers redialed. Moon Goddess, protect him-my mate, the father of the baby we'd waited so long for.

As if answering my prayer, a commotion erupted from the hospital hallway. Clinging to the wall, I forced myself toward the doorway.

The sound of hurried footsteps shattered the silence as doctors rushed toward the entrance. I tried to look up, but a powerful force knocked me to the ground.

"Ah!" I screamed as I fell, pain lancing through my hips-the baby-and looked up.

Into the eyes of my husband.

Dominic stood over me, his sculpted face twisted with a hatred so raw it stole my breath. His glare cut deeper than claws, his massive frame vibrating with revulsion. Why? What happened? What made him look at me like that...when I carried his heir?

"DOCTOR!" His roar shook the walls.

Then I saw her.

The woman cradled against his chest like something precious.

My throat sealed shut.

Evelyn.

The Luna he'd always wanted.

She'd vanished five years ago. I'd almost let myself believe she was gone for good.

But here she was, limp in his arms, her porcelain skin marred by gashes-while Dominic looked at her like the world would end if she faded.

A look he'd never given me.

"Move!" He kicked my leg aside like trash and charged toward the ER.

The pack's laughter surged around me, a riptide dragging me under.

Every insecurity I'd fought since taking the Luna title erupted like a wound ripped fresh. The prophecy, the baby-none of it mattered. His heart had always been hers.

And now she was back to claim it. Could my baby and I survive?