A vicious hand grabbed my hair from behind, yanking me backward with such force that my feet left the ground before I slammed onto the concrete.

My phone flew from my grasp, skittering across the pavement before smashing against a wall. The screen shattered, cutting off my last connection to Bruce.


A white-hot pain knifed through my abdomen.

The world tilted and blurred as agony consumed me. Something warm and wet trickled down my thighs, quickly becoming a flood that soaked my dress and pooled beneath me—a horrifying crimson stain spreading across the cold concrete.

I could feel that tiny, precious life—barely established in my womb—slipping away with each heartbeat.


Through the haze of pain, I heard the screech of tires, followed by the sharp crack of gunshots.

The world fell silent.


Some time later, a familiar voice broke through the darkness. It sounded strange—raw and panicked: "Elara... stay with me. You're going to be alright, I promise you'll be alright..."

When I finally clawed my way back to consciousness, that familiar antiseptic smell told me I was back in the hospital.

My hand moved instinctively to my stomach. Flat. Empty. The baby... was gone...

A single tear escaped, sliding down my temple into my hair.

Bruce sat beside the bed, his usually immaculate appearance in shambles—clothes wrinkled and stained, eyes bloodshot from what looked like days without sleep.

"Why..." his voice shook with barely contained rage and grief, "Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?! Why did you have to leave me and live alone in that godforsaken neighborhood!"

I stared at the ceiling, feeling nothing but a vast, empty hollowness.

"That was OUR CHILD!" he roared, his fist slamming into the wall with enough force to crack the plaster. "How could you be so goddamn selfish?! You KNOW what happens to unprotected Omegas! You knew you were pregnant, and you STILL left me! What did I do to make you hate me so much that you'd sacrifice our baby just to punish me?!"

His accusation cut deeper than any physical wound ever could.

The crushing weight of grief and injustice drained the last of my strength.

I turned to him, my voice unnervingly steady despite the storm raging inside me: "Bruce Castillo, what killed our child was your emotional neglect, your distrust, and your pathetic cowardice. If you loved me, you should have chosen me clearly instead of torturing me with your ambiguous relationship with Katherine. If you didn't love me, you should have let me go long ago instead of blaming me now for trying to escape your cruelty."

My words seemed to shatter Bruce's last thread of control. He lunged forward, gripping my shoulders with bruising force, his eyes wild with a desperate, feral light. His fangs elongated, his Alpha aura expanding to fill the room with suffocating pressure.

With horror, I realized what he was about to do—he was going to mark me!

"I'll mark you," he growled, his voice barely human. "Once I mark you, you'll never even think of leaving again! You are MINE, Elara!" He forced me down against the pillows, ignoring my desperate struggles as he aimed for my neck.

I fought with the strength of pure terror, my nails raking bloody furrows down his arms. "Let go of me! Bruce, I swear to God, if you mark me against my will, I'll bite my tongue off! I'd rather die than be your possession again!"

But he was too strong, too determined. In desperation, I clamped my jaws shut and bit down hard on my own tongue.

Bruce's eyes widened in alarm. He immediately crushed his mouth against mine, trying to force my jaws apart.

"Mmph—"

His tongue pushed past my lips, and I bit down savagely. The metallic taste of blood flooded my mouth, but he didn't pull away.

Gradually, his aggressive force melted into something else. His kiss softened, becoming tender in a way I'd never experienced from him. Despite myself, I felt my resistance wavering.

His kiss was like a comfort, yet also like a confession.

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally pulled away, his voice raw with emotion: "Elara, I was wrong. When I found you bleeding in that alley, when I thought I might lose you forever... I realized I can't live without you. You are my destined Luna. Please, come back to me."

I felt nothing but hollow bitterness.

"Bruce," I whispered, "I don't love you anymore. It's too late. Please, just let me go..."

He released me as if burned, staggering backward. For once, the great Alpha had no words. Like a man who had lost everything, he turned and walked out of my room without looking back.