The night that shattered Julia's life replayed in her mind over and over, like a nightmare stuck on a loop.Mary Blackthorn, Alpha Alan's beloved sister, lay still in the Pack Hospital — pale, bandaged, caught in a silent battle between life and death.
Julia hadn't slept in days. She remained locked in a cold stone cell beneath Blackthorn Manor, wrists bruised, clothes dirty from being dragged through the forest. She had clawed at the iron bars until her nails bled, begging to speak to Alan. Begging to explain.
But the Alpha had not come.
Not even once.
Outside her cell, guards whispered — pity on their faces, fear in their eyes.
"She hurt Mary."
"Alan will never forgive her."
"She'll be dead by morning."
Yet none of them understood what had truly happened.
Julia curled up on the narrow cot, hugging her knees to her chest as the ache of guilt crushed her chest. I never meant to hurt her. Goddess, I was trying to save her.
Elara, her wolf, whimpered inside her mind, exhausted. We have to tell him. He has to listen.
Julia swallowed past the lump in her throat. He won't. Not now. Not while she's like this.
As if summoned by the darkness gathering around her, a cold wind swept down the hallway. Heavy bootsteps followed — slow, deliberate, filled with barely leashed violence.
Julia lifted her head.
Her heart stopped.
Alan.
He appeared at the end of the hallway, his silhouette framed by the torchlight behind him. He moved like a storm on two legs, shoulders tense, jaw clenched, black eyes burning with pure, feral rage.
This wasn't the man who had touched her cheek with tenderness only days ago.This wasn't the Alpha who had whispered, You're my mate, Julia. My fated one.
This was a monster carved from grief.
When he reached her cell, the air thickened, suffocating. Julia stood, gripping the bars. "Alan, please—"
"Don't say my name." His voice was low, dangerous.
Julia flinched.
His gaze swept over her — not with love, not with pain, but with the cold sharpness of a blade.
"You attacked Mary," he growled. "You put her in a coma."
"No!" Julia's voice cracked. "I didn't—The rogues were dragging her. I tried to save her. I threw a stick at them but—but they pulled her at the wrong moment. Alan, I swear to the Moon Goddess, I didn't mean—"
He slammed his hand against the bars, metal groaning under his strength. "STOP LYING!"
Julia staggered back, tears spilling.
Elara snarled defensively inside her, hurt and afraid. He doesn't believe us. He doesn't feel the bond.
Julia pressed a trembling hand to her chest. The mate bond is there. It has to be.
But when she looked at Alan, she saw no bond.Only hatred.
Alan's voice dropped to a hollow, icy whisper. "I will ruin you."
Julia stiffened.
"I will destroy everything you love. Your life, your clan, your pride. I will take everything from you — the way you almost took Mary from me."
"Alan, please—"
"You will beg," he hissed. "You will scream. You will break."
Her blood went cold.
"Let me apologise to Mary," Julia whispered. "She needs to hear the truth before you do something—"
Alan laughed. A sound that didn't belong to any sane man. "Julia, your truth died the moment Mary hit the ground."
His eyes glowed with Alpha power. "If she dies, you die."
Her lips trembled. "And if she wakes?"
"She won't," he said flatly.
Then he turned away.
As he walked off, Julia gripped the bars desperately. "Alan! Don't do this!"
But he didn't look back.
Three Days Later
Julia's world ended.
She was dragged out of her cell by warriors, tied with silver chains that burned her skin, and forced to kneel in the throne room of Blackthorn Manor.
Alan sat on the Alpha throne, his face emotionless, hair disheveled from sleepless nights, veins pulsing with suppressed fury.
"Julia Rowan," he said coldly, "you are hereby stripped of your clan's protection."
Julia's heart dropped. "What—"
"And your parents," Alan continued, "are arrested for conspiracy against the Blackthorn Pack."
Her breath stopped.
"No," she whispered. "No, Alan—my parents had nothing to do with this. They don't even know—"
"Enough." He flicked his hand. "Take them."
From the side entrance, Julia's mother and father were dragged in, wrists bound, faces battered. Her mother cried out when she saw Julia. "My baby! What did they do to you?"
Julia lunged forward, but the silver chains snapped her back to the ground.
"Alan, listen to me—" she sobbed. "They're innocent. I beg you—"
"You should have thought of that," Alan said, "before you touched Mary."
His cruelty was a dagger between her ribs.
Her father shouted, "Alpha, please! Julia has never lied—she would never harm a child!"
Alan's hand tightened on the armrest of his throne. "Take them to the dungeons."
Julia screamed as her parents were dragged away. "NO! ALAN, PLEASE! PLEASE!"
Olivia, Alan's mistress, watched from the shadows — smirking.
Julia's chest crumpled. Why is this happening? Why won't he feel the bond? Why won't he listen?
But Alan's heart was blind.Mary was his entire world.He believed Julia had stolen it.
He rose from the throne, walking toward her. She could smell the Alpha aura burning in his veins.
"You are mine now," he said, gripping her chin roughly. "Your clan is gone. Your parents are imprisoned. You will stay here in the manor and serve me."
Julia's tears blurred her vision. "Serve…you?"
A cruel smile touched his lips. "As my maid. And my bed warmer."
Something shattered inside her. Elara whimpered in agony. Mate…how can he do this to us?
Julia whispered hoarsely, "You can't be serious."
Alan leaned close, lips brushing her ear. "This is mercy. If Mary dies…I'll make sure you wish you had."
He walked away.
Julia collapsed to the floor, chains burning her wrists, her heart bleeding in ways a healer could never mend.
Her world, her family, her future —Alan destroyed it all.
And she didn't even know…that this was only the beginning of her suffering.