Chapter 1

When the fire trapped me, my Alpha mate, Graeme Blackwood, was throwing a birthday party for my little sister, Ayana.

I was locked in the basement, trembling so violently my bones clattered against each other. When the flames first caught, I called him. Begged him.

His voice was ice. "Evelyn, stop the act. It's Ayana's birthday. I'm not letting you out just so you can ruin it. Let her have her night. Once she's happy, I'll let you out."

I tried to explain. With the last shred of strength I had, I called him again.

He hung up on me.

So I just watched. Watched the flames swallow everything.

Chapter 1

My body lay crumpled in the corner of that basement, burned beyond recognition.

Three days earlier, my sister's son, Lucien, had gotten silver burns on his hand. Ayana held him, tears streaming, and came crying to me. "Evelyn, I know you don't like Lucien, but he's my son. Why would you burn him with silver water?"

I never got the chance to explain.

Graeme believed her without question. Decided I'd done it on purpose. He stared at me with that tight-jawed glare, his voice like frost. "Evelyn, that's disgusting. Apologize. Now."

I shook my head. "Graeme, I didn't do anything wrong. Why should I apologize?"

I'd been taking care of her son for three months. The day before, he'd thrown a tantrum, begging to go back to his mother, so I took him home. How was I supposed to know that one night later, Lucien would show up with silver burns?

Graeme's voice cracked with rage. "I didn't think you could sink this low. You can't even tolerate your own sister's child. Ayana's birthday is in a few days. Since you're so cruel, just stay locked up. Save everyone the trouble of you ruining her party."

"I didn't—" I started, but Ayana's hand came flying across my face before I could finish. "Lucien is my whole world. I will not let you hurt him."

The slap sent my head spinning. I raised my hand to hit her back—but Graeme caught my wrist. He locked me in the estate's basement.

After he left, his assistant, Darius, cast a spell on me. "Luna, Miss Ayana said you shouldn't have touched her son. This spell will temporarily sever your bond with Alpha. Don't bother tattling to him—he won't listen. Once you've reflected for three days, it will break on its own."

Later, the estate caught fire.

The flames came out of nowhere. The basement door was bolted from the outside. The spell hit my system like a freight train—I couldn't shift, couldn't break through the door, and the mate bond was dead silent.

So I called him. Begged. "Graeme, there's a fire. I'm carrying our baby—please, just let me out. Even if you don't care about me, at least care about our child."

He was in the middle of Ayana's birthday party. He laughed. Cold. "Evelyn, you're still trying to sell me that pregnancy lie? When you hurt Lucien, did you think about how he felt? It's Ayana's birthday. I'm not letting you out to ruin it. Once she's had her night, once she's happy, I'll let you go."

I screamed. Full-on, throat-ripping screamed. "Graeme, the fire is real. I'm going to burn to death in here. Please—last time, just let me out."

His voice didn't even waver. "Stop the act. If you were really in a fire, our bond would react. It hasn't. You hurt Lucien, and now you want to wreck Ayana's birthday too?"

Ayana's voice drifted through the phone. "Alpha, maybe let my sister come? After all, it's both our birthdays today."

Graeme's tone turned stiff. "No. As Luna, she hurt a child. She needs to be locked up until she learns her lesson."

The birthday song started playing. Smoke filled my lungs. All I could do was choke and cry.

Ayana and I were twins. But Graeme's birthday celebration only had one cake.

I never got to tell him. Never got to say I just wanted him to save our baby.

The line went dead.

I pounded on that door until my knuckles split. No one came. The spell was eating me alive. All I could do was lie there in the dark and let the flames take me.

Chapter 2

After I died, for reasons I still don't understand, my soul drifted over to Graeme.

I watched him just finish putting Lucien to sleep, his hand patting the boy's back gently. He lowered his voice and asked Darius. "Is Evelyn sorry yet? It's her birthday today, too. Order her a cake. She's been looking forward to her thirtieth for a long time."

My heart clenched like someone had reached into my chest and twisted. So he did remember.

Darius kept his head down, not daring to look up. "Alpha, Luna was still throwing a fit just now. Should we let her out now?"

Graeme's expression shifted. His voice went cold. "Looks like I've been spoiling her too much. That's why she keeps pushing boundaries. Let her sit in there and think. A Luna this reckless—how's she supposed to run an entire pack?" He squeezed Lucien's hand, his face full of tenderness. "When she's ready to apologize to Ayana and Lucien, then she can come out."

Darius hesitated. "So the cake—still strawberry?"

Graeme paused for a second. "Forget it. In a few days, when she realizes her mistake and says sorry to Lucien and Ayana, I'll make it up to her."

Last time, Lucien pushed me down the stairs. I clutched my cramping belly, my face going white from pain. Graeme panicked. He scooped me up and carried me to the couch. "Evelyn, I swear—whoever did this to you, I'll make them pay."

Then Lucien admitted it was just a prank. And Graeme let it slide. Brushed it off with a few lazy words. "Good thing you're not hurt. I don't know what I'd do otherwise. Lucien didn't mean it. He's just a poor pup who misses having a father. He already knows he was wrong. You're the Luna. You should be more forgiving."

That night, I stared at the two pink lines on the pregnancy test, my whole body shaking with fear. One step. One step away from losing my baby.

When I grabbed the test and went to show Graeme, I heard Lucien calling him "Daddy" in that sweet little voice. Ayana stood nearby, all timid and trembling. "Alpha, Lucien just wants to know what a father's love feels like. You don't mind, do you?"

Graeme ruffled Lucien's hair, his smile dripping with affection. "Not at all."

Later, he skipped out on me, passed out at home, to go to Lucien's parent-teacher conference. I spent three days in the hospital. The doctors called him to come stay with me. He never showed. Just one phone call. "I got you the best healer in the pack. I'm not a professional. What's the point of me being there?"

He always put Ayana and Lucien first. Always. When Lucien got hurt, Graeme was at his side every single day, taking him to treatments. But me? He didn't even ask how I was doing.

I asked him too. Again and again. The answer was always the same. "You're stronger, Evelyn. Ayana was abandoned. I only feel sorry for her."

My soul floated in the air above them. I watched Ayana lean her head against Graeme's shoulder, and my heart twisted all over again. So even the dead can still feel pain.

I felt like a clown. Pathetic. Laughable.

"Let me go check on Evelyn—see if she's learned her lesson yet—" Graeme started to get up, but Ayana grabbed his arm, her voice shaking. "What if she blames me for taking you today? I'm so scared she'll hurt Lucien again. Can you please stay with us?"

Graeme chuckled and traced his finger across the tip of her nose. "Silly girl. I won't let anyone make you suffer. I'm staying right here. Not going anywhere. Not until Evelyn apologizes to both of you."

Chapter 3

All night long, Graeme's phone never rang once. The mate bond stayed silent too.

The next morning, back at the office, he stared at our chat log like he was waiting for something. My name on the screen. No messages. Nothing.

When the nanny's report came through about the estate fire, his jaw tightened. "Darius—is the estate on fire? Where's Evelyn? Take me back. I need to see if she's finally learned her lesson."

Darius's face went pale. He nodded and pulled up photos of the basement. "Alpha, the basement door was forced open. Looks like the fire started inside. Luna probably got herself out already."

Graeme let out a breath. Relief flickered across his face. Then his eyes turned cold. "So she shifted and ran. She's a brown wolf—fire wouldn't even touch her. I can't believe she'd burn down our estate just to dodge punishment. No remorse at all. Seal the place. Don't let her escape. I'll deal with her myself."

Darius swallowed hard. "Yes, Alpha."

Graeme was right. I was a brown wolf. Fire never scared me. But the spell had stripped everything away. I couldn't shift. Couldn't fight. Could only lie there and burn.

In that moment, I knew—I regretted ever loving him.

Three hours passed. Darius came back with nothing. No sign of me. No trace.

Graeme was about to head to the estate himself when Ayana's ringtone sliced through the silence. Her voice was frantic. "Alpha, Lucien's burn got infected. He's burning up with fever!"

He rushed to the hospital. Ayana collapsed into his arms, sobbing. "It's all my fault—I should've protected him that day. I gave Evelyn the chance to hurt him. Lucien is all I have. I can't lose him."

Graeme rubbed her back, his voice soft. "Ayana, calm down. Lucien will be fine. I'll make Evelyn apologize. I swear."

Every word out of her mouth, he swallowed like gospel. But when I cried and begged him—told him I was carrying his child—he called it a lie.

Lucien went into seizures from the fever. They rushed him to the ER. Ayana's sobs grew louder.

Graeme's face went dark. He dialed my number, ready to force an apology out of me. It rang and rang and rang. No one picked up.

His composure cracked. He called the nanny, his voice sharp with panic. "Lucien's wound is infected. He has a fever. She needs to take responsibility. Tell Evelyn—if she comes out and apologizes, I'll let this slide."

The nanny's voice broke on the other end. "Alpha... Luna... she's dead... She burned to death..."

His knuckles went white around the phone. His voice shook. "Impossible. She's a brown wolf. Fire can't kill her."

But the answer didn't change.

He hung up. And at that exact second, Darius's spell shattered. The mate bond snapped back into place. And the agony of losing his fated mate hit him like a bomb going off inside his skull.