Selene’s breath came in shallow gasps. Her body was burning and freezing all at once. Blood dampened her dress, warm against her trembling thighs. She pressed her hand to her belly, desperate, whispering through tears.

Because she refused the abortion, he beat her, deliberately targeting her stomach. Who cruel act of marching her stomach like she was a rag caused her pain.

“No, no, please, not my baby” she begged.

Her vision blurred, but she still forced herself to look up at Darius. The man she had once loved stood before her, tall and unshaken, his eyes filled not with pity but with cruel amusement.

“Please, Darius,” she whispered, her voice weak. “Tell me it’s all a lie. Tell me you didn’t mean what you said.”

But he only laughed. A sharp, cold laugh that made her skin crawl. He crouched down so their faces were close, his eyes glinting in the dim light.

“A lie? No, Selene. This is the only truth you’ll ever know.”

Her heart twisted, her tears spilling faster.

He tilted his head, smirking. “You really thought your story was different? That you were special? No. You are just like your mother. A woman who married a man who never loved her. A woman who was used until she was broken.”

Selene shook her head fiercely, even as her strength failed. “No, no, my mother loved my father; she died young, but”

Selene was told a different story, a fairytale of how the poor man came to love her mother and how he would do anything for her.“She died,” Darius cut her off, his voice sharp, “because your father killed her.”

The words struck her harder than any blow. She froze, her mouth parting, her eyes wide. “W-What?”

Darius’s grin widened. He seemed to savor her shock, her pain. “Your mother was the heir of the White Wolf clan. The purest bloodline. The richest, most powerful wolves, blessed by the moon itself. Do you think your father could have won her heart? No. He played her. He tricked her with false love. And she, blinded, believed him.”

Selene’s body trembled violently.

“Once she married him,” Darius went on, “once she was pregnant, once her family trusted him, he struck. One by one, he destroyed them. Your mother watched as her clan burned, as her people fell. She watched him poison her father, silence her mother, break her brothers. But she couldn’t stop it. Because she was carrying you. And she thought love would save her.”

Selene sobbed, covering her mouth with her hand. “Stop, stop it.”

“He killed her slowly,” Darius whispered, leaning closer, his lips almost brushing her ear. “He wanted no suspicion. Every day, a little more poison, until she grew weaker and weaker. And when she gave birth to you, he made sure she never rose again. He ended her.”

Her scream tore from her chest, broken and raw. “No! No, you’re lying!” “People died in childbirth, Selene, and everyone noticed how your mother was weak; it’s just that everyone assumed it was with grief.”

But deep inside, something cracked. A memory she had long buried came back: the sight of her mother’s pale face, her weak smile, and her whispered words of love before she slipped away. She didn't understand why she could see it now.

Darius chuckled at her denial. “You, Selene, you are the child he never wanted. The proof of a union he used and discarded. Do you know why he let you live?”

“He had hoped you died with her, but your mother use her wolf to protect you rather than fight the poison”

She shook her head, sobbing.

“Because you were useful. But then you grew strong. Too strong. You awakened the white wolf blood. You were dangerous, Selene. Too dangerous. And when your father saw the way you looked at him, with love in your eyes, he knew. He knew it was time to act.”

Selene’s stomach clenched. “What do you mean?”

Darius’s smirk turned crueler. “Me. I was the plan. To keep you distracted. To keep you weak. Your father needed you to stop seeing who you really were. He needed you blind. And what better way than love? So I dated you. I made you fall for me. I whispered promises. And you believed every single one.”

Selene shook her head violently, though her body trembled. “No, you cared for me,I know you did”

“The night before I proposed to you,” Darius said, his voice smooth with venom, “I was in Liora’s bed. The best night I ever had. And the next morning, I got down on one knee before you, pretending to be the man of your dreams.”

Selene’s chest tightened until she could hardly breathe. Her whole world felt like it was collapsing.

“Why?” she whispered, her voice broken.

“Because your father needed you to object to the emperor’s summons,” he answered with a smirk. “The invitation was clear, you were chosen to go to the palace, to marry into the Alpha’s harem. But if you refused, then Liora could step in. He needed you to say no. And like the fool in love you are, you did exactly that.”

Selene sobbed harder, her body folding in on itself.

Darius circled her like a predator, his voice sharp as a blade. “The plan was simple. I distract you for a year. Then, when Liora fakes her death, we escape. There would have been war, yes, but none of that mattered. You were meant to die quietly, forgotten. But everything fell apart. Liora is really dead. And it’s your fault. Your existence ruined everything.”

Selene’s tears blurred her sight. She clutched her belly, shaking her head. “Please, don’t”

He leaned down again, his face close to hers, his breath hot. “Do you know why I haven’t killed you yet? Because every time I beat you, every time you cry out in pain, your father pays me. That’s why I kept you alive. You were his game. His little entertainment.”

Her tears fell harder, her heart tearing apart piece by piece.

“But I’m done now,” Darius growled, his eyes dark. “I’m sick of seeing your face. So tonight, it ends.”

Her lips trembled. “What, what will you do?”

He grinned cruelly. “It’s easy. I’ll say that you were broken by grief after your sister’s death. That you lost the baby and couldn’t live with it. That you took your own life. They’ll all believe it. And I’ll be free.”

Selene’s heart stopped. Her body shook with fear and grief.

He dragged her up by the arm, pulling her through the door. The night air was sharp, the rain cold against her skin. The ground was slick as he forced her forward. She stumbled, but he didn’t slow.

The moon hung above them, full and bright, watching in silence.

Selene lifted her head, her tears shining in its glow. She whispered weakly,

“Moon goddess, I beg you, give me a chance, let me live again. Let me make this right. Let me bring justice for my mother, for my child, for everything they took from me. Please”

The moonlight seemed to flicker, as if answering her prayer.

Darius pulled her to the cliff’s edge, his grip iron around her arm. He sneered down at her. “This is where your story ends.”

Selene turned her face to him, her eyes blazing through the tears. She burned his image into her heart, the cruel twist of his mouth, the triumph in his gaze. And in that moment, she swore silently, fiercely,

“If I live again, I will make you pay. You. My father. Everyone who betrayed me. I swear it.”

With one final shove, Darius pushed her off the cliff.

The wind roared in her ears. Her body fell into the darkness. The earth rushed to meet her.

But even as she fell, her eyes never left his face.

Her last breath carried only one word.

“Revenge.”