Chapter 3

Elena POV

Three days later, I accepted the job offer in Zurich.

It was a consulting position for my father's old firm, something far away from pack politics and moonlit betrayals.

My room was a graveyard of memories. I packed boxes with ruthless efficiency.

The crystal vase he gave me for our first anniversary? Into the trash.

The dress I wore when he marked me? Straight to the donation pile.

I held the ring in my palm. The Sterling family crest was engraved on the gold band. It felt heavy, like a shackle.

I walked to the fireplace in the main hall. The fire was roaring, devouring the oak logs. I tossed the ring into the flames.

I didn't watch it melt. I just watched it disappear.

"My part is over," I whispered to the reflection in the mirror above the mantle. I looked pale, dark circles bruising the skin under my eyes, but my jaw was set.

I was supposed to leave in the morning. A car was arranged.

But fate, it seemed, possessed a cruel sense of humor.

"The Alpha requests your presence," a Beta guard said, standing at my door. His stance made it clear he wasn't asking.

"I'm busy," I said, not looking up from my suitcase.

"Now, Luna."

I was forced into the backseat of a black SUV. The ride to the main estate was bumpy, and with every jolt, a dull ache radiated through my lower back.

I closed my eyes, pretending to sleep, trying to visualize the Swiss Alps.

Just a few more hours, I told myself. Just hold on.

Then, the water broke.

It wasn't a trickle. It was a gush of warm fluid soaking the seat.

Cold, sharp panic pierced through my numbness. It was too early. Two months too early.

"Stop the car," I gasped.

The Beta looked in the rearview mirror. "We are almost there, Luna."

"I said stop!"

A contraction hit me then, so violent it tore a scream from my throat. The car swerved, then screeched to a halt in front of the main house.

The door was ripped open. Not by Damien, but by a frantic medical team.

"She's in labor!" someone shouted.

I was wheeled onto a gurney, the world tilting sideways. The pain was blinding, a white-hot fire consuming my abdomen.

"Get Damien," I choked out, grabbing a nurse's scrub. "Tell him... tell him..."

They wheeled me into the hallway. And there he was.

Damien stood at the end of the corridor. But he wasn't looking at me. He was holding Victoria's hand.

She was leaning against the wall, clutching her stomach, crying softly.

"It's time, Damien," she sobbed. "I think the baby is coming."

He was stroking her hair, whispering words of comfort I couldn't hear.

"Alpha!" the nurse pushing me yelled. "The Luna is-"

Damien looked up. His eyes met mine for a fleeting second. I saw confusion. I saw shock.

But then Victoria let out a high-pitched wail, sinking to her knees.

Damien's gaze snapped back to her. He scooped her up into his arms, turning his back on me.

"Get the best doctors for Victoria!" he bellowed, his voice echoing off the walls. "Now!"

I was pushed into a side room. A storage room hastily converted into a temporary triage.

Rain lashed against the window, sounding like gravel being thrown at the glass. I was alone. The primary medical team had run after Damien and Victoria.

I was left with a young intern and a terrified nurse.

"I can't do this," I sobbed, clutching the rails of the bed.

"You have to," the nurse said, her voice shaking. "The baby is coming."

I looked at the door. It remained closed.

He chose her. In the moment of life and death, he chose her.

The realization didn't just hurt. It killed. It killed the last tiny, stupid part of me that hoped he would save me.

I screamed as another contraction ripped through me, my voice joining the thunder outside.

I was alone in the storm, and I had no compass, no shelter, and no Alpha.