Forsaken By One Alpha, Claimed By His Rival

Aria POV:

The three-meter drop from the perimeter wall sent a violent shockwave of pain through my battered body. My ankle twisted with a sickening, audible crack. I scrambled up, ignoring the blinding pain, and plunged deeper into the dark forest.

The noise of the pursuit from the manor was growing louder. The winter cold gnawed at my limbs, turning my lips purple and my fingers completely numb.

The cramping in my belly intensified into a brutal tearing sensation. I ran with one hand pressed tightly against my lower stomach, a desperate, futile gesture trying to hold my fragile baby in place.

Suddenly, my foot slipped on a patch of hidden ice. I tumbled violently down a steep embankment.

My head slammed against a thick tree trunk. I felt a warm gush of liquid between my legs, staining the pure white snow beneath me. The red was shockingly bright, a horrific contrast in the moonlight.

No... my baby.

My consciousness dissolved into a black void, taking my very last shred of hope with it.

I don't know how much time passed. I woke up to the sharp, sterile smell of medical disinfectant. The soft, rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor mocked my existence. I was lying in a narrow bed, surrounded by familiar white walls. The Pack infirmary. They had caught me after all.

I ignored the throbbing pain in my head and the IV drip in my arm. I threw back the thin blanket and looked down at my stomach. It was flat. I placed my trembling hand on my pale skin, pressing down slightly. I couldn't feel the tiny, warm flicker of life anymore. The protective barrier I had tried to build for him had been shattered.

Tears slid silently down my pale cheeks. My child was gone. I didn't even have the strength to sob out loud. My heart didn't break; it simply ceased to exist, leaving a cold, hollow, echoing cavity in my chest. Everything I had endured, everything I had fought for in that freezing blizzard, was for nothing.

The door opened abruptly. Slade Knight, Dominik's Beta, walked in. His face was a mask of professional indifference, as cold and unfeeling as his master's. He didn't offer a single word of comfort for the mother who had just lost her child. To him, I was just a problem that needed to be processed.

He casually tossed a file folder and a silver pen onto my bed.

"The Alpha's orders. Sign the divorce papers and the Rejection confirmation," he said flatly, treating me like a bothersome chore.

Numbly, I opened the folder. It was the official paperwork severing all our legal and spiritual ties. The black ink on the white paper looked like a death warrant. As I flipped to the final page, my eyes landed on the compensation clause. A check for $100,000 was attached to it.

I stared at the number, a sudden, bitter laugh escaping my dry lips. I looked up at Slade, my eyes devoid of any warmth. "A mere hundred thousand dollars as a breakup fee for the ex-wife of a proud Alpha King?" I asked, my voice dripping with icy contempt. "Aren't you afraid of the entire werewolf world laughing at you? Is this what Dominik Steele's dignity is worth?"

Slade frowned, clearly displeased by my lack of gratitude and my mocking tone. "Getting this check at all is the Alpha showing you extraordinary leniency," he sneered coldly, looking down his nose at me. "If you hadn't pulled that foolish stunt last night and run away, causing such a massive scene, you might have gotten more. This reduced sum of $100,000 is the direct price you pay for your disobedience. You should take it and be incredibly grateful you aren't being thrown into the snow with absolutely nothing."

A sudden, roaring fire ignited in the pit of my empty stomach. Did Dominik Steele really think his dirty money could buy my child's life and my two years of silent humiliation? Did he think he could punish me for trying to save my own baby?

I picked up the silver pen. With a steady, forceful hand, I drew a large, vicious "X" across the entire compensation clause, the nib of the pen almost tearing through the thick paper.

Then I signed my true surname on the dotted line. Aria Kensington. A name I hadn't used in two years, a noble name that carried the heavy weight of blood and vengeance.

I tossed the document back at Slade, letting the papers scatter disrespectfully on the floor at his feet.

"Tell your Alpha to keep his money," I said, my voice chillingly calm and laced with an undeniable authority that made Slade flinch visibly. "Consider this $100,000 my gift to him. His hard-earned sowing fee for his efforts these past years. After all, without his hard work in bed, where would the dead baby in my womb come from?"

Slade's face paled in absolute shock. He stared at me, completely unable to comprehend where a broken, discarded Omega found such terrifying defiance. He opened his mouth to reprimand me, but the sheer coldness in my eyes silenced him.

I swore to myself, I would spare no effort to destroy Dominik Steele as fast as possible. I would avenge my father and my unborn child, and put a permanent, violent end to this ridiculous, hateful romance. My tears were gone, completely burned away, replaced by a venomous, calculating determination.