The Betrayed Half-Blood Queen

When I woke, the bite mark in the hollow of my shoulder still burned—a deep wound Oleg had left the night before, his hands gripping my waist as his teeth sank in.

Instinctively, I followed his scent, only to catch a second trail at the mouth of the cave behind the waterfall—unfamiliar, potent, the unmistakable heat of a she-wolf in season.

Inside the cave, Oleg had Liya pinned by the nape. He lowered his head and bit down on her collarbone, the same way he had done to me countless times before.

"Don't be afraid. I'll be gentle... I'll give you the perfect experience, my darling fiancée."

My heart felt pierced by a blade. I stood frozen outside the waterfall, water droplets sliding from the tips of my hair and blurring my vision.

Through the curtain of water, two shadows merged together in a suffocating tangle.

Oleg had Liya pressed against the stone wall, her hair disheveled, fresh red marks scattered across her throat.

She gasped softly, "You're so skilled. Is it true what they say... that you practiced on that half-blood by your side?"

Oleg chuckled low—the same voice he'd used to coax me in whispers last night—but every word now drove into my heart like a knife.

"Darling, are you jealous?"

"Don't worry about her. You're the noble princess of the Silver Vein Pack, and she's nothing but a lowly half-blood. She's not worth your concern."

"If it bothers you, once you become my Luna, you can deal with her however you like."

A roar filled my ears, drowning out even the sound of the water.

Oleg's fingertips traced the side of Liya's neck with terrifying expertise—the same touch that had made me melt completely the night before.

Yet in his heart, I was nothing more than a convenient tool. A lowly half-blood.

All that tenderness, all that sweetness—lies he had spun to bind me, to use me.

...

I clung to the rock face beside the waterfall, my fingers trembling.

Last night, when he'd pinned me to the ground and bitten me until he lost control, he'd whispered, "Aila, you're the only little wolf who suits me, the only one who can handle my strength."

Now he used the same kisses, the same tone, the same motions to murmur softly to another woman.

I'd been fool enough to think that tenderness was mine alone.

But he'd only ever seen me as practice—a way to perfect his technique for Liya.

"Oleg..." Liya's voice came in broken gasps, laced with obvious pleasure and malicious amusement. "Do you think she might be outside listening right now?"

Oleg cradled her face and kissed her, soft and thorough, his voice husky. "What if she is?"

His answer was careless, his attention entirely on Liya.

"Half-bloods do have sharp ears, but aside from listening, there's nothing she can do."

Liya laughed. "Would she go mad, do you think? After all, half-bloods... are so prone to madness."

"Let her go mad. It doesn't matter."

Oleg lowered his head and gently grazed his teeth along Liya's collarbone.

"If she dares lose her mind, I'll personally rip out her claws. Even if she fights back, she'll only end up on her knees, begging forgiveness."

My chest went cold and numb in an instant.

The waterfall roared, yet every word of his reached me with perfect clarity, driving deep into my heart.

Five years by his side, and in his eyes, I was not a partner. Not a companion. Not a member of his pack. Not even the half-blood he once claimed "didn't disgust him."

I was just a tool he'd picked up on a whim. A weapon to be discarded whenever convenient.

"Oleg..." Liya tilted her head back, her fingers clutching the front of his shirt. "If she tried to force you to mark her by threatening to kill herself, would you do it?"

Oleg laughed, mocking and contemptuous. "I never mark my tools."

A howl of agony rose from somewhere deep in my soul. The crushing pain in my heart bent me double before I even realized it.

Tears fell like rain, lost in the thunder of the waterfall where no one could hear.

Five years ago—I had just escaped from a vampire nest, hunted by my own kind.

He was the one who lifted me from a pool of blood, smiling so gently, the first ray of light to pierce my dark existence.

He said, "So what if you're a half-blood? Only fools discriminate over something like that. Stay by my side. I'll protect you."

I believed him. A flower bloomed in my heart.

I unleashed the full extent of my power for him, helped him with the things that couldn't bear the light of day.

Assassinations. Infiltrations. Cleaning up the bloody aftermath...

All for a single phrase: "Good girl. I need you."

Now I saw the truth—he had never needed *me*. Only my power.

Only a weapon that would never betray him.

I made no sound, but I felt my heart shatter into pieces inside my chest.

Then—

"Who's there!"

Oleg's gaze cut toward the cave entrance like a blade.

I stepped back instinctively and landed on loose gravel, sending a faint sound skittering across the stone.

The water masked everything, but he had already caught the scent.

"A half-blood's scent?" His growl held no trace of guilt—only cold command. "Aila, come out!"

I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms until blood dripped free.

I couldn't let him see me like this—reduced to this state by his words.

I turned and leaped from the waterfall. The freezing water crashed over my head, burying every sound, every breath.

In that instant of falling, my sharp ears caught Liya's startled voice. "She... she really was outside."

Then came Oleg's impatient snort. "Let her go. Half-bloods. They can live or die on their own."

The bone-chilling water swallowed my body whole, but it was nothing compared to the cold inside me.

I once believed I had escaped my fate of being cast out, that I had finally found a home among the pack.

Now I understood—I had only fallen from one abyss into another.

And he was the abyss I had chosen with my own hands.

This time, I wouldn't just run.

I would tear it all down.