Reborn As The Lycan Lord's Mate

Kira's POV:

"Push, Luna! Push one more time!"

Martha, the pack midwife, urged anxiously. Black spots danced at the edges of my vision. The relentless, agonizing contractions had drained every ounce of my strength, making even drawing a breath feel impossible.

The heavy oak door creaked open. My supposedly loyal best friend, Sienna Thorne, glided into the room, carrying a steaming porcelain bowl. The heavy scent of medicinal herbs and meat broth filled the air.

"Kira, darling," she cooed, her voice acting as a deceptive, soothing balm. "You need your strength. I brought you some broth."

I pushed the bowl away, my movements weak but resolute. My inner wolf, usually a source of immense comfort, was pacing frantically in the back of my mind. A low, warning growl vibrated through our shared soul. She sensed a threat I couldn't quite name.

A cold, sharp glint flashed in Sienna's eyes, swiftly masked by a look of aggrieved innocence. "Are you still blaming me for taking Donavan's heart? But he has loved me from the very beginning. I was meant to be his fated mate, his true Luna. You were nothing but an obstacle..."

I stared up at her in utter shock, hissing through the pain. "You shameless bitch! You were the one who claimed you felt nothing for Donavan... You said you loved the Crown Prince..."

"Am I not allowed to change my mind?" Sienna sneered. "Kira, I told you long ago-I, Sienna Thorne, am destined to be the Luna Queen!"

At those words, Sienna's gaze turned venomous. Without warning, she forcefully shoved a spoonful of the dark liquid past my teeth.

"Anyone who stands in my way deserves to die!"

I choked, forced to swallow gulp after gulp. A strange, icy numbness began to spread from my tongue down my throat. My wolf let out a hoarse, agonizing howl.

Desperate, I cast my gaze toward the door.

"Donavan... save me..."

A cruel scoff cut through my pleas. "You don't actually think I'm lying, do you? Donavan never cared for you. He only marked and mated you to harness the military might of the Atkinson Pack."

Sienna's eyes gleamed with malicious triumph. "Let me tell you a little secret. Once Donavan ascended the throne as Alpha King, he personally conspired with me. We forged the evidence of your father's and brothers' treason."

It felt as if an invisible hand had brutally crushed my heart. I gasped for air, yet suffocation clawed at my throat.

My father, Marcus Atkinson, and my beloved brothers-Caleb, Owen, and Ryan... They were the most loyal and fiercest warriors of our kind. Yet, they were executed just days ago under the false charge of rebellion against the crown.

I never believed for a second that they would betray the Alpha King.

But I never could have imagined that the orchestrators behind the massacre of the Atkinson Pack were none other than my fated mate, Donavan, and my most trusted friend, Sienna!

In my delirious haze, the memory of that lean, aloof boy from my youth flashed before my eyes...

Donavan!

Even our "love at first sight" had been nothing but a meticulously calculated trap.

He had slaughtered my entire pack, yet he still had the audacity to hold me in his arms at night, whispering sweet nothings about an eternity together...

How utterly pathetic I was!

A surge of pure, unadulterated hatred fueled my final ounce of strength. With one last, soul-tearing scream, my body convulsed violently. And then, the sharp, piercing cry of a newborn pup shattered the suffocating silence of the room.

"Congratulations, Luna! It's a beautiful she-pup!"

Sienna shot a look of pure disgust at my newborn daughter, as if the child were a piece of filth staining her flawless victory.

"Dispose of it," she commanded Martha, her tone chillingly flat. "You know what to do."

Martha scooped up my crying daughter. The midwife's hands trembled violently, but she dared not disobey the future Queen.

Sienna picked up the porcelain bowl once more. With an iron grip, she pried my jaw open and forced the rest of the thick, poisonous sludge down my throat.

The wolfsbane-laced poison took effect immediately. Darkness rapidly encroached upon my vision. My lungs burned like hellfire as I desperately gasped for air, finding none. My life force was draining away, swift and unstoppable as a dark tide.

Yet, I refused to tear my eyes away from Sienna.

I stared at her gloating smile, which looked like a twisted, cruel gash across my fading vision.

Only one thought remained, burning like a beacon in the all-consuming darkness.

Revenge.

With my dying breath, upon the innocent soul of my soon-to-be-murdered child, and in the blood-soaked memory of my slaughtered pack, I swore an oath to the Moon Goddess. If I were ever granted a second chance, I would make them pay in blood.

I would burn their entire world to ashes.