Chapter 2: Joanna's POV
Chapter 2: Joanna's POV
The doors of the Council hall closed heavily behind me. My father walked ahead, his tailored suit casting a cold and imposing silhouette.
I hurried to catch up, my voice hoarse from crying: "Father, how did Mom's surgery go?"
He stopped and glanced sideways at me. "She went into the operating room before the trial even started. It should be nearly finished by now."
I stood frozen, my mind going completely blank.
So Father had planned to operate on Mother from the very beginning.
He had never intended to make her wait. He simply needed a pretext to coerce me into giving false testimony, and I, like a well-trained dog, dropped to my knees on command.
"Joanna." My father turned to face me, looking down from above. "Did you really think I would risk your mother's life? I simply needed to make sure you'd cooperate. As you can see, my method worked quite well."
He said it so casually, as if it were nothing more than a business negotiation, and I was just an asset he had successfully acquired.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to tear that smug face off and shove it down his own throat.
But what good would it do? The verdict had been read, the gavel had fallen. There was no going back.
We walked in silence toward the car. The driver respectfully opened the door for us.
I slid into the back seat. The black leather was ice-cold against my skin, yet it couldn't compare to the chill in my heart at that moment.
Outside the window, the city buildings receded behind us.
I thought of Sebastian being exiled. He had just stood there in the defendant's dock, without resistance, without even looking at me one last time.
My breathing became difficult, each inhale accompanied by a stab of pain. I looked down at my empty hands, my fingers slowly curling inward, yet unable to grasp anything.
"Father," I couldn't help but speak, my voice so soft it was like talking to myself, "when will Sebastian be released? I've already done everything you asked."
The car fell into a brief silence. There was only the low hum of the engine and the sound of tires rolling over the road.
My father turned his head and looked at me coldly: "Him? Joanna, you're still thinking about that beta?"
My heart sank violently.
"He's not worth your concern," Father continued, his tone carrying an unquestionable command.
"He's been permanently exiled. The border wasteland—you know what that place is. No law, no protection, nothing but wild beasts and hostile wolf packs. If he survives the winter, he can count himself lucky."
My breathing stopped.
"What you should be thinking about," Father pulled a document from his briefcase and tossed it casually onto my lap.
"Is the arranged marriage with the Silvermoon Pack alpha's son. That is where you belong."
I opened the document with numb fingers. A photograph stared up at me: a handsome young man with golden hair, sharp silver-gray eyes, radiating the dominant aura unique to alphas.
Behind the photo was a detailed dossier: Lucian Silvermoon, eldest son and heir of the current Silvermoon Pack Alpha, twenty-six years old, pure silver-wolf bloodline. The document listed his achievements, assets, and lineage, as though he were a thoroughbred stallion waiting to be auctioned off.
"Next week," Father said.
"I've already made the arrangements. You'll meet him. The Silvermoon Pack alpha's son—pure bloodline, formidable strength. A union with him benefits our pack. This marriage will solidify the Ashford family's standing and open the northern trade corridor..."
He was still talking, but I could no longer take it in. There was only a buzzing noise in my ears.
It was then that I realized—Father had never intended to let Sebastian out.
Permanent exile was not a punishment; it was a death sentence. Just one that was carried out more slowly, more cruelly. And I was the one who had pushed him into hell with my own hands.
My wolf's fury grew stronger and stronger. She wanted to tear that damned marriage document to shreds, wanted to tear apart Father's face that knew nothing but profit.
But she couldn't do anything. The mate bond had just shattered, and she was extraordinarily weak, letting out a low, mournful whimper like a wounded beast.
Father noticed something was off with me.
His gaze lingered on my face for a moment, then he said coldly: "Get some rest. You look terrible."
He paused, his voice turning even harsher: "If your grief pushes your wolf into dormancy, you won't be able to complete the union ceremony. The pack has no use for a wolfless waste. In that case, you'll be cast out—just like Sebastian—permanently stripped of your identity as an urban werewolf."
I wanted to fight back. I wanted to wrench open the car door and throw myself out, wanted to run until my legs broke, and then crawl the rest of the way to wherever they were taking him.
But what did I have to fight with? My wolf was barely alive, the mate bond was already ashes, and the only leverage I'd ever had—my mother's life—had been a lie from start to finish.
I closed my eyes. Tears slid from my lashes to my chin.
The car stopped at the hospital entrance. The hospital corridors were filled with the smell of disinfectant—sharp and cold.
The nurses looked tense. When they saw Father and me approaching, they lowered their heads one by one and quickened their pace to leave.
Several of Father's guards stood outside the ward—black suits, sunglasses, hands clasped in front of them, eyes downcast, none of them looking at me.
Something was wrong.
Mother had only had heart surgery. Why were there guards? Why was everyone avoiding my gaze?
The attending physician came to meet us—a man in his mid-forties wearing gold-rimmed glasses. When he saw Father, he nodded slightly. "The surgery went smoothly... Mrs. Ashford's vitals have stabilized."
I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
"However, she is currently in a coma," the doctor continued, his gaze shifting between Father and me. "It was caused by cerebral edema resulting from a traumatic head injury. We've performed a decompressive procedure. Now we can only wait for her to wake up on her own."
Traumatic injury?
I froze. Hadn't Mother been admitted for a sudden heart attack?
In that instant, I nearly ran to the ward. When I saw Mother lying in the white sheets, my entire body went rigid.
Her complexion was paler than the sheets. Thick gauze was wrapped around her forehead, already soaked through with blood, forming dark reddish-brown patches.
Various machines surrounded her. The heart monitor's green waveform pulsed steadily, and transparent fluid dripped down the IV line, one drop at a time.
"Mom..." My voice came out shattered beyond recognition.
Without time to think, I threw myself forward and grasped her hand, pressing my cheek against hers.
I felt her fingers twitch ever so slightly.
Mother's faint voice came through the mind-link, broken and fragmented, echoing in my head: "Joanna... don't go..."
I held my breath, concentrating with everything I had to receive her message.
"I heard your father was going to make you testify against Sebastian... I went to confront him... his guards... blocked me... we struggled... and then I..."
The signal cut out. There was nothing more.
I stared blankly at Mother's pale face, my mind completely empty.
Then, slowly, the broken fragments of her words connected into a single sentence in my mind.
Mother had found out about Father's plan. She had tried to stop me. So she went to confront Father, but was blocked by his guards.
They had struggled. No—it wasn't a struggle at all. It was Father's guards assaulting a defenseless woman.
Mother had been seriously injured, struck in the head by a blunt object. And the surgery, that damned consent form, had been nothing but a prop in his performance.
In an instant, I understood everything—Father had used the injuries he himself had caused to coerce me into submission.
I broke down completely.
Mother's smile floated before my eyes—her gently combing my hair, teaching me how to control my wolf nature, telling me, "Joanna, follow your heart."
The tears glistening in her eyes when Sebastian and I confirmed our mate bond.
My vision began to blur. A piercing, shrill ringing filled my ears. My heart pounded violently as if trying to burst from my chest. I tried to breathe, but the air seemed to have solidified—no matter what I did, I couldn't draw it into my lungs.
I heard someone calling my name, very far away.
Then everything went black, and I knew nothing more.
When I woke again, I was lying in the bed next to Mother's.
Outside the window, the sky had already gone dark. Only a small nightlight was on in the room, its dim amber glow making everything seem unreal.
Mother still lay quietly. The heart monitor emitted its steady beeping, proof that she was still alive.
I struggled to sit up, my head throbbing painfully. I went to her side and took her hand.
This time, there was no response at all.
"Mom," my voice was trembling, "I'm sorry. It's all my fault."
Tears surged out again, impossible to stop.
"I shouldn't have been so weak. I should have been braver, should have insisted on staying with Sebastian, no matter what Father threatened..."
I collapsed onto her hand, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Please wake up, please. I promise I'll protect you. I'll never let anyone hurt you again. I'll take you away from here, away from Father, away from the Ashford family. We can go to another city and start over..."
But Mother still didn't respond.
"I betrayed Sebastian," I continued, the words tasting like bile. "I betrayed the covenant witnessed by the Moon Goddess. I'm a sinner, Mom. Even my wolf won't speak to me anymore..."
I could no longer hold back and burst into loud, heaving sobs. The door to the room was gently pushed open.
A nurse walked in and said softly: "Dear, I'm sorry about your mother too. But please take care of yourself..."
She paused for a moment, then continued: "You're pregnant."
I froze, lifting my head, tears still hanging on my face: "What?"
"After you fainted, we ran a full examination. Based on blood tests and ultrasound results, you're approximately four weeks pregnant. Given that you experienced a bond severance today, which is extremely dangerous for a pregnant woman, I must urge you to be very careful."
Her voice grew even gentler: "You're going to be a mother too. Don't let the little pup inside you grieve along with you."
Pregnant. I was going to be a mother. These words echoed in my mind, over and over.
Instinctively, I placed my hand on my lower abdomen. It was still flat—I couldn't feel anything there.
But inside, there was a tiny life. Mine and Sebastian's little pup.
The mate bond had shattered. Sebastian had been permanently exiled. But what he left behind was still inside me.
It was proof of our love, a life we had created during those happy nights together, Sebastian's last gift to me.
I stared blankly at my abdomen, and tears welled up again, but this time it wasn't only grief.
I had betrayed Sebastian. I had already lost him. I had already lost my wolf. But I could not lose this pup too.
"Nurse," I lifted my head, and though my voice was hoarse, I spoke with determination: "Will my baby be healthy? The bond severance—will it affect the baby?"
She hesitated for a moment: "Bond severance puts significant stress on both the mother and the fetus. You must be exceptionally careful. The first trimester is the most dangerous period. What you need right now is absolute rest and emotional calm."
I gently stroked my abdomen and spoke in my heart to the little life that hadn't yet taken form: "Baby, Mommy promises you—I will protect you no matter what. No matter what happens, I will never give you up."
"I'll tell you what a wonderful person your father is—brave, kind, and upright. Even if the whole world misunderstands him, Mommy knows the truth."
"When you're old enough, I'll take you to find him. We'll go to the borderlands together to find your father. I'll apologize to him, tell him the whole truth, and beg for his forgiveness."
In the silence of the night, I wept soundlessly, yet a faint glimmer of light had kindled in my heart.
Then that glimmer died. Father's words echoed in my ears: "Next week. You will meet him."
Next week. Before the meeting, the Silvermoon Pack would certainly require a full medical examination and bloodline assessment.
That was the rule of Alpha families. No exceptions.
They would draw blood. They would do an ultrasound. They would discover my pup.
Seven days. I had only seven days. And I didn't even know what to do.
