Novels by N. Valeria

Naomi’s POVThe ache woke me around three in the morning.At first, I thought changing position would help, but the pain grew worse until I had to sit up. I was sweating, and my nightshirt felt too tight around my stomach.When I lifted it, I nearly cried.My belly had grown again. It looked closer to five months now, fuller and heavier than it had been when I went to bed. I rested my hands on it, afraid another cramp would follow.Stefan knocked, then opened the door.“Naomi? I felt…” His worried face changed when he saw my stomach. “How long have you been awake?”“Just now. It grew again.”He sat beside me and touched my belly. I wanted him to tell me it wasn’t as bad as it looked, but he seemed as frightened as I was.“I spoke to that specialist yesterday,” he said, reaching for his phone. “I’m calling him.”I stayed beside him while he explained what happened. The pain began to ease during the call, though I still felt sore when I got up to dress.Dr. Sterling agreed to meet us at

Naomi’s POV “What did she give you?” I asked Serah. “I don’t know everything she used. There were these bitter teas every morning. They tasted like bark.” Serah frowned, haunted by the memory. “At night, she put herbs on my stomach and chanted until the burning stopped. I was too scared to ask much.” “Did the growth slow down?” “I think so. I stopped getting weaker, anyway. She said my wolf needed time to catch up.” I checked that the door was closed, then unbuttoned my lab coat and lifted my scrub top. Serah’s breath hitched in raw shock, her eyes wide with horrified recognition. “How far along are you?” “Barely nine weeks. This happened overnight.” I pulled my shirt down. “Hayes says my heart could give out before five months.” “Oh, Dr. Bellari…” she whispered, her voice trailing off in sick pity. “Where’s your mother?” Panic flashed across her features, and she pulled away before I finished. “No. I can’t.” “Serah, please.” “You’re the Luna. If anyone finds out I sent

Naomi’s POV Tent four was pure chaos. The boy lay across two folding chairs side by side, his skin gray and his lips already turning a dark shade of blue. A young woman was on her knees in the dirt beside him, clutching his sneakers and sobbing so hard she could barely get words out. “Please, just do something,” she screamed, looking up with red, glassy eyes. “He just stopped breathing! He’s only six, please!” Dr. Marcus held a plastic oxygen mask over the boy’s face, but his hands shook so badly the seal kept slipping. “His airway keeps filling with mucus,” Marcus said, struggling to keep the mask in place. “I can’t get enough oxygen into his lungs.” I moved beside him. “Let me in.” I dropped to my knees on the grass and checked the boy’s pulse at his neck. It was fast and weak. His chest barely moved, and he did not respond when I called to him. For a moment, I thought about my own baby and the warnings Dr. Hayes gave me. I touched my stomach through my coat, then turned my a

Naomi’s POV By the time Muna and I got back to the park, the wholesale pharmacy truck had already unloaded behind the supply tent. Stefan’s office had moved fast once Phoebe was pulled off the account. Three large cardboard crates of pediatric antibiotics sat on the grass, and two volunteers were already unpacking the Amoxiclav bottles and sorting them onto the dispensary tables. The line of mothers waiting on the field had grown, but at least now we had medicine to give them. I was relieved to see the supplies, although I was still furious about what happened at Crownstone. We had wasted hours dealing with a problem Phoebe created simply because she had the authority to do so. I hoped Stefan would make sure she never got near our funding again. There was no point dwelling on it now. We had children waiting for treatment, and I had already spent more time away from the camp than I intended. I pulled on a fresh pair of latex gloves and sat back down on the folding chair. “

Naomi’s POV"Who told you that?" I asked, my voice dropping cold.Phoebe took another slow sip of her coffee, looking entirely pleased with herself."Wait is it a secret?” She burst out laughing “Well mom told me …so…” She widened her eyes at me.Dad could never be trusted with a secret around his wife. He must have told her the minute he got home. I blame myself for trusting him that much.The disgust churned in my stomach, but I refused to give her the reaction she wanted."My pregnancy is none of your business," I said. "Come upstairs to Stefan's office with us right now. You can explain the withheld transfer to the CEO."Phoebe scoffed and crossed her arms. "I am not going anywhere with you. I have actual work to finish.""Fine," I told her. "We will do it without you."I turned on my heel and headed for the executive elevator, with Muna keeping pace right beside me. We rode up to the top floor in silence. The glass doors parted to the quiet executive suite, and I bypassed Stefan

Naomi’s POV The ride from the community park back to the institute felt suffocating. Muna kept both hands tight on the steering wheel, running yellow lights while the smell of dust and sweat from the tents clung to our clothes. My feet throbbed in my shoes. After hours of standing on uneven grass, examining dozens of restless children while trying not to let anyone notice how heavy my middle felt under my coat, my body was running on fumes. But the exhaustion vanished behind a surge of pure anger. "If Stefan went back on his word, I am walking out of that house tonight," I said, staring out the passenger window. "I don't care about the pack laws, and I don't care about his heir. The research was the only reason I went back." "Don't jump to conclusions yet," Muna said, though she sounded just as furious. "Let's see what Polivar actually has in front of him first." We pulled into the institute lot, left the car idling, and hurried up the back stairs to the administrative wing. The s