Chapter 7: Secret in the Shadows

Alara’s POV

I woke to another day of gray walls, stale air, and the heavy thud of the omega quarters’ doors being locked from the outside. It was becoming routine — Kael keeping me shut inside my room under the excuse of protecting Vivian and his unborn heir from me. As if I had ever raised a hand against either of them. As if I weren’t the one barely standing most days.

The weakness that had started after Xavier’s mark had only worsened. My limbs felt heavy, my thoughts slow, my heartbeat unsteady. And the crescent on my wrist… gods. It was growing darker by the day, as if my skin were inked from beneath. Sometimes it pulsed — warm, then cold, then burning. Astrid, my wolf, would flicker awake for a second, whimper, then slip back into exhaustion. Something was wrong. Deeply, terrifyingly wrong.

But Kael didn’t care enough to ask. His solution had been to strip me of my warrior status, shove me into omega duties, and confine me like I was some threat lurking in the shadows.

Most days they made me clean the manor hallways, wash linens, scrub kitchen floors — anything degrading enough to remind me of my new place. I moved slowly through each task, hiding the way my hand shook whenever the crescent pulsed.

Every time I staggered, the guards assigned to watch me only muttered, “Quit faking. Luna Vivian’s safety comes first.”

Vivian. Of course.

She smiled like a saint in public and sharpened knives behind closed doors. She had hated me before — but now, after I pulled her to the floor in front of everyone and made her look like a fool? She wanted revenge. The kind that bled.

And I could feel her watching me. Always watching.

It was later in the day when Emily found me by the water storage room, leaning against a wall and gasping for breath. My vision had gone blurry again, white spots blooming and fading in front of me.

“Alara?” Emily hissed, dropping her clipboard as she rushed toward me. “You look like you’re about to pass out.”

“I’m fine,” I muttered, though even my voice sounded thin. “Just tired.”

“Liar.” She hooked her arm through mine before I could protest. “I’m taking you to the infirmary. Now.”

“Emily — no. I’m not allowed to—”

She didn’t even let me finish. “You’re collapsing in hallways. I’m not asking for permission.”

She dragged me out through the staff exit behind the manor, a place only healers normally used during emergencies. We slipped between buildings, hugging shadows, ducking behind storage sheds whenever patrols passed. My heart pounded, not just from fear of being caught — but from that strange, deep ache in my wrist that spread up my arm.

By the time we reached the infirmary, my whole body felt like it was humming.

Emily shoved the door shut behind us and locked it. “Sit. I’ll run a full check.”

“I don’t need—”

“Yes. You do.” She was quick to shoot me down.

I sat on the bed while she bustled around, pulling equipment, vials, gloves. She asked questions — about the weakness, my eating, my sleeping, the mark she could clearly see now —and the more she spoke, the more dread tightened inside me.

She pricked my finger, drew blood, checked vitals, and frowned so hard I knew something was wrong.

Then she ran another test.

Then another.

And another.

By the fourth one, she had turned completely silent.

“Em?” My voice came out hollow. “What is it?”

She swallowed, her throat bobbing. “Alara… you’re pregnant.”

For a moment, the entire world froze.

I didn’t breathe. Didn’t blink. Didn't think.

Pregnant.

My mouth went dry. “That’s not…. No, that can’t—”

Emily stepped closer, squeezing my trembling hands. “I triple-checked the tests. They’re all positive.”

But her voice sounded far away.

Pregnant.

The word echoed in my skull, bouncing between panic and disbelief. My breath hitched as reality crashed over me.

Xavier.

That night.

My body trembled with the memory — the heat of his hands, the way he held me, the way everything felt like fire and gravity and surrender.

Emily watched me carefully. “Alara… tell me the truth. Who is the father?”

I buried my face in my hands. “I only know his first name.”

“What?”

“Xavier.” The name left my tongue like a forbidden confession. “I — I met him at Kael’s engagement party. He saw Vivian attack me, pulled her off. Then he followed me upstairs and… things happened.”

Emily blinked. “Things?”

“Everything.” My cheeks warmed despite the cold in my veins. “I don’t— I don’t even know what came over me. Maybe the wine, maybe the way he looked at me. He was… gods, he was incredible.”

She gaped. “Alara!”

“I know! I know!” I covered my face again. “I’m not proud of it. I didn’t even know who he was. I still don’t. Just his first name, that he was a guest Kael respected enough to tolerate crashing the celebration.”

Emily grabbed my wrist, turning it palm up. The crescent mark glowed faintly — something it had never done before. Her face went pale with fear.

“And this? You said he bit you?”

I nodded slowly. “Not a mate mark. Something else. Something… strange.”

Emily leaned closer, squinting at it. “It shouldn’t still look like this. Bite marks heal within a day. But this — this is getting darker.”

“It’s been throbbing,” I admitted weakly. “Sometimes it feels like someone is tugging at it from far away.”

Emily’s eyes widened. “Alara… this isn’t normal. Whoever this Xavier is, he’s not just—”

A sharp clatter echoed from the hallway.

Emily and I froze.

The door to the infirmary was slightly ajar.

We weren’t alone.

Emily moved first, creeping toward the door. I followed, trembling. When she yanked it fully open—

Vivian stumbled in, nearly falling.

Her eyes were wide. Her powdered face was drained of color. She had definitely heard enough — more than enough.

Emily’s jaw dropped. “Vivian? What the hell are you doing here?!”

Vivian didn’t answer her. She only stared at me.

At my wrist.

At the faintly glowing crescent.

And the triumphant, poisonous smile that slowly spread across her lips made my heart plummet.

“Oh, Alara,” she whispered, voice dripping with venomous delight. “You’re finished.”

My stomach twisted violently. “Vivian… this isn’t what it looks—”

“Oh, it’s exactly what it looks like.” She stepped closer, eyes sparkling with malice. “You’re pregnant. Marked. And by someone who isn’t Kael.”

Emily moved to stand between us, fury burning in her eyes. “Vivian, don’t you dare—”

Vivian shoved her aside, eyes locked onto me.

“You really did it this time, didn’t you?” she purred. “Do you know what Kael will do when he finds out? He’ll kill you.”

My blood ran cold.

“He’ll snap your neck,” Vivian continued softly. “He’ll do it himself. And nobody will stop him. Not even your precious Emily.”

I stepped back instinctively, clutching my wrist as the crescent throbbed painfully.

Vivian leaned in, lowering her voice to a whisper only I could hear.

“That mark on your skin?” Her breath brushed my ear. “Once Kael sees it, he won’t even wait for an explanation. You’ll die before you get the chance to scream.”

She pulled away, smiling sweetly.

Then she headed for the door.

And I knew that my life was about to burn.