CHAPTER 1

 

The air in the room was thick with the scent of antiseptic.

As I laid in the bed, my body ached from the recent labor, yet my heart was swelling with the purest love for the tiny life I had just brought into the world.

 I could still hear her soft cries echoing in my ears, a sound that had filled me with a joy I had never known before.

 

 My daughter. 

 

She was so small, so perfect. I was exhausted, but every thought of her made my heart flutter with happiness.

 

I could not help but smile at how lovely and adorable she looked when I laid my eyes on her.

I'm sure Lucas will love her. I mean why wouldn't he? He is the father after all.

 

The sound of the door opening and footsteps approaching pulled me from my thoughts. 

My heart leaped in my chest, and I struggled to sit up.

It must be Lucas. My husband, the Alpha. 

 

He hadn’t been there when I was rushed to the hospital in labor, but surely now he would come.

 Seeing our daughter, I believe he would look at me with love in his eyes, a love I had so desperately longed for since the day we were married.

 

But just as I managed to sit up, my breath caught in my throat. It wasn’t Lucas.

 

It was his beta, Marcus.

 

A cold chill washed over me as I met his gaze. There was no warmth, I mean, he never really showed any warmth to me before but something about his gaze today made my stomach churn. 

 

“Marcus,” I greeted him, trying to keep my voice steady despite the rising fear. “Where is Lucas?”

 

“ The Alpha is busy ànd can't come right now." His response was flat, devoid of any emotions. 

Hearing his answer, I didn't know whether to cry or laugh. 

After hours of painful labor with no one by my side,my husband didn't even come to see me?

My heart clenched as I watched Marcus reach down, lifting my daughter's tiny body into his arms.

 

“What are you doing?” My voice trembled with the words, my hands gripping the bed sheets as I tried to push myself to my feet. “Marcus, what do yóu think you are doing?give her to me.”

 

He turned to face me, his expression not chan.

“I’m sorry, Luna. But the Alpha ordered the young miss to be taken home while you recuperate at the hospital.”

 

My mind blanked,unable to comprehend what he was saying. Lucas ordered this? My husband, my mate, had ordered his beta to take our daughter away from me? While I'm left here to recuperate?

 

“ What do yóu mean?" I sought clarification just in case my ears were playing a prank on me.

 

“ The Alpha instructed that you take your time to recover. The miss will be well taken off at the palace.” With that, he turned around ànd left.

 

 

My whole body shook as I forced myself out of the bed, wincing at the pain that shot through my abdomen. But u needed to take my daughter back. How could I just allow her to be taken away from me hours after giving birth to her?.

 

“No,” I gasped, staggering towards Marcus. 

Pain shot through me but I ignored it, my eyes trained on my little one who was being taken away from me.

  “You can’t take away my daughter. Marcus, please.” 

I cried but the man only shot me a glance before exiting the room.

He took her away, ignoring my pleas and cries.

I mean what did I expect? That he would go against his Alpha's orders for nobody like me?

 

A sharp pain sliced through my heart as I watched him disappear through the door, my daughter still cradled in his arms.

 My legs buckled beneath me, and I sank to the floor, tears streaming down my face as I watched my daughter disappear with his figure and her soft cries as if she sensed the separation.

 

“No!” I screamed, my voice raw with sheer anguish ànd helplessness “Please, don’t take her!”

 

He took her away as I sat on the cold tiled floor, my sobs the only sound in the suffocating silence.

 

I don't know how long I lay there on the cold floor, my body shaking as sobs racked through me,my mind numb with shock. I always knew that Lucas was heartless but I never thought he could go to this extent; separating me from my daughter barely hours after bringing her to this world.

It felt like hours, like an eternity, before the door opened again.

 

I didn’t look up. 

I couldn’t. 

I didn’t have the strength to face whoever had come. Either way, nobody would come to my aid. 

 

“Well, well. Look at you, Luna.”

 

The voice was cold, dripping with venomous mockery.

My head jerked up, and I saw her standing there,a smirk dancing at the corner of her lips 

 

Laura.

 

My husband’s mistress.

 

She sauntered into the room, her treacherous eyes gleaming with triumph. “I must say, Enise, you’ve done a wonderful job. Lucas and I couldn’t be happier.”

 

Something about her words rubbed me wrong. It's like a conspiracy was about to be revealed. 

“What are you talking about? I don't understand.” I choked out, my voice barely above a whisper.

 

She laughed, a cruel, mocking sound that sounded ominous in my ears. 

“ Of course you don't understand. You've always been a fool, Enise." 

I swallowed the bitter lump forming in my throat. 

“Oh, poor little Enise. So naive. Did you really think Lucas married you out of love?” She asked with sheer mockery.

 

"What do yóu mean?” As much as I knew Lucas didn't marry me out of love, it didn't sound so pleasant having his mistress shove it on my face.

 

When Lucas proposed to me, he clearly stated that he thought we were compatible and being the love struck fool I was, I agreed to marry him.

Although he never treated me with love, he never for once made me feel unworthy.

 

“ I'll be honest with you, Lucas and I are fated mates but since I couldn't bear a child, I left him. He needed an heir. And you, my dear, were the perfect candidate. After all, you were the only one who could bear his child for whatever reason.” Laura spat, her hatred unconcealed.

 

The words struck me like a punch to my lungs, Knocking all the air out.

 My mind struggled to process what she was saying. 

Lucas married me Just to bear him a child? 

 “He used me,” I whispered, the realization sinking in. 

 

Laura’s smile widened. 

 “Exactly, yóu aren't as dumb as I thought. And now that you’ve served your purpose, you’re no longer needed. 

Lucas and I will raise the child as our own. You might have given birth to her, but she’s ours now. And you, Enise, will stay far, far away from her. Unless, of course, you want to suffer the consequences.”

 

It took a moment for her words to sink in, my head snapping as rage boiled up inside me.

I pushed myself up from the floor, my hands trembling with the effort. “She’s my daughter!” I yelled .

" You can't take her away from me. Lucas can’t take her from me. I won’t let you…”

 

“Enough!” Laura snapped, her eyes flashing with anger. She took a step closer, looming over me, her presence suffocating. 

 “You don’t understand, Enise. You have no power here. Lucas is the Alpha. His word is law. And you… you’re nothing but a Just a means to an end.”

 

The truth of her words crashed over me like a tidal wave, drowning me in a sea of despair. She was right. I was nothing. I had no power, no authority. Even with the title of Luna, the pack members looked down on me.

I mean, when did an abandoned omega have the right to be a Luna?

I was just a pawn in their cruel game, used and discarded once I had served my purpose.

 

Laura reached out, her hand grabbing my chin in a vice-like grip as she pulled me closer. “And if you even think about coming near our daughter,” she hissed, her voice low and dangerous, “I will make sure you regret it. Do you understand?”

 

I couldn’t breathe. The pain, both physical and emotional, threatening to drown. 

Laura then pushed me hard, the intensity of the shove sent me crashing against the bed frame. 

I hissed in pain as I felt the stitches on my abdomen reopening. 

 

But I refused to cry out. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of seeing me weak.

 

Instead, I met her gaze, my vision blurring with tears, and forced the words out through clenched teeth. “She’s… my daughter.”

 

Laura’s lips curled into a sneer. 

“ Not anymore. Now, she’s ours.”

 

With that, she turned on her heel and walked away, her laughter accompanied by the clicking of her eight inch heels in the room as she left me there, broken and alone.

 

I crumpled to the floor once more, my body wracked with sobs as the door slammed shut behind her. 

I could see my hospital gown being dyed red by my blood but the pain was nothing compared to the pain in my heart. 

 

He used me. He never wanted me. All the bullshit about compatibility was all lies.

All he ever wanted was an heir.

 

And now… now they had taken her from me and left me with nothing. 

 

“ Enise," a soft voice called from the door.