1. The Betrayal

‎~Althea’s POV

‎

‎

‎“Shush… don't wake our boy…”

‎

‎The words drifted through the slightly closed door, slicing through my chest. The pregnancy test I was holding slipped from my trembling fingers and fluttered soundlessly to the floor. ‎I clamped a shaky hand over my mouth, but the gasp still tore free, ripping through my lungs. My feet buckled as I staggered back a step.

‎

‎What…what is happening? ‎Tears welled up instantly, blurring my vision until the corridor swam. I shook my head in disbelief. My knees went weak, and my body swayed as if the world had tilted without warning.

‎

‎No. How…how did I get here? ‎I backed to the door, then faced it again in confusion. The test report was long forgotten on the floor as hot tears streamed down my cheeks as the memory crashed into me. 

‎

‎~

‎

‎Today was my day. Our day.

‎

‎I was pregnant. ‎Just hours earlier, I had sat on the edge of the healer's bed, my fingers digging into the fabric of my skirt as anxiety twisted low in my stomach. ‎Then she smiled at me, a gentle and knowing expression. She spoke of cycles and moon signs, of the life stirring inside me. My chest tightened painfully as her words replayed in my mind.

‎

“You're two weeks gone, Luna.”

‎Her words echoed in my ears even now, unreal and dazzling. I had walked out of the healer's quarters clutching the test report like a miracle, my heart so full that it hurt. ‎I gave him everything. Nolan's child. Our child.

‎

‎What have I done?

‎I shouldn't have come here. ‎I steadied myself against the wall, my feet refusing to leave the spot. ‎I had only wanted my best friend, Vespera, to help me plan the surprise. She's a mother after all; she'd know what to do. ‎I imagined us whispering excitedly together, planning a surprise reveal to Nolan, laughing over baby names the way we once laughed over girlhood dreams.

‎

‎That was why I came here first.

‎

‎I remembered hurrying through the pack estate, my steps light despite my nerves. Every breath I took filled me with renewed hope. ‎Until I reached her door, ‎I thought I was mistaken, but a soft gasp slipped through the walls, followed by a low, husky voice that was painfully familiar.

‎

‎My steps slowed instinctively. The air felt tight and heavier, pressing against my chest as it thudded loudly for no reason. Or so I thought. ‎I even told myself it was nothing. That I was tired and strained from the jog down here and that I was imagining things, but ‎then I heard another sound. A deep, same familiar breathless chuckle

‎

‎Then my heart sank, so deep that it sent a strange chill over my skin. ‎I moved closer, every instinct screaming at me to turn back even as my feet carried me forward, betraying me. They never listen, do they?

‎

‎I stopped before the door, my hand hovering just inches from the handle. Through the narrowed crack, I saw them.

‎

‎Nolan. ‎Vespera.

‎

‎Then I heard a crack. The sound of my soul breaking, maybe. ‎The world shattered silently around me. ‎They were tangled together in her bed, wrapped in a cocoon of blankets, bare skin against bare skin. His hands were on her waist in a way I knew too well. ‎I couldn't breathe. ‎My mouth just hung open with trembling lips, no words. Nothing.

‎Her fingers were clutching his shoulders as if she had every right to be there. Nolan's face was fixed at the crook of her neck, leaving kisses. ‎As he'd done to me just this morning. ‎The sight was so wrong that my mind initially rejected it. Refusing to name what my eyes clearly saw—My husband and ‎my best friend. Together?

‎

‎The betrayal pierced straight through me, sharp and merciless, like a long shard of cold glass driven into my heart. My breath came in short, shallow puffs, my chest burning as if I'd been running for miles. ‎I wanted to scream, to storm in and demand an explanation. To shatter the illusion with my voice. But I couldn't move. ‎While I stood frozen in the shadows, her voice came again— soft, in an airy moan as she stifled a giggle.

‎

‎“Be gentle… don't make too much noise,” she murmured. "Be careful not to wake our precious boy." ‎My stomach lurched violently as bile rose in my throat.

Our… boy?

Our boy…

‎

‎The words echoed in my head, over and over, until they drowned out everything else. Nausea surged up my throat, my vision narrowing. A child. Not only an affair. Not just his betrayal. Then it hit me: they'd been going on for years. ‎The boy everyone believed was my late brother-in-law's son, the quiet child who called me Aunt with innocent eyes, was Nolan's flesh and blood.

‎

‎I tasted bile now. But still, the nightmare wasn't done with me. ‎Nolan's voice followed, calm and assured, as if he were promising her the world.

‎

‎“I'll arrange everything soon," he said. “He’ll be the heir. The only one. Don't worry." Vespera hummed in satisfaction.

‎

‎“I made sure of it," Nolan continued, his words casual, yet cruel. “She won't be a hindrance. I've been giving her contraceptives for years." 

‎

‎The corridor spun. ‎My vision went black, and my ears rang loudly in a deafening whoosh; I thought I might collapse. ‎Five years. ‎Five years of mockery, pitying looks, and my own silent shame for failing to conceive. ‎It was never my fault. ‎It had always been his wicked plan. ‎My hand pressed against my lower abdomen instinctively, terror and grief crashing into me all at once. The child inside me—my miracle—felt suddenly fragile, and unbearably precious.

‎

‎I stumbled backward. ‎I don't remember deciding to leave. My body just moved on its own, finally retreating step by step, as if guided by an invincible force alone. ‎Each movement sent sharp pain, slicing through my chest. My breathing was erratic, my heart pounding wildly as the weight of it all crushed down on me. I couldn't stop the flow of tears that had been going on for the past… I don't know.

‎

‎The floor seemed too far away, and the walls felt too close. But I kept moving, stumbling through the corridor with no destination in mind. Then an unbearable pain bloomed suddenly in my abdomen, very unforgiving and violent. I gasped, clutching myself as a warm, terrifying sensation spread between my thighs.

‎

‎My legs buckled. No. ‎Not now. Please…

‎

‎Please, not my baby.

‎

‎The last thing I felt was the cold stone beneath my knees and the sound of my own heartbeat roaring in my ears. ‎Darkness surged up to claim me; I didn't fight it.

‎

‎And then—

‎

‎Nothing.