One

CHAPTER ONE

Kiara’S POV

I carefully placed the last plate on the dining table and stepped back to look at everything I had prepared, making sure that nothing was out of place because tonight was not an ordinary night to me.

Today was our fifth wedding anniversary.

Five years had passed since I became Maelor’s wife, five years since the Moon Goddess had given me the man I once believed would love me more than anyone else, and five years since I had been trying to convince myself that his coldness was only temporary.

I looked at the table and smiled faintly.

The candles were burning quietly, the food was still warm, and everything Maelor liked was there. I had prepared his favorite dishes, bought his favorite wine, and even placed a small gift beside his plate.

For tonight, I wanted to forget the past five years.

I wanted to believe that our marriage could still be saved, my  hand moved to the small pouch hidden inside my dress.

The fertility seed was inside.

I had gone miles away from the pack to get it, traveling for hours just to meet an old healer who had warned me that the seed was rare and that I should not take it unless I was truly prepared for its effects.

I had not hesitated.

For five years, the pack had called me barren.

Barren Luna, useless wife, worthless mate.

Those words followed me everywhere.

Women whispered about me whenever I walked past them, and some of the older pack members had stopped hiding their disappointment whenever they looked at me. Even Maelor had stopped pretending that he was patient.

He had warned me that if I did not become pregnant, he would send me away.

I swallowed hard as I touched the pouch again.

Taking this seed would finally make them see me differently.

Maybe the pack would finally stop calling me barren, maybe they would finally respect me, maybe  Maelor would finally look at me as his wife instead of a woman who had failed him.

I heard footsteps outside, my  heart immediately began beating faster.

Maelor. I quickly pulled the seed from the pouch and placed it in my mouth, swallowing it before he could enter.

I pressed my fingers against my lips and took a deep breath, trying to calm the excitement rising inside me.

Tonight would be different.

I would give him a reason to stay, the front door opened.

I quickly turned toward it with a smile but  the smile disappeared the moment I saw who was standing beside my husband.

Elyra. Maelor’s former lover.

She walked into the house with her hand resting comfortably on his arm as if she belonged there.

Maelor barely looked at me before his eyes moved toward the dining table.

His expression did not change.

I forced a smile. “Happy anniversary to us, Maelor.”

Maelor looked at me for a moment, then glanced at the table again.

Instead of smiling, he let out a quiet breath. “Kiara, after five years, I honestly thought you would have something more important waiting for me tonight than a table full of food and candles. It would have been better if the person coming to greet me was a baby instead of you standing here pretending that this is something worth celebrating.”

My smile froze. I lowered my eyes, trying to hide the pain that immediately filled them. “I know I haven’t given you a child yet, but I have never stopped trying, a chance please”

Elyra laughed softly beside him. “You are still hoping?”

I looked at her, she  smiled at me as she continued, “Kiara, you have been hoping for five years. At some point, you should accept the truth instead of decorating a table and pretending that Maelor is going to suddenly fall in love with you because it is your anniversary.”

My fingers tightened against my dress.

He turned to me, “You have this moonlight to pack away from here”

I couldn’t talk 

He turned away from me. Elyra followed him without another word.

I stood there watching them walk toward the bedroom, my eyes fixed on the man who had been my husband for five years.

The door closed behind them, I was left alone.

The candles continued burning, the food remained untouched, the gift I had bought for him sat beside his empty plate.

I slowly lowered myself into the chair.

A sharp wave of heat suddenly rushed through my stomach.

I gasped and grabbed the edge of the table. “What is happening to me?”

Another wave followed, stronger than the first. My entire body became hot, and my breathing grew heavier.

The fertility seed, It was working, the healer had warned me that its effects could be powerful, but I had never imagined anything like this.

Heat spread through my body until even the air around me seemed too warm.

My vision became blurry.

I tried to stand, but my knees weakened beneath me.

I reached for the table again, desperately trying to keep myself from falling.

Then I heard footsteps coming from the hallway.

I lifted my head.

For one foolish moment, hope returned to my heart.

Maelor. Maybe he had changed his mind, maybe  he had remembered that today was our anniversary.

Maybe he had realized how cruel he had been and had come back to apologize.

My lips trembled as I looked toward the hallway.

A tall man slowly stepped into the dining room.

My vision was too blurred to see his face clearly. “Maelor?” I whispered.

The man stopped.

His deep voice reached my ears.

“I am n—” Before he could finish, I pushed myself out of the chair and stumbled toward him.

“Maelor, you came back for me,” I said, my voice weak and broken as I grabbed his shirt.

The man stiffened. “I can’t—”

“Please,” I whispered.

Another wave of heat rushed through me, stealing whatever strength I had left.

I looked up at him, barely able to keep my eyes open.

My eyes briefly fell to his collarbone, where a thin scar ran across his skin. Maelor didn’t have that scar. I knew he didn’t. But the thought barely registered before another wave of heat tore through my body.

I should have realized immediately that the man standing in front of me was not my husband.

But my mind was no longer working properly.

The fertility seed had taken over my body, and after everything Maelor had done to me that night, all I could think about was being wanted by the man I had spent five years begging to love me.

“Please,” I whispered again, tightening my grip on his shirt.

Before he could say another word, I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his.

For a moment, he did not move.

Then my legs gave way.

He caught me before I could fall, lifting me into his arms as the room continued spinning around me.

I barely had the strength to keep my eyes open.