No. 1

OLIVIA_POV

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The sound of the bedframe hitting the wall echoed in the room, mixing with breathy moans and muffled groans.

“Eric… please,” I whimpered, gripping the sheets, my voice weak and trembling. “Please take it easy… the baby—”

“Shut up, Olivia,” he snapped, his teeth clenched as he thrusted into my pussy, harder, rougher, as if my words only made him angrier. “Don't ruin this, bitch. This is the only thing you're good for."

Shameful tears burned my eyes. My stomach twisted with fear. I could feel pain shoot through me, and I tried again, my voice shaking. “Please, Eric… I’m begging you. Am scared for the baby.”

He growled deep in his chest. Then, without warning, he flipped me over. My face hit the pillow, my hair yanked back as he grabbed it in his fist. I whimpered, biting my lip so I wouldn’t scream.

“You’re always whining,” he hissed against my ear, his pace turning merciless. “Can't you just be enough for once? You’re lucky I bother to touch you at all, you are such a wimp."

My body shook under him. The pain was sharp, stabbing, and my vision blurred. I tried to cling to something—his love, his warmth, the boy I had once known. But that boy was gone. All I felt now was pain.

“Eric…” I whimpered.

Then my eyes suddenly rolled back, the room spinning.

Darkness swallowed me whole.

….

I woke up alone.

The first thing I felt was a deep, aching soreness between my legs. The second was the cold emptiness of the other side of the bed.

Eric was gone.

A bitter smile touched my lips. I had passed out. My own mate had fucked me until I lost consciousness.

I looked at the clock. Past midnight. Of course, he was gone. Probably with one of his many women. My heart, that stupid, hopeful muscle, gave a painful squeeze. ‘Why do you still care? After everything, why does it still hurt?’

I wanted to cry, but tears refused to fall. I just stared blankly at the ceiling, wondering how everything turned so wrong.

My mind drifted back, and I was eight again, standing beside my sister in front of the whole pack during — the Fortune Ceremony. The old seer had pointed at me and she declared openly:

‘The one is a mistake, she carries bad luck.”

Everyone turned to look at me then, their faces filled with quiet pity and disgust.

However when the seer pointed to my older sister, Lupiter, she smiled;

“This one is blessed. The pack’s fortune lies in her hands. Good fortune will rain upon all who favor her.”

Just like that, my world ended.

My parents' who once held me close, stopped looking at me. Lupiter became their pride, their shining daughter. The pack’s indifference turned to hatred. I became the target, while Lupiter was showered with love and praise.

But then there was Eric.

My light in all that darkness.

I still remember when we were kids. I was twelve when a group of pack boys and girls cornered me, snickering, calling me names, shoving me into the dirt. Eric was the one who stepped in. He shoved them away, grabbed my hand, and pulled me to my feet.

“Leave her alone,” he said, his voice strong even back then.

No one had ever done that for me before. No one cared if I cried. No one had ever held my hand.

From that moment, I loved him.

It was foolish. It was one-sided. But I didn’t care. My heart had chosen him, and nothing could change it.

I watched him grow as the future Alpha. Handsome, confident, admired by everyone.

Twelve years I loved him. Twelve years I dreamed of him. And somehow, my dream came true.

Three years ago, his mother was dying, and her last wish was for Eric to marry me—or she wouldn't make him the next ruler of the pack. Eric didn’t argue. He said yes, as a dutiful son.

I thought my heart would burst. I thought the Moon goddess had finally heard me. It didn’t matter to me that he didn’t love me. I thought time would fix it. I thought love could grow, even from one side.

Then his mother died three months ago.

Eric became the Alpha of the Red Moon pack and the man I married completely vanished.

The abuse started small—cold words, late nights. Then it became blows. Public humiliations. He brought other women into our home. And I endured it, pretending not to see. I told myself he was grieving. That the pressure of being Alpha was changing him. That the boy who saved me from bullies was still in there.

Yes, I was weak. Pathetic. But when you love someone too much your entire life, what else can you do? You forgive the unforgivable. You hope.

A groan escaped me as I tried to sit up, my body protesting. The back of my eyes burned with unshed tears. I looked down at myself. My skin was a canvas of purple and blue bruises, a map of his contempt. The smell of sex and sweat, clung to the air, making me nauseous.

I swung my legs off the bed, my feet touching the cold floor. As I tried to stand, a wave of dizziness hit me so hard I almost fell. I gripped the bedpost, waiting for the room to stop spinning.

That’s when I felt it. A warm gush of liquid running down my legs, soaking my thin nightgown.

My heart stopped.

No. Oh God, no. Not yet.

Terror, cold and sharp, lanced through me. I fumbled for the nightstand, my hands shaking so badly I could barely grip my phone. I dialed Eric. It rang once, twice, ten times. Just as I was sure he’d ignore me, he picked up.

“What is it, Olivia, you cursed bitch?” His voice was cold, hoarse, and dripping with annoyance. I could hear shuffling noise in the background.

“E-Eric…” I struggled to form words through the pain that was now beginning to crest in my abdomen. “It’s… it’s the baby. The baby is coming.”

He let out a short, cruel laugh. “Stop with the flimsy excuses, Olivia. I’m busy. Don’t call me again with your pathetic lies just to get my attention.”

The dismissal was a physical blow. “I’m not lying! Please, Eric, I’m scared—”

But before I could finish, I heard it.

A woman's voice in the background. Soft.

Seductive.

"Eric, baby, come back to bed, I’m lonely," she purred.

My blood ran cold.

I knew that voice.

"Is that my silly sister?" the woman said, louder now. She giggled. “Tell her to stop bothering us."

No.

No, it couldn't be.

But I knew.

I knew that voice.

It was Lupiter.

My sister.

The line went dead. The phone slipped from my fingers and clattered to the floor.

My chest tightened, my vision spinning. My heart beat wildly, painfully, as if it wanted to rip out of my chest. I tried to move, to reach the wall for support, but my body was weak, trembling.

“No… not her… not my sister…” My words broke into sobs.

My legs buckled. My hands clawed at the sheets, then slipped. The room tilted. My body swayed.

The last thing I felt was the hard floor against my side before darkness took me again.