Chapter 1

Emma

"Congratulations, Luna. You are two months pregnant."

The words hadn’t fully sunk in when the doctor handed me the sonogram.

I stared at the grainy image. That tiny shape inside me—it was real!

My breath caught in my throat.

I had been waiting for three long years for this to happen. 

Three long, agonizing married years with Andrew Campbell, the Alpha of the Dark Desert Pack.

My eyes blurred with tears. My trembling hands moved to my stomach and closed my eyes. Everything felt surreal. A new life was growing that was a part of me. 

And a part of him.

I took out my phone with my trembling hands. I couldn't stop thinking about how I was going to tell Andrew about the news. 

I browsed through my phone and found his contact. I was about to hit the call button when it buzzed with an incoming message. 

"Not coming home tonight."

My happiness faded in an instant as soon as I read it. 

It was the same message he’d been sending for the past months whenever he informed me he would spend the night at another house. He rarely came home. In a week, I could only see him once or thrice. I couldn’t even visit him in his office because he told me I wasn’t allowed. 

My hand fell to my side as I stared at the screen. The message reminded me of who I was now to Andrew. 

That I was no more than his wife on paper. 

His doormat. 

It wasn’t always like this, though. Andrew used to be affectionate. We used to be… good. Happy, even. There were days when he’d hold my hand for no reason, when his eyes actually lit up when he saw me.

But all of a sudden, something in him changed. He became cold and distant and rarely spent time with me. I tried to convince myself it was nothing and gave him the space he needed. I just waited for him to go back to the way he was. 

I used to think that if I was understanding enough, he would eventually come back to me… but he’s remained cold and distant. Lately, I’ve even been thinking about divorce.

But this baby…

I took a deep breath, typing back a simple:"Okay” .

Then. I decided to go home.

Deep down, I still held onto a foolish hope—maybe Andrew would change because of the baby. Maybe we could somehow go back to the way things used to be.

********

I had barely made it through the night when, the next morning, my phone rang.

Ruby.

Andrew’s secretary.

“Hello?”

“Hey, woman, the Alpha forgot a very important file. He said it was on his desk. Can you bring it to his office now? And fast!”

I wasn’t the type to get easily irritated by people forgetting my rank, but calling me “woman” as if I were some kind of mistress and not the Alpha’s wife? That was beyond disrespectful. Insulting, even. 

But Ruby didn’t seem to care and Andrew never did something to correct her behavior. Sometimes, I even thought that Andrew was encouraging Ruby to disrespect me. 

“I have a white folder here,” I replied as I looked at the documents scattered on Andrew’s desk.

“That’s the one. Hurry up and bring it here,” Ruby said before hanging up without even saying goodbye. 

I sighed as I grabbed the folder. 

Hold on, she said to bring the papers to Andrew’s office, right?

Eureka! 

That means I could tell him about the baby in person earlier today.

I wasted no time getting inside my car. I already practiced inside my mind how I would deliver the news. 

The road stretched out ahead of me. I kept rehearsing the words in my head.

"Andrew, I’m pre-gnant."

"We’re going to be parents!"

But just as I reached for the volume knob to fill the silence with music, my phone buzzed again.

Unknown Number.

My heart sank before I even read the message:

‘Last night, your husband was with me.’

My whole body was shaking and I stared at the attached photo. It was a shot of Andrew lying shirtless on the bed. I knew it was him because of the distinct tattoo on his che-st.

The phone slipped from my hand. Everything felt like it was slowing down. I couldn’t think straight. I lost the ability to hear anything except the wild beating of my heart.

After everything I did for him, how could he sleep with another woman? Who is she?

My other hand touched my belly and I thought about my baby.

I took a deep breath and wiped the tears with the back of my hand.  I couldn’t just give up. No, I had to fight. I had to fight for a chance to give my baby a complete family. 

In the middle of this thought, headlights flashed in my peripheral vision. Before I could react, a truck swerved into my lane. I tried to avoid the impact, but it was already too late.

“Ahhhh!!!”

I let out a violent scream as the car spun out of control. My body was tossed in all directions until the car crashed into the railing with a loud, terrible bang.

The world spun. Glass shattered. My scream got lost in the chaos as the seatbelt cut into my che-st and the steering wheel slammed into me.

Everything blurred. Every inch of my body was sore. The smell of blood and burnt rubber filled the air. I couldn’t move or think straight. It took me time to realize what had happened but as soon as it did, fear engulfed me. 

My baby! 

“Please… please, no…”

I forced my eyes open, blinking through tears and blood. My fingers trembled as I reached for my phone. The screen was cracked, but somehow it still worked. I fumbled through my contacts with shaking hands until I finally hit Andrew’s name.

It rang.

Once.

Twice.

He answered.

“Andrew—”

“What?” he snapped. “Don’t you know I’m in a pack meeting?! Make it quick.”

My voice cracked. “I-I was in an accident. Please… I need help—”

“Are you serious right now? You’re calling me for that?”

My heart sank. I bit my l1p to keep myself from sobbing. His reaction made me feel I was nothing but a nuisance to him. 

“I’m sorry…But I really need your help. I got injur-”

“I am an alpha, not a fccking doctor,” he shot back. “Figure it out yourself. Go to the hospital or something.”

Click.

The call ended.

And just like that, something inside me broke.

Andrew, my husband no longer cared whether I live or die. 

He didn’t ask where I was. Didn’t ask if I was bleeding, or if our baby was okay. He just... hung up.

I wanted to scream, but all that came out was a sob. My fr-ee hand clawed at the broken door until I finally managed to push it open. I dragged myself out, every inch of movement pure agony.

I collapsed on the cold pavement. I looked up, praying someone—anyone—would stop.

That’s when headlights came into view. A familiar car pulled up nearby. I blinked, struggling to focus.

It was Andrew’s car! I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.

But no—that model was one of a kind in the entire pack. Sleek, black, custom license plate. Only he had it.

Relief flooded me for a split second. I thought he would come for me.

I lifted my head, trying to call out to him, silently begging for help.

Then I saw it. He stepped out from the driver’s side.

But instead of coming toward me…

He walked around to the passenger door.

And helped a woman out.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. They stood close—too close.

I froze.

At that moment, I felt my heart died. 

Hot tears streamed down my face. The pain I was feeling in my che-st was so much worse than the pain I suffered from the crash. I felt betrayed. I felt empty. I felt used. The world around me grew dimmer. I turned to Andrew who was still making out with the unknown woman. 

“So this is the important meeting you talked about,” I whispered as everything went black.

Andrew, we're done.