Barren

Kiki

———

“Whose voice was that? I froze, then leaned closer to the door. If something was happening in there, I was going to hear every word.”

Dan’s office smelled faintly of pine, smoke, and him. My chest tightened just breathing it in. I pressed myself closer to the door, my heart hammering.

Inside, voices drifted out low, careful… but sharp enough to cut through my skin.

“Mother,” Dan said, his tone patient, almost pleading. “Kiki has done nothing wrong. She—”

“Oh, don’t start, Daniel,” Esa snapped, voice silk hiding daggers. “She isn’t your fated mate. She doesn’t even know our ways. She’s… barren.”

My stomach dropped so hard I thought I’d collapse. Barren? She said it like it was a fact, like it had nothing to do with love, nothing to do with years of building a life together. My hand went to my belly instinctively.

“She hasn’t gotten pregnant, Dan,” Esa continued, her tone warm suddenly “If she never gives you an heir, you’ll be left with nothing. Think carefully, son. Can you accept that?”

I pressed my forehead to the door, silently begging it to swallow me whole. I had thought… I had believed that Dan would come back to me, that this Rita thing was a fleeting moment, some passing face he would shrug off once reality hit.

But reality was here. And it burned.

“Do you feel it, Dan?” Esa’s voice was sharper now, almost vicious. “The spark… when you touch her… doesn’t it feel like firecrackers?”

I heard Dan take a long, heavy breath. I wanted him to answer. Say something. Anything. Silence was worse.

“I—” he started.

But then there was that quiet, dangerous pause. The kind he always used when he knew he was losing, when the words weren’t enough.

I felt my hands tighten into fists. He agreed. Just… like that. He let her stay. He arranged for her to live in our home. My world shrank into that one simple fact.

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move. My mind spun, but no thought came out clean. I could hear the Moon Goddess’ laughter echoed through my head. This is your revenge, Kiki. You didn’t believe me.

I sank down against the wall, knees drawn to my chest. I could hear their laughter now Esa giggling softly at Rita’s obedience, Rita calling her “Mother” in a tone so sweet it made my blood boil. Wasn’t she just weak last night… now she strong enough for all this… gosh she such a white lotus.

Dan’s voice, low and careful, tried to explain, to soothe. “I love Kiki. I will always love her.”

But words… words didn’t matter anymore. Not when actions painted a different story.

I closed my eyes. Their conversation, each sentence like a knife, cut me open. How long had it been? Days? Weeks? Months? I didn’t know. I only knew the ache in my chest, the fluttering panic in my belly, the betrayal that felt like it had roots deep into my soul.

Esa’s voice grew sharp again. “Dan, you have to accept her. She is your Luna. You will divorce Kiki. You know you have thought of it before, sooner or later. Your choice is simple. Think of the heir.”

And Dan… he didn’t yell. He didn’t fight. That silence told me everything I didn’t want to hear.”

I wanted to pound on the door. I wanted to scream, to rip the air from their lungs. But I couldn’t. I was invisible, a shadow, a secret witness to the world I thought was mine slipping through my fingers.

The Moon Goddess, if she existed, must have been smiling down at me, watching me crumble like this. My whole life my baby, my marriage, my trust teetered on a knife-edge I hadn’t even seen coming.

I pressed my hand against the door, feeling the vibrations of their voices through the wood. The woman he called his fated mate… she was here, alive, smiling, obedient. She belonged in the world that had always been foreign to me. And I… I was just watching.

I swallowed a sob. The door didn’t respond. My knees shook. I wanted to run, to vanish, to scream at the Moon Goddess herself.

And yet, a tiny, stubborn spark inside me refused to die.

I am Kiki Kane.

I am Dan’s wife. And this… this isn’t over. Right.

I left the office building without a word, my chest tight and hands trembling. Disappointment tasted bitter on my tongue. It been two weeks… two damn weeks, I had waited for Dan. Two weeks of silence, of imagining him at home, calling, even a text would’ve done… and nothing.

Nothing. I wanted him home to at least convince me that he still wanted me… I want him to creat an illusion of what will be at least for my sanity but nothing.

I remember breaking down completely two days back. All the emotions I have hid with sarcasm and my tantrums… I let it all out.

It didn’t happen in one grand, cinematic moment. It was quiet. Cruel. Like grief had been waiting patiently in the corner for me to stop pretending I was fine.

I’d gone to make tea. The kettle whistled, steam fogged up the kitchen window. I stared at the cup in my hand and just… forgot what to do next. My fingers trembled so hard the porcelain slipped, hit the counter, and shattered.

The sound broke something in me too.

I sank to the floor, pieces of the cup scattered around me like the pieces of my life. My breath came out in shudders. My throat burned. It wasn’t even about Dan anymore it was about everything. The trying. The begging. The waiting. The hoping. The endless pretending that if I stayed quiet enough, patient enough, loyal enough, things would go back to how they used to be.

I hugged my knees, my cheek pressed to the cold tile. Tears poured until I couldn’t tell if I was breathing or drowning.

My heart screamed his name, but my mouth stayed shut. Because what was the point?

I thought about all the nights I’d prayed for him. All the times I’d whispered to the Moon Goddess like a fool, begging her to fix what she’d already decided to break.

And for the first time, I didn’t feel anger. I felt empty. Hollow in a way that scared me.

I dragged myself to our bedroom no, his bedroom now and stared at the bed. The sheets were smooth on one side, wrinkled on the other. My side. My scent still clung to the pillow. My hand reached out and touched it, slow, gentle. Like saying goodbye to someone I’d already lost.

Then came the shaking. Not from cold. From realization. That he was gone in every way that mattered.

I screamed into the pillow. It wasn’t even a sound at first more like a wounded animal trying to breathe through pain. My voice cracked. My body ached. I clawed at the sheets like they were holding me prisoner.

“I hate you,” I whispered. Then louder. “I hate you.”

But I didn’t. God help me, I didn’t.

Because love real, stupid, breaking love doesn’t die when it should. It lingers. It haunts.

And when I finally stopped crying, the silence was deafening. I felt small. But in that smallness, there was a flicker a strange, painful peace.

I wiped my face and whispered to no one, “You can take everything, but not me. Not me.”

The tears started again, slower this time. Not from weakness. From release.

I could still feel the warmth of his touch, the way he made me feel like I was the only woman in the universe. And yet… he hadn’t come. Hadn’t called. Didn’t even send a whisper of thought in my direction. Was this what my mother meant all those years ago?

Kiki, the bond is special. Don’t sacrifice it for your beliefs. When your beloved Dan finds his fated, he will choose her… not you.

And now here I was, carrying our babies, with no appetite, no joy, no will to pretend. I sipped at the watery soup the maid brought me, tasting nothing, feeling everything.

The door clicked. My heart lurched. He was home.

Dan. My husband. The man who had promised me everything, who had made me feel like I belonged. He stepped inside, eyes soft, apologetic, like he thought a few words could undo the storm raging in my chest.

“I’m sorry, Kiki,” he said. “I’ve been… busy. Work, the pack… I didn’t have a chance to call.”

I looked at him. Really looked. The way he always made my heart clench, the warmth of his presence… and felt nothing. Nothing but betrayal.

I looked at my already packed bag by the dining table and his eye followed mine.

“Where are you going?” he asked, his voice sharp now, the apology fading into panic.

“Anywhere,” I said, voice steady, controlled, colder than the night. “I’m leaving.”

“Why? This is our home. Our life,” he said, frowning, disbelief bleeding through his words.

“I want a divorce,” I said, calm, almost detached. I did it because that’s the only thing that has been on my mind for the past two days here without a word from him.

His eyes widened, hurt flashing across his face. “Why? Didn’t I explain everything? Why can’t you understand me?”

Explain…? When did he do that, I don’t remember getting any explanation other than silent.

I laughed bitterly, shaking my head. “Understand you? Are you planning to wait until your fated moves in before admitting you’ve betrayed me?”

He froze. His jaw tightened. “How… how did you know?”

I gave him a smile sharp enough to cut glass. “How long were you planning to lie? Do you really think I’m stupid enough to forgive you?”

Before I could even continue I felt all I was about to throw out away babies from my mouth. The nausea that had been simmering all day, fueled by heartbreak, by the betrayal, by the unfairness of it all. I bolted to the bathroom, clutching my belly, and let the sickness take me.

“Are you okay?” he asked, panic now threading his words.

“I haven’t eaten all day,” I whispered, barely audible. I didn’t want his pity. I didn’t want him.

Then the maid knocked, hurried, tense. “Alpha, the Beta is looking for you. Rita… she’s fainted. They’ve taken her to the hospital. You need to come immediately.”

Dan’s eyes flicked to me, guilt and something els… pain, maybe flickering there. “I… I’m sorry, but baby can you make preparation for the alpha king arrive tomorrow morning” he said, voice low, full of words he would never say out loud. And just like that, he left.

I watched him go, the door closing with a finality that echoed in my chest.

I sank to the floor, my hand on my belly, tears burning my eyes. One last tear, the last one I would shed for him, fell silently.

All it took for him to leave me throwing up like this was a word about is fated mate. And worst he gave out an order like everything was normal… he obviously came back today to inform me about this… he came back to ask me to get ready for some alpha king arrive.

Fuck you Dan… fuck you moon goddess and most importantly fuck love.