Chapter five

The sound of celebration crashed over me like waves, threatening to pull me under.

I sat stiffly in the Luna's chair, my hands gripping the armrests so tightly my knuckles had gone white. Around me, the pack celebrated—drinking, laughing, congratulating Selene as she basked in the attention she'd always craved.

My attention.

My position.

My mate.

Kieran stood beside Selene now, his hand resting on her lower back in a gesture of protection and possession that should have been mine. Through the mate bond, I felt his satisfaction, his relief, his hope for the future.

A future that didn't include me.

"A toast!" Elder Thorne raised his glass, his weathered face creased with real joy. "To Selene Greyson, mother of the next Alpha! May the Moon Goddess bless her and the child she carries!"

“To Selene!” everyone shouted.

I lifted my own glass automatically, the crystal trembling in my grip. The wine tasted bitter, like dust on my tongue.

Selene caught my eye across the room and smiled—that same soft, sympathetic smile that had fooled me for years. But now I could see the planning behind it, the cold triumph of a predator who'd successfully taken down her prey.

"Elara." Kieran's voice pulled me from my dark thoughts. He'd returned to the platform, standing close enough that I could smell his familiar scent—pine and earth and something uniquely him. Something that had once meant home and safety and love.

Now it just made me feel sick.

"Yes, Alpha?" The formal address slipped out before I could stop it, and I saw something flicker in his eyes. Hurt, maybe? Or guilt?

"I wanted to thank you," he said quietly. "For being here. For handling this with such grace. I know it can't be easy."

Can't be easy. As if watching my mate celebrate another woman's pregnancy was not just an inconvenience. As if my heart wasn't being torn apart piece by piece.

"Of course," I said, my voice empty of emotion. "Anything for the pack."

He studied my face for a long moment, and I wondered what he saw there. The girl who'd loved him since she was seventeen? The Luna who'd tried so hard to be what he needed? Or just the broken shell of someone who'd lost everything that mattered?

"Elara—" he started, but whatever he meant to say was cut off by Selene's appearance at his side.

"Kieran, the elders want to discuss preparations for the birth ceremony." Her hand slipped into his with practiced ease, and she looked up at him with adoring eyes. "And I'm feeling a bit tired. Could we leave soon?"

The concern that crossed his face was immediate and genuine. "Of course. You should rest. The baby—"

"The baby is fine," she assured him, placing his hand over her stomach. "But I do need to be careful. For the pack's sake."

I wanted to vomit.

Instead, I stood, my movements graceful despite the chaos raging inside me. "I think I'll go to bed as well. It's been a long evening."

Kieran looked like he wanted to object, but Selene squeezed his hand, drawing his attention back to her. "That's probably for the best. You do look rather pale, Elara. Are you feeling alright?"

The false concern in her voice made my wolf snarl inside me, but I kept my expression neutral. "I'm perfectly fine. Just tired."

I walked down the platform before anyone could stop me, moving through the crowd with my head held high. Pack members parted before me, their eyes following my retreat with expressions ranging from pity to satisfaction. The weak Luna, finally being put in her place.

Let them think what they want. I'd learned long ago that dignity was sometimes all you had left when everything else had been taken away.

"Elara, wait." Dariaus caught up with me in the hallway outside the great hall, away from watching eyes and listening ears. "Are you alright?"

"No." The admission came out flat and honest. There was no point in lying to my brother. "But I will be. Eventually."

He pulled me into a quiet corner, his face marked with concern and something else—something that looked almost like guilt. "I should have warned you sooner. About Selene. About all of this."

"Would it have changed anything?" I leaned against the cold wall, feeling the fight drain out of me. "Kieran made his choice. He chose her. He chose the possibility of an heir over... over me."

"He's a fool," Dariaus said fiercely. "And if I were Alpha, I'd never—" He cut himself off abruptly, jaw clenching.

I looked at him more closely, noticing the tension in his shoulders, the way his hands had curled into fists. "Dari? What's wrong?"

"Nothing." But he wouldn't meet my eyes. "I just hate seeing you hurt. That's all."

Before I could press him further, a wave of dizziness washed over me. I swayed, catching myself against the wall as the world tilted sickeningly.

"Elara!" Dariaus caught my arm, steadying me. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know." I pressed a hand to my forehead, trying to clear the sudden fog that had come over my thoughts. "I just feel... strange."

The nausea hit next, sudden and overwhelming. I pushed away from Dariaus and barely made it to a nearby corner before my stomach rebelled, emptying what little I'd eaten that evening.

"I'm getting Dr. Matthias," Dariaus said, already moving toward the hallway.

"No." I straightened, wiping my mouth with shaking hands. "I'm fine. It's just stress. The announcement, the celebration—it's too much."

But even as I said it, I knew it wasn't true. This felt different. Familiar in a way that made my heart race with impossible hope.

"You're not fine." Dariaus studied me with worried eyes. "When's the last time you ate properly? Slept through the night?"

I couldn't remember. The past few weeks had been a blur of anxiety and heartbreak, watching Kieran drift further away while Selene moved in to take what was mine.

"Come on." Dariaus wrapped an arm around my waist, supporting my weight. "Let's get you to your room. You need rest."

We made our way through the corridors slowly, avoiding the main halls where the celebration continued. As we climbed the stairs to the residential wing, another wave of nausea hit, this one accompanied by a strange pulling sensation low in my stomach

My heart raced..

“No…” It couldn't be.

"Dari," I whispered, my hand moving unconsciously to my stomach. "I need to see Dr. Matthias. Now."

Something in my voice must have convinced him because he didn't argue.