MasukSophia’s POV“This will be the last time I agree to anything mom asks me when it comes to the alpha’s mistress.” I hissed as I walked down the palace hallways.I didn't want to be there.That morning's walk through the hallways was the same as a walk of shame .Mom kept begging me to go sit with Lila. “Come on, Soph, she said, pulling my hands with that look she has when she wants us to get along at the moment. She's still your sister. Family comes first.”“Family is no longer what it used to mean.” I had tried to argue and it failed.So, here am I, going to Lila's room for the first time since she returned to the palace.The guards bowed as I walked pass them. I took deep breaths before opening the door.Lila was by the window, hair down, blanket draped around her and quiet for a moment.Then she turned, and all that was gone.Sophia, she whispered, hesitating, almost as if I might disappear.I stood tall. Mom made me come, I said, void of any emotion.Her eyes darted quickly here an
Adrian's POVThe palace had not felt like home for ages, not since that night when it became a judgment court: a place of lies and broken trust. But standing in the hallway outside the infirmary, that had to change, that is, not for power but for her.Lila.Watching her collapse on stage hit me hard. I messed up big time and let her fall. Then, when the healer dropped the bombshell news about the baby, something inside changed. All those walls I had built since her exile, they just crumbled.I am never going to lose her again. Not her, not the kid, not this time.So I gave my first order the next morning.“Get the Luna's rooms ready,” I told the steward. “Immediately.”His eyes went wide. “Your Majesty... you mean—”“Yeah,” I interjected. “Miss Hayes is moving out of the infirmary today. She's under my protection until she is okay” Then, straightening himself, he hesitated. “My King, the council will have something to say.”“The council will do what I tell them.” I replied, my tone
UnmaskedLila's pov Ths second I opened my eyes and recognized my surroundings , I immediately became convinced I was still dreaming.I was in the royal infirmary."Don't move around too much."That voice...I turned slowly, for it hurt to do so. And there he sat.Adrian.He was slumped in his chair beside the bed, elbows resting on his knees.I froze up."Why," my voice cracked and dry, "am I here?"Slowly he turned to me. "Simple. You passed out. At the party."That hit me hard. The memories came rushing back: the stage, music, falling, pain. And his arms had got me right before I dropped out."You... carried me?"He nodded once, still not looking at me. "You shouldn't have come back like that.""I didn't come back," I whispered. "I was working.""Working?Working, you call dancing until you drop before everyone! The same people who wanted you gone?" He said, his eyes staring deep into mine.I averted my gaze and started fiddling with the hospital blanket. "You got rid of me, don't
POV: AdrianIt was a blank sheet of paper and empty envelope: no name, no seal, no indication who sent it.But, however, I just couldn't look away.“See how the girl you left is doing before she kicks the bucket.” That line had gnawed at me throughout the night. I had tried to make an excuse for myself, about maybe it being a setup from one of my mother's minions, or simply her calling out my sorry ass again. Still, something about ..the girl you left…made my mind heavy and furrowed my brows.One person has to come to mind.Lila.Even the mere mention of her name wrenched something deep within me. Months had passed since the council meeting and her shoving out. Since I had told her to *“get out,”* for even looking upon her face made me empty myself of love in a mere moment, feeling a shade of anger.On that night with the bright moon in the palace yard, none of that seemed right.By morning, I had made up my mind.That very night was the Harvest Gala, a big celebration with dignitar
Caroline’s POV I sat trying to sew an old shawl, hardly able to move my hands. I was busy staring at Lila.She was standing holding on for dear life to the table; she seemed too tiny, too pale; one gust of wind and off she would go floating."You look pale again," I murmured softly.She turned around and forced a weak smile at me. "I'm okay, Mama. I'm just sleepy.""You said that yesterday," I continued without taking my eyes away from her."I'll be fine." She waved dismissively and began stuffing her things in that little worn bag she took with her to the palace job.With a deep sigh, I dropped my needle and thread. "Baby, you're tired. You've been tired for weeks. You come home late, eat barely anything and now can barely walk. What is going on?"She stood frozen for a moment with her back to me. Perhaps she would just tell me everything. But she lifted her head again and said quietly, "Nothing really. Dancing is just much harder than I thought."I walked over to her gently touchin
Lila's pov The room was still after the healer's statement — far too still, as though all the sounds were sucked from the room.I am still with child."I've never seen this occur before," she said to me. "It's rare — almost impossible. But sometimes, when there are twins involved, and one embryo gets terminated… the other will survive.” She was dreaming aloud. "Twins?" I exclaimed in astonishment. “I was carrying twins?” She nodded. "You could have had twins. The abortion would have killed one — but the other one might have lived. Maybe the other protected it, or maybe the gods themselves reached down and caught it. Whatever happened, the omens are here. You are still with a child, Lila.”I laid a shaking hand across my belly, a minute tremor of heat below. "But I felt it halt," I gasped. "I bled. I thought— I thought I lost my child, I did an abortion, donated a bone marrow… how could it survive all that?”She breathed out. "The body can be cruel in its secrets, child. This child







