Chapter 2

Mireya's POV

I was easy to let go. I have long accepted that. All my life I needed to prove that I am useful so I wouldn’t end up being thrown.

When I married Caius I imprinted inside my head that I have to be someone useful to him. I need to fill the void Blaire had left and now that she’s back I am no longer needed.

But I couldn’t let go. I don’t want to let go. Not now that I am carrying his child.

"You will be compensated," Caius spoke.

He rose from his seat and started walking towards us. As he inched the distance, I felt my chest clench. All of a sudden I feel suffocated having him around.

"You will have a land in your name. A royal stipend,"

I shook my head. I can feel my chest tightening the more I listen to him.

"I am your wife," I croaked, my voice barely above a whisper. “We have been married for five years, Caius. I did everything you wanted. I supported you in everything. I pleased the Royal Council and helped you earn their favor. I did everything for you,"

I don't want to rub it in his face. I don't want to use it against him because everything that I did was out of love. He never asked for it. He never forced me to do it...but how can he do this to me? How can he treat me like trash he was eager to throw out?

"Mireya stop making a big deal out of it," my mother butted in. She went to me and held my arm, trying to pull me out of the room. "I will talk to her. She was just—"

I peeled off her hold, my gaze still glued on Caius.

I already accepted it. As early as seven years old I already knew my place—behind Blaire. My mother told me that if I wanted to live with her and not end up as a rogue then I had to please Alpha Edward. I need to be a good kid. I should do what I had been told.

Whenever Blaire made a mistake I would take the punishment. Whenever she made a mess I had to step up and take the responsibility. When she ran away and left Caius, I took her place and became Caius's Luna just to salvage the alliance.

I did everything quietly without any complaint. I followed every order but if I continued acting like their puppet then what would happen to my child? Will he live as a bastard? He will live like an outcast, like how they treated me?

"You should throw her in the dungeon, Caius. What if she made a scene during your coronation? What if she turned the ceremony into chaos—”

"I will never do that to my husband, Blaire," I cut her off.

Her lips parted and she looked at me in disbelief. "Husband?" she scoffed. "The husband you're claiming is mine, Mireya. I am his chosen mate. His chosen Luna. I am the one promised to him and not you—”

"But you ran away!" I shouted in her face. "You left Caius in humiliation. You abandoned our pack. You were selfish, Blaire. You only think about yourself. You do whatever pleases you and I was the one who bore the consequences of your selfish actions. Then you will come back like you didn't do any damage? You will come back like nothing happened?"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, Mireya! Stop acting like you didn't want all those things to happen. Stop acting like you were forced to be Caius’ Luna when the truth is you were waiting for that moment. You wanted me gone," her voice broke then she started sobbing. "I-I left n-not because I-I don't w-want to be C-Caius' Luna but because M-Mireya threatened m-me. S-She said s-she will k-kill me i-if I l-let Caius m-mark me. She w-was crazy over C-Caius. I w-was so s-scared,"

My jaw fell to the floor. I shook my head in disbelief. I wanted to defend myself but my words remained on the tip of my tongue when I saw my mother go to Blaire. She wrapped her arms around her like she was protecting her from me…from her own daughter.

Alpha Edward stood up too then went straight to me. Without any warning, his large and calloused hand landed on my right cheek. I felt my skin burn. My right ear turned deaf. Tears started to blur my vision but I still forced myself to look at him.

They didn't even bother hearing my side. I understand that Blaire is his daughter and he will take her words over me but can't they spare me a second to defend myself?

"How dare you threaten my daughter's life, Mireya?!" Alpha Edward's voice vibrated in the hall. "I accepted you in my pack! I recognized you as my daughter! I gave you a place to live! I fucking feed you and this is how you will pay me?"

I didn't respond. Defending myself will be useless. All the words that would come out of my mouth, they will treat it as a lie but maybe...just maybe, Caius will take my side. Maybe in our five years of marriage, he knew that I was never capable of hurting anyone.

With the thinnest thread of hope I held on, I turned to Caius who had been watching quietly. His face was blank. I couldn't read any emotions on it, like he was still weighing the truth.

"I didn't threaten, Blaire," I told him. "I was never capable of hurting anyone you know that,"

He didn't respond. His gaze bore into me like he was trying to decide if he would believe me or not.

I anticipated his words, hoping that unlike everyone, Blaire didn't manage to manipulate him but his words crushed me even more. “Blaire has no reason to run away, Mireya,"

Tears fell from my eyes. I can almost hear my heart shattering into pieces. So he believed Blaire’s lies as well?

"You should throw her in the dungeon. What if she hurt me, Caius? What if she killed me? We never knew what ran inside her head. We have no idea where her desperation will lead—”

"I'm pregnant," I bravely announced, cutting off Blaire's manipulative remarks. My eyes scanned the room, meeting the gaze of everyone who put me in this position, then my eyes found their way back to Caius. "I am carrying your child, Caius. Would you still choose Blaire over me?"