2. The Queen of Deception.

Aurelia’s Pov

It’s been five days and I’ve been scared to tell Kael about the news. I was excited to finally be pregnant. My wish was finally coming true, but at the same time, I felt it was too late.

I’d been to the hospital a couple of days earlier to confirm this. I was indeed pregnant—two weeks pregnant. I was holding Kael's child—the heir he had been looking for so long.

“You should tell him, my lady,” Victoria, my maid, said as she came into the room.

I was leaning against the window frame lost in my thoughts as I watched the sunset. I didn’t dare to tell him the truth. What would he do? Could he really send Liora away if I told him? I was his Luna, but so was she now. I was scared and confused that I would still be rejected after I broke the news to him.

But as I looked into Victoria’s eyes, I could tell that it was the right thing to do.

“I will,” I said leaning off the window frame. “Thank you, Victoria.”

She nodded and gave a bow before I rushed out of the room. Courage had bloomed from nowhere. I was finally ready to tell him the truth. With the pregnancy result in my hands, I rushed through the corridor hoping to make it to his room before the sun went completely down.

But the worst happened. I stumbled into Liora in the hallway who was talking arrogantly to one of the maids. She dismissed the maid immediately before turning to find me standing before her completely frozen.

She scoffed as she saw me, her hazel eyes raking me. I clutched the results in my hands as the rage built in my chest.

“Well, well, well,” she said, walking towards me, a mischievous smile on her face. “Look at what the cat dragged in.”

I clenched my jaws standing my ground. I had to stand up to her. If I didn’t, I was going to lose everything to her.

“Stay away from me,” I warned.

She chuckled, amused by my feeble warning before her eyes dropped to the results in my hands. The spark of intrigue in her eyes made her next move clear.

“What do we have here?” She asked, reaching for the results, but I pulled away before she could grab them.

“It’s none of your business,” I replied through clenched teeth.

In a blur, she appeared behind me, snatching the results from me and reading it as she leaned against the wall. There was a bulb directly above her head, and its yellow light bathed her completely. Her eyes flickered with something vicious, the smile on her face dissolving as she read the results.

“You’re….” she said, looking up at me in complete disbelief. “That’s impossible.”

I gave her a smirk. I finally had an edge over her, and she could see it. For the first time in a long time, I knew I won.

“That’s my sign of victory,” I said, snatching the results from her grasp. “You better pack your bags, Liora. I think you’re on track to be the first Luna to be sent away.”

Liora laughed softly, folding her arms. No matter how hard she tried to downplay her disbelief, I could see it in her eyes. She had lost. And she was getting kicked back to the Red Moon pack.

“You see, Kael isn’t around because he went on a hunting trip,” she said leaning off the wall. “And by the time he returns, I will break the news of my pregnancy to him first.”

My jaw hung loose as I heard that. She was pregnant? No. It couldn’t be true. She was lying. There was no way Kael would have…..? I couldn’t be sure. He’d replaced me with her.

But still, I shook my head refusing to believe her. Liora was already walking down the hall when I came back to my senses. No. I couldn’t let her win. Not when I was this close to victory.

I squeezed the results in my hand. This time, I was going to win. For sure.

***

Kael returned later that evening, and I quickly rushed towards the dining hall with the results in my hand ready to break the news to him. I couldn’t wait to savor the look on Liora’s face when Kael kicked her out of the palace.

I was exhausted from being in the kitchen all evening with the maids. I’d decided to make dinner. I wanted Kael to be prepared for the news, and I also wanted to drown in Liora’s failure. This time, I was going to win.

I arrived at the dining room to find Kael seated already. He looked exhausted and his jet black hair was damp and fell across his forehead. Sitting beside him was Liora and she was…. She was wearing one of Kael’s shirts. I was stunned by this. Kael never let me touch his things. But somehow she was in his shirt.

My jaws tightened as my heart squeezed in hurt. There was no need for that. I had everything I needed to win this battle in my hands literally.

“Are you going to stand there all night or are we going to have dinner?” Kael asked, his irritation vivid in his tone.

I glanced at Liora who seemed a bit nervous and smiled warmly.

“I have an announcement to make,” I said, my eyes falling back to Liora. There were beads of sweat on her forehead.

Kael looked up at me, his lemon eyes displaying how disinterested he was.

“It’s not right for you to say it, before I do, Aurelia,” Liora said.

I looked at her shocked. Liora turned to Kael whose focus was on hers.

“I’m pregnant, Kael,” she said as she pulled out a test kit to show him. It was positive. I stood there baffled. How had she pulled that off? Was she really pregnant? No. There was no way. If Liora were pregnant, then there was no need for my big reveal.

I squeezed my results in disappointment as I watched Kael hug Liora warmly. My heart shattered into a thousand pieces. Kael looked up at me after I took my seat quietly at the table.

“What did you want to say?” He asked.

I shook my head. “It’s nothing.”

Liora scoffed and took a spoonful of the soup I made. After a few spoons, she spat out the soup and clutched her stomach, screaming in pain at the top of her voice.

Kael rose from his chair and rushed to her. Liora lay on the floor, clutching her stomach in pain with blood oozing from her thighs.

“Liora. What is it?”

I stared at her completely shocked. What was going on?

“Poison,” she managed to say. “I’ve been poisoned.”

Kael stared at her plate and the realization hit me. I knew what was coming next.

“Who made this?” He demanded. “Who?”

Liora’s eyes found mine, and for a split second, they flickered in amusement.

“Aurelia.”