Chapter 1

Kayla's POV.

The meeting at the neighboring pack had run quite longer than I expected, and when the front door closed behind me, I was relieved.

It had been an impromptu gathering, and even though I loved being Luna, I loved being home with my husband more.

With a tired sigh, I made my way past the guards and servants littered around the house to my room, shaking my head in response to their greetings.

All I want now is a long soak in the bathtub, maybe a massage, and then some much-needed rest.

I could hear some strange noise coming from outside. I hate noise so much, and I keep telling the maids about it, but they seem to be very disobedient.

My husband, Alpha Jackson, wouldn't be home by this time, being the busy Alpha that he is, so there was no way those noises were coming from the room.

At least that's what I tried to tell myself, but then I realized the noise wasn't actually coming from outside; instead, it grew closer as I walked closer to the room. “What is going on?” I asked myself when I could recognize the noise wasn't a normal one; it’s the sound of a lady moaning in my matrimonial room.

I placed my shaky hand on the doorknob and turned it, dreading what I might find.

Even though the sounds had gotten clearer, I still hoped I was mistaken about what it sounded like. I opened the door immediately, and just as I thought, I wasn't wrong about the noise: my husband was in bed with another woman.

Tears clouded my vision as I watched the man I thought was in love with me drive deeper into another woman's body, not just any other woman but my sister!

One by one the tears rolled down my cheeks until I was full-on crying. “Jackson, why would you do this to me?” I asked in a soft voice.

I didn't expect them to hear, but Lyra let out a surprised cry and jumped, sending Jackson flying off her.

“Why did you stop? We were having so much fun.” Jackson hissed as he turned to look at me; he sat up but didn't make any attempt to apologize to me.

He didn't look sober; rather, he seemed irritated, like I had disturbed them.

I looked at my stepsister, Lyra Nikolai, the only family I had left, and pursed my lips. “Why did you do it, Lyra?” I asked for lack of other things to say.

She avoided my gaze and didn't reply. I scoffed and wiped my face, tossing my bag on the bed.

“How dare you do this to me, Jackson? After everything we've been through together?!” I screamed, suddenly incapable of sitting still. “And you, you call yourself my sister, but you still chose to hurt me this way?!”

Lyra sighed and got up from the bed, wrapping the covers over her breasts. “Kay, I know that I don't have any excuse as to why I am in bed with your husband, but I want you to know that this is all it would ever be between both of us; we're just satisfying each other. I'm not taking your husband from you.” She replied reluctantly.

I blinked in shock at her words, wondering if I had misheard her.

“You don't have to lie about us.” Jackson said to her with loving eyes.

“Well, since it has come to this, I have to tell you the truth. Lyra and I have been in love, but we didn't want to hurt you, which is why we kept it a secret.” He continued speaking, rendering me speechless with each word that came out of Jackson's mouth.

“Why would you say it to her now? Can't you see she's still in shock?” Lyra said, tapping him seductively; she acted a little guilty for a second before she sent him a fond smile.

“You want us to continue?” Jackson asked and kissed her; she tried stopping him, but he was too strong to be stopped.

“My sister is still here.” She yelled at him and then looked away but refused to meet my eyes.

I couldn't believe my eyes; the people I trust the most are the ones that betrayed me. This is my worst nightmare. I still couldn’t believe both of them would do such a thing to me.

“This is too much,” I said as I walked up to them. I thought of pulling Lyra by her hair, but I chose to ask myself first if it's worth it. “How can you be this shameless, Jackson?! I can't believe you're going to throw everything we've shared away just because of a few minutes of pleasure.

“Maybe if you were doing your job properly, I wouldn't be here.” Lyra said.

“Don't you ever speak to me in such a manner!” I slapped her angrily.

Jackson met me halfway and slapped me across the face. “That's for slapping my woman,” he whispered, and I stood there gasping in shock.

“Did you just hit me? Jackson, you've never hit me before, and now you're hitting me because of her?”

I wanted to leave, but I needed to teach the whore a lesson, so I tried pulling her hair, but Jackson was fast enough to push me away without minding where I landed.

I hit my leg against the bed frame and fell to the ground on my stomach.

“What is wrong with you, Kayla? Can't you see that no one wants you here? It's clear enough for you to understand!” He pulled Lyra close to him when she tried to reach for me, and I watched with blurry vision as she held back tears.

I could tell it wasn't entirely her intention, but I can't forgive her for hurting me this way.

“I can't believe you're this shameless.” He hissed, ignoring the fact that I was still lying on the ground.

“Why can't you read between the lines? "We're over!" he yelled.

I grunted and tried to sit up, but a sharp pain assaulted my senses, sending me doubling over.

“Let’s continue from where we stopped.” He said to her while kissing her neck.

“I don't feel comfortable staying here anymore; she's…” Lyra covered her mouth in shock, pointing at me.

“She's bleeding!” Lyra panicked, placing her hands gently on my body.

Jackson looked at me reluctantly, clearly stating from the way he looked that he doesn't care if I die there.

“Didn't you hear what I said? Let's get the ambulance.” She yelled back at Jackson, and I watched with tears blurring my vision.

Jackson had never listened to me in that way before. He had never cared about my opinion, but he was ready to jump because Lyra said so?

How could I have been so blind?

I lay there in pain, shedding silent tears, with Lyra fussing over me and whispering reassuring words in my ears.

I fought the urge to push her away, but I was in too much shock right now; I was just too weak to say a word, so I couldn’t stop her from helping, even though she was doing it genuinely. I still don't want her help.

While I was being rushed to the hospital, I kept reminiscing on the things Jackson said to me, and then I realized I have obviously been standing in their way for quite some time.

“I'm so stupid.” I whispered to myself, but she heard me, and both eyes met.

“I'm sorry, Kay.” I heard her whisper to me as she stopped following. I was moved into the ambulance vehicle. My sight was blurry, but I could see Jackson walking out of the house without regret.

The fact that I was bleeding wasn't a good sign, and I knew if I didn't get to the hospital soon, I would regret it.

“Can you hear me?” The nurse asked me several times, and I kept nodding; she was preventing me from falling asleep.

While the vehicle was taking me to the hospital, I had a lot on my mind. For a moment I thought of giving up, because what's left of me? I was embarrassed by my husband in the presence of my younger sister.

The same man I have loved all my life, I did everything to get us this far, even if it went against my principles. I still did it to make him happy; that's how much I loved him. I know that if Susan were here, this wouldn't be happening.

Fresh tears began rolling down my cheeks. How could I have been so blind???! How could I have missed the signs? Because there was no way this all started today.

Gosh! How could Jackson do this to me?

“Are you feeling pain?” The nurse asked again as she was helping me wipe my tears. I nodded my head as the pain is worse than she could ever imagine.

This was the last thing I heard before I passed out with tears rolling down my cheeks.

****

“How are you feeling?” I heard as I opened my eyes again.

I blinked a couple of times, adjusting to the brightness of the lights in the room.

“How are you feeling?”

I finally focused my attention on the source of the voice.

“Water,” I croaked as I found my voice.

The woman wearing the white coat immediately poured me a glass from the pitcher sitting on the bedside table.

I drank it all in one gulp and tried to sit up in bed. I can't believe I woke up. For a moment there I wished I had died. Why on earth did I not die?

She studied me for a while before asking me, “What happened to you?”

I thought about it for a while before replying. “I felt that’s all I could remember.

She sighed. “You were pregnant, Luna, weren't you aware?”

I took this piece of information in, shock and surprise weakening my senses, and then I placed my hand on my belly.

“I understand it's normal for some pregnant women not to know until their second trimester, but didn't you see the signs?” Hearing the question made me remember how Jackson asked if I wasn't seeing the sign of our marriage ending.

I suddenly remembered the baby, and then I placed my hand on my belly again.

“What about the baby? Doctor is my baby? …” I whispered, stumbling over my words.