CHAPTER 1: HAPPY WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

~Celina~

“Luna, the Alpha will be back from the meeting soon. We have to hurry up.”

Katie, my maid, looked at me anxiously. In her right hand, she held a flimsy pink nightgown. In her other hand, there was a basin with a dark gooey paste. I couldn't help but wrinkle my nose as the foul odour of the all too familiar ‘herbal paste’ hit me. It was once again time for me to ‘perform my Luna duties’.

As Katie started applying the herbal paste that would straighten my curly hair, I let out a hiss. Even though I was prepared, the burn searing through my scalp was just too much to brush off. My eyes filled with tears from the sheer agony, but I gritted my teeth and refused to let out any more sound.

“I am sorry, Luna,” Katie said helplessly, and I smiled at her in response. Such a pure soul. In this world where everyone outright ignored the unfavored Luna, she was the only one who still cared for me.

“It's not your fault, Katie.”

“Your curly hair is so gorgeous, Luna. I don't understand why you should go through all this trouble to make it straight.”

I smiled, shaking my head.

Logan, my Alpha mate, visited my room only on certain days. On those days, he always demanded that I appear in front of him wearing pink clothes, my hair pin straight.

“Well, Logan believes my curly hair is too wild and rebellious for a Luna. He thinks wearing my hair straight will make me look elegant. As Luna, it's my duty to do everything I can to support my Alpha.”

Wearing pink clothes, straightening my hair… If my Alpha requires me to do so, I will definitely do it.

Once Katie was done applying the paste, I sent her off while waiting for it to dry. After a while, I headed to the shower, where I washed the paste off my hair. Once I dried my now straight hair, I slipped on the nightgown before wandering off to the bedroom window.

Three years. It has been exactly three years since the night I stepped into this room as Alpha Logan's bride, leaving my identity as a warrior.

“Happy anniversary, Celina,” I murmured to myself with a self-deprecating smile.

The door opened suddenly, and I turned back, my heart beating wildly. And there he was, Logan Samuels, Alpha of the Hawthorn pack, my mate.

Logan stood there, his amber eyes staring right at me. I flinched as his lips shot into the usual sneer he sported whenever he saw me. Even though I was his true mate, I knew I didn't have a place in his heart. If he had rejected me, his fated mate, he would have lost his wolf strength. I knew that's the only reason he agreed to marry me. But still, he was my mate, the one moon goddess herself destined for me. I couldn't help but hope that with patience and love, I could thaw his heart someday.

I looked at his bloodshot eyes, the scent of alcohol from his body hitting me. So tonight, Logan had come back drunk. Maybe he was going to be even rougher than usual.

I stood waiting for him to come in, but when moments passed and nothing happened, I slowly looked up in confusion. My heart skipped a beat as my eyes met Logan's gaze, a tenderness that I had never seen in those amber orbs taking me aback. Something about him felt different but I couldn't pinpoint it.

Staring into my eyes, Logan stepped in, closing the door firmly behind him. As I stood staring at him, my heart was beating like a drum, the usual nervousness mixed with a hint of something else. As Logan walked towards me, I bit my lips, flinching away when his hand fell on my shoulder despite my resolve to stay calm.

I opened my mouth, about to call his name, but stopped myself just in time. Hearing my voice only made him act harsher in bed.

As he pulled me towards the bed, I fell back stiffly, mentally preparing myself for the pain that was to follow. No kisses, no loving words, just brutal thrusts and a world of pain. I wish I could call it making love, but then I would be lying to myself.

I closed my eyes trying to think of something else, hoping I could tune out the pain. But then I felt his lips on my neck, trailing towards my collarbone. As his hot breath left goosebumps in the wake, I just froze. What was going on here? I am not dreaming, am I?

“Relax. I will be gentle.”

Hearing his voice, a soft tone entirely unfamiliar to me, I looked at him with wide eyes. Seeing him staring at me with a slight smile, I wondered if I was in some other alternate universe.

“Logan?” I called out tentatively, braving myself to speak even if my instincts were screaming at me to stay silent.

“Hmm,” he responded, his hands trailing towards my back as he gently unzipped my gown and pulled it down my shoulders.

As the dress slid down my frame leaving me bare, I stared at him with confusion. What happened to him tonight? Usually by this time, he would have just torn off my dress and had his way with me. But the tender way he was behaving tonight, I couldn't help but feel hope, and that left me worried. What if he was acting this way because he was drunk, and he turned to his usual behavior the next time? Then it would hurt worse than ever. I couldn't let myself hope only for it to turn out to be in vain.

“Logan… Is everything alright?” I asked, bracing myself to feel his wrath in case he snapped.

“Everything is alright. Now relax and have a good time, okay?”

This was all so strange. But in a good way. I wish he will always be like this. If this were a dream, I never wanted to wake from it.

“Babe…” He called, and I froze. Babe? This was the first time he called me an endearment. Usually, he didn't even bother to call me by my name.

“Shall we have a baby?” Logan asked out of the blue, and again I could only stare at him, utterly baffled. Seeing my silence, the warmth in his eyes faded, and he frowned.

“You don't want to have a baby with me?” He asked, and I shook my head frantically.

“I do!” Having a baby was a dream I had tried to bury deep within me, thinking I would never have that chance. Every time we sleep together, Logan always insists I take contraceptives before he leaves the room. And now he was asking for a baby? He didn't know how much I longed to have a baby, to become a mother.

“Then stop thinking. Let's have a baby tonight,” he said before leaning down to embrace me.

The next morning, I woke up with a smile on my face. As my mind flashed back to the previous night, I couldn't help but giggle like a schoolgirl. Finally, after three long years, my husband properly made love to me. Even though it didn't feel as mind-blowing as I have heard from some of my peers, the experience wasn't painful like what I was used to. But none of that mattered. What mattered was how gentle Logan had been. Usually, he never stayed in the room once he was done. But yesterday, he held me close while sleeping. Maybe finally, he had learned to accept me. Maybe we will have a happy life together from now. I smiled, placing my hand on my belly. What if we had already created a new life just like he wanted? How wonderful would that be?

With a smile, I turned to the other side of the bed, but the smile froze on my face when I saw the empty bed. Logan left already?

“What?”

Hearing a sudden shout, I sat up, straining to listen. It was Logan's voice, and it seemed like it came from his study. What happened this early in the morning?

Pulling on a robe, I walked towards his study, the voices growing louder.

“It's true, Alpha! I had received the call from the hospital myself. Ms. Clara had woken up from a coma this morning.”

As I heard Beta Robert reporting to Logan, I stopped in my tracks, my heart stopping for a moment. Clara. The name of a stranger yet still so familiar. The very name my husband had called out on our wedding night while lost in the throes of passion. I knew how much that name mattered to Logan, but I had never dared to mention it to him in our three years of marriage. But now, hearing her name again, I had a feeling that everything was going to change.