Chapter 1

Deandra’s POV

“Congratulations, Luna, you’re pregnant,”

I blinked a few times after that announcement and took a few deep breaths, but nothing could quell the rush of emotions inside of me at that statement.

Who would believe it?

I had been feeling pretty sick for weeks now, and if Daniel hadn’t pushed me to do this, I probably wouldn’t be here right now, receiving the best news in my life. For three years since I had been married to Daniel, Alpha of the Dagger pack, he and I haven’t had a child in all those years.

It wasn’t as if we never tried; it was just that we never could have them. Daniel always joked that maybe it wasn’t our time, but secretly I could see that he wanted a child just as much as I wanted one.

“Luna, is everything alright?” The head doctor at the pack clinic asked to pull me out from my reverie, and I shook my head in the negative.

“I’m fine,” I assured her. I was more than fine; I was happy. This news meant so many things, and the point at the top of the list was that I wasn’t barren and could actually have children. It also meant things between Daniel and me could get better than before, and we could become a real family.

Before it was just two of us, but now we’d have a mini version of us running around, and hopefully before long, we would have another.

“Just make sure you get lots of rest. I can’t overemphasize how important that is right now.” The doctor continued, and I was forced to keep my mind still and my thoughts centered on the present moment.

“You have to be careful about what you eat; your diet matters now more than ever. Whatever you eat or drink, whatever goes into your body now affects your child more than anything, so you need to watch out. No alcohol, minimize the coffee…”

As she made a list of pregnancy dos and don’ts, I zoned out again, but this time I was seeing what my future with Daniel would be like: a child of our own with us celebrating birthdays and major milestones. It was such a happy moment.

“That would be all,” The doctor summarized just as I came back to the present again. She smiled as she saw the look on my face. “Don’t worry, you’ll love every moment of this experience. Remember not every day will be fun and heavenly, but I promise you it will all be worth it when you hold your baby in your arms.”

I nodded and rose from my chair, trying to catch up with her as she made her way to the door. I didn’t doubt that the pregnancy would be challenging, but I also knew that I would cherish every minute of it.

“Please send the Alpha my congratulations.” She told me as she waved me goodbye at the car park a few minutes later. I nodded and started the engine of the car, riding back to the pack house with so much joy and gladness in my heart.

When I arrived back at the packhouse, my personal maid and closest friend, Layla, received me at the door. Seeing her brought back all the emotions I had been keeping at bay, and I hugged her, shocking and startling her.

“Oh my, what happened? Are you okay?”

I chuckled and pulled back, brushing back tears so I wouldn’t alarm her. “I am fine, Layla, and I just had the most wonderful idea.”

Somehow, I had picked Daniel’s birthday as the day I got the news of my pregnancy; life couldn’t get more exciting than that, so what better way to break the news to him than to throw him a birthday party?

Layla agreed with me, and immediately we got to planning. It wasn’t easy since it had been a spur-of-the-moment decision, but when I put my mind to something, I always saw it through. Once I had finished decorating his office, which I chose as a last-minute venue, I invited some of his friends and got to work on preparing all the food for the party.

Layla insisted on doing it, but I was too excited to let her do it. I asked her to arrange for a small birthday cake instead, one that was shaped in the form of a baby. My request seemed odd to her, but she followed through and did as I had asked. I wanted so badly to scream my news from the top of the highest building, but I wanted Daniel to be the first one to know.

Perhaps my baby cake would be a dead giveaway of the surprise, but at least he’d be the best to hear the actual thing from me.

***

The party had started half an hour ago, but Daniel was still nowhere to be found. I had called and sent him tons of texts, but I got no answer back. I was sure they delivered, though, because of the double tick on each message, which made me wonder why he was ignoring me.

Had he gotten so tired of waiting for me that he just moved on without telling me? As soon as the thought popped into my head, I pushed it back out, not wanting to harbor negative thoughts on such a happy day. Today all my dreams of being a mother have finally come true, so what more could I ask for?

“Relax, Andra, he’ll be here soon.”

I looked up as his best friend and one of my close friends, Elliot, walked up to me and handed me a glass of wine. I started to shake my head to reject the glass when I realized no one except me knew about the baby, and then I collected it. big mistake because I wasn’t supposed to be drinking because of the baby.

I collected it for show in the beginning, but after holding it for a while as I waited for my husband to call me or show up to his own surprise party, I took sips from the glass.

“You have a new message,” Layla told me, handing me my phone back. She had seized it when she noticed I had been fussing over it as a mother would do over her child as I waited for Daniel to text me back.

“It must be him,” she assured me, and I nodded, unlocking my phone, my heart filled with hope.

I wished I hadn’t opened the message, though, because what greeted me left me shattered and sent my heart crashing into the pit of my stomach.

“Andra, are you okay? Say something; you’re scaring me.” Lyla requested.