Chapter 5: The Woman Outside My Door

I do not know how long I sat there. The room stayed silent, so silent the old clock sounded louder than it had any right to be. I stared at the floor and thought only of Kane and the paper my maid had given me. Three years loving him. Three years believing he would never leave my side. Now I was not sure of anything.

A soft knock. "Luna." Mira. "You haven't eaten all day."

"I'm not hungry."

"Luna."

"I'm fine." The words came out thinner than I meant them to.

She sighed through the door. "I'll leave food outside." Her footsteps faded down the hall.

I shut my eyes. A few tears escaped before I wiped them away fast. No. I could not keep crying. Not anymore.

Another knock, softer this time, almost afraid to land. I stood and opened the door. Not Kane. My stepsister.

The instant our eyes met she dropped to both knees.

"Sister."

I frowned. "What are you doing?"

"Apologizing."

"Go back to your room."

She shook her head. "I won't. I've caused you enough pain already. I'm not leaving until you forgive me."

I glanced down the empty hallway. "If someone sees you kneeling here, they'll misread it."

"I don't care."

"You should." I stepped aside. "Go."

She did not move. "I'll stay here as long as it takes."

I sighed, tired down to my bones. "You're pregnant. You shouldn't be doing this."

She smiled, sad. "The baby will be fine. I just want my sister back."

Before I could answer, footsteps rang through the hall. Elders rounded the corner after coming out of their indoors meetings and froze, shock spreading across every face.

Elder Gareth's frown hardened. "What is this?"

My stepsister lowered her head fast. "Please, don't blame my sister. I insisted on this."

Elder Gareth looked between us. "Why is the future mother of the Alpha's child kneeling at your door?"

She shook her head. "It isn't her fault. I deserve this. I begged her to forgive me. I told her I wouldn't leave until she did."

I stared at her. Those were not the words she had spoken moments earlier. Not close.

Another elder stepped forward. "How long has she been here?"

Her maid answered instantly. "Quite a while. Our lady begged the Luna again and again. But the Luna refused every time."

Another maid nodded. "She even offered to bow ten times."

My eyes went wide. "That's a lie. I never asked for that."

No one listened. The elders were already furious. "A pregnant she-wolf, forced to kneel. What kind of Luna does this?"

"I forced nothing! I only asked her to leave." My voice echoed off the walls. Still, no one believed a word.

My stepsister gripped Elder Gareth's sleeve. "Please, don't punish my sister. She's hurting. I accept all of it."

The elders looked at her with pity, then at me with disgust. The difference could not have been sharper.

They comforted her and walked her back toward her room.

Just before she disappeared around the corner, she glanced back at me, one second, long enough for me to catch the small smile she was hiding.

My heart dropped. That bitch had planned every piece of this. Every tear. Every word. Every lie.

I stood alone in that hallway for a long moment after they had gone, the echo of their footsteps fading into silence, and I realized something I had been too afraid to admit until now.

This was not going to stop. Not tomorrow, not the day after. She would keep coming, again and again, each time a little closer to taking everything I had left.

When the hallway emptied, Mira approached slowly and bowed low. "I'm sorry, Luna. I should have spoken up."

I shook my head. "They wouldn't have believed you."

She bit her lip. "If I'd argued, they might have had me executed."

"I know." Not her fault. Just a maid. I could not ask her to risk her life for mine.

I stepped back into my room. "I want to be alone."

"Luna."

"Please. Leave."

She bowed and shut the door quietly.

Night fell. I sat by the window, watching the moon. It hung low and pale over the training grounds, the same moon I used to thank every night for bringing Kane into my life. Tonight it offered no comfort at all. Another knock came. I already knew who it was.

"Aria." Kane.

I said nothing.

"Please. Open the door."

After a long pause I walked over and unlocked it. He stepped in slowly, his eyes catching on my face. "You've been crying."

I looked away. "What do you want?"

He sighed. "To apologize."

A bitter smile crossed my lips. "You've said that a lot lately."

"I know. I should have trusted you."

"Then why didn't you?"

He had no answer. The silence between us weighed more than any fight ever had. Finally he spoke. "I have to think about the child."

The words hit like a blade. I stared at him. "So that's all that matters now?"

"That's not what I meant. But if the child is truly mine."

I closed my eyes. There it was. The answer I had feared since the moment she walked into that council hall.

I crossed to the door and pulled it open. "You should go."

"Aria." He tried once more.

"Please. I don't have the strength to listen anymore."

He stood there a long moment. Then his head dropped, and he walked out. The door shut behind him.

I leaned against it, and for the first time in years, I wondered if the Moon Goddess had made a mistake pairing us at all.

Then I remembered the folded paper. Still hidden beneath my pillow, still unread, because some part of me was too afraid to open it.

With shaking hands I pulled it free and unfolded it.

The very first line was enough to make my stomach turn over completely.