Chapter 1 — The Lie I Lived In

I stood in the bathroom for a long time after I found out I was pregnant, staring at the two pink lines like they might disappear if I looked away. My hands were shaking. Not from fear—from something I hadn't allowed myself to feel in a very long time.

Hope.

Five years. Five years of whispered conversations that stopped whenever I entered a room. Five years of pack members who bowed respectfully in public while quietly questioning me in private. Five years of being the Luna who couldn't shift, couldn't produce an heir, couldn't seem to become everything a Luna was supposed to be.

But I had endured it.

I had poured myself into this pack instead. Every dispute, every festival, every alliance, every family that needed help—I had given them all my attention. If I couldn't prove my worth through a wolf that refused to awaken, then I would prove it through my actions.

And now, finally, I had something no one could take away from me.

A child.

Mine and Kieran's.

I pressed a hand against my stomach and smiled through the tears gathering in my eyes. Kieran wasn't an easy man to read. Sometimes I thought I understood him perfectly; other times, he felt as distant as the moon itself. But surely this would make him happy.

A child changed everything.

Carefully folding the report, I tucked it into my pocket and hurried from the healer's quarters. Before telling Kieran, I wanted to speak to Liora.

My best friend.

The woman who had grown up beside me, laughed with me, cried with me, and stood beside me on my wedding day.

She already had experience raising Kai, and I wanted her advice. More than that, I wanted her help planning a surprise for Kieran. I could already imagine us sitting together, whispering ideas and laughing while we prepared the perfect announcement.

The thought filled me with such warmth that I barely noticed how quickly I was walking.

The pack house buzzed with activity as preparations for tonight's feast continued. Servants hurried through the halls carrying decorations and trays of food while warriors discussed guest arrivals. Everything felt brighter than usual, as though the entire world had decided to celebrate with me.

By the time I reached the east wing where Liora lived, I was smiling.

Then I heard a sound from behind her door.

The door stood slightly ajar. So I slowed my steps.

At first, I told myself I was imagining things. Liora received visitors all the time. There was nothing unusual about hearing voices from her room.

Then I recognized the man's voice.

Kieran.

My heart stumbled.

A strange feeling settled low in my stomach.

Why was Kieran here?

I moved closer.

"Be gentle," Liora whispered. "Don't make too much noise. Be careful not to wake our precious boy."

The report slipped from my fingers and drifted silently to the floor.

Our precious boy.

The words echoed through my mind.

My pulse roared in my ears as I stepped closer and looked through the narrow gap in the doorway.

Kieran was sitting on the edge of Liora's bed. His hand rested against her waist, his forehead pressed briefly against hers in a gesture so familiar, so intimate, that there was no possibility of misunderstanding it.

Liora smiled up at him.

I couldn't breathe.

My fingers curled against the wall beside me as cold spread through every part of my body.

This wasn't possible.

Liora was my best friend.

Kieran was my husband. My mate.

The two people I trusted most.

Yet there they were, looking at each other with a familiarity that made me feel like the outsider.

Inside the room, neither of them noticed me.

"He's getting older," Liora said softly. "Soon people will start asking questions."

Kieran's expression remained calm. "Let them ask."

"And what will you tell them?"

His answer came without hesitation. "The truth, eventually. The boy will inherit everything I have. He's my son, and he'll become the next Alpha."

Kai.

The little boy everyone believed belonged to Kieran's late brother.

The child I had comforted after nightmares. The child I had carried in my arms. The child I had loved like family.

He was Kieran's son. Not his brother's.

His.

A wave of nausea rolled through me so violently that I nearly doubled over.

Inside the room, Liora laughed softly. "And Nia?"

There was a brief silence before Kieran answered. "She won't be a problem."

There was no anger in his voice.

"She hasn't conceived in five years," he continued. "She won't."

Liora tilted her head. "What if she finally does?"

Kieran laughed. A low, amused sound. "She won't."

"You're still giving her the herbs?"

I froze.

Kieran didn't even hesitate. "Every day."

For a moment, I couldn't understand what I had heard.

Every day.

Five years of disappointment. Five years of waiting. Five years of wondering why my body kept failing me. Five years of praying to the Moon Goddess and blaming myself when those prayers went unanswered.

And all along, it had never been my fault.

Every accusation I had swallowed over the years flashed through my mind.

The pitying looks. The whispered conversations. The nights I had cried alone after another month of disappointment.

I had blamed myself for all of it. I had stood before the Moon Goddess and begged to know what was wrong with me.

Nothing.

There had never been anything wrong with me. The man who shared my bed had been poisoning my future one cup at a time.

A sharp ache spread through my chest. They had watched me suffer and let me believe I deserved it.

My hand instinctively moved to my pocket.

To the report that was no longer there.

I was pregnant despite everything.

A child was growing inside me at this very moment.

The realization filled me with both joy and terror.

For one fragile moment, I wanted to run from the truth.

I wanted to pretend I had never walked past that door. Never heard their voices. Never learned what they had done. But there was no going back.

Every future I had imagined had just shattered at my feet.

Because if Kieran had spent five years ensuring I never conceived, what would he do if he discovered I finally had?

I couldn't stay. And I couldn't confront them.

The bond between us felt like broken glass lodged beneath my skin as I forced my feet to move.

One step.

Then another.

I turned away from the doorway and walked blindly down the corridor.

The sounds of the feast preparations echoed around me, distant and distorted. People laughed. Servants hurried past. Somewhere, music was beginning to play.

The world continued as though mine hadn't just ended.

My hand pressed protectively against my stomach.

I had only known about the baby for a few hours, yet already the thought of losing it filled me with terror.

A sharp pain suddenly twisted through my abdomen.

I stumbled.

Another followed as fear shot through me.

"No..." The whisper barely left my lips before I felt warmth spread between my legs.

I looked down and saw a red stain on the fabric of my dress.

Then horror crashed into me.

My baby.

The thought echoed through my mind as darkness swallowed everything.