Chapter 4

"Wolf-less Luna." The words spat in my face. "What?" I looked around. I was surrounded by them.

"She's barren." "She's a witch." "She's useless." I backed away slowly until my back hit the wall. I wanted to run, but there was nowhere to go. Everywhere I turned, they were there. Their faces twisted with disgust as they slowly approached me.

"She's useless." "She has no wolf." "She can't even give the Alpha an heir." "No wonder he doesn't want her." "No wonder he chose Lyra."

"No…" I crouched against the wall, shielding my face with my hands. "Stay away from me, please." Their voices grew louder. Their footsteps grew closer.

Then, among all those hateful faces, one looked familiar. My heart stopped. Was that… Kael?

"Kael?" I lifted my head. "KAEL!"

He was standing there. But he wasn't alone. Lyra stood beside him. His arm was around her. She smiled at me. A cruel, knowing smile.

"KAEL, TAKE ME OUT OF HERE!" I reached for him. "Please!" My fingers stretched toward him. He looked at my hand. Then he rejected it. He shoved my hand away as though touching me disgusted him. I froze.

"Kael…" He turned his back on me. He chose Lyra. He left me with the wolves.

"Kael!" I tried to reach him again, but my legs wouldn't move. "KAEL!" He didn't turn around. "Please! Don't leave me here!"

The wolves closed in. I could feel their breath against my skin. I pressed myself harder against the wall, shaking.

"Kael!" But he was already walking away with Lyra. "KAEL!" My voice cracked. "DON'T LEAVE ME!"

And then Lyra looked back. Her smile widened. "You were never his choice."

I shook my head. "No."

"You were only his Luna because he loved you."

"No…"

"And now he doesn't."

"STOP!" The wolves laughed. I covered my ears. "STOP! PLEASE!" The laughter became deafening. I screamed.

And then— Cold water crashed over my face. I jolted awake with a gasp. As she turned her neck slightly, I noticed a red bloom on her skin. My breath caught. Was that... No. It couldn't be. I stared at the mark. It was fresh. The skin around it was still slightly red, the unmistakable shape of an Alpha's mark against her neck.

She was marked. My stomach dropped.

"Who marked you?"

The needle stopped moving. For the first time since I woke up, Lyra looked directly at me. She slowly raised a hand and touched the mark on her neck. Then she smiled.

"Kael."

The name felt like a knife sliding between my ribs.

"No."

"He did."

My eyes remained fixed on the mark.

"Why?"

Lyra's fingers traced over it almost lovingly. "To protect me." She said it so casually. "As you know, carrying an Alpha's child isn't always easy. Especially during the early stages. His mark strengthens the bond and protects both the mother and the pup."

I couldn't breathe. Kael had marked her. He had chosen to protect her. The same man who had left me locked inside our room. The same man who had told me Lyra was only here because of the baby. The same man who had sworn to me that I was his only Luna.

My hand moved instinctively to my stomach. My baby.

Lyra noticed. Her eyes dropped to my hand before returning to my face. "You really should leave, Aurelia."

I looked at her. "Leave?"

She nodded. "While you still can." She stood, smoothing the folds of my green gown. My gown. The one made for me. The one I had worn when Kael crowned me Luna.

"I don't want you to misunderstand what is happening," she continued. "I'm not asking you to leave because I hate you." Her smile was soft. Almost pitying. "I'm telling you because soon, there won't be a place for you here."

I shook my head. "You're trying to scare me."

"No." She walked toward the door. "The pack has already made its choice." She stopped beside me. "You just haven't accepted it yet." She looked down at the embroidery still clutched in her hand. Then she placed it neatly on the armchair. "You should have left when you still had somewhere to go."

I stared at her. "I am the Luna of this pack."

Lyra smiled. "For now."

Then she walked out.

I expected the guards to stop her. They didn't. I waited. Nothing. The door remained wide open. No guards stood outside. No one came rushing in to check on me.

I slowly got out of bed. My legs felt weak, but I forced myself toward the door. I stepped into the corridor. No one stopped me. I walked farther. Still nothing. A servant carrying folded clothes saw me. Her eyes widened. Then she quickly lowered her head and hurried away.

I stopped. Something had changed. Yesterday, they had obeyed Kael's orders to keep me locked inside. Today, there wasn't even anyone watching me. I turned back toward my room. Lyra hadn't needed guards. She didn't need them anymore. Because perhaps she already knew I had nowhere to go.

My eyes burned. I looked down at my stomach. My hand trembled as I rested it over the tiny life growing inside me. I had spent five years trying to make this pack my home. Trying to make them accept me. Trying to become the Luna they wanted.

But if Lyra was right... If Kael had truly chosen her... Then what would happen to my child?

I looked toward the nursery. The nursery I had spent months preparing. The tiny clothes. The crib. The feeding bottles. The little things I had bought when I still believed that one day Kael and I would have a family. I walked inside. One of the feeding bottles lay broken on the floor. I had picked up its pieces yesterday. I stared at it for a long moment.

Then I understood. I couldn't let my child grow up here. Not in a place where its mother was unwanted. Not in a pack that would teach my child that I was less worthy because I was an Omega without a wolf.

I wiped my tears. I didn't know where I would go. I didn't know how I would survive. But I knew one thing. My child would not grow up believing that being unwanted was the same thing as being worthless.

I walked back into my room. I opened the wardrobe. And began to pack.