chapter 3

Nyra's POV

The courtyard was a beautiful yet annoying form of chaos. Voices rose in alarm, warriors barked orders, and Corvin's command cutting through them all.

"Clear the way! Get her inside!"

Her.

Always her.

I smoothed my expression into one of practiced concern as I trailed after the cluster of pack members carrying Rael's limp body into the pack house.

My fingers curled protectively over my belly, the swell beneath my palm a perfect shield for the mask I wore.

"She looked so pale," I murmured to the nearest servant, my voice trembling just enough. "Please, make sure she's comfortable and always inform me of her health ."

The young woman bobbed her head . "Yes, Luna Nyra."

Luna Nyra- the title sent a small thrill down my spine. It had been hard won, carved from shadows, tears and blood, and I would not let it slip from my grasp now.

Not even for her.

Especially not for her.

I followed them only far enough to be seen before lingering near the stairs, out of the way. From here, I could watch Corvin... watch how he hovered desperately over Rael, barking orders as though the woman he loved had not just reappeared from the grave.

My lips ached with the effort not to say a curse word but I did, "Bloody hell"

So that was it. That was the ghost who had haunted him, the shadow in his eyes when he thought I wasn't looking. I had wondered, in darker moments, whether my memory of her beauty had grown exaggerated with time.

But no. She was still breathtaking, despite being broken, even with years of torment hollowing her eyes.

And yet, he looked at her as if she were the sun returned after endless winter.

I dug my nails into my palm, hard enough that it formed crescent shapes.

How dare she..

How dare she come back when I had spent years weaving my place here, burying her memory under my touch, my smiles, my soft words to him in the night.

How dare she walk into my home, into my title, and claim the hearts I had bent and bound.

I had been so careful. So meticulous.

Then slowly the memory surfaced.. the hushed meeting in the shadows, the coins pressed into greedy palms, the scent of iron when the mercenaries swore they would make it look like slaughter.

The bloody sheets had been my idea. Nothing more final, nothing more convincing than the stain of death left behind.

And it had worked.

Corvin had frantically returned that same night saying she called out to him only to find his mate gone, his bed drenched in blood. His howl had shaken the mountains that night, carrying across the valleys like a desperate cry for help.

I had been there, watching from the shadows, my own tears hot and real. Not for her.. never for her.. but for the man I loved.

The man who had never once looked at me the way he looked at her.

Until she was gone.

I had given him 2 years to break..To shatter.. To bleed his sweet soul dry on her grave. I had offered comfort slowly, carefully, never pressing too soon. An ear to listen. A shoulder to cry on. A gentle hand when he could no longer hold himself upright.

I had offered her grief-ridden parents my time as well, so they had no problems with me getting close to their daughter's mate while they battled grief and death..

And when he finally caved.. when he took me to his bed in his drunken state, desperate for warmth in the endless cold of his grief.. I knew I had finally won.

I had taken what was hers and made it mine.

Now, watching him hover over her with that same raw devotion in his eyes, I felt fury coil in my gut like a snake.

"Pathetic" I sighed out loud.

He had mourned her for years. And still... still, the moment she reappeared, she held his heart in her trembling hands.

I stroked my belly slowly, calming myself with the steady rhythm. No. He would not leave me. Not now. Not when I carried his heir. The future of this pack rested beneath my heart, and no ghost, no scarred little survivor, could strip that from me.

I tilted my head, letting my mask slip just enough..

"You should have stayed dead, Rael," I whispered to myself, so low no one else could hear. "I gave you a merciful end. I gave you release. But you just had to crawl back."

A bitter laugh bubbled in my chest, though I swallowed it before it reached my lips. She had escaped, then. Somehow she had survived what I had arranged. It almost impressed me, though the thought curdled quickly.

She looked broken, quieter, and shaken from that fateful night five years ago. The years had carved deep hollows into her. She might have the sympathy of the people.. but I had the power. The title. The bond of marriage. The child.

And Corvin?

I tightened my grip on his name in my mind like a chain.

He was mine. He had lain in my bed, taken me as his wife. Whatever bond drew him towards her, it no longer mattered. He belonged to me in every way that counted.

Still, the sight of him holding her, the anguish etched into his face, made bile rise in my throat.

"How dare he look at her like that when I stood only steps away." I murmured.

How dare she return to ruin what I had worked for.

I pressed a hand to my lips, feigning worry when a passing guard glanced my way. "Is my cousin stable?" I asked softly, letting my eyes glisten.

He bowed quickly. "Yes, Luna Nyra. The Alpha is seeing to her now."

The Alpha...

My Alpha....

I smiled faintly, nodding, letting the guard hurry on. But inside, my wolf snapped her teeth, restless and furious.

This was my territory. My crown. My victory.

And if Rael thought she could come back from the dead and take it from me...

She was gravely mistaken.

I tilted my head, stroking my belly once more. "You won't take him. You won't take this," I murmured under my breath, venom lacing every word. "Not the pack. Not the child. Not the man."

Let them whisper Luna all they liked.

Let her wear her scars like armor.

Let him ache for her in silence.

None of it mattered.

Because I had destroyed her once.

And if I had to, I would do it again.

"Corvin is mine.. this is my home not hers"