Chapter 2

I stare out the window as my mate trains the new enforcers. This has become my routine ever since the night his wolf mated me.

He does not allow me near him, unable to hide the disgust he feels whenever I am around, so watching him from afar is the closest I can get to him these days.

He moves across the training grounds with confidence and authority, throwing instructions here and there while observing the new recruits with sharp eyes. His expression is serious, almost intimidating, but beneath it I can still see the pride he feels watching his enforcers improve under his guidance.

With his arms folded across his broad chest and his legs planted firmly apart, Xavier looks powerful enough to bring anyone to their knees. His jet-black hair falls slightly over his forehead while his grey eyes remain cold and piercing, always seeming as though they can look straight into a person’s soul.

He has a sharp jawline worthy of a model, perfectly white teeth, and lips sinful enough to make a woman think dangerous thoughts, and his smile… His smile is easily the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, but unfortunately, it is rarely ever directed at me.

Xavier is the kind of man people gravitate toward without meaning to. Handsome, charismatic and strong. He carries himself like someone born to lead, and maybe that is why people overlook his flaws so easily.

Xavier is not entirely a bad person. Yes, he is arrogant, bossy, possessive, and sometimes unbearably hard to deal with, but he is also fiercely loyal to the people he loves. When Xavier cares about someone, he loves deeply and protects them with everything he has.

The problem is that none of those good parts of him have ever been meant for me. What I receive from him is irritation, coldness, and hatred so strong it sometimes feels suffocating.

Looking at us, no one would ever believe we are fated mates. No one would believe I am carrying his child.

I am currently five months pregnant and, unlike what those cringe-worthy novels like to claim, werewolf pregnancies actually last nine months just like human pregnancies do.

To say I am excited to become a mother would be the biggest understatement, because I am desperate to meet my baby. He is the only person I know will love me unconditionally because nobody else does.

Xavier does not know whether we are having a boy or a girl, though I doubt he even cares enough to ask. He barely speaks to me unless absolutely necessary, and he has never once asked how the baby is doing.

While other pregnant she-wolves have supportive mates beside them during doctor appointments, I always go alone. Even after leaving him notes reminding him about the appointments, he never bothers to show up.

At first, I used to wait for him. I would sit there hoping he would suddenly walk through the door at the last minute, maybe realizing that this baby mattered to him after all, but he never came and eventually, I stopped expecting him to.

Still, despite everything, all I hope is he will love our child even if he cannot love me. I hope he will not look at our son and see a burden the way he looks at me, but even if he does, it will not change anything because I will love this baby with every single piece of my heart.

I leave my room and head downstairs, planning to take a walk through the forest. I read somewhere that walking is good for the baby and, since I cannot shift, run, or hunt in my condition, it is the closest thing I have to staying active.

Lost in my thoughts and moving too quickly, I fail to look where I am going and end up crashing into someone.

I immediately open my mouth to apologize, only for the words to die in my throat when I look up and find the former Luna staring at me with nothing but disgust and annoyance.

Did I forget to mention that I am hated in this pack? Not just because of what happened in the past, but also for supposedly forcing their beloved Alpha into a mating he never wanted by getting myself pregnant.

But most of all, I am hated by his family.

“If it weren’t for the fact that you are carrying my grandchild, I would rip your black heart out and feed it to the rogues.”

The venom dripping from her voice makes my stomach twist painfully. I lower my head and mumble a quiet apology because, honestly, what else is there for me to say?

I learned a long time ago that you cannot change the way people see you. I have been living with hatred since I was ten years old, so none of this is new to me anymore.

Still, it hurts.

“Gods, you are pathetic,” she spits. “Sometimes I wonder what the Moon Goddess saw in you to pair you with my son. You are nothing but a low-life murderer who should never have existed in the first place. All you do is make us miserable, especially my son. My only prayer is that my grandchild does not inherit any of your disgusting personality traits.”

Her words hit me like knives, and I have to force myself to breathe through the pain tearing inside me.

“That was uncalled for,” I murmur quietly, my voice trembling despite my efforts to keep it steady. “You can say whatever you want about me, but please leave my baby out of it.”

“Your baby?” she repeats mockingly. “Do you even hear yourself? You would not even be pregnant if you had not shamelessly seduced Xavier’s wolf.”

Her lips pull back into a snarl, forcing me to instinctively take a step back. If I were not carrying her grandchild, I have no doubt she would have attacked me already.

“I did not seduce anyone,” I whisper, shaking my head. “Least of all Ace. He is a powerful wolf, so how could someone as insignificant and wolfless as me possibly seduce him?”

“How would I know what tricks a slut like you used?” she snaps. “Because that is exactly what you are—a disgusting, shameless slut.”

With that, she storms away, leaving me standing alone in the foyer with tears burning behind my eyes, refusing to fall.

I am used to the insults by now, but that does not mean they no longer hurt. It does not mean they do not break something inside me every single time I hear them, because they do. They shatter me into pieces over and fucking over again.

I should have left this pack years ago, but I had nowhere else to go, so I stayed.

I stayed hoping things would eventually get better with time, but they never did. If anything, they only became worse the older I got.

I rush outside and head straight for the forest because the last thing I need right now is for someone to see me crying. That would only lead to more mockery, more humiliation, and more pain.

The moment I am far enough from the pack house, I finally let the tears fall. The pain crashes through me like an avalanche. It tears through my chest so fiercely that I can barely breathe around it. My knees give out beneath me and I collapse onto the forest floor, sobbing helplessly as tears stream down my face.

There is no cure for this kind of pain. No medicine capable of numbing it. No escape from it… All I can do is endure it.

Eventually, I force myself back onto my feet and continue deeper into the forest until I reach the cliff overlooking the waterfall.

I stand near the edge silently, staring down at the raging water below while dark thoughts creep into my mind.

For one horrible moment, I consider ending it all because my greatest fear is my child growing up the same way I did—hated, unwanted, and blamed for things beyond his control. I cannot bear the thought of my son being despised not only by his father, but by the entire pack as well. I do not want him to live that kind of life.

My wolf immediately pushes against the thought, distressed and furious at the idea of harming ourselves or our baby, but I am so tired.

I’m tired of hurting. Tired of crying. Tired of existing in a place where I am hated simply for breathing, but then guilt crashes into me almost instantly.

Wouldn’t doing something like that make me exactly what they already believe I am? A selfish monster? And how could I ever hurt the baby I already love more than anything else in this world?

So, with trembling legs, I slowly step away from the edge before turning back toward the forest.

I take my time walking because I am in no hurry to return to a place where almost everyone loathes me and wishes nothing but suffering upon me.

The sun is beginning to set, painting the sky in shades of orange and gold, but I am not worried about being outside this late. Why would I be when I am still within pack territory?

Our pack is the largest and strongest in the region. Xavier is not only one of the youngest Alphas, but also one of the most powerful. Combined with enforcers personally trained by him, our borders are practically impossible to breach. No one is foolish enough to attack us, but for some reason an uneasy feeling settles deep inside me.

The hairs on the back of my neck rise sharply and my wolf instantly grows alert, her hackles raised in warning. A chill crawls down my spine as the unsettling sensation of being watched by something dark washes over me.

I slowly turn in circles, scanning the trees around me as I try to pinpoint where the feeling is coming from, but the forest remains silent.

After several tense moments pass with nothing happening, I finally convince myself that maybe I am simply being paranoid and continue toward the pack house, only this time, I walk much faster because despite trying to ignore it, the uneasy feeling still refuses to leave me, and that is definitely not something a pregnant woman should be experiencing.

I heave a sigh of relief the moment I make it back to the pack house. Like always, I use the back entrance to get inside because avoiding the rest of the pack has become second nature to me. The fewer people I interact with, the better. It saves me from their hateful stares, whispered insults, and the constant reminder that I do not belong here.

The moment I step inside, I head straight for my room. As Luna, I should have been staying in the Alpha section beside my mate, but that was never the case for us. I was instead given the furthest and most secluded room in the entire pack house because, according to Xavier, he did not want to wake up every morning and see my “disgusting face.”

The memory still hurts, though not as sharply as it once did. At first, being shoved away like that felt humiliating, another cruel reminder that my mate wanted nothing to do with me, but over time I turned the room into my sanctuary. It became the only place in this pack where I could breathe without feeling judged or hated.

After taking a shower and washing the dirt and sweat from my skin, I change into fresh clothes before heading downstairs to the kitchen to find something to eat.

The moment I step inside, however, I freeze and my body locks in place because standing in the middle of the kitchen is Xavier kissing another woman.

My breath catches in my throat as I stare at them, unable to look away no matter how badly I want to.

He is holding her so gently, as though she is something precious and delicate that could break if handled too roughly. One of his hands rests against her waist while the other cups her face possessively, and the tenderness in the gesture nearly destroys me.

The woman lets out a soft moan and Xavier answers with a deep groan filled with pure pleasure, the sound raw enough to make my chest ache. It sounds as though he is starving and she is the only thing capable of satisfying him.

As if sensing my presence, they slowly pull away from each other before turning toward me. Xavier’s expression instantly hardens with annoyance at having been interrupted, but I barely notice him anymore because my attention shifts to the woman standing in his arms and suddenly the pain becomes far worse than before.

I feel my heart crack inside my chest, feel it bleeding out piece by piece onto the floor while they stare at me without an ounce of guilt or shame, because the woman standing in Xavier’s arms is none other than my long-lost sister; Biance

And in that moment, I cannot help but wonder if my life can possibly become any more fucked up than it already is.