Chapter 3

Ayla Korr

The next morning, I woke before the sun.

For a few seconds, I stared at the ceiling without remembering why my chest felt so heavy.

Then I heard footsteps in the hallway.

Voices.

A soft laugh.

It was Vesper.

I closed my eyes again.

Of course.

She was here now.

In the Alpha wing.

Two rooms away from my husband.

I pushed the covers aside and got up.

It was fine.

I just needed to stay calm.

It was a pregnancy.

Not a coronation.

I was still Darian’s wife.

I was still the Luna of this house.

And, as humiliating as it was, maybe my father was right about one thing: making a scene would only make everything worse.

I chose a simple dress, pinned up my hair, and went downstairs.

The dining room was already occupied.

I stopped in the doorway.

Darian was at the table.

Vesper too.

He was drinking coffee while reading some documents. She was sitting to his right, wearing a light-blue robe I had never seen before.

There was cut fruit in front of her.

Warm bread.

Honey.

Eggs.

A small pot of tea.

I froze before stepping into the room.

Darian never had breakfast with me.

During the first few months of our marriage, I tried.

I would wake up early. Wait.

Until I learned, from an embarrassed servant, that he preferred to eat in his office.

After that, I stopped asking, stopped waiting.

Vesper looked up first.

“Ayla. Good morning.”

Darian kept reading, as if my name had sounded like nothing.

“Good morning…”

I walked to my place.

My chair was occupied by a tray of bottles filled with herbs.

I stopped.

A maid noticed.

“Forgive me, Luna.”

She rushed to remove the things.

Vesper smiled.

“They’re vitamins. The healer said I need to take them after meals.”

“I see.”

I sat down.

Waited.

Nothing happened.

I looked at the maid.

She looked back at me.

“My breakfast?”

The color drained from her face.

“I... thought you would eat later.”

She thought…

Funny.

For two years, my breakfast had been served at seven thirty.

Every day, without fail.

“It’s not a problem,” I said.

“I’ll bring it immediately.”

“Bring more of those blackberries,” Vesper said before she left. “They’re delicious.”

The maid nodded.

“Of course, Miss Hale.”

She hurried away.

I looked at Vesper’s tray.

There were enough blackberries to feed three people.

I said nothing.

Calm down… stay calm.

Darian turned a page.

“The healer is coming again tomorrow.”

Vesper sighed.

“Again?”

“I want to make sure everything is all right.”

He paused briefly as he turned another page, then continued.

“Don’t forget to drink the Lambo root tea, he said it’s good for strength.”

She smiled, her gaze meeting mine for a few seconds before looking away.

“You’re worrying too much.”

“I’m being cautious.”

I tried to look somewhere else, ignore them.

I couldn’t.

There was something about that conversation.

Something almost intimate.

It didn’t seem like affection, Darian wasn’t like that.

Maybe it was the care.

The natural way the two of them spoke to each other.

He knew when the healer was coming.

He knew which herbs she was taking.

He knew she needed to rest.

When I had spent two weeks vomiting after a fertility treatment, Darian only realized I was sick when I fainted during dinner.

My maid returned with a cup of coffee and a plate.

It was cold.

I touched the bread.

Cold too.

She noticed.

“I can warm it up, Luna.”

“There’s no need.”

Vesper looked at my plate.

“You should eat more.”

I raised my eyes.

“I’m fine.”

“I’m only saying it because you look so pale.”

She smiled as if she were concerned.

“Maybe all the stress from these past few days is doing you harm.”

Darian finally lifted his face.

For a second, I thought he would look at me.

But no.

He looked at Vesper, concerned.

“You shouldn’t worry about that.”

“I know.”

She lowered her eyes.

“I just don’t want Ayla to feel uncomfortable because of me.”

I almost choked on my coffee.

“I’m perfectly comfortable.”

My voice came out sweet enough.

Vesper seemed satisfied.

Darian went back to the documents.

“Good.”

That was all.

Good.

I finished my coffee without tasting anything.

When I stood, one of the maids came in carrying flowers.

White roses.

“For Miss Hale,” she announced.

Another appeared behind her with a box.

Then another.

Gifts.

I stood still for a few seconds.

“What is all this?”

“Gifts from the Council families, Luna.”

The first maid smiled at Vesper.

“For the child.”

Of course.

Vesper brought her hands to her mouth.

“They didn’t have to.”

“Everyone is very happy, miss.”

Everyone.

Darian didn’t correct anyone when a maid asked where they should put the gifts.

“In her rooms,” he answered.

The rooms beside his.

I left before anyone noticed that my hands were trembling.

I decided to walk for a while to calm down. The garden was empty.

Thank the Goddess.

I walked to the small lake behind the estate and sat on the stone bench.

I breathed.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

It’s just a pregnancy.

That didn’t erase my marriage.

It didn’t erase my position.

It didn’t erase two years of trying to make that house work.

And if I became pregnant too...

I closed my eyes.

I was still thinking about it.

After everything.

Maybe it was pathetic.

But part of me still believed that a child would fix something.

It would prove that my wolf wasn’t useless.

It would prove that my body wasn’t broken.

Maybe Darian would look at me again the way he had during the first year.

Maybe my father would finally stop looking disappointed every time he saw me.

I just needed to keep trying.

That was what I always did.

Keep going.

Endure.

Don’t complain.

Don’t make things worse.

I stayed in the garden until the cold began to seep through the fabric of my dress.

When I returned to the house, the hallway was quiet.

Finally, I felt a little peace.

All I wanted was to change clothes and be alone until dinner.

I opened the door to my room.

And stopped.

My eyes couldn’t process the image in front of me.

Vesper was standing in front of my mirror.

Wearing my dress.

Not just any dress.

The one I had chosen with so much affection, with so much care.

The light-green fabric fell to her ankles, loose at the waist, with small flowers embroidered on the sleeves.

My chest tightened.

I had bought that dress eight months earlier.

After being four days late.

I told no one.

Not even Darian.

I spent the entire afternoon in a small shop in town choosing clothes that might fit when my belly began to grow.

Two weeks later, my cycle came.

I never wore the dress.

I could never bring myself to throw it away.

Vesper turned when she noticed my presence.

“Oh.”

She looked down at herself.

“It’s a little loose.”

I couldn’t speak, the words felt like splinters in my throat.

She smoothed the front of the dress.

“But I think in a few months it’ll fit perfectly.”

That was the limit.

I felt my blood heat, my body tremble.

“Take it off.”

My voice came out so loud that I barely recognized it.

Vesper blinked.

“What?”

“Take off my dress… now!”

She tilted her head.

“Ayla, I was just trying it on.”

“My dress? In my room?”

“I needed some more comfortable clothes.”

That lie made my ears hurt. It was obvious she was doing it on purpose.

“Then buy some!”

I snapped, no longer able to control my tone.

Her smile changed.

Slightly.

Just enough.

“I didn’t have time.”

I walked toward her.

“That doesn’t give you the right to come in here and touch my things.”

Vesper sighed.

“I knew you would be sensitive.”

“Sensitive?”

“Because of the situation.”

My wolf stirred inside me.

Stronger than the night before.

“Get out of my room.”

I pointed toward the door.

For a few seconds, Vesper simply watched me.

Then she ran her fingers over the green fabric.

“I really didn’t want to cause a problem.”

“And yet you managed to.”

She smiled.

This time, there was no one there for her to pretend to be delicate for.

“You should talk to Darian, then.”

My stomach turned cold.

“Why?”

“Because I asked before coming in.”

Silence.

Vesper stepped closer to the mirror again and adjusted one of the sleeves of my dress.

“Darian said I could use whatever was necessary.”

She met my eyes through the reflection.

And added:

“Including anything of yours.”