When the Aurora Falls on No Man’s Land

ZAIA

“I have some good news, Zaia. Sebastian will be so excited. Congratulations, you’re pregnant!” The doctor’s words ring in my mind as I stare down at the test reports once again, as I leave the hospital.

“Sorry!” I say, as I avoid bumping into someone, my heart skipping a beat as I place a hand on my stomach protectively, hurrying towards my awaiting car.

My driver, Ethan, is waiting beside the sleek black car and he opens the door for me, bowing his head.

“Thank you!” I say as I get in gracefully.

“Where to, ma’am?” he asks once he gets in the car.

“Home,” I say, unable to suppress my smile, excitement bubbling through me.

This is actually happening. I’ve been trying for a baby for three years and finally… finally, I am pregnant.

I want to shout it from the rooftop, tell everyone that yes! I’m pregnant with the heir to the pack! But I contain my excitement. I need to tell Sebastian the good news first.

Sebastian is the Alpha of the Dark Hollow Falls pack. It is one of the largest packs on the eastern side of the state.

However, with the large territory also comes the dangerous borders that roam with rogues, ready to tear apart anyone who gets in their way.

Werewolves spend their entire lives searching and hoping to find their destined mates. As for me, I had a crush on Bastien from the moment I had seen him when I was eleven years old.

That crush never went away and when he turned out to be my fated mate, it had been a dream come true and we had married.

He desperately wanted an heir, and which Alpha doesn’t? I had just turned eighteen when I found him, but he was thirty one at the time. Many other alphas have sons who are already being trained to become the next alphas at his age.

“Make haste, Ethan, I have a lot to do today,” I say to the driver as I sit back against the plush leather seat.

Reaching our large gated mansion, I step inside and head straight to the kitchen, my stilettos echoing on the wooden floors. I will cook his favourite pudding and place the reports underneath the plate!

“You may take the evening off, get some rest,” I say to the maid, Emma. “I’ll cook for us tonight.”

“Oh, thank you, Luna!” she says, placing down the dish towel she had been holding. “I am certain Alpha will absolutely be so happy if you make him his favourite dessert! Not to mention he doesn’t like sweet things, but your pudding is something he can’t resist!”

I can’t help but smile at her words. Yes, Sebastien doesn’t enjoy sweet things aside from me and the cream pie that he loves. 

My cheeks heat as I remember the first time he had told me that it’s now his second favourite dessert, and in hopes of making his favourite dessert, I had asked him what his favourite was. Only for him to smirk and reply; you.

I can’t help but smile from ear to ear, the elated feeling creating a pleasant buzz around me as I get to work wanting everything to be perfect for his return.

Hours pass and when everything is almost ready, I change into something pretty and set up the dining table with candles and the food.

“Almost 9pm…” he will be home soon.

With the troubles that have surrounded our borders, as well as having to run the business, Sebastian often works until late into the night. But he would try to come home by 9.30pm and continue working from home if necessary.

I sit down on the chair, watching the clock tick away, the sound loud in the room's silence.

Once again, I look down at my stomach, smiling softly as I await the return of my mate.

Time passes slowly and soon 11 o’clock comes and goes, but I’m not deterred, maybe I will reheat the food again…

I have just placed the reheated meals on the table when my head jerks up at the sound of footsteps, making my heart thud at the sudden sound. I look toward the door excitedly.

Finally, he is home! 

The front door shuts, and a familiar faint scent of my mate hits my nose.

I cast a swift glance at the clock on the wall. To my surprise, it’s past midnight.

I rush to the hall, the excitement of finally being able to tell him the good news filling me. There he is, in the dimly lit hall. He still looks as handsome as ever. 

Three and a half years on, he still makes my heart skip a beat whenever I see him.

He loosens his black tie, as he places his briefcase down, holding a few files in his hands as well. His bright blue eyes look tired as they meet mine and I smile.

“Sebastian!” I rush over to him, wrapping my arms around his neck.

He catches me with one arm, but there’s no enthusiasm. He must have had a really hard day. I don’t mind; I know how stressful things are at work lately. 

Placing me back on the floor, he raises a brow as he looks down at me.

“Why are you awake at this time?” he asks me in his deep, rugged voice.

“I was waiting for you. I wanted to have dinner together. There’s something I wanted to tell you,” I explain as I help him out of his jacket, brushing a piece of lint from his white shirt that is no longer as crisp as it was this morning.

“I’ve already eaten,” he replies, surprising me as heads towards the living room. “I have something to tell you.”

“Ok, you go first,” I say as he drops onto the sofa, stretching his long legs, and resting his arm on the back of the sofa. 

I sit down beside him, knowing he would share something regarding the work meeting. After all, I am knowledgeable on these matters and he’d often get my opinion on his ideas.

However, there’s something off. There’s a coldness in his eyes as he looks into mine.

Sebastian looks down at the file in his hands before he tosses it on the table, the loud snap as it hits the table makes me jump.

“Read it.”

I take it uneasily and flip open the blank file, but the red words in bold print at the top of the first page make my blood run cold.

‘DIVORCE AGREEMENT’

I gasp as I quickly scan the document. That feeling becomes worse. This is a divorce agreement with our name on it… My entire body trembles as I look up at him, hurt and confused.

“W-why?” I manage to blurt out as I look at the man I love from the bottom of my heart.

What went wrong?

“Annalise is back, and she’s rejoined the pack.”

I look up sharply. It’s suddenly hard to breathe.

“But I am your mate,” I whisper. How could he still care for Annalise? She was his past. “We’ve been married for three years.”

“Our marriage was a mistake from the very beginning. Back then, my father demanded that I marry my mate, but now I don’t want to be bound by the Goddess’ arrangement. I don’t see the point of fated mates.”

My heart clenches. I look at his face, trying to understand what he’s thinking, but there’s nothing that reveals his feelings and he has his walls up, blocking the mate bond.

“But your father, he-”

“My Mom is not my father’s mate, but she still gave birth to me. She gave him a powerful Alpha son and even after he found his mate, he stayed by her side, rejecting his mate. I will never understand his reason for wanting me with my destined mate when he himself is proof that you don’t need your mate.”

Those words are worse than being stabbed a thousand times, and I can feel my eyes prickle with tears, the agony my wolf is feeling consuming me.

Does he really think that is the truth? Annalise is my half-sister and although she and Sebastian had dated, I know her truth, the real her that she hides behind her pretty face and doe eyes.

“Annalise only approached you because you were an Alpha… Sebastian, she doesn’t love you the way I do. She wants to be Luna-”

He kicks the solid oak coffee table, making me jump as it’s thrown over with a loud crash, hitting the wooden floor with a deafening bang that makes the ornaments in the glass cabinet shake.

“And what about you? You just want to be Luna, don’t you! You knew that Annalise and I were in a relationship, yet you selfishly accepted the marriage anyway and betrayed your own sister by taking her man! You lied to me. She’s told me everything!”

“No, that’s not true. Let me explain-”

“Don’t antagonise me, Zaia, you got what you wanted, you became my wife and Luna, but that wasn’t enough for you. You forced Annalise from coming anywhere near this pack because you knew once she returned, I would learn everything!”

Yes, I did want Annalise to leave, but I never made her leave. She left of her own accord once she learned Sebastian had found his mate, but now, it’s almost as if she has been planning her return all this time.

Is she really enough to come between what we have? Sadly, I look into his eyes, realising he never trusted me. He’s now judging and calculating everything I gave him with suspicion, as if I had played him to gain the position of Luna. 

Doesn’t he realise I fell for him before I even knew he was an Alpha? Has he always been wary of me? That one person can come between us and ruin it all? Did he even for a moment, truly love me wholeheartedly? 

I can’t understand it. Tell me Bastian… If you didn’t want me, then why did you make love to me? Why did you touch me like I was the only woman who mattered to you? 

Taking a deep breath, I ask him the decisive question. “Sebastian… Tell me, if it wasn’t your father’s request-“

“Then I would have rejected you, and even now, I will, for Annalise.”

My lips quiver, remembering how my father hadn’t been happy with me marrying him. He never liked Sebastian’s family, yet I had given it all up for him.

My family… my inheritance and my position, but it was clearly not enough for him.

If he’s able to cast me aside so easily, then what is my use?

He exhales as if I’m an irritating child and takes out a lighter and cigarette.

“Sign the papers soon. I don’t want this to drag out,” he says.

I stare down at the file as a single tear splashes onto the papers.

“What did you want to tell me?” he asks.

“It’s no longer important… forget about it,” I say, thinking he will never see the papers that currently sit on the dining room table.

“If you have any concerns regarding the alimony, let me know. Your expenses will be covered and you are welcome to stay in the pack.”

That hurts. 

“No… there’s no need. Everything is fine as it is. I will sign and have these returned to you immediately,” I reply as I stand up, trying to hold myself together when my entire world has come crashing down around me.

He pauses for a second and simply nods, uncaring about my heartbreak and agony that I know he can feel through the bond. Could he really cast me, his own mate, aside for another woman? 

The answer is in front of me, and although it is painful, the truth is yes, yes, he could.

“You may remain here for tonight. It’s late anyway. Annalise won’t move in until everything is settled. I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable.”

I stare up into his handsome face, trying to recognise the man I fell for.

I smile bitterly and nod at him. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll be gone. Say hi to Annalise for me.”