I am the Luna

Chapter 3

“Keral!” Kate called out before she turned away from Kael and stretched her arms toward Keral.

Keral stepped forward and hugged her, tears falling as well. The tears were not truly for Kate. She felt glad that her sister had returned safely, yet her throat burned when she thought about what this return might mean for her, for the baby she carried, and for her place beside Kael.

Kate explained that she had not thought clearly when she left the house three years earlier. After only a few days on another continent she came to her senses, but then she was kidnapped and held captive for the next three years. She chose not to share the details because she did not want to upset anyone with the hard things she had faced.

When Keral looked at her, though, she saw no signs of a woman who had lived through a kidnapping. Kate’s hair shone glossy and bright, and her skin looked clear and smooth. She appeared like someone who had enjoyed the best years of her life.

Keral scolded herself for the thought and felt a flash of dislike toward her own mind. Kate had no reason to invent a story about being taken. She had no reason to lie at all. Keral decided the dark thoughts must come from her own jealousy and bitterness.

The rest of the day passed with everyone fussing over Kate. Their mother stepped into the kitchen for the first time in years to cook Kate’s favorite meal. Their father could not stop staring at her. Kael seemed to forget he had a wife at all. He stayed close to Kate and quickly pulled out a chair for her at the dining table while Keral had to pull out her own seat.

The plan to share the news of the pregnancy slipped away as every conversation turned toward Kate. Their parents began talking about arranging therapy sessions and holding a party to welcome her back to the pack. Kael promised to look into the kidnapping group and make certain every person involved was punished.

“They are on another continent, Kael,” Kate answered in a soft voice as she rested a hand on his. “I escaped on my own. I even burned part of their hideout while I was getting away. They are not worth your worry.”

“They stole three years of your life, Kate. They hurt you,” Kael said. Anger and care burned together in his eyes. “I cannot even begin to imagine what you went through during those years.” His voice grew tighter. “How can I not worry about it? How can I not plan to burn their whole group to the ground?”

“Oh my poor Kael,” Kate murmured as she covered his clenched fist on the table and slowly rubbed her hand over it. Keral was certain she caught a sly little smile aimed her way before Kate looked back at him.

“You are an alpha with an entire pack to lead and a wife to care for,” Kate continued. “You should not trouble yourself with what happened to your former fiancée, especially since she survived. Besides, three years have already passed.”

Keral poured herself a glass of water and drank it without speaking a word.

“Ahem,” their mother cleared her throat. “About that matter. It may feel a little early, yet there is no reason to wait and drag things out. Kael married Keral only because he had to. We needed someone to take your place since we could not cancel the wedding. We had to protect your position.”

“So you are saying that Keral was only a temporary stand-in?” Kate asked.

“Yes, my dear,” their mother answered. “Now that you are home again, everything should go back to the way it was meant to be.”

“Come on, Mom,” Kate answered with a soft laugh. “That is ridiculous. Do you really want Keral to give up everything just because I have returned?”

“But it is your original place,” their mother said.

“I left it on my own,” Kate replied with a small shrug, as if the position no longer mattered to her. “Yes, I regret walking away so suddenly three years ago, yet what is done is done.”

She turned her eyes toward Keral across the table and let out a quiet sigh. Something that looked like pity rested in her gaze.

“You cannot ask my sister to leave her marriage and her husband simply because I am home again,” she continued in a voice that sounded full of care. “She is your daughter too. When will you start caring about her feelings as well? That was the main reason I left in the first place. I always felt I was standing in the way of you growing closer to your real daughter.”

Her words faded into a soft sob. Keral sat still, feeling lost and worn out. Everything somehow circled back to her, as if she had been the one who broke a happy family.

“I am sorry, Kate,” their mother said. “Your father and I only want you to be happy.”

“I will be happy when you treat Keral the way she deserves,” Kate answered.

“Can we put this talk aside for now?” Kael said. “Kate has only just returned, and feelings are running high. Let us eat, rest, and speak about it another time.” He closed the conversation without once glancing toward Keral.

No one looked at Keral for the rest of the evening except Kate, and Keral could not tell whether those looks held kindness or quiet mockery.

They all went to bed very late. Their mother led Kate to the room that had been prepared for her three years earlier, the same room whose belongings and decorations had been kept ready because their mother never stopped believing her daughter would return. The two of them shared another wave of tears while Keral slipped away into the bedroom she shared with Kael.

She did not know what to think or how to act. Her place in the house had always felt uncertain, and now that Kate was back it would grow even weaker, no matter what Kate claimed to want.

Almost an hour later Kael walked into the room. He looked more at ease and happier than Keral had ever seen him. Three years of marriage had never brought that light to his face, yet half a day with Kate had filled him with clear joy.

A sharp bitterness rose inside her, and she forced it down. She told herself to hold on to the good news instead. A baby could still change their lives and their marriage.

“Kael, I have something to tell you,” she said.

“What is it?” he asked without turning around. He stood near the walk-in closet taking off his clothes.

“I went to the hospital today.”

Any ordinary husband would have spun around in concern, yet Kael’s back stayed turned and he offered no words of encouragement.

“And the doctor said I am…”

His phone rang and cut her off. He answered at once. Keral could hear the voice on the other end.

“I am truly scared of sleeping alone, Kael,” Kate said in a broken tone that sounded almost like a child’s. Kael was already walking toward the door before she finished speaking.

“Can you come and stay with me until I fall asleep?”

“Do not wait up,” he told Keral. “Kate needs me.”

And then Keral was all alone in our huge main bedroom.

Her husband didn’t return to bed that night.