Chapter 2: Miscarriage
1981 Words
Elara’s POV.
I woke up to a white ceiling and the smell of antiseptic filling my nose. My head throbbed like it was being squeezed. The light above me was painfully bright, stabbing straight into my eyes. I blinked slowly.
A nurse appeared at my bedside. When she saw that I was awake, she stiffened, then forced a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. She looked down for a second, then back up at me.
“Luna… I’m so sorry,” she murmured.
I blinked at her, confused. I swallowed with difficulty.
“W-What’s wrong?” My voice was weak.
I studied her anxious face. Even before she spoke again, I already had a feeling about what she was going to say, but I didn’t want to confirm it.
She took a breath and placed a hand over mine. “You… You lost your child.”
I pressed a hand right over my heart. It was like someone had ripped it out and crushed it under their heel. I tried to inhale, but my lungs wouldn’t obey. A piercing, raw pain hit me hard until it hurt to breathe.
I shook my head, refusing to believe it. “No…”
Tears spilled down the sides of my face, soaking into the pillow. “That can’t be true! P-Please tell me it isn’t!” I sobbed, my voice cracking in the middle of the word.
The nurse moved closer, supporting my back. “I’m so sorry, Luna Elara,” she said over and over. “We did everything we could. You lost a lot of blood. Your body was under too much shock.”
Her words passed through me. All I could hear was the echo of what had happened. It all came flooding back at once.
How was I supposed to recover from this?
My hands slid down to my stomach. It felt empty. Just hours ago, there had been life there.
My child… I didn’t even get to protect you.
“Raven… Azra…” I murmured, the names tasting bitter on my tongue. “How could you?”
Tears kept slipping out, one after another. My chest felt torn open. The grief came in waves.
“I have to go back,” I muttered to myself. “I need to see him. I need to confront him.”
I sat upright abruptly and pulled out the IV needle still attached to my hand without hesitation. Pain shot through my arm, and blood seeped out. I didn’t wince. That pain was nothing compared to what the man I trusted had done to me.
The nurse rushed toward me. “Luna Elara—” she called. “You’re still too weak. You shouldn’t be moving—”
I didn’t look at her. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and planted my feet on the floor. My legs trembled, weak from shock, grief, and the physical toll of the miscarriage.
She seemed like she wanted to help me, but I raised a hand to stop her. She stopped in her tracks, hesitating for a moment.
“Luna Elara… please think about your body.”
I smiled bitterly. “My body already paid the price.”
I took one step forward and began to leave. As I walked through the pack’s streets, the cool air slapped my face, whipping my hair around my cheeks. Pack members slowed down when they saw me. I forced myself not to look at them. My fists were clenched at my sides.
“She’s awake,” someone whispered.
“I heard Luna lost her child.”
“How pitiful.”
I could feel their eyes on me. Others didn’t bother to hide their contempt, as if my pain were something they had been waiting to witness. I walked past them all.
The closer I got to the house, the more the memories assaulted me again. I could hear every word, feel every lie, see every betrayal, as if it were happening again right in front of me.
I stumbled and grabbed my abdomen, nearly collapsing onto the sidewalk. Every step I took outside felt like torture, yet I drew in a deep breath and forced myself to keep moving anyway.
By the time Azra’s residence came into view, I halted immediately. Raven was coming out, and Azra was right beside him. And between them… was their child.
The boy walked happily, his hands held by both Raven and Azra. He looked up at them with bright eyes, smiling wide. Raven lowered his head, his expression softening in a way I hadn’t seen in years.
I felt something crack from within me. They laughed together, the three of them looking so complete, like a real family. It was as if I had never existed at all.
Azra noticed me first. She slowed, her eyes widening just enough to show surprise before she carefully hid it.
“Elara?” she said, letting go of the child’s hand as she stepped forward. “You’re out already? You don’t look well. I heard you fainted… I was so worried about you.”
She reached out as if to hold my arm. Her filthy fingers almost touched me. I stepped back, and her hand froze mid-air. I stared at her— at the concern she wore like a mask.
“How touching,” I let out a sarcastic scoff. “What a coincidence. I feel unwell, yet I still managed to run into you and my husband coming out of the same house… together with your child.”
My voice sounded calm, but I was holding myself together by a thread. I refused to crumble in front of them. I wouldn’t let them see just how much I was hurting.
Her lips parted. “Elara, you’re misunderstanding—”
“Am I?”
“It’s not what you think.”
I turned my eyes to Raven. “Oh? Why don’t you explain it to me?”
Raven furrowed his brow as if I were being unreasonable. I looked from him, to Azra, then down to the child standing behind them, peeking out from his side.
“So this is what you’ve been busy with,” I said with a weak smile. “No wonder you didn’t have time for me.”
“Elara, you’re thinking too much.”
I nodded. Thinking too much. Of course. Those words almost made me laugh out loud.
“Azra is my late brother’s wife,” he added. “She’s alone now, raising a child by herself. As the Alpha, as her family, it’s my duty to take care of her and the child. That’s all.”
So this was his excuse. So clean. So noble. They only made my blood boil.
I slowly clapped my hands once. “Wow,” I said, shaking my head. “You’re amazing, Raven.”
His eyes darkened. “Elara, there’s nothing improper between us. I don’t know why you’d jump to such conclusions.”
I ignored him and took a step closer. I looked Azra straight in the eyes.
“So, you’re just a poor widow, and my husband is just too kind-hearted to leave you alone?”
She bit her lip, tears spilling over. “Elara, please! I know it looks bad, but I swear! Raven never crossed the line. He was only helping me because my marriage was miserable.”
She wiped her tears, looking fragile and pitiful. If I didn’t know the truth, I might have believed her again.
“My husband was gone,” she went on. “I had no one. I was alone. Raven just couldn’t bear to see me suffer.”
I clenched my fists. “That’s why you leaned on him. Day after day. Night after night.”
She shook her head quickly. “No! That’s not what I mean. Elara, please don’t be angry. I never wanted to hurt you. You’re my best friend.”
Best friend. The words stabbed deep. I was foolish to hand her the gun, not knowing she would aim it at me behind my back. She traded all the years we spent as friends for a man like him.
Raven let out a tired sigh, as if he were the one being wronged. “Enough,” he said. “She’s already been through a lot. Don’t push her.”
He lifted his arm and placed it around her shoulders. Azra leaned into him immediately.
“It’s okay,” Raven murmured to her.
That scene burned itself into my eyes. I stared at the two of them standing so close, fitting together so perfectly. Anyone who saw us would think I was the outsider. How ridiculous.
A scoff escaped me, letting my disdain show. “You hold her while telling me there’s nothing going on. Tell me, Raven, have you always been this gentle?”
He finally turned his full attention to me. “You’re being emotional.”
That was always his word. My chest rose and fell sharply with anger. My vision narrowed, the world shrinking until all I could see was his utterly shameless face.
I raised my hand without thinking. All I knew was that I wanted to wipe that calm, superior expression off his face. But before I could, someone grabbed my wrist.
“Luna Elara!”
I gasped, startled. Raven’s Beta had appeared out of nowhere. His grip was firm, stopping my hand inches from Raven’s face.
“Please calm down,” he said. “You can’t do this.”
I struggled instinctively. “Let go!”
“This is not appropriate, Luna.”
I laughed shakily. “Not appropriate? What’s not appropriate is what they’re doing!”
Raven stared at my raised hand, his jaw clenched. “Have you completely lost your mind? Are you satisfied now?”
Lost my mind? Maybe— or maybe I had finally woken up.
“Stop imagining things that never happened. Everything you’re feeling right now— it’s all in your head. You’re letting your emotions run wild. You’ve created a story and convinced yourself it’s real.”
He glanced briefly at Azra, who clung to him as if she were scared.
“Don’t drag innocent people into your delusions, especially Azra.”
I started to laugh like a madman. My eyes burned, but no tears came. I was already past crying.
Raven frowned. “What are you laughing at?”
I looked at him. This man I had loved for years. This man I had trusted with my body and my heart. This man who had once stood beside me as my mate, my Alpha, my husband. And only now did I see him clearly.
Suddenly, I saw him for what he really was— a man full of lies. A man who could hold another woman in his arms, and tell me with a straight face that everything was just my imagination. My laughter faded. The disappointment hit harder than the resentment.
I pulled my wrist free from the Beta’s grip and lowered my hand.
“You deny everything. You say I imagined it all.” I nodded once. “Fine.”
He relaxed a little, as if he thought it was over.
“I won’t argue with you anymore.” I stepped closer until I was standing right in front of him. “I’m done.”
“Done with what?” he asked.
I met his eyes. “With this marriage.”
The air went still. For five long seconds, there was only silence. I gathered every ounce of courage, knowing in my heart that I wouldn’t turn back. I had made up my mind, and I wouldn’t take it back.
Azra’s breath hitched. “E-Elara…”
Raven glared at me. “What did you just say?”
“I said…” I repeated. “I want a divorce.”
- Writer
