CHAPTER 2
1020 Words
Aria’s POV
“I’m pregnant.”
The words refused to settle in my mind.
They echoed… again and again… loud, hollow, unreal.
Pregnant.
I stood frozen where Lucius had struck me, my cheek still burning, my fingers numb at my sides. Freya clung to him, one hand on her stomach, the other gripping his shirt like she owned him. Like she had always owned him.
“That’s not possible,” I whispered, more to myself than anyone else. “You said… you said there was nothing wrong with me.”
Lucius finally looked at me, truly looked at me, and whatever softness I hoped to find was nowhere in his eyes.
“There is everything wrong with you,” he said coldly. “You are barren.”
The word split something inside me.
“You are unfit to be my Luna,” he continued, his voice steady and merciless. “Three years, Aria. Three wasted years. You have failed to give me an heir.”
“No heir. No legacy. What kind of Alpha tolerates that?”
My lips trembled. “You… you can’t just say that… We could have tried other—”
“Enough,” he snapped. “Three long years wasted on a bond that produces nothing. I gave you every chance, every opportunity… and yet, nothing. Do not expect pity. You have failed. Freya has given me what you never could.”
Freya lowered her gaze, pretending to be modest, but her fingers tightened possessively on Lucius’s arm. I could feel her triumph like poison in the air.
I backed away slowly, my chest aching, my vision blurring. No one stopped me as I left the room. No one called my name.
I cried until my body ached.
I cried in the bathroom, pressing my face into a towel so no one would hear. I cried on the bed that night, curled into myself like a wounded animal. I cried through the morning and into the afternoon, the sun moving across the windows as time passed without meaning.
Everything I had built my life around was gone.
By evening, exhaustion forced me out of the room. I wandered the halls aimlessly, my head throbbing, my heart hollow. That was when I heard them.
“She embarrassed herself.”
“She really thought slapping Freya would change anything?”
I slowed my steps, my heart sinking.
“She’s just insecure,” one maid said. “Anyone would be, being barren and all.”
Another laughed softly. “The Moon Goddess really played a joke on Alpha Lucius with that one.”
My hands clenched.
“She should have known her place. Acting out like that at the anniversary? Pathetic.”
I turned sharply. “Say that again.”
The maids gasped, their faces draining of color as they realized I had heard everything. One stammered an apology, the other looked away, guilt flickering briefly before hardening into indifference.
“I am your Luna,” I said, my voice shaking with anger. “You will show respect.”
Before they could respond, a deep voice sounded behind me.
“It isn’t worth it.”
I froze.
I turned slowly, and for a moment, the world seemed to stop.
The man standing behind me was tall, broad-shouldered, dressed in dark clothing that seemed to swallow the light around him. His presence alone felt heavy, oppressive, like the air before a storm. Silver eyes regarded me with calm intensity, sharp and assessing.
Lycan Darius.
I had heard stories. Every pack had. Stories of brutality, of entire clans wiped out, of a Lycan who ruled through fear and precision. And yet, standing before me now, he was… composed. Controlled.
Yet, his presence still feels dangerous.
The maids bowed hastily and fled.
“Thank you,” I said quietly, though my heart was racing.
He inclined his head slightly. “They were not worth your energy.”
I studied him, unsure why he was here. “What brings a Lycan to this wing of the pack house?”
“I took a wrong turn,” he replied smoothly. “I was looking for Alpha Lucius’s office.”
Something about his tone made me uneasy. He was lying. I did not know how, but I knew.
“It’s down the east corridor,” I said. “Third door on the left.”
“Ah,” he said. “Then I am grateful for the guidance.”
There was a pause.
“You are trembling,” he observed.
I stiffened. “I’m fine.”
His gaze softened slightly, though the intensity remained. “You should not lie when you are already wounded.”
Before I could respond, footsteps echoed behind us.
“Lycan Darius,” Alpha Lucius’s voice called. “There you are.”
Alpha Lucius appeared, his expression polite but strained. “Forgive the delay. Business matters.”
Lycan Darius nodded. “I was momentarily lost.”
Alpha Lucius glanced at me, irritation flashing in his eyes. “My apologies if my… Luna disturbed you.”
Disturbed.
The word stung.
Lycan Darius’s brows drew together. “Is that how you refer to your Luna?”
Alpha Lucius scoffed. “She is no use as one.”
The words landed like a blow.
Lycan Darius said nothing more, only gave me a long, unreadable look before following Alpha Lucius away.
That night, I made a decision.
If my marriage was ending, I would not leave empty-handed.
I would retrieve the documents my father had entrusted to me years ago. Deeds. Contracts. Ownership papers. My father’s company… the one Alpha Lucius had taken under the guise of marriage.
I would get it back.
Hours later, my trusted maid showed up at my room.
“My Luna,” she whispered. “I have something to tell you.”
Before she could continue, the door swung open.
Alpha Lucius stood there, fury blazing in his eyes.
“Get out,” he barked at the maid.
She fled.
I took a step back, my heart pounding as he closed the door behind him.
Fear crept into my bones.
- Writer
