Announcement
1119 Words
Aria POV
I ignored the little voice whispering in my head.
I didn’t want to think.
I didn’t want to feel.
I didn’t want to imagine Selene truly pregnant.
I know Selene very well.
I know the kind of poison she carries in her tongue.
I know the kind of games she plays.
And yet…
That tiny voice inside kept saying What if it’s true?
I forced my thoughts away and dragged myself to prepare for the photoshoot.
This day has tried to break me, but I won’t let it.
I ordered the clothes earlier since I had zero strength to go out myself, and they arrived thirty minutes ago.
Standing in front of the mirror, I stared at myself.
My reflection looked pale, exhausted, and weak.
Not the Luna everyone ignores, but a girl trying not to collapse.
My eyes looked heavier than my heart.
My lips looked dry.
My body felt like it carried weights inside it.
“I need to go to the hospital,” I whispered to myself.
But not today.
Not before my birthday.
Not when I finally want to do something for myself.
So I forced myself through the motions.
Foundation. Mascara.
Soft dark makeup, not heavy, but enough to match my desired energy.
Dark, strong, dangerous, alive.
Even if I wasn’t.
I slipped into a skimpy dress, hugging my tired body.
It fell right above my knees for now, I would change into the real outfit at the studio.
The “dark energy” theme I had saved for months.
I booked one of the most aesthetic studios in the city last night.
This photoshoot is mine.
My celebration.
My rebirth… even if I feel like dying inside.
I forced my weak body out of the room and walked to the parking area.
Helmet in hand.
Heart empty.
Head spinning, but I swallowed hard and ignored it.
The moment I sat on my new silver bike, something shifted inside me.
The roar.
The breeze.
The vibration beneath me.
Wooo.
Freedom.
Escape.
A taste of the old me, the alpha’s daughter, fearless, stubborn, wild.
I forgot everything for a second, my pain, Selene’s words, Damon, the rumors, the pack.
I forgot I was hurting.
I forgot I was breaking.
I rode through the streets like I was running away from my thoughts.
And honestly, I was.
By the time I got to the studio, I felt a tiny spark inside.
Just a tiny one, but it was there.
The shoot was beautiful.
Dark lights. Shadow poses.
Wind machines are blowing through my hair.
Black leather outfit hugging my body.
I felt strong.
I felt dangerous.
I felt like… me.
But the session dragged, and by the last pose, my body gave up again.
Sweat was on my back. My legs trembled.
My head was light like I could float away.
I smiled for the camera, but behind that smile was weakness clawing at me.
The ride back was slower, my body didn’t have the same strength anymore.
By the time I parked at the pack house and changed clothes, it was already 5pm.
Everyone looked busy, running around, training, shifting, laughing.
Life moved on.
Mine felt paused.
I decided to stop by my gym, my little empire.
Even if no one knows it’s mine.
I owed myself that check-in.
Inside, everything was running okay.
Staff moving around, equipment clean, music playing softly.
I nodded, satisfied, but tired.
Bone tired.
I stepped outside…
…and froze.
Damon.
He stood right there.
Tall, cold, powerful.
His eyes locked on me immediately.
My chest twisted painfully, like a knife dragged from inside.
But I held myself together.
I will not break in front of him.
“What kind of dress are you putting on?” he snapped, his tone sharp like claws.
I blinked.
Out of all things… this?
“I don’t think it has anything to do with you,” I answered, voice calm even though I felt nothing inside.
His eyes hardened.
“Are you being serious now? You are exposing your body as a Luna.”
I had seen him mad before, but never like this.
His voice carried… possession.
Tension.
Control.
“Please,” I scoffed lightly, “I’m just a Luna, not a trap. And being a Luna doesn’t control what clothes I wear.”
He stepped forward.
I stepped back.
“How dare you try walking out on me?” he growled, grabbing my wrist.
“I own you. And I have every right to tell you what to do.”
Those words sliced through me.
Not because of the dominance.
But because of the truth, I have been living like he owned me… even when he didn’t want me.
Before I could answer, she came.
Her perfume entered first, sweet, fake, choking.
Selene.
“Dam, what’s going on?” she purred, jealousy dripping from her voice.
Damon dropped my hand instantly, as if I burned him.
Like touching me was a mistake.
“It’s none of your business,” he snapped at her, but he still stepped away from me, standing closer to her.
Pain ripped through me again.
Not jealousy, agony.
Mate bond agony.
Bond betrayal agony.
Selene smirked like a cat catching a mouse.
“Dam, you can’t talk to the mother of your unborn heir like that,” she said loudly, loud enough for people around to hear.
Mother.
Heir.
The world spun.
Louder than before.
Darker than before.
I stared at Damon, waiting for him to deny it.
To reject the claim.
To defend me.
He said nothing.
He looked down.
He stayed silent.
Silence.
That was my answer.
Something inside me shattered.
Not my heart, that one was already cracked long ago.
Something deeper.
The bond.
My wolf howled inside me, a painful broken sound.
Selene gave me a victorious smile.
She already won, and she knew it.
I turned around slowly.
I refused to let either of them see tears fall.
I refused to give her that joy.
I walked back into the gym, shut the door, and leaned on it.
My breath disappeared.
Like air stopped reaching me.
My legs lost strength.
My vision blurred.
My body felt heavy like I was sinking inside myself.
“What… is happening to me…” I whispered, clutching my stomach.
A sharp wave hit, pain, dizziness, heartbreak all at once.
My wolf whined inside me, broken, confused, hurting.
Suddenly, my knees buckled.
I didn’t fall slow, I dropped hard.
Darkness wrapped around me like arms pulling me under.
The last thing I heard before everything went quiet…
was the sound of my heartbeat stumbling, like it didn’t know whether to stop or fight.
Then, nothing.
Black.
- Writer
